Chapter 1Moonset, Stars Fade

During an interview, my ex-husband Jacob was asked, "A man like you—surely you have few regrets?"

He gazed into the camera. "My only mistake," he said smoothly, "was loving the wrong woman—a viper who bore me a heartless daughter." Then, smiling, he added, "But fate gave me Vera and the child she carries."

That night, as Jacob dined with Vera, a news bulletin interrupted:

"Police found two bodies in East Mountain—a woman, 25-30, and a child under five. Both were brutally murdered..."

Vera’s fork froze. Jacob dismissed the TV.

I stood before them, gripping my daughter’s hand, coldly smiling.

She stared at the dark screen, then asked, "Mommy, why were we on TV?"

* * *

Vera’s lips trembled, and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead.

Jacob’s handsome brows furrowed in concern. "What's wrong, Vera? Are you feeling unwell? Is the baby kicking up a fuss again?"

Vera took a deep breath, put down her fork, and forced a smile. "No… no, I'm fine. That news report just… startled me."

Jacob let out a sigh of relief, gently placing his hand over hers. "It's alright. I had Mrs. Gable turn it off. We won't watch news like that anymore. It’s not good for you to get stressed while you're pregnant." He stroked her hand. "My Vera. Still so kind-hearted."

Kind-hearted?

I stared at Vera's ashen face and wanted to laugh.

Jacob was my ex-husband. We met in college, a whirlwind romance that led to marriage right after graduation. And Vera… Vera was my best friend from the orphanage where we grew up.

When Vera couldn't find a job after college, I asked Jacob to give her a position at his company. I never imagined that one act of kindness would ultimately lead to my own death, and my daughter's.

Our daughter, Bella, was three when she was kidnapped. The kidnappers called our home, but Jacob was working late and wasn't answering his phone. I had no choice but to take the ransom money and go to the location they gave me.

When I arrived at the abandoned warehouse on East Mountain, I found Bella's small body covered in bruises. The moment she saw me, she burst into tears, crying out for her mommy.

My heart shattered.

I scrambled forward and wrapped her in my arms, then bowed my head to the kidnappers, begging. "Please, I didn't call the police. I brought the money. Please, just don't hurt my daughter. I'm begging you."

But they didn't want money that day. They wanted our lives.

They tore my fingernails out, one by one. They doused me in acid, bottle after agonizing bottle. The last one, they forced down my throat.

Bella screamed and pleaded beside me, her voice raw and heartbreaking, but the searing fire in my own throat kept me from making a sound.

By the end, there wasn't an unblemished piece of flesh left on my body.

As I lay dying, Vera stepped out from the shadows. She stood over me, arms crossed, her eyes filled with a chilling disgust.

"If you have to blame someone, blame your own good luck," she sneered. "What makes you so much better than me? Why did you get to marry the great Jacob Brodie while I was stuck as a secretary at his company? So what if I slept with him? Do you know what he told me? He said he would never marry me. Hah! How pathetic."

"Eleanor, weren't we best friends?" she continued, her voice dripping with venom. "You've had your good life. It's time you made way for me."

She turned to the kidnappers. "Get rid of them. Take them up the mountain. And be careful. Don't let anyone find them."

When Jacob discovered we were missing, he searched for us like a man possessed. But Vera was ready. She presented him with a collection of forged photographs and faked chat logs, even fabricated records of large withdrawals from the company accounts.

She told him I had been in love with someone else for years, that I'd only married him for his money. She told him I hadn't been kidnapped—I'd run off with my lover, taking the company's money and our daughter with me.

Vera was my only friend. I had told her everything. Jacob believed her without question. He called off the search.

He fell into a deep depression, and Vera became his constant companion, the comforting presence who saw him through his darkest days.

They fell in love. They got married.

And now, Vera was pregnant.

And my body, and my daughter's, had finally been found.