Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Micah Lane was holding a knife to my throat, forcing me to call Timothy Lane for help. He promised to spare my life if Timothy showed up to save me. I opened his pinned chat on WhatsApp and pressed the call icon. Micah glanced at my phone screen and sneered, his face covered in bruises. "Have you always been this pathetic, Adeline Jones? You still have that true heir Timothy’s chat pinned? He abandoned you, yet you still call him your husband." The blade pressed closer to my neck, sending me a wave of sharp pain. Timothy's impatient voice came through on the other end of the line, "Adeline, what nonsense is it now? There's nothing left for us to discuss. You'd better hurry up and sign the divorce papers, or else—" I interrupted him with a trembling voice, "Tim, Micah's kidnapped me. Can you please come to save me? He said he'll only let me go if you come." I heard a sarcastic laugh from the phone. "Micah kidnapped you? You two are really something. Of course the fake heiress and fake heir go together. No wonder you make such a perfect pair of actors." Timothy was not wrong. I had been living Nancy Jones' life for 26 years. Meanwhile, Micah had taken Timothy's right as the Lanes' heir for 27 years. Micah's grip tightened on the knife as he drove it deeper into my skin. The smell of blood grew stronger, and the pain in my neck intensified. I knew Micah was serious this time. Suppressing my panic, I choked out, "I swear I'm not lying. You know what kind of person Micah is. He's really holding a knife to my throat. Please! I just want to live, even if it's only for the sake of—" Suddenly, a woman's voice on the other end of the call cut me off. "Tim, do you think I should wear this white bunny outfit or this black leopard one later? Which one do you like more?" That was Nancy, the real Jones heiress and Micah's ex-girlfriend. Hearing her voice pushed Micah over the edge. He took the knife from my neck and plunged it straight into my body. "Ugh! "Mmph… My pained whimper and Nancy's gasp rang out at the same time. "Ugh... Tim, isn't it wrong for your wife to be hearing this?" she teased. "So what if she hears? I want her to hear it so she'll finally give up and sign the papers. Otherwise, she'll just keep stalling with stunts like pretending Micah kidnapped her." The wound was horrifyingly deep, and the knife at my throat pushed in even further. Instinctively, I screamed into the phone, "Timothy, please come save me! Micah's on drugs! He's out of his mind—" Beep. The line went dead.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Micah spread his hands and gave me a sinister smile. "You failed." I pleaded with him through my tears, "Please let me go. If you kill me, you'll have to pay for it with your life, won't you? How will you win Nancy back if you're dead?" Desperate, I tried to use Nancy to provoke him, clinging to my last bit of hope. "You’re right. I’ll have to pay with my life if I kill you, but aren't we both living worthless lives now?" he said with a twisted smile. "Who even cares? Timothy wants to divorce you because you're a fake heiress, and Nancy left me for Timothy because I'm an imposter too, right? "Even our parents, who raised us for over 20 years, want us out of their lives. Isn't that right? "Adeline, we’re both pitiful creatures abandoned by the world. "We don't deserve to live in this world. We both deserve to die." My survival instincts kicked in as I sobbed uncontrollably. I kept pleading with my broken voice, "No, that's not true. We can still live good lives." Micah looked at me with despair in his eyes. His gaze was fixed on my blood-stained neck. "No one in this world loves us anymore." I objected, "No! Please don't kill me. I can't die! I still have my daughter to live for!" Micah shook his head with a faint smile. "Let's play another game," he said. He tied me up on the rooftop of the abandoned building and vanished. Though I was curled up in pain, I found myself more worried about my daughter than myself. I feared that I had said the wrong thing earlier and that no one could protect her now. As expected, my fears were right. In the dead of night, Micah and his companion approached me, leading my five-year-old daughter, Halle Lane, by the hand. Halle was born blind. She took each step slowly, every footstep crushing my heart. I forced myself to stay calm. "Micah, what are you planning by bringing Halle here?" Hearing my voice, Halle quickened her pace. "Mommy! This man gave me a stuffed toy and said he'd bring me to you, but I don’t like the toy. "Mommy, I miss you. When are we going home? You promised to read me the Cinderella story tonight." Micah carried Halle over to me. Though Halle could not see, her sense of smell was sharp, and she asked me in a worried tone, "Mommy, are you bleeding? Let's go to the hospital now. Mommy..." Micah crouched down to look at the panicked Halle. "Halle, do you want your mommy to go to the hospital? If you do, then call your daddy and tell him to come here." Halle nodded timidly. "Okay." Micah used my phone to dial Timothy's number once again. Thankfully, the call connected. Timothy's voice sounded irritated as he spat, "What do you want now?""Daddy," Halle said softly. There was a brief silence before Timothy responded. "Halle." Halle gripped the phone nervously, her voice trembling and laced with tears. "Daddy, Mommy and I are on a windy rooftop. Mommy is bleeding, and Mr. Micah won't let us leave. "Can you come and take her to the hospital, please?" He paused for a few seconds, then shouted angrily, "Adeline Jones, are you teaching our daughter to lie to win me back? What exactly do you want me to say to this? "If I go, Nancy will definitely be upset, and we both know who's waiting to take advantage of this situation. "Haven't you had enough of this nonsense?" It sounded like Nancy, who was next to Timothy, had been woken up by the commotion. She whined, "Tim, why aren't you in bed yet? Aren't you tired after what we did?" "I'll be there in a second," Timothy replied, then added one last cutting remark, "Halle, don't learn to lie like your mommy. Daddy doesn't like children who lie." Halle cried into the phone, "Daddy, I'm not lying! I'm not!"

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Micah abruptly ended the call as if he was the one being rejected. Desperation flooded his eyes as he said, "Adeline, we're the most pitiful people in this world. We fell from the top of the world to rock bottom. "Look at us. You’re wearing cheap rags from the dollar store, and I’ve got no one left in this world except for my most loyal friend here. I was once so glorious, but now I don’t even have a hundred dollars to my name." Standing there, thin and frail in the darkness, Micah looked haunting. He screamed in frustration, "I hate you so much! Why couldn't you win Timothy's heart? If you were better, Timothy wouldn't still be hung up on his precious first love Nancy. She would’ve stayed with me!" That was not true. Would Nancy really have stayed with this drug addict after becoming the real heiress? No, she absolutely would not have. Micah had already been kicked out of the Lane family and lost all his wealth and power. Anyone with any sense would know what choice to make, just like how Timothy wisely divorced me to be with the real heiress, Nancy. Halle was still beside me. I fought through the searing pain, took a deep breath, and said, "Micah, don't give up on yourself, okay? You can always start over." He shook his head. His eyes were red as he clutched his head in agony. "Adeline, we're beyond redemption." Halle clung to me, sobbing. I struggled against the ropes that bound me, but no matter how much I tried, I could not break free. It was just like my pitiful life. I was completely trapped. Micah, in his cruelty, stabbed Halle right in front of me. He then turned the knife on me, stabbing me twelve times. That night, my daughter and I died at the hands of a drug addict. Micah had taken a massive dose of drugs the day he kidnapped us. After killing us, he jumped from the sixth floor. The police tried to reach my father, mother, and husband through my phone but only got through to my grandmother. After the Jones family took back their real daughter, I was thrown out of their lives, and we both returned to our true destinies. My grandmother, Edith Summers, was the only blood relative I had left. She was a dignified lady and a retired teacher. Although she had only known me for less than two months, she collapsed in tears when she saw our bodies. Halle held my hand and asked if I could make her great-grandmother stop crying. I lowered my eyes and said, "Grandma's too heartbroken. She just needs to cry it out." Knowing that I used to love dressing up when I was still the heiress of the Jones family, Edith bought the most expensive post-mortem restoration service for me and Halle before the cremation. However, she did not know that the best mortician in this funeral home was none other than my husband, Timothy. My fate was so twisted. Back when my cousin had been in a car accident and was disfigured, no mortician was able to restore her body until they found Timothy. At that time, I was still Adeline Jones, the special and treasured heiress of the Jones family. Timothy made less than five thousand dollars a month as a mortician, and he never crossed my radar. Even though I rejected him many times, he never lost his enthusiasm. "Sometimes I wish that I’ll die after you," he once said, "so I can make sure you look beautiful even in death." I had cut him off immediately, "Ugh, can't you say something nice for once?" I acted annoyed, but I still let him into my life. Coming from a wealthy family, I had met plenty of arrogant young men who thought the world revolved around them. Someone as down-to-earth and unique as Timothy was rare. I was used to looking down on people, and I chose to date Timothy, someone I could also look down on. Of course, my parents strongly opposed it. "We raised you in luxury, Adeline," they said. "You're the heiress of the Jones family. We didn't raise you to marry someone beneath you, let alone someone who works at a funeral home!" "Addy, what could you possibly see in him? Are you hoping he'll do your makeup after you die?" My ex-mother turned out to be right. I laughed bitterly to myself as I looked toward Timothy, who had just arrived outside the embalming room. One of his colleagues patted him on the shoulder. "This is your last job before you get to work for Lane Corp. You’ll be the pride of your family!" Timothy exchanged a few words with his coworker. Then, he started to prepare for the task with his assistant. He became serious and focused, turning his ‘work mode’ on. I knew he loved his job. Once upon a time, I even admired his dedication to his craft. His assistant picked up the report and could not help but comment, "It's a mother and daughter. They were both covered in multiple stab wounds and killed in cold blood. Even the child wasn't spared. What a tragedy." Timothy nodded silently. "Yes, it's a real shame. She's the same age as my daughter, Halle." I held Halle in my arms, watching him in silence. I was surprised he still remembered he had a daughter. He took his tools and walked to where my daughter lay, lifting the white sheet that covered her.