After being tricked into going to prison by my husband in his stead, the maid took my place as his wife. On the day of my release, they humiliated me with three “gifts” to welcome me back and the theft of my biological daughter’s only inheritance. They thought I was broken. But, they didn’t know…

“It’s divine retribution,” Nick said smoothly as he held the car door for me.

“Blood answers blood.”

He handed me a tablet. On the screen, a lavish banquet glittered with lights and gold. “The Stonewell family’s birthday gala,” he murmured. “Tonight they crown Marissa Lane as ‘Queen of Seaside City.’”

Marissa.

The maid who’d served me for twenty years… and then destroyed my entire life.

“This crown,” Nick added, catching my reflection in the window, “was meant for you.”

He swiped to the next screen. “They prepared three ‘gifts’ for your release. Want to guess?”

After five years on a cement bunk, sitting in a luxury car felt surreal.

“Nothing pleasant,” I said.

“First gift: a razor. You’re to shave your head and join a convent for five years of ‘penance.’

Second: a ten-thousand-word confession to memorize and recite onstage tonight, to prove your ‘remorse.’

And finally—”his voice hardened “—the deed to Ashridge Estate. The only property you kept for your biological daughter, Lila. They want you to sign it over to Marissa.”

“They dare,” I whispered.

The fury inside me wasn’t wild. It was ice. Sharp. Controlled.

Ashridge was all I had left to give Lila.

“So,” I said, watching the glowing hotel tower approach, “my appearance is just part of their performance.”