Chapter 1

Zara's POV

I stood at the front door with my hand on the handle. The afternoon sun was too bright and it made my head pound.

"Mrs. Wilson, you really need to stay another three months. The artificial liver system is still stabilizing. Your body hasn't fully recovered from the donation surgery."

Dr. Morrison's voice kept playing in my head. I'd interrupted him, told him I had to go home. He'd stared at me like I was signing my own death warrant.

Maybe I was.

I pressed my palm against my stomach where the scar lived now, this massive thing that ran almost the full width of my abdomen. Under the skin, the artificial liver support system hummed quietly. This machine was doing what my body couldn't anymore. I'd given part of my liver to Marcus, and afterwards, things went south. My remaining liver just gave up on me, so now I need this artificial liver to survive.

I have to know. I took a breath and steadied myself. I have to understand why they hate me now. Why my husband can't even look at me. Why my four-year-old daughter is scared of me. What the hell happened in these six months? Everything changed since the accident.

I rang the doorbell.

Mrs. Adams opened it. Not Marcus. Not Iris running to throw her arms around me the way she used to.

Just the housekeeper with her blank face. "Mrs. Wilson." She took my bag without any warmth in her voice.

"Thanks, Mrs. Adams."

I walked inside and the house looked exactly the same. But something felt dead about it now.

Marcus sat in the living room with his laptop. Iris was next to him coloring. My family was right there, ten feet away from me.

"Marcus, I'm home."

He glanced up for half a second. "Go upstairs and rest. Don't walk around."

That was it. No hug, no "how are you feeling," nothing. Just an order.

Iris looked at me over her coloring book and then ducked her head down fast. I caught her whisper. "The bad woman is back..."

The bad woman. My daughter called me the bad woman now.

"Zara!" Jade came out of nowhere with this huge smile. "You're finally home! God, you look awful. Come on, I already got your room ready. You really need to lie down."

"Thanks." I could barely get the word out. The device attached to my waist started beeping quietly, a warning tone. My stress levels were spiking and the machine knew it.

I headed for the stairs and every step hurt. The incision pulled and burned.

Walking up those stairs, I couldn't stop thinking about before. When Marcus used to look at me like I was the only person in the world. When Iris would run to me yelling "Mommy!" and tackle my legs.

When I was still a person to them instead of something disgusting they had to tolerate.

---

Six years ago.

Two weeks before my wedding, a woman named Jade showed up with DNA test results proving we'd been switched at birth, she was the real Sterling heiress, and I was nobody.

Everyone started whispering about how the engagement was based on bloodline and family merger. But Marcus didn't care. He said he loved me, not my last name, and we were getting married no matter what. We did get married, had Iris, built this beautiful life together. I really thought nothing could destroy us.

Six months ago.

"You've been up for twelve hours straight." I looked over at Marcus from the passenger seat. "Seriously, let me drive. You're exhausted."

"We're almost home." He gave me this tired smile. "I'm okay."

Iris was singing to herself in the back seat, playing with her stuffed rabbit. Just a normal drive home from Marcus's office.

Then a truck came out of nowhere and smashed into us.

The impact was instant. Metal screaming, glass exploding everywhere, the smell of gasoline and blood filling the car.

"Iris!" I ripped my seatbelt off and twisted around toward the back. "Baby, Mommy's here—"

She was limp. Blood on her face.

"No no no—" I climbed over the seat, every instinct focused on getting to my daughter. I pulled her against me and covered her body with mine as the car kept spinning.

Everything went black.

Three months later.

I woke up in a hospital bed and the pain in my stomach was unbearable. Like someone had cut me open and forgotten to put me back together properly. I tried to sit up and couldn't move.

"Don't move." A nurse appeared next to me. "You had major surgery. You need to stay still."

"Where's Marcus?" My throat was raw. "Where's Iris?"

"They're both recovering. They're stable."

Thank God. The relief almost made me pass out again.

"I need to see them."

The nurse looked uncomfortable. "Let me get your doctor first."

But I didn't wait. I pulled the IV out of my arm, forced myself out of bed. My legs were shaking and my stomach was screaming at me but I didn't care. I saw Marcus's room number on a chart, three doors down the hall.

I pushed his door open.

Marcus was sitting up. Jade was next to his bed holding a folder. They both turned to stare at me.

"Zara." Marcus's voice was ice cold.

"Marcus—" I took a step toward him. "Are you okay? Is Iris okay?"

"Stop." He put his hand up. "Jade told me what happened. You were driving. You were on your phone. You ran the red light and caused the accident."

The words didn't make sense.

"No. No, that's wrong. You were driving. I was in the passenger seat—"

"Enough!" His yell made me flinch backwards. "The evidence is right here. You were distracted and you almost killed our daughter. Iris could have died because of you!"

My legs gave out and I grabbed the doorframe to stay upright. "I don't understand. I wasn't driving. You were—"

"The doctor said you might have memory problems." Jade's voice was so gentle. So understanding. "From the surgery. Your brain didn't get enough oxygen. It's affecting what you remember."

"I don't have memory problems!" I was crying now. "I remember everything exactly—"

"You're confused, Zara." Marcus wouldn't look at me. "Jade was here the whole time. She explained what happened. You've been stressed for years about the whole fake heiress situation. The pressure finally got to you and you made a horrible mistake."

Fake heiress?

"I want to see Iris." My voice came out as a whisper. "I need to see my daughter."

"She doesn't want to see you. She's terrified of you. She remembers you and me fighting before the crash. She remembers you demanding to drive even though I said no."

"That never happened! Marcus, please, you have to believe me—"

"Get out." He turned his face away from me completely. "Go back to your room. I can't stand looking at you right now."

Jade stood up and put her hand on my arm, steering me toward the door. "Sister, you need to rest. Your body is still healing. We can figure this out later when you're stronger."

I let her walk me out because I couldn't think straight. Nothing made sense. I wasn't driving. I wasn't on my phone. I remembered everything so clearly.

So why did everyone believe I was guilty?