"They taught me that love was supposed to be unconditional. That mothers always forgive. That family comes first, no matter what.

They were wrong.

I was Emily Thompson—veterinarian, wife, mother. I gave up my career to support my husband's failing farm. I spent eight years nursing my asthmatic son, building a life around their needs, sacrificing my dreams for their comfort.

Then they chose a stranger over me.

When a beautiful liar claiming cancer came into our home, my husband believed her over his wife of eight years. My eight-year-old son wished she was his real mother. They traded me for a fraud, and expected me to quietly disappear.

Instead, I chose myself.

Some women forgive. Some women fight for their families. Some women break down and beg for a second chance.

I became the woman who builds an empire from the ashes of betrayal.


No Second Chances

Emily
The county farming association meeting hall felt different this morning.
I gripped the manila folder containing months of evidence, my heart steady despite the magnitude of what I was about to do.
"Dr. Kim, are you ready to testify about the fraudulent Mayo Clinic documents?" I whispered in...

Chapter 4