Chapter 1

My husband is the principal of a top high school.

He wanted his first love's son to get the guaranteed spot in the prestigious Science Scholars Program at Stanford.

So, on the day of the Physics Competition, he locked our daughter in a hotel room.

He even hired some old guy to guard her.

He told her, "Stanford has always been Brandon's dream; you shouldn't compete with him for it."

He added, "Just stay put, and if you don't behave, this uncle will hit you!"

Because of that, our daughter was raped, tortured, and killed.

Later, my husband was giving a speech at school.

A reporter asked him what he had to say about our daughter's death.

He just froze solid.

...

The day of my daughter Lily's physics competition, I couldn't be there with her.

I was out of town on a court case.

I thought, once my case was over, I'd hear the good news about her getting that guaranteed spot at Stanford.

Instead, I got the news of her death.

I rushed back in a panic.

I saw Lily's body in the morgue.

It was covered in bruises and bite marks.

My vision went black, and I just crumpled to the floor.

Tears just streamed down.

A police officer standing nearby sighed.

"You must be the girl's mother," he said.

"We couldn't reach her father, so we had to call you first."

"We're so sorry for your loss; we've already caught the monster."

From the police, I learned Lily had checked into a downtown hotel the night before, planning to compete that morning.

But a guy in his 50s had raped her there, torturing her to death with different things.

Every word felt like a knife, slicing away at my flesh.

My daughter, she was just starting her life, and some scumbag ruined it!

I sobbed until I thought my heart would break.

Then, a chilling thought hit me when I finally calmed down.

How could Lily have been hurt like this?

I specifically remember telling my husband, John Miller, to stay with her the whole time at the competition.

I was worried about her safety.

Lily was gone, but where was he?

My hand trembled as I pulled out my phone to call John.

The phone rang and rang.

He didn't pick up.

It took more than ten calls before he finally answered.

His voice was full of annoyance.

"What's with all the calls?" he snapped.

"I'm busy here!"

"You think everyone's got as much free time as you?"

As his words ended, I heard loud music and a host's voice in the background.

The host sounded excited, "Congratulations to Brandon Scott for taking first place in the Physics Competition today, earning him the guaranteed spot at Stanford!"

Then I heard Brandon Scott himself say, "To get this spot, I have to thank Mr. Miller and my mom; they supported me every step of the way."

My whole body went numb, a cold dread washing over me.

Lily was lying in the morgue, and he was celebrating with his first love's son.

"John Miller, I told you to stay with Lily, and you're off celebrating with someone else's kid?"

My voice shook with rage.

"What? I don't have any personal freedom now?"

"Who says I have to stick with just Lily?"

"Besides, Brandon won first place in the Physics Competition today, and as the principal, is it wrong for me to attend his celebration?"

"But Lily is dead!"

The phone went silent for a few seconds.

Then, he scoffed, "I know you've always hated Brandon and his mother."

"But you're Lily's own mother; how can you use her death as an excuse to trick me into coming home?"

"Are you even human?"

With that, he hung up.

I stared at the disconnected call screen, my chest tight with anger and sorrow, a terrible ache.