Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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In the dazzling heart of Hallon City, the Dalton family was throwing a massive celebration. The star of the night? Selena Dalton, who just snagged the Best Author Award.

Guests were dressed to the nines, sparkling under the lights, as laughter and chatter filled the air, creating an atmosphere of pure joy and festivity.

But behind all the glitz and glam lay a dark secret. In a cold, damp basement, Hailey Dalton, the family’s forgotten heiress, had been locked away for seven years.

At twenty–seven, she should’ve been living her best life, but instead, she’d been stuck in this hellhole for the past seven years,

The heavy basement door slammed open, and a thin shaft of light cut through the dark. Hailey’s heart jumped.

She looked up, eyes wide with the smallest spark of hope. ‘Is it Mateo? Is he finally here to rescue me?”

Her heart dared to believe it, though the hope flickered weakly–she didn’t dare believe too much, but she couldn’t help. herself. Maybe just maybe–this nightmare was finally over.

The sound of sharp high heels clicking on the concrete floor drew closer, and a figure stepped into view.

Hailey squinted, trying to make out the face, and then it hit her: it was Selena. Her half–sister. The very same person who had locked her away here in the first place.

At that moment, Hailey couldn’t bring herself to hate Selena anymore. Her legs were shattered, and she could barely move, the pain unbearable as she dragged her broken body off the bed.

With every ounce of strength, she crawled toward Selena, finally collapsing at her feet.

Her voice was raw with agony, filled with nothing but pleading, “Selena, please… I’m begging you. Let me go. Just let me see Mateo one last time, even if it’s from afar. Please, just give me a moment with my family…”

Selena stepped into the light, wearing a nude–colored gown, her red lips parting in a cold, calculated smile. “Alright, I’ll let you out,” she said in a voice that was sweet but absolutely frigid.

For a second, hope flickered in Hailey’s chest, but Selena quickly dashed it to pieces with her next words.

“Too bad… your adoptive parents are both dead. Now what?” Selena’s tone was a sickening mix of fake sympathy and cruel

amusement.

Hailey froze. Her heart sank. “No… that’s not possible.”

Selena smirked, pulling out her phone, and Hailey watched as she showed her a news article with the headline: [Family Tragedy Strikes–Parents and Sister Dead.]

“You didn’t see the news, did you? Your parents died in a car crash three years ago. And your sister? Yeah, she killed herself six months ago.” Selena glanced at the laptop in the comer, her smile turning wicked.

She paused, then added, “I almost forgot. While I was out there making my future, you were stuck working on that manuscript. The signal here was so spot–on, wasn’t it? Too bad no one would ever see it.

“Your work could only exist in this house. So, thanks for all your effort, sis.”

Hailey’s blood ran cold. “You! You killed my family!” she hissed, fury burning in her chest.

Selena played the victim, dramatically throwing her hands up. “Mateo, look at her! She’s glaring at me like she’s going to murder me. I’m so scared, she mocked, her voice dripping with sarcasm

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Chapter 1

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Hailey could even process what was happening, Mateo Stafford, the man she had thought might save her, stepped into the room like a shadow,

her–hard. Her already fragile body couldn’t

her ribs, and she crashed into the bedframe. Blood poured from her

scarred from years ago, was now even worse. The blood mixed with

be all concerned. “You okay,

tenderness.

so full of love and light. And then, suddenly, she

so stupid, so pathetic. All this pain, all for him. Her work, her soul

All the love she had believed in? It was poison–the kind of poison that killed

drove her high heel into Hailey’s stomach, twisting it with a sick smile. “Bitch. You’ve

pain was so intense Hailey could barely breathe. Blood mixed with her

Dalton, Mateo Stafford… I swore, even as a ghost, I would

handful of Hailey’s hair and slammed her

to go blurry, her body weakening with every passing second. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, she saw Mateo’s

familiar voice called through the

heart skipped a beat. “Who is calling me? That voice… it sounds

Breakfast is ready.”

her body jerking upright,

striking beauty. Her heart- shaped face had sharp,

murmured

Brown, seeing the dazed look on Hailey’s face, waved a hand in

slid out of bed, and glanced around the room, full of memor This was the place–the one she’d grown up in until she turned

back to their happiest place before they die?

her eyes. “Come on, dummy.

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Chapter 1

de pouched the

crazy. “Are you for real

shoes,

on choro, de droed open the door and ran outside, standing

but she didn’t

anything. And in that moment

years later, Densborough was still the same–quiet,

that small–town stubbornness mixed with

Brown family’s tiny kitchen,

she slammed her fork onto the the “Finley’s part of the

the hell do the Daltons think they’re doing? Just waltzing in and taking her away? What the hell are

Hailey’s adoptive mom, was just as torn. She didn’t want to let Hailey go either, but she knew deep down t the Daltons

softly, her voice full of care, “this is your

up, walked over to her adoptive parents, and

what’s wrong?” Lucia asked, her

set in stone, calm and steady, as she spoke “Mom, Dad, thank

the Daltons.”

had festered in her heart for

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