"Mom, it's me."
"Olivia! Your phone finally works — where have you been? Why was it off this whole time? Do you know how worried I've been? You have NO idea what kind of life I'm living here! Your father — he's planning to leave everything to Sophia! If you don't come back soon, you'll lose everything! I can't control him anymore, I… I don't even know what he's thinking anymore…"
Susan's voice trembled. Her eyes reddened, resentment burning behind them.
Was she wrong?
No — all she ever wanted was to protect her family.
Aurora had come out of nowhere like a storm, ripping their home apart.
Why should she, the legal wife, swallow humiliation and pretend nothing happened?
Why should the interloper's daughter take everything?
"Mom, don't worry. I'll be back very soon," Olivia's voice promised — unusually low, strangely cold.
"No one will ever bully us again."
Then the call ended.
...
Overseas.
