Chapter 1 The Daughter Abused for Three Years Returns

After three years of exile and abuse overseas, Evie finally came back. She wore ragged clothes and stood in front of the once-familiar front door of her home.

The door was slightly open. Light spilled out from inside, along with faint sounds of music and laughter. They were having a party.

She took one step inside and saw Vivian surrounded by a crowd, blowing out candles on a five-layer cake.

Vivian wore a light purple gown with perfect makeup, looking like a delicate flower carefully pampered by others.

Evie looked down at herself: ragged clothes, dry yellow hair, a face so skinny it was unrecognizable, and ugly scars on her wrists and neck.

"Evie?"

Someone noticed her and called her name.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was like flipping a switch—the living room went dead silent in an instant.

Faces turned toward the door.

Moments later, whispers broke out.

"Is that really Evie? The fake daughter from the Vance family... Oh my god, what happened to her?"

"I heard she got in trouble abroad and was kidnapped by a gang."

"Oh god, does she have AIDS? Someone from a place like that must be dirty."

"Stay away..."

Those stares stabbed at Evie like needles. Everyone stepped back, as if she carried some deadly disease.

Evie clenched her fists tight.

Evie was the Vance family's precious daughter. Right after college graduation, she got engaged to Jasper, her childhood sweetheart.

Then one day, Evie was discovered not to be the family's biological daughter. After the real daughter Vivian returned, Mom and Dad gave her all their love. Fiancé Jasper and brother Ethan adored her endlessly too.

Three years ago, Evie and Jasper went to Thailand for a trip. Vivian insisted on tagging along, but they ended up offending a local gangster.

To protect Vivian, Jasper didn't hesitate to push Evie out as a scapegoat.

That gangster was an extremely cruel pervert. Evie was chained in a dark basement with no daylight, tortured until she was barely human or ghost.

Finally, after three years, the boss got tired of her. He tortured her near death one last time and threw her into the sea.

Luckily, she didn't die. Passing fishermen rescued her, contacted the embassy, and she made it back to the US.

"Evie, is that really you?"

A familiar voice rang out, full of shock.

Jasper pushed through the crowd, grabbed her arm, and dragged her outside.

His movements were rough and urgent, like shooing away a stray cat that wandered in.

Evie stumbled, her old knee injury flaring up with sharp pain. She almost fell.

But Jasper didn't notice. He dragged her all the way to the steps outside before letting go.

He turned to face her, staring at her bony, pale, sickly frame. He could hardly connect this Evie to the bright, vibrant girl she used to be.

Jasper felt a pang of pity and reached out to touch her face. But then he thought about how she'd been locked up with the gang for three years—who knew how many men she'd been with.

His stomach churned at the idea. He pulled his hand back and forced a smile. "Evie, we're just glad you're safe. You have no idea how worried we've been these three years!"

Evie looked up at him, a sharp pain spreading through her chest.

Safe? He thought she looked safe like this?

Evie sneered sarcastically. "If you really worried about me, you wouldn't have ditched me back then to take Vivian home. And you wouldn't have come back without reporting it to the police right away!"

Jasper's eyes darted away as he explained. "Evie, that whole thing was an accident. It was chaos at the time—I had no choice. Those guys had guns. I couldn't let Vivian get hurt. She's so fragile, she couldn't handle that..."

"So I could?" Evie laughed bitterly, like she'd heard the world's biggest joke. "Do you know what those three years were like for me? Every day I hoped someone would come save me tomorrow. I thought you were trying to help."

Her eyes were red, but no tears fell.

Three years of captivity and abuse had dried up her tears long ago.

"I waited for you for three years! And what do I find? You're here celebrating Vivian's birthday!"

Evie's voice suddenly rose. "It was her who teamed up with those people! She's the one who got me like this. Why does she get to live carefree and enjoy everything?"

During those three years of torture, Vivian's smug smile haunted her mind and wouldn't go away.

When Vivian first came home, Evie thought she'd suffered enough outside, so it was natural for the family to shower her with love. Evie treated her with all her heart too.

Even when Vivian framed her multiple times, leading to scoldings from parents and brother, Evie took it silently.

Evie thought if she endured it, things could go back to normal.

Until Thailand, when Jasper pushed her out as bait. Evie expected guilt from Vivian, but all she saw was that triumphant smile.

Evie couldn't understand why she'd given in to Vivian everywhere, yet Vivian still hurt her. Three years of suffering made the hatred grow endlessly inside her.

And that hatred became the drive that kept her alive.

"I want her to come out and apologize to my face. Admit what she did!"

Jasper's face turned ice-cold, his tone threatening. "Evie, be smart about this. What good does making a scene do you?"

"I don't need anyone else to believe me. I just want Vivian to pay!" Evie shoved Jasper aside and rushed toward the villa.

She ran straight into her brother Ethan. Evie thought he was there to welcome her, and her eyes welled up. "Brother, I missed you so much..."

"You're still alive and back? That's a surprise." Ethan scoffed, his eyes full of contempt.

He hadn't believed the news when he first heard it, but now seeing her, he had to.

Evie froze, realizing Ethan hadn't been the doting big brother from her childhood since Vivian returned. He hadn't called her "sister" once.

Inside the villa, Vivian was still surrounded by the crowd. The moment she saw Evie barge in, a flicker of panic and disbelief crossed her face, quickly replaced by worry.

"Evie, it's so good you're okay!" Vivian hurried over.