The Scapegoat Daughter

The Scapegoat Daughter

Irene

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My brother didn't die. He just used a hurricane to run away, leaving me to pay for his escape. For eight agonizing years, my parents blamed me, punishing me for a "sin" I didn't commit, calling my very existence a penance for their lost golden child. On my nineteenth birthday, I tried to break free from their toxic grip. But as a notorious killer stalked me, I begged my father-a detective hunting this very monster-for help. He had already broken my only self-defense, a pepper spray he'd derided as a "useless toy," and then he dismissed my desperate texts as just another one of my dramatic cries for attention. I died because of their callous neglect, because the weapon I relied on failed me. As a ghost, I watched in horrifying silence as they grieved for a son who was never truly gone, while simultaneously dismissing my actual death. My dismembered body on their evidence board was just another case; my own parents were too consumed by mourning a lie to see the devastating truth of my final moments. How could they be so utterly blind? How could they condemn me for a lie, only to be completely untouched by my real, horrific truth? My entire life was an inconvenience, my death an unacknowledged whisper. But then, Ethan returned, alive, shattering their carefully constructed grief and revealing his selfish deception. And my killer, caught by my father, delivered the final, crushing blow: a confession detailing how my parents' neglect had sealed my fate, forcing my father to finally confront his own daughter's terrifying final pleas.

Introduction

My brother didn't die.

He just used a hurricane to run away, leaving me to pay for his escape.

For eight agonizing years, my parents blamed me, punishing me for a "sin" I didn't commit, calling my very existence a penance for their lost golden child.

On my nineteenth birthday, I tried to break free from their toxic grip.

But as a notorious killer stalked me, I begged my father-a detective hunting this very monster-for help.

He had already broken my only self-defense, a pepper spray he'd derided as a "useless toy," and then he dismissed my desperate texts as just another one of my dramatic cries for attention.

I died because of their callous neglect, because the weapon I relied on failed me.

As a ghost, I watched in horrifying silence as they grieved for a son who was never truly gone, while simultaneously dismissing my actual death.

My dismembered body on their evidence board was just another case; my own parents were too consumed by mourning a lie to see the devastating truth of my final moments.

How could they be so utterly blind?

How could they condemn me for a lie, only to be completely untouched by my real, horrific truth?

My entire life was an inconvenience, my death an unacknowledged whisper.

But then, Ethan returned, alive, shattering their carefully constructed grief and revealing his selfish deception.

And my killer, caught by my father, delivered the final, crushing blow: a confession detailing how my parents' neglect had sealed my fate, forcing my father to finally confront his own daughter's terrifying final pleas.

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Million Dollar Hush Money: I Want Divorce

Million Dollar Hush Money: I Want Divorce

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The silence in Sterling Manor wasn't empty; it was heavy, pressing against my eardrums like deep water. I sat on the edge of the oversized velvet sofa, waiting for my husband to return from a "merger closing" that I knew was actually a hotel room. At 2:00 AM, a notification glowed on his forgotten work tablet: "You left your tie on my nightstand. I'll keep it safe for next time. - S." When Ethan finally walked in, he didn't look at me. He just smelled like Serena's signature sandalwood perfume and expensive scotch. He didn't apologize for the infidelity; instead, he transferred a million dollars into my spousal account and told me to go buy some jewelry to keep my mouth shut. I realized then that I wasn't a wife; I was an expensive placeholder. I left my ten-carat diamond ring on the foyer table and walked out into the freezing rain with nothing but a canvas duffel bag. But Ethan wasn't about to let his "ornament" escape so easily. He froze my credit cards, revoked my trust access, and used his billion-dollar influence to blacklist me from every architecture firm in New York City. He even tracked me down to a restaurant where I was playing piano for tips, throwing a stack of hundreds at me in front of his mistress. When I still refused to crawl back to the manor, he played his final, cruelest card. He leaned in and whispered that if I didn't return to his bed, he would stop protecting my brother from a prison sentence he had manufactured himself. I stood there shivering, realizing that every "favor" he'd ever done for my family was actually a shackle. He thought he could buy my soul, my talent, and my silence by holding the people I loved hostage. How could the man I once loved turn into a monster who viewed my life as nothing more than a line item on a balance sheet? I looked him straight in the eye, my voice as cold as the winter air outside. "Make the call, Ethan. Send him to jail. I'd rather visit my brother through plexiglass than spend another night sleeping next to you." I'm done being a victim. I've just walked into the offices of Azure Architects, the only firm in the city Ethan can't bully. I'm not just going to finish my degree; I'm going to help his biggest rival burn his empire to the ground.

Chloe's Web, Liam's Freedom

Chloe's Web, Liam's Freedom

Romance

5.0

Today was supposed to be my fourth wedding to Chloe, my fiancée since we were sixteen. I stood at the altar, surrounded by friends and family, the grand church filled with white roses. But instead of Chloe, her maid of honor rushed down the aisle, clutching her phone, her face etched with panic. Then, my phone vibrated. A text from Chloe: "I' m so sorry, Liam. I can' t. Mark needs me. He' s at the hospital. He said he was in a car accident." Not again. Another one of Mark' s car accident lies, the same one he used months ago. Hundreds of eyes fixed on me, a mix of pity and morbid curiosity. This wasn't postponement; it was a public execution. Tears of profound humiliation stung my eyes. My decade of devotion meant nothing; she chose her manipulative assistant over me, again. Then, a new notification. A social media post from Mark. A selfie. Mark, smug and triumphant. And Chloe, asleep on his shoulder, in a hotel room, not a hospital. "Some things are worth fighting for. So happy you' re finally mine," the caption read. Rage, hot and white-hot, surged through me. This was a calculated, public humiliation. They weren't hiding; they were celebrating. Then, a message request from Mark. A picture. Chloe, asleep in the hotel bed. My wedding dress, draped over a chair in the background, a ghostly white sentinel. He had planned this. He was taunting me. Mark answered my call, his voice smooth and arrogant. "We're at the Grand Star Hotel, room 1208. You know, the one right next to the general hospital. It' s so much more comfortable for Chloe to rest here while I recover from my, ah, 'terrible accident' ." He laughed, a smug, ugly sound. He sent another picture: Chloe' s hand, intertwined with his. My great-grandmother' s engagement ring gone, replaced by a simple gold band. "It feels like nothing," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "You can have her." I hung up. I left it all behind, the house, the memories, the woman. I was free, but I had to fight to stay that way.

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