The memories surged forward like a flood, drowning me in a past I had fought so hard to forget.
Years ago, Derek and I had been engaged, our wedding set to be a grand event—one that was supposed to mark the happiest day of my life. But fate had other plans.
On the morning of the wedding, Candice and I had been kidnapped.
I still remembered the suffocating darkness, the rough hands dragging us into an unmarked van. The frantic screams. The ropes biting into my wrists. The chilling laughter of our captors as they taunted us.
We were held for ransom, two identical sisters at the mercy of cruel men.
But our parents—our parents only had enough money to save one. And they chose Candice.
I could still hear the moment they told me. The moment my world shattered.
"We’re sorry, Cassandra. We could only save one."
I had begged. Screamed. Pleaded. But the decision had been made. Candice was released, and I was left behind.
Left to be tortured. Left to suffer in a way no one could imagine.
For weeks, I endured their cruelty—starvation, beatings, pain that still haunted me in my nightmares. Until Matteo found me. Until he rescued me. He was my hero.
But by then, it was too late.