As I pulled a sweater from the shelf, something small and solid fell to the floor.
A flash drive.
I frowned, bending down to pick it up. The label on it made my stomach twist.
"Kidney Transplant – Candice."
I stared at it. My sister’s kidney condition wasn’t new to me. We had always known she was fragile since we were kids. But after the kidnapping incident, the doctors had told us someone had donated a kidney to her.
Someone. A cold feeling crept into my spine.
I plugged the flash drive into my laptop, clicking on the only video file inside. The screen flickered to life, and my breath caught in my throat.
Matteo.
He was in a hospital room, holding Candice’s hand.
I watched, frozen, as his voice filled the speakers.
"It’s going to be okay," he murmured, his fingers tightening around hers. "She is your twin sister. I’ll be a perfect match. You’ll live. I will make sure… and I will never leave your side ‘till you wake up."
My vision blurred. The screen swam in front of me, but the truth was already seared into my mind. Matteo hadn’t just chosen Candice’s child over mine.
He had chosen Candice over me from the very beginning.
And the worst part? The kidney she had received—the one that saved her life— It had been mine.
That was why I only had one kidney. Matteo had taken it. He had stolen a part of me and given it to my sister without me ever knowing. Maybe he even married me because he was guilty.
My hands trembled as I closed the laptop. My grief turned into something darker. Something sharper.
If they had taken everything from me… I would take it all back. I wasn’t leaving anymore. I was staying. And they would regret ever betraying me.
I yanked the flash drive from the laptop, and tucked it into my pocket.
The front door opened downstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps. I turned just as Matteo walked in—Candice right behind him, holding her son.
He looked at me. “Candice and the baby will be staying with us.”
I didn’t hesitate.
I walked up to him, raised my hand, and slapped him across the face.
His head snapped to the side, a sharp silence filling the room.
The only thing louder than the crack of my palm against his cheek was the sound of my vengeance beginning.
Matteo inhaled sharply, his jaw tightening as he turned back to me, his eyes dark with something unreadable.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he growled.