Chapter 1: The Scandal that Changed Everything

The scandal started when my housekeeper, Jenny, borrowed my name, stole my life, and fell for Caleb Monroe—the golden boy who was supposed to be mine. By the time anyone found out, she was already pregnant.

The memory of those tangled lies still prickles beneath my skin, even now. In Silver Hollow, a story like that lingers for years—traded over lemonade on the front porch or behind the counter at the hardware store, a secret everyone knows but no one forgets.

Caleb Monroe became valedictorian at the state university and later showed up at the mayor’s house to propose. My dad said yes.

The whole town buzzed like a kicked-up beehive. Caleb Monroe—the local kid made good, the pride of our class, the one who worked his way up—was about to marry into the Parker family, and Silver Hollow devoured the news like it was the Fourth of July parade.

In despair, Jenny threw herself into our backyard pool. Two lives were lost that day.

Even after all these years, the image of Jenny’s pale hands slipping beneath the winter-dark water sometimes yanks me out of sleep. In a place like Silver Hollow, tragedy sticks to a home. The pool, usually a backdrop for kids’ laughter and summer barbecues, became a place people avoided, eyes averted.

Even now, neighbors cross the street to avoid walking past our fence. Every summer, the water stays covered, as if grief itself settled over the deep end.

On our wedding night, Caleb realized I wasn’t the woman he loved. He looked calm on the outside, but I saw him start digging—convinced I’d been jealous of Jenny and pushed her to her death.

I remember that night so clearly—the way he kept his eyes on the wallpaper, the tension vibrating under every polite word. In the Midwest, we’re trained not to make a scene, but his coldness was a slap in the face.

For the next ten years, he used the mayor’s family connections to climb as high as he could. On the outside, he treated me with care, but when scandal hit the mayor’s office, he turned. He helped the feds bring my dad down, and sent my whole family into disgrace and exile.

In a small town, word travels fast. The news vans parked outside, the stares at the grocery store, neighbors who used to wave now looking away—Caleb’s ambition bulldozed my family, and I learned what exile feels like, right here in my own country.

Under his cruelty, I was thrown into an icy pond and drowned in the coldest winter.

I still feel that shock—the way the cold sliced through me as the ice broke. For weeks after, even a frozen puddle made me shiver. The betrayal cut deeper than any frostbite.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day he came to the mayor’s house to propose.

My heart jackhammered in my chest. The bedsheets smelled like laundry soap and old dreams. For a second, I wondered if I was dead or just lost in memory.

The sight of my childhood bedroom ceiling—those old glow-in-the-dark stars still stuck in the corner—was so familiar it hurt. Time rewound, and for a moment, I didn’t know if I should laugh or scream.