Chapter 1

It was 2:00 pm, and the sun was relentless. I was in the neighboring city for a work trip when my five-year-old daughter, Sally, called me. Her voice was trembling with fear, and she was wracked with tears.

"Mom, help me! Dad locked me in the car."

My head spun, and I nearly passed out. "Baby, don't cry... Tell me where you are, and I'll come get you right now!"

Sally tried to calm down and sobbed out the words, "I'm at..."

However, the call ended. I panicked and called back, but the phone was off. I tried again, but it was still off. It had to be out of battery. I started calling my husband, Charles Lowe, frantically, but there was no answer! Even when I called again, I could not get through.

I shouted to my coworkers, asking them to call the police. All the while, I continued to call Charles. I jumped into my car and sped back to our city. Finally, the call connected, and Charles' impatient voice came through.

"What is it? I'm busy."

In the background, I heard a little girl giggling. "Daddy, I want to play that!"

That wasn't Sally. Who was this little girl calling him daddy?

It wasn't the time to be asking about this, though.

"Where are you? Why is Sally locked in the car?! You need to save Sally..."

His voice was barely audible amidst the background noise of children playing.

I suddenly realized the little girl had taken his phone. Her voice cut through, sharp and annoyed.

"Dad, you promised to play with me. No phone calls."

"Okay, okay, I won't make any more calls! Look, I'm turning it off now!" His voice was soothing, and he completely ignored my desperate screams.

"No, don't turn off the phone!" I shouted frantically, but it was too late.

I dialed again, but the phone was already off. Tears blurred my vision, and I nearly smashed my phone in frustration.

A coworker called, telling me that the police said this situation was tough to handle and they had passed the case to the local station. They needed the exact location of the person needing help.

Exact location. Damn it! I needed to know the exact location right now. My daughter was in danger!

I forced myself to stay calm as every second counted. I had to find Sally's location. I hurriedly called Charles' friends and coworkers, but no one had any clues.

"Charles is on leave today."

"He didn't say where he was going."

The kindergarten teacher's voice came through, saying, "Sally was picked up by her dad this morning."

"Picked up in the morning? Where did they go?" I pressed, but the teacher did not know.

"Oh right, another woman and a little girl followed along at the time."

I quickly leaned forward, my heart racing. "Is the little girl from the same kindergarten? What did she look like?"

"She has blonde and curly hair—"

My stomach dropped. I knew immediately that she was Chloe Rearden's kid.

Chloe had the same blonde, curly hair. She was Charles' first love, his obsession since high school. For Chloe, he sacrificed everything—better university offers, promising job opportunities, even his relationship with his parents.

In the end, Chloe married a wealthy man in a shotgun wedding. When Charles received her wedding invitation, he was devastated. He got drunk, cut himself, and tried to drown himself in the river. Desperate, I jumped in after him. I could not swim and almost drowned myself.

A passerby saved us both. When Charles hugged me after, he said, "Jessica, let's get married."