I used to be one of the top deep-sea divers in North America. Eight years ago, Sophia—the adopted daughter my parents treasured more than anything—caused a fellow diver’s death underwater so she could keep all the gold from a sunken ship for herself. After it happened, my husband Ryan forced me to sign a confession and take the blame in order to protect her. I was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Later, I got out early for good behavior. Now, I make a living gutting fish at a seafood market in Seattle. Until one evening, while I was standing there cleaning a tuna with my head down, my parents and my ex-husband came storming toward me like they’d lost their minds. My mother, Laura, dropped to her knees on the blood-slick floor covered in fish scales and melted ice, shaking as she sobbed. “Rosalind! Sophia went diving an hour ago, and she still hasn’t come back up!” “You’re the best diver in the country. Please—you have to save her!” My father Richard’s face was pale as he grabbed my arm with a death grip. “You’re the only one who can save her now!” And Ryan—my ex-husband—actually pulled out our old wedding ring and forced it back onto my finger. His eyes were red as he looked at me, his voice trembling. “Rosalind, if you bring Sophia back, I’ll remarry you.” I said nothing. I just instinctively touched the hearing aid in my right ear. Had they forgotten? Back then, all they could see was Sophia. They called me the real murderer. My father had even slapped me so hard he ruptured my eardrum. Since then, I’ve been permanently deaf in my right ear. The doctor had warned me clearly. With my current condition, if I went deep diving again, the pressure underwater could very likely cause a cerebral hemorrhage. I would die. … “Don’t be so damn ungrateful, Rosalind!” The market manager, Mary, suddenly snapped at me coldly. She’d always loved sucking up to rich people. Now she was practically bowing to Ryan and my parents with a flattering smile plastered across her face. But the second she looked at me, all that remained was contempt. “Mr. Miller and Mr. Carter are important people in Seattle.” “You’re just a fish seller. What are you acting so high and mighty for? If you save her, you’ll get money and your old life back. Why are you still making such a big deal out of this?” The people around us, clueless about the truth, immediately started whispering. “Isn’t that her sister? She’s really just going to let her die?” “Probably thinks the money isn’t enough.” “I heard she used to be a murderer.” Their stares pierced into me like needles. And the cruelest part was this— I was the one whose life had been destroyed. I was the one forced to take the fall for Sophia. Yet even now, everyone still believed I was the villain. I pulled off the ring and shoved it back into Ryan’s hand. Then I pointed to my hearing aid. “It’s not that I won’t save her.” “My ear is permanently damaged.” “If I force myself underwater, I could suffer a brain hemorrhage. I’ll die.” My mother Laura froze for a second. But in the very next moment, she collapsed onto the filthy floor covered in fish scales and dirty water and burst into hysterical sobs. “You spent eight years in prison, and you’re still this selfish?!” “You’d even fake a disability just to avoid responsibility!” “That’s Sophia! She’s your sister!” Father looked at me with utter disappointment. “How did I end up with a daughter like you?” “You’d leave someone to die and still stand here lying through your teeth. You’re vicious beyond belief.” Ryan’s eyes were bloodshot. Panicked, he dug a bank card out of his bag and shoved it into my hands. “Rosalind, I’m begging you…” “There’s five million dollars in that account.” “If you bring Sophia back, I’ll give you anything you want.” “We can even get remarried!” Hot tears splashed onto the back of my hand. But all I felt was unbearable pain. I suffered through eight years in prison, and Ryan never visited me once. And now, after finally seeing me again— it was still for Sophia. Still for the real killer. I swallowed the storm of emotions rising in my chest and pulled a medical report from my pocket. The diagnosis was written there in black and white: 【Severe Eardrum Perforation. Deep-Sea Diving Strictly Prohibited.】 But Ryan didn’t even look at it. He slapped the report out of my hand and completely lost control. “Enough!” “Rosalind, don’t you just want money? Name your price and I’ll pay it!” “Sophia doesn’t have time left! I’m begging you, okay?!” The next second, Mary suddenly rushed over and flipped my entire fish stall onto the ground. Fish and ice crashed everywhere. “Get out, you murderer!” “Don’t pollute our market!” “If you refuse to save her today, then don’t ever come back here again!” The crowd immediately joined in. Some spat at me and threw rotten vegetables. Others pulled out their phones to record. “Get out!” “Murderer!” “People like you don’t deserve to live!” I lowered my eyes to the medical report lying on the ground, smeared with dirt and footprints. And for the first time, everything felt absurd beyond words. For the past eight years, I had already lost everything. All I wanted was to live like a normal person. So why— why were they still refusing to let me go?
The feeling of being attacked from all sides nearly crushed me. I couldn’t stay there another second. I could only shove through the crowd and flee the seafood market in humiliation. All the way home, strangers held up their phones and filmed me. Those looks of disgust, contempt, and hatred cut into me like knives. By the time I made it back to my tiny rental apartment, my back was already drenched in cold sweat. But before I could even catch my breath, my phone suddenly began vibrating nonstop. News notifications flooded the screen one after another. #MurdererSisterRefusesToSaveMissingDiver# #HeiressInCriticalDangerAsBiologicalDaughterColdlyStandsBy# #RyanOffersFiveMillionRewardToFindExWifeDiverAndSaveFiancée# I froze. Then I tapped on one of the livestream links. On the screen, Ryan was standing by the ocean. The sea wind whipped through his hair. That face I had once loved so desperately now looked twisted with anguish. In front of the cameras, my mother Laura was crying so hard she could barely stand. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry everyone… for taking up public resources…” “But I really have no other choice…” “Eight years ago, Rosalind caused a diver’s death over gold and was sentenced to prison. I thought she’d changed after all these years…” “I never expected her to still be this cold-hearted…” “Now Sophia’s life is hanging by a thread. Rosalind could save her, but she’s hiding on purpose and refusing to come out…” Father held Laura upright and bowed deeply toward the camera. “Please help us.” “If anyone can find Rosalind, we’re willing to offer a one-million-dollar reward.” The livestream exploded instantly. Comments flooded the screen at terrifying speed. “Expose her!” “People like this deserve punishment!” “Anyone know where she lives? Let’s drag this bitch out together!” “Trash like her should die!” My hands turned colder and colder around my phone. I had never imagined— they would take things this far. Just then— violent banging suddenly erupted outside my door. BANG! BANG! BANG! Before I could react, the already rotting wooden door was kicked open. My landlord stormed in with a crowd of people behind him. Dozens of phone flashlights instantly lit up my face. “They found her!” “She really was hiding here!” “Damn, she looks harmless, but she’s actually a murderer!” They flooded into my tiny apartment. My table was overturned. Dishes shattered across the floor. Someone deliberately dumped garbage onto my bed. I tried to stop them, but two large men pinned me down immediately. “Stay still!” “Apologize to your parents!” “Say you’re a bitch! Say you betrayed your sister!” Humiliation swallowed me whole like a tidal wave. My hair was yanked back as they forced me onto my knees. Phone cameras were shoved inches from my face. And then— the crowd suddenly parted on its own. My parents walked in. For one ridiculous moment, I actually thought— they were finally willing to believe me. But the next second, Father’s face darkened as he pulled out a thick coil of rope from behind his back. He glared at me through clenched teeth. “Tie her up!” “If she won’t go willingly, then drag her there!” I jerked my head up, almost unable to believe what I was hearing. “Dad?! Do you even hear yourself?!” “I already told you my ear is damaged! I can’t dive! I’ll die!” Then I turned desperately toward my mother. “Mom… doesn’t my life matter too?” “For Sophia, are you really willing to force me to my death?” Laura’s reddened eyes avoided mine, hesitation flashing briefly across her face. But only for a moment. Soon, that hesitation was replaced by cold resolve. “Sophia may not be our biological daughter.” “But she’s a thousand times kinder than you ever were.” “For the past eight years, she stayed by our side and took care of us in your place!” “And what about you?” “You’re a murderer who went to prison!” It felt like my heart was being torn open. So in their eyes, the daughter who sacrificed eight years of her life for Sophia was nothing but a stain. Disposable trash they could throw away at any moment. “I didn’t kill anyone!” I struggled violently and screamed the words out. “There was more to what happened back then!” “Why won’t any of you ever believe me?!” But no one cared. And just as despair was about to swallow me whole— Ryan suddenly walked in from outside. There was a high-voltage stun baton in his hand. Those eyes that once looked at me with tenderness were now terrifyingly cold. “Rosalind, don’t force me.” “For Sophia, there’s nothing I won’t do.” The next second, without a moment of hesitation, he slammed the stun baton hard into my back. Violent electricity tore through my body instantly. My entire body convulsed. And then my vision went completely black.
When I opened my eyes again, I had already been thrown onto the deck of a salvage ship. All around me was the dark, violent ocean. The freezing sea wind lashed endlessly against my face. My entire body still felt numb, and the sting from the electric shock lingered across my back. Ryan stood in front of me. His expensive coat whipped wildly in the wind. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with agitation. “Quit pretending to be unconscious.” “Get in the water and bring Sophia back up.” When I still didn’t respond, he clenched his jaw and softened his tone slightly. “Rosalind, I’ve already hired a lot of divers, but none of them are as capable as you. Even the coast guard can’t compare.” “Just listen to me. If you save her, I’ll remarry you.” “You’ll never have to do that filthy kind of work again.” Filthy. The moment I heard that word, my heart twisted painfully. Half a year ago, when I first got out of prison, I had still foolishly believed things might return to the way they were before. That night, I secretly went back to the family villa. Through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, I saw the house glowing with warm light. My parents, Ryan, and Sophia were gathered around the dining table, laughing as they raised their glasses together. Like a real, happy family. And me— I stood outside in the snow like a homeless stray. A ruined woman who had spent eight years in prison for someone else. A criminal abandoned by the entire world. I didn’t even have the courage to walk through the door. That was the moment I finally understood. From beginning to end, there had never been a place for me in that family. … Slowly, I came back to myself. My eyes landed unintentionally on a photograph in Ryan’s hand. It was a candid shot from a beach volleyball game. In the picture, Sophia stood in the middle of the crowd wearing a fitted diving tank top, smiling brilliantly beneath the sun. But the most glaring thing— was the scar on her right shoulder. My pupils contracted violently. And in an instant, my memories were dragged back ten years. Back then, I was the captain of the diving team. Ryan and Sophia were both on my team. That day, a sudden underwater current hit without warning. The situation turned deadly in seconds. I immediately signaled everyone to retreat. But the accident still happened. In the chaos, I shoved Ryan and Sophia toward safety with everything I had. And then I was swept away by the current myself. Later, I was rescued from a deserted island after being unconscious for three full days. When I finally returned home, Sophia was the first to rush over and throw her arms around me, crying so hard her face was soaked with tears. “Rosalind! You’re finally back!” “This is all my fault…” “If I hadn’t failed to hold onto you, none of this would’ve happened…” “Thank God I managed to save Ryan…” At the time, I hadn’t noticed anything strange. Not until now. Only now did I finally understand. During the three days I was missing, Sophia had stolen my place and become Ryan’s savior. And I— became the person responsible for putting everyone in danger. No wonder Ryan later destroyed my life for her without hesitation. So everything had already gone wrong that long ago. How ridiculous. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms, my voice hoarse. “I already told you…” “I can’t dive anymore!” “My ear can’t handle deep-sea pressure!” “I’ll die from a brain hemorrhage!” Ryan’s expression visibly shifted. For a brief second, hesitation flickered across his eyes. But the very next moment, Father suddenly stormed over and kicked me hard in the chest. “Enough!” “How long are you going to keep pretending?!” “Rosalind, you’re rotten to the core! You’re nothing but trash!” “You’d even fake a disability just to avoid responsibility!” The force of the kick sent me crashing onto the deck. Pain exploded through my chest so violently I could barely breathe. Not far away, Mother Laura had already broken down completely. “Oh God…” “Sophia is such a kind girl…” “If something really happened to her, what would we do…” She knelt on the deck with her hands clasped together, praying over and over. But her prayers had never once been for me. All she wanted was for Sophia to come back alive. I looked at this so-called family in front of me— and suddenly, all of it felt absurd beyond words. Just then, the captain hurried over. “Mr. Miller.” “According to the tracking data, Ms. Sophia disappeared in this area.” “Based on the timing, her oxygen supply can last thirty more minutes at most.” That sentence completely shattered the last thread of Ryan’s restraint. He spun around and roared at the bodyguards. “What the hell are you waiting for?!” “Put the diving gear on Rosalind!”
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