Chapter 1 Chapter 1 In the prison on the outskirts of Cobridge , the prison guard said , " Inmate 847 , Abigail Gibson . Your family's here to pick you up . Be good from now on . Don't come back . " Abigail mechanically took the storage box the guard handed her and gave a slight nod . She then followed the instructions to change out of her prison uniform and into the clothes she had worn when she arrived . The short - sleeved dress had been sitting in storage for three years . The fabric was faded and worn , with several deep creases in the middle , and it hung loosely on her body . Abigail thought , ' Family ? ' She let out a cold , mocking laugh . Three years ago , the Gibson family had shown up at the orphanage with a paternity test , tearfully claiming that she was their long - lost heiress and brought her back to Cobridge . It wasn't until she got there that Abigail found out her biological parents had adopted another daughter named Daniella Gibson to ease the pain of losing her . The Gibson family had raised Daniella ' like a princess for fifteen years and couldn't bear to let her go . To outsiders , they vaguely claimed Abigail had been sent to a village because of health reasons , while saying Daniella was her younger sister and still the youngest heiress of the Gibson family . But then Daniella hit and killed someone with her car . The Gibson family scolded Abigail , " If you hadn't insisted we go to your graduation ceremony , we wouldn't have missed Dani's performance . She was distracted while driving because of that . This is your fault . You owe her . " Before Abigail could even protest , the Gibson family had already taken care of all the paperwork and thrown her in prison . Abigail thought , ' What family do I even have left ? ' The prison gates slowly opened . Sunlight spilled in from outside , and Abigail squinted against the glare , spotting a man leaning against a car not far away . He wore a beige long trench coat , a stark contrast to Abigail's thin dress , like they belonged to two different worlds . That was Stephen Gibson , her biological second brother . The day she was brought back to the Gibson family , he was the one who'd picked her up , held her in his arms , and told her she'd now be the most cherished treasure of the Gibson household . But later , it was Stephen who pinned down Abigail's hand and forced her to press her fingerprint on the confession letter just to protect Daniella . Seeing Abigail standing still , Stephen walked up to her and reached out to take her bag . " Let's go home . " Abigail gave a bitter smile . When she had first gone to prison , she used to imagine every day that the Gibson family would come to take her home . But in prison , Abigail had been beaten until she vomited blood , starved until she had to crawl on the floor , and locked in the bathroom all night shivering from the cold . She endured all of it and made it through three years , and not once did anyone from the Gibson family come to see her . Now Abigail had finally accepted the truth - that between her and Daniella , the only one the Gibsons ever truly loved was Daniella . Stephen saying " Let's go home " didn't seem to mean much to Abigail anymore , Abigail lowered her eyes and subtly avoided Stephen's hand . Her voice was distant . " No thanks . I can carry it . " Chapter 1 Stephen's hand hung in midair , frozen for a few seconds . The Abigail he remembered was easy to please . As long as he was a little nice to her , she would forget everything unpleasant , call him " Stevie " and cling to him sweetly . Stephen had pictured her crying and thanking him for picking her up . But faced with her indifference , it hit him like a punch to the gut - sharp and suffocating . After all , Abigail was his real sister . Stephen held back his frustration and explained , " Dani's been depressed since the car accident . Her mood's been all over the place . " We've had to take turns staying with her so she wouldn't hurt herself . That's why we didn't come visit you ." As he spoke , something seemed to occur to him . He said , " When you get back , don't stay in the main house . Go live in the nanny Georgia's room for a while , just in case Dani sees you and spirals again . " When Abigail heard that , she only found it ironic . Daniella had killed someone , yet somehow ended up being the one everyone saw as the victim . The whole family took turns looking after Daniella and they were so caught up in it that they forgot about Abigail , their actual flesh and blood sitting in prison. Even now that Abigail was coming home , they were still afraid she might upset Daniella . Abigail thought , ' I don't want this so - called home anymore . They can put me wherever they want - it doesn't matter . ' A breeze passed through . Abigail rubbed her arms to fight the chill and responded in a low voice , " Whatever you see fit . " Aside from that one glance at the beginning , she didn't look at Stephen again . Stephen , however , suddenly remembered when Abigail was twelve . He had gone to pick her up , and she clong to his neck , timidly asking , " Stevie , when I get home , will I have my own room ? " He still remembered what he'd told her back then . He'd responded , " You're the apple of our eye . You'll always stay in the biggest , nicest room ." That room was later given to Daniella . Abigail had cried and threw a fit over it for a long time . But now , it seemed like Abigail didn't care about anything anymore . Stephen's chest tightened like it was stuffed with something heavy and suffocating . He frowned. " If you're not happy about it , just tell me . I've got other properties . I can set you up somewhere else . " Abigail shook her head . " No need to trouble yourself , sir . " That " sir " came from years of keeping her head down and knowing her place in prison . However , Stephen felt a rush of anger building inside . It sat heavy in his chest , hot and unsettled . " You were only in prison for three years , doing just fine . But Dani nearly died multiple times . " You can only blame yourself for dragging us to that stupid graduation ceremony . Dani only got into that accident because of you . She's not complaining , so what are you acting all high and mighty for ? " Did you forget what kind of life you had in the orphanage ? Did we ever let you go without food or clothes under our roof ? Don't be so ungrateful . " If it weren't for the fact that you have to personally call off the engagement with the Fletcher family's heir , you think I'd waste my time picking you up ? " After he said that , Stephen turned without hesitation and slammed the car door shut . He didn't even look at Abigail as he started the engine and drove off without the slightest intention of waiting for her Abigail hadn't expected anyone to pick her up anyway , so she wasn't particularly hurt by it . She just found it ironic . Abigail had thought Stephen came to pick her up out of some sense of blood ties or decency , but it turned out he was only here to make sure she broke off the engagement with the Fletcher family's heir . That engagement had been arranged by Abigail's grandfather , Wyatt , when she was a child . It was originally intended for Daniella . But after Abigail returned , Wyatt insisted on replacing Daniella with Abigail as the one engaged to the Fletcher boy . 12:25 Wed , 18 Jun G @@ Chapter 1 67 % Because of this , everyone hated Abigail for stealing Daniella's Fiancé . Even the Fletcher heir himself , Ralph Fletcher , believed Abigail deliberately came between him and Daniella , and despised her for it . Now , Abigail was someone who'd served three years in prison , while Ralph had taken over the Fletcher family and was now firmly in charge . He was completely out of her league . Abigail thought , ' This engagement should be called off . I have no reason to feel anything about it .' She tightened her grip on the bag in her hand . There was a phone inside , but it had long since run out of battery , along with some spare change she was reluctant to spend on transportation .. Stephen told Abigail to figure it out herself , so she had no choice but to walk . It wasn't until Abigail reached the foot of the hill that she realized Cobridge was no longer the place she remembered . She didn't know which direction the Gibson Villa was in . She tried to find someone to ask , but the moment people saw the way she was dressed , they immediately recognized her as someone freshly released from the prison up the hill . Everyone avoided her like the plague . Abigail felt lost and unsure what to do , so she randomly picked a direction and started walking . Just then , a black sedan slowly pulled up beside her . A man's cool , composed voice came from inside . " Ms. Gibson ."