Prologue
The day Grace was released from prison, two men were waiting for her.
One of them sent her to prison, and the other one convicted her.
The snow was very heavy that day. They looked like two snowmen waiting outside the prison.
Grace vowed in her heart, she’d make everyone pay their price.
***
“Grace, get yourself a job and be a good person out there.”
The prison guard opened the gate and told her so.
Grace nodded. Through the iron bar on the prison window, she saw two black cars parked out of the gate. Waiting for her.
They were Jacob’s Benz G-Wagon and Sean’s Porsche Panamera.
Heavy snow has caused total chaos on the roads. Jacob and Sean were standing quietly in front of their cars.
Sean held a black umbrella and stared at the gate. Jacob kept looking at his watch.
One of them was Grace’s ex-boyfriend, and the other one was her childhood best friend.
How affectionate and caring they looked! If they hadn’t sent Grace to prison and told the other inmates to “take good care” of her, maybe she would be moved to tears.
Five years ago, Grace went to confront Lily Atkinson, and her sister Jennifer Atkinson was also there. In an unfortunate turn of events, Jennifer Atkinson died. Although it was a terrible accident, the court still decided to sentence Grace to three years in prison.
Lily dragged her sister’s lifeless body out of the car and called the police. Sean arrived soon after.
“Sean, your girlfriend killed my sister!” Lily sat on the ground and cried out.
Sean’s first reaction was to push Grace down onto the ground in case she ran away.
But Grace was already too weak to resist because she’d also been hurt. What’s more… she was pregnant with Sean’s baby.
“How could you be so evil?!” When Jacob rushed over, his eyes were blood shot as he questioned Grace.
Before Grace could explain to the two most important men in her life, she was handcuffed by the police.
In court, Lily’s lawyer was Jacob, Grace’s childhood best friend, another blow to her heart.
Jacob blamed everything on Grace. She was convicted of reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
“Grace, you deserve this. People have to pay for their mistakes,” he said.
When Grace first got into prison, she was beaten constantly. She was beaten in places without security cameras and had her nails pulled out. She was yanked by the hair and pressed into toilets. Her back was always being kicked, and it was bruised all the time.
They even broke the bones in her finger, one by one.
At first, Grace didn’t know why. She was always stubborn and didn’t cry when they hit her.
But after a while, Grace found out why they picked on her exclusively. Grace sucked up to one of the female bosses in prison. She would wash her feet, give her massages, and even do her laundry. Finally, she gained the trust of the female boss, and she told Grace why.
“Girl, you poor little thing. Someone paid us to beat you.”
Grace knew who it was then in that instant. Sean.
This was the man who ordered two hundred drones to spell out “I LOVE YOU” in the night sky when he was pursuing her.
He said, “Grace, I will protect you from now on.”
***
Upon seeing their cars outside the prison gates, Grace begged the prison guard to let her leave from the back door, to avoid seeing either of their faces.
Besides, what if they were still angry with her and wanted to take their revenge?
I am nothing compared to them. I can’t afford to provoke them, but at least I can hide. Grace thought to herself.
In a trance, Grace remembered her confrontation with Lily. Lily stood in front of Grace while holding her dog and shouted, “My dog is worth 70,000 dollars. How much is your grandfather’s life worth?”
When Grace was three, her mother died and her father remarried. He abandoned her so her grandfather raised her all by himself.
Her grandfather worked night and day collecting junk and empty bottles for recycling.
When Grace was in junior high, she moved to the city from the countryside and lived in a small rental apartment. Her grandfather told her that they could make more money in the city because there was more junk to collect.
But Grace knew the true reason why her grandfather wanted her to go to school in the city.
The children in the city had shiny hairpins, and Grace wanted them too.
Grace’s grandfather once stood outside a small accessories store for hours, then he finally went inside to buy the expensive shiny hairpin for Grace.
financial aid to students from poverty-stricken families, Grace’s teacher Mrs. Green helped her apply for it. That’s when Grace met Jacob, Mrs. Green’s son, whom she asked to make friends
the best scores at school. He occasionally helped Grace with her studies. She was clever and studious, so
Green, but he didn’t
Green lived in a small cottage. Her grandfather swept the garden while Jacob and Grace did their homework and played in the
to Grace’s grandfather, “Your little granddaughter is so beautiful
good. We don’t deserve him,” he rubbed
he didn’t
back to the countryside. He didn’t let Grace go back with
Grace saw him begging friends
that she would grow up to be a top lawyer
the best grandfather that anyone could have asked for,
***
Grace started dating Sean of the rich and powerful Stevens family. Suddenly, her father wanted to be in her life again,
a nice young man.
her grandfather said the day she took
now. A big girl should have beautiful dresses.
junk to
told him not to, many times. He was getting too
winter three years
by an unleashed dog in the park when
on the spot and
She said it
to a fracture of the cervical spine and spinal damage, he
of money to the hospital, so she went to Lily for
of Grace and said arrogantly, “You are Sean’s girlfriend? You didn’t get money from him, so you came to
of your idiot grandfather, I
your grandpa are just a bunch of country bumpkin. You
She really couldn’t. So, she slapped Lily across
fight. Jennifer, who was Lily’s sister, saw this and
her car and wanted to drive away, but Jennifer chased after her in her fancy convertible. That’s when the
escape. Her grandfather was in the hospital,
hoped that at
the side of Jennifer
Grace was detained, she heard that her grandfather had been in the ICU
life, and he didn’t want to be a burden
lying on the ice-cold ground
her grandfather…
in prison, Lily went to
been obedient. Guess
dog didn’t know anything, he only followed his owner’s orders, and his owner’s
hated Grace because she was dating
while she was in prison. She blamed herself for the death of her grandfather. Lily would’ve never harmed her
came back to life, and he told her how she was a good girl. Grace knew then it was just a dream because she was not a good girl like her
any shinny hairpins or any nice dresses, and she
thing she wants is just to have her
***
Grace opened her eyes suddenly. Only then did she realize that she had
down at
and multiple fractures and broken bones, her hands would never look or
had grown back, but the prison doctors hadn’t gone out of their way to
joints looked distorted, and she had residual
movements that she
especially when it was cold or
flexed her hands and breathed
It’s okay. You’re okay.
is a
she stood up
the memories threatened
than just her freedom in
future. Her boyfriend.
and everything she’d cared about was gone in
and most powerful families in
It’s okay. You’re okay.
is a new
You don’t need anybody.
mopping
bright-colored work suit of a sanitation worker with her long hair tied into a
in a mirror on the wall. Her delicate face was slightly reddish due to the cold weather, and her
were to only look at her face, you would think she was a student who had just graduated
how cruel the
eyes that stared back at her were old, far
the cleaning supplies toward the
down for a few minutes
meant to drift off
an eye on the time, she moved quickly and efficiently to clean the
she left
she was about to leave, she heard a colleague watching