The grandfather clock in the marble foyer chimed three times, its deep echoing chime filling the silent hallways of the sprawling New York estate. Down the hall, six-year-old Lily stood frozen beside a stack of brown cardboard boxes. Her tiny fingers clutched the faded blue bunny her father had bought her the day her mother passed away. She wiped a hot tear from her pale cheek, her small shoulders trembling as she stared at the tall, glamorous woman towering over her.

Selena: Stop sniveling, you little brat. You think those tears are going to work on me?

Lily: Please, Miss Selena... where are my dresses? Where is my picture of Mommy?

Selena: Your mommy is dead, and your dresses are in the trash where they belong. After the wedding today, you're going to an orphanage!

Lily: No! Daddy said... Daddy said this was my home forever!

Selena: Your daddy does whatever I tell him to do. Once I sign that marriage certificate, I own this house, his estate, and every single dollar in his bank account. And there is no room for a useless stepdaughter in my sight.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her back against the cold white wall. She could hear the heavy footsteps of her father, Mark, approaching from the master bedroom at the end of the corridor. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she prayed he would save her from the cold-hearted woman who was about to become his wife.

Selena: You better keep your mouth shut when he walks in here, or I'll make sure you don't even get to keep that stupid stuffed animal.

Mark: What is going on out here? Lily, why are you crying?

Lily: Daddy! Daddy, when do I have to leave?!

Mark: Leave? What are you talking about, baby? You're not going anywhere.

Evelyn: Mark, thank God you came out! Selena has already empty-handed your daughter's room!

Mark paused, his eyes widening in complete shock as he noticed his mother, Evelyn, standing near the doorway. She held a small white box filled with Lily's remaining winter clothes, her hand shaking with pure indignation as she glared at the bride. Selena smoothly turned around, adjusting her diamond-embroidered lace veil, a wicked smirk playing on her lips before she quickly painted on a fake, sorrowful expression.

Selena: Darling, don't be ridiculous. Your mother is just being dramatic. I was only helping Lily clear out her old baby stuff so we could hire an interior designer for her new room.

Evelyn: That is a bold-faced lie! I just heard you tell this innocent child she was being sent away to a state shelter!

Mark: Selena... tell me you didn't say that to my daughter.

Selena: Mark, sweetheart, listen to me. She's a child, she misinterpreted what I said! Why would I ever do such a thing on our wedding day?

Lily: She threw Mommy's picture in the box, Daddy! She said after the wedding I wouldn't live here anymore!

Mark took two rapid strides forward, his face flushed with immediate fury. Before Selena could take another breath to spout her lies, Mark grabbed her slender arm tightly, his fingers digging into the silk of her bridal gown. A sharp, stinging slap echoed through the grand hallway as Mark's hand struck her face, sending her stumbling back against the glass display case.

Selena: How dare you strike me! I'm your bride!

Mark: You packed the wrong person! Get out of my house right now!

The heavy diamond ring slid from Selena's finger as Mark violently ripped it off, letting it shatter against the marble floor. But as Selena fell back into the ruined glass display, a folded brown document slipped out from inside her silk robe—a document that would reveal the dark, dangerous scheme she had been hiding all along.