The Unhealed Scar"

Every child in Port City knows: cross Tessa Thorne, and you answer to her three guardians.

Danny Cole, my husbandthe citys sharpest lawyer, yet never out-argued me.

Leo Virtue, my childhood friendnow Chief Inspector, who swore to protect me.

Miles, my brotherwho shielded me from the elites cruelty since he was fifteen.

On my 29th birthday, I waited with a positive pregnancy test. But the coroner came instead, bearing news of Miles murder.

Then I saw Danny in courtdefending my brothers killer.

Leo cuffed me to the railing as I screamed.

"Miles is gone," he said coldly. "But Sarahs brother is all she has."

Danny didnt even wait for me to process the betrayal. He held out a settlement agreement, gesturing to the frail, white-clad girl standing beside him.

Tessa. Be good, he commanded, his voice gentle but laced with steel. Sign this. Well say it was all a tragic accident. He looked at the girl, Sarah. When the mudslide hit us on East Mountain, Sarah saved our lives, even at the cost of her own leg. Now, all shes asking is that we save her only family. How can we refuse?

He turned his gaze back to me, and it was cold, unforgiving. We owe her this, Tessa. You are the most important person to us, which means you share in this debt. You will help us repay it.

The words were so monstrous, my mind refused to process them. Just last night, these two men were meticulously planning my birthday party. They were Miless sworn brothers, inseparable since childhood.

And now, with this twisted logic, they were forcing me to forgive my brothers murderer.

I slapped the pen and paper from Dannys hand, my eyes sweeping over the three of themDanny, Leo, and this weeping girl. Miles was stabbed nineteen times. Who in their right mind would call that an accident? I spat. And another thing. Are you two absolutely certain it was Sarah Jenkins who saved you from that mudslide?

Before I could say more, Sarah collapsed to her knees with a pathetic thud. Miss Thorne, Im begging you! My brother is all I have left! she wailed. If you need a life for a life, then take mine! Were just country folk! Our lives aren't worth as much as yours!

Leos face filled with a pained sympathy as he rushed to help her up. Tessa! Youre being cruel! he snapped at me. How can you just stand there and watch an innocent person kneel before you?

Dannys expression was thunderous. Ill be honest with you, Tessa, he said, his voice low and dangerous. Ive already made the calls. Even if you dont sign this, not a single lawyer in this entire city will dare to take your case.

I bit down on my lip, tasting blood.

Fueled by a grief so profound it felt like rage, I twisted my wrist, ignoring the searing pain as bone scraped against steel. With a sickening crack, I wrenched myself free of the handcuff.

Before they could react, I lunged forward and delivered two stinging slaps, one for each of them, across their stunned faces.

Then watch me, I vowed, my voice shaking with a terrible calm. I, Tessa Thorne, will never let my brother die in vain.

For the next three days, I visited every law firm in Port City. All eight hundred of them, from the glitzy downtown towers to the dusty walk-ups in the suburbs.

The answer was always the same, delivered with a mix of pity and fear.

Mrs. Cole, please, dont put me in this position.

With Mr. Coles word out against you if I take your case today, my firm will be shut down by tomorrow.

Desperate, I tried to access my personal fortune, the inheritance Id set aside over the years, to hire the best international litigator money could buy. But the bank delivered another blow. All my assets were legally considered marital property, shared with Danny. He had already filed a motion to have them frozen.

Without his signature, I couldnt touch a single penny.

The deadline to pay the retainer for the overseas lawyer was fast approaching. I, Tessa Thorne, who once had Port City at her beck and call, was reduced to a raving lunatic at a bank tellers window, screaming and begging for my own money.

The banks security guards were swift, pinning my arms behind my back and forcing me to the cold marble floor.

Let go of me! Do you know who I am? I thrashed like a caged animal, my wings clipped, my roars a pathetic display of my own helplessness.

Thats enough. Let her go.

A pair of familiar leather shoes, standing next to a familiar white dress, came into view. I looked up into Dannys cool, controlled eyes.

He had one arm wrapped around Sarah, his gaze a deep, bottomless pit. Tessa, he said, his voice calm. Have you learned your lesson?

He offered me a choice. Accept Sarahs apology and the settlement, or continue to be seen as a madwoman. The choice is yours.

I rubbed my shoulder, which felt close to being dislocated, and slowly pushed myself up from the floor. Unbidden tears of humiliation blurred my vision.

Three years ago. The four of usDanny, Leo, Miles, and Ihad been on a camping trip when the landslide hit. Danny and Leo were buried, knocked unconscious instantly. It was Miles and I who dug them out with our bare hands. We carried them for miles until we stumbled upon Sarah Jenkins, a villager from a nearby hamlet.

We emptied our pockets, giving her every last bit of cash we had, plus a wire transfer of ten thousand dollars, just to convince her to call for an ambulance.

I never knew she had taken credit for what my brother and I did.

And I never, ever imagined that Danny would use that lie to drive us to ruin.

The memory brought a bitter, ironic smile to my lips. I pushed past him, my shoulder brushing against his.

I told you, I whispered, my voice a blade. My brother will not have died in vain.

As I walked away, I heard his furious hiss, and Sarahs saccharine voice attempting to soothe him.

Danny, dont be angry! Ill go apologize to her again! If I beg hard enough, shell have to agree!

No! You will not apologize! Dannys voice was like thunder. If she cant even comprehend this simple act of human decency, then she needs to be taught a lesson she will never forget.

I thought I knew what he meant by a lesson. Freezing my accounts, ensuring I had no legal counselI thought that was the extent of it.

I never imagined that in a single night, Danny and Leo could twist the entire narrative. They destroyed, replaced, and buried every piece of evidence.

They painted my brother, my kind, brave Miles, as a monster. The story they fed the press was that hed attempted to rape Sarah, and her brother had killed him in a heroic act of self-defense.

In front of the news cameras, Danny, representing the killers family, bowed in apology to the supposed victims family. Sarah clung to her smirking, degenerate brother, basking in the citys praise.

The internet erupted. Angry mobs of trolls tore into the Thorne Group, our familys company, exposing every detail, real or fabricated. Our stock plummeted by thirty percent, crippling a company already reeling from the loss of its leader.

The hatred was viral. They attacked my deceased parents, defacing their graves with vile slurs. Some anonymous accounts, their cruelty knowing no bounds, even threatened to livestream the desecration of my brothers body.

Reading the headlines, the world tilted on its axis.

Danny and Leo. The two orphans my family had sponsored since they were boys. For years, they had shown me only their gentlest sides, their unwavering devotion. I had almost forgotten that they had clawed their way to the top using my familys influence as a stepping stone. How could they truly be as kind and gentle as they had always seemed?

In their gilded cage, I had been pampered into a helpless canary, unable to fly.

Have you learned your lesson this time?

Dannys voice, as smooth and captivating as ever, sounded from right behind me. It sent a shiver of pure ice down my spine.

I turned, my eyes swimming with a grief so deep it was desolate. What more do you want from me?

Leo has everything arranged. Tomorrow, the police and I will hold a joint press conference, he said, his tone matter-of-fact. You, as the immediate family member, will publicly offer compensation to the victims family. You will also apologize to Sarah and her brother and drop all legal claims.

He stepped closer, his thumb brushing away a tear I didnt know had fallen. Of course, he added softly, you can still refuse.

He took out his phone and pulled up a live feed from a high-end nursing home.

On the screen was my grandfather.

After my parents died, his health had deteriorated rapidly. He was sustained only by a ventilator, a fragile thread connecting him to life. Even so, his trembling hands were clutching a small, exquisite music box. I could see his lips moving, whispering that it was a birthday gift for his Tessa.

Tears streamed down my face. After losing Miles, my grandfather was my only remaining blood relative.

Youre despicable, Danny, I choked out.

Such a delicate little princess, he mocked. You cant handle even this small amount of pressure? He crooked a finger, tilting my chin up, his voice a low, hypnotic whisper.

Now, tell me, my love. Tomorrow will it be your grandfather, ripped from his life support, who apologizes for you? Or will it be you?

Enough! Stop talking! Ill do it! I screamed the words, the sound tearing from my throat. Danny! I hate you! I hate you so much!

He pulled my collapsing form into his arms, stroking my hair as if to comfort me. There, there. Thats my good wife, he murmured. After tomorrow is over, well go visit him together. Well set his mind at ease.

The next day, the press conference began.

I was a puppet on a string. Under Danny and Leos direction, I knelt. I kowtowed. I apologized to the family of the girl my brother supposedly tried to harm. I knelt and apologized to Sarah and her loathsome brother.

I faced a sea of murderous glares and a barrage of sharp, cruel questions from reporters.

Is it true Miles Thorne had a history of abusing women? As his sister, were you aware of this?

We hear the girl he attacked bears a striking resemblance to you. Was she a substitute for you, Miss Thorne?

What was the nature of your relationship with your brother? Was it inappropriate?

The flashing cameras were like a thousand tiny knives, flaying me alive.

Sarahs brother, Aaron, whistled lewdly. Yeah, thats right! The bastard was thinking about his sisters birthday even as he was dying! Sounds pretty damn inappropriate to me! he jeered. And look at her, wearing a dress to a press conference. Cant keep away from men, can she? A total slut!

My body shook with rage. I was about to launch myself at him, to tear that smirk off his face, when Dannys hand clamped down on my shoulder.

He held up his phone, the image of my grandfathers frail form on the ventilator flashing before my eyes.

I could only dig my nails into my palms, forcing the tears back, forcing myself into submission.

Seeing me sway on my knees, Sarah moved to help me up, a picture of false kindness. But out of the cameras view, she rolled her eyes in triumph and whispered in my ear, her voice dripping with venom.

You had your chance to accept my apology, princess. Now, you get to be the sister of a monster for the rest of your life.

As she pulled me up, she dug her nails sharply into my waist. The pain was so sudden I cried out, which only incited the crowd.

Look at her! The bitch still isnt sorry! Lets teach her a real lesson!

That was all it took. The loose security line broke, and the mob surged forward. The victims family, strangers, everyone swarmed the stage, their fists and feet raining down on me.

Danny! Leo! Help me! I screamed. Then a new terror, sharper than any other, seized me. No! Please! My baby!

But my voice was lost in the roar of the crowd.

The last thing I saw before my world went black was Danny and Leo, my guardians, my protectors, shielding Sarah as they escaped the chaos.