Anastasia could never bring herself to admit-especially in front of her son—that those sounds she made were just the natural overflow of happiness.


    And really, it wasn''t even crying.


    It was just joy, pure and instinctive.


    Afterwards, little Nancy snuggled up and asked sweetly, "Mommy, were you crying?"


    "Mommy wasn''t crying," Anastasia shot Herman a side-eye and quickly changed the subject. "Nancy, it''ste. Time to put away the phone and head to bed."


    Herman, feeling content, summoned his best dad-voice. "Nancy, that''s enough screen time. Hand the phone over."


    "Okay, Daddy." Nancy obediently passed him the phone, then curled up in Anastasia''s arms and closed her eyes.


    While Herman went to shower, Anastasia started telling their son a bedtime story. He was so focused, and every time she paused, he''d peek open his eyes and say, "Mommy, keep telling it!"


    Anastasia just had tough—this little guy really didn''t want to sleep.


    “Alright, alright, I''ll keep going,” she said, and continued the story.


    Holding her warm, sweet son close, Anastasia was overwhelmed with happiness.


    As long as he wasn''t getting into trouble, she just loved him to pieces.


    But in this world, where there are happy people, there are always those less fortunate too.


    The next morning, at the Stranz family estate-


    Ever since Juliana''s miscarriage, she''d been a shadow of her former self: withdrawn, suspicious, always on edge.


    If Scott ever came homete or spent too long on a business trip, she''d immediately start thinking the worst.


    Her need to control everything was stifling. Even during the holidays, the house felt cold and joyless. Scott, pushed to his limit, had taken off on a business trip to Europe and wouldn''t be back until after the new year.


    It wasn''t hard to see-Scott was avoiding her.


    Justin had gone back to the port city. Layna kept up her perfect-daughter act around Juliana, but behind her back, she was as bossy and unruly as ever.


    Most days, Juliana barely got out of bed before noon. She wandered downstairs in pajamas, hair a mess, face unwashed.


    As she reached the stairs where her ident had happened, she hesitated, a shadow falling over her heart.


    Standing at the top, the memory of tumbling down yed in her mind.


    All these years, she''d never fallen on these steps. She carefully put her foot on the first stair—nothing felt off.


    She''d always been so careful, especially after getting pregnant. So what happened that day? How did she fall?


    Doubt gnawed at her. She crouched down, inspecting the steps, running her hand over them—nothing. But she remembered—they''d felt slippery.


    And yet, the stairs had anti-slip treads. Why would they feel slick?


    The more she thought about it, the more stuck she felt her head started to pound.


    Layna peeked out of her room, spotting Juliana examining the steps. She froze, caught between fear and guilt, and quickly ducked back out of sight.


    Did Aunt Juliana figure something out?


    “Juliana! Juliana!" came a shrill voice.


    It was her mother-inw, Mrs. Goad.


    Mrs. Goad stormed in, fuming. Juliana went downstairs and asked, "Mother, what is


    it?"


    Juliana''s resentment bubbled up—she could never forgive Mrs. Goad for signing off on the surgery that took away her womb.


    "Look at you a mess, totally


    unkempt. Is this how thedy of the Stranz house is supposed to look? If you don''t want to be my


    Don''t just sit here takine


    daughter-inw, just step aside


    up space and doing nothing," Mrs. Goad snapped. "It''s the holidays, and my son won''t evene home because of you. Tell me, what good are you?"


    She was clearly here just to unload her anger.


    Juliana''s face flushed with fury. "Why are you ming me? He wants to leave-I can''t stop him. His legs work just fine! None of you are ever satisfied with me. You''re all just waiting for me and Scott to split up, aren''t you?"


    "If I were a man, I wouldn''t want to stay in this house either," Mrs. Goad shot back, her words sharp as knives. "What do you even do for the Strang family? You can''t give us an heir you can''t take care of you husband-honestly, a hen cany a couple of eggs, what about you?"


    "If you hadn''t forced the doctor to take my womb, I''d still be able to have kids if you want me out of this family, keep dreaming Juliana fired back, Standing her ground. Your family owes me. I might not have children, but I have Layna she''s my daughter now, and always will be."