Chapter 1
Chapter One — Before Everything Changed
Sienna was eight years old when she first learned that some people could make a house feel like home.
For her, that person was her mother.
Her mother had a way of making even the smallest things feel special. Whenever Sienna came home from school upset, she would sit beside her, brush the hair away from her face, and listen until Sienna had nothing left to say.
One rainy afternoon, Sienna came home with tears in her eyes.
Her teacher had scolded her in front of the entire class, and although Sienna tried to pretend it didn’t bother her, her mother knew immediately.
“What happened to my little girl?” her mother asked softly.
“Nothing.”
Her mother smiled. “You always say nothing when something is wrong.”
Sienna finally started crying.
Her mother pulled her into a hug and held her until the tears stopped.
That evening, she surprised Sienna with a tiny chocolate cake.
It wasn’t perfect. The icing was uneven, and one side was slightly burnt.
But to Sienna, it was the best cake in the world.
“Make a wish,” her mother whispered.
Sienna closed her eyes.
“I wish you will always be with me.”
Her mother’s smile disappeared for just a second.
Then she hugged Sienna tightly.
“I’ll always be with you.”
Sienna believed her.
She had no reason not to.
For the next few years, her mother was her safe place. Whenever Sienna was scared, she ran to her. Whenever she had a bad day, she told her everything. And whenever the world felt too big, her mother’s arms made it feel small again.
Until one day, everything changed.
Her mother began getting tired.
At first, Sienna didn’t think much of it.
Her mother stopped making breakfast sometimes. She spent more time in bed and moved around the house slowly.
One morning, Sienna found her sitting at the kitchen table, pressing a hand against her chest.
“Mummy?”
Her mother quickly lowered her hand.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Are you sick?”
“No.” She forced a smile. “I’m just tired.”
“You’ve been tired for a long time.”
Her mother reached for her hand.
“I’ll be fine.”
Sienna believed her again.
A week later, her father took her mother to the hospital.
Sienna stayed home, waiting.
Hours passed.
The front door finally opened.
Her father walked inside alone.
Sienna ran toward him.
“Where’s Mummy?”
He didn’t answer.
She looked at his face and noticed his eyes were red.
“Daddy?”
He slowly knelt in front of her.
“Sienna…”
Her heart began beating faster.
“What happened?”
Her father pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry.”
She pushed away from him.
“Where is Mummy?”
His voice broke.
“She died.”
For a moment, Sienna didn’t understand.
“No.”
“Sienna—”
“No!”
She ran upstairs.
Her mother’s room was exactly the way she had left it. The bed was neatly made. Her perfume still sat on the table. A cardigan was hanging over the chair.
Sienna climbed onto the bed and waited.
She waited for her mother to walk through the door.
She waited for her to smile.
She waited for her to say that Daddy had made a mistake.
But she never came.
Three days later, Sienna stood beside a coffin she didn’t want to look at.
Everyone around her was crying.
She hated them for crying.
She hated the flowers.
She hated the black clothes.
Most of all, she hated the coffin.
“Mummy,” she whispered.
Her father’s hand tightened around hers.
“I want to go home.”
He pulled her closer.
“I know.”
“I want my mummy.”
Her father closed his eyes.
“I know, baby.”
For almost a year after that, Sienna and her father became inseparable.
He took her to school every morning. He remembered her favorite foods. He tried to make her laugh even when he was hurting too.
Sometimes, Sienna would wake up in the middle of the night and quietly walk into his room.
“Daddy?”
He would lift the blanket without saying anything.
She would crawl beside him.
“I miss Mummy.”
“I miss her too.”
“Do you think she misses us?”
He kissed the top of her head.
“I know she does.”
Sienna would close her eyes and pretend everything was still normal.
But time had a way of changing people.
Two years later, her father began coming home late.
At first, Sienna didn’t ask questions.
Then she noticed things.
A different perfume on his jacket.
A smile she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Phone calls he would take outside.
One evening, Sienna was sitting in the living room when her father walked in.
He looked happier than usual.
“Sienna,” he said.
She looked up from her book.
“Yes?”
“There is someone I want you to meet.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“Her name is Victoria.”
The woman who entered the house a few days later was beautiful.
Elegant.
Confident.
She wore expensive clothes and smiled like she already belonged there.
Sienna watched her carefully.
Her father seemed happy around her.
That was enough for Sienna to try.
When Victoria smiled at her, Sienna smiled back.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Sienna.”
Sienna wanted so badly to believe this could work.
She wanted another person to love.
Someone who could make the house feel warm again.
So one night, after hearing her father say that Victoria would soon become part of their family, Sienna gathered enough courage to ask a question.
“Can I call you Mom?”
Victoria’s expression changed.
Just slightly.
But Sienna noticed.
“No,” Victoria said.
Sienna froze.
Victoria sighed.
“I’m not your mother, Sienna.”
The words hurt more than Sienna expected.
She nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
She walked away before Victoria could see her eyes fill with tears.
She didn’t know it yet, but Victoria wasn’t the only person who would make her feel unwanted.
Victoria had a daughter.
A girl the same age as Sienna.
Her name was Isabella.
And from the moment Isabella entered Sienna’s life, everything would begin to change.
Because Isabella wasn’t coming into Sienna’s home to become the sister Sienna had always wished for.
She was coming to become Sienna’s greatest enemy.
