Julia's face was turning blue as Sharon strangled her.
I cried out, scrambling onto Sharon's back, trying to choke her in return,
"Let go of my mom! Let her go!"
But I was too small, too weak to do any real harm.
So, I did the only thing I could think ofI sank my teeth into her neck, biting down with all my might.
Blood filled my mouth, the taste making me sick, but I didn't let go.
I knew if I did, Julia would die.
Sharon screamed in pain.
Realizing I was getting somewhere, I bit down harder.
She let go of Julia and yanked me off, throwing me to the ground.
I hit the floor hard, unable to move.
My eyes stayed open, watching helplessly as Sharon, in a fit of madness, kicked Julia off the scaffolding.
Julia's terrified scream echoed through the air.
The scaffolding was over ten feet high.
I heard a sickening thud, and thennothing.
I stared up at the sky, tears streaming down my face, unable to stop them.
It was as if the heavens shared our grief.
Rain poured down, drenching everything in sight.
Later, in a haze, I thought I heard Jake's voice.
The next time I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by police asking me questions.
But I was still feverish, unable to remember anything.
The doctors said the trauma had caused temporary amnesia, a defense mechanism to protect myself from the unbearable truth.
Julia's death turned me into a quiet, withdrawn child.
Jake was heartbroken, but for my sake, he picked up the pieces of our lives and moved forward.
Afraid something might happen to me again, he kept me close, taking odd jobs to make ends meet.
He was smart and resourcefulwithin a year, he'd paid off the debts.
He started saving up to launch his own business, determined to rebuild our lives.
Within two years, he succeeded.
Once the company was stable, he took me to France, where I received therapy and continued my studies.
To manage both the business and take care of me, Jake traveled back and forth between the U. S. and France every month.
By the time I turned eighteen, Jake's business had grown so much that he was one of the top ten wealthiest men.
Knowing my passion for jewelry design, he gifted me a jewelry store for my eighteenth birthday.
Then, the housekeeper hired Sharon as a live-in caregiver.
By then, she'd had some plastic surgery done, enough to resemble Julia by about thirty percent.
Jake noticed the similarity and began investigating Sharon, eventually announcing their engagement.
He timed the wedding for when I'd be competing in an international jewelry design contest, to keep me safe and out of the way.
But I was nominated early and didn't need to compete.
I came back secretly, hoping to surprise them with my blessings.
Instead, Sharon mistook me for a homewrecker and beat me mercilessly.
It was during that beating that my childhood memories came flooding back.
Sharon had waited twenty years to get close to Jake, to earn his trust.
She probably thought the kidnapping case had been long forgotten, that no one would ever connect the dots.
But her dreams were about to crumble.
After I was released from the hospital, still in a sling and wrapped in bandages, I took three bodyguards and visited each of the women from Sharon's group at their jobs.
They begged, sobbing,
"Didn't we kneel and apologize to you?"
"I finally found a job after all this, and if you ruin this for me, what am I supposed to do?"
I smiled coldly,
"Did I ever say I'd forgive you?"