Everyone thought the Carter sisters were close.

But that was before jealousy turned deadly.

Emily Carter, the older sister, was gentle, calm, and engaged to a man everyone adored:
Lucas Bennett — a charming, successful software engineer from Seattle.

Emily glowed with happiness.

Her younger sister, Madison Carter, burned with envy.

Madison was beautiful, impulsive, and used to getting everything she wanted. But Lucas never even glanced her way. His world revolved around Emily.

And that planted a seed — a dark one.

---

THE SCHEME

Two months before Emily and Lucas’s wedding, Madison overheard Lucas say:

“I’m planning a surprise honeymoon for Emily — private, remote, arranged through a special travel agency. She’ll love it.”

Remote.
Secluded.
No witnesses.

Madison’s mind spun.

And she made a plan — cold, selfish, and cruel.

She bribed a handler in the “travel agency.”
She forged documents.
And she arranged for Emily to be picked up early, “for a surprise pre-honeymoon experience.”

Emily climbed into the black SUV smiling, asking nothing, trusting everyone.

She never made it to the airport.

Madison had her sister trafficked across the northern border — disappearance disguised as an abduction.

Emily was gone.

Lucas was shattered.

Madison stayed by his side every day, comforting him, whispering doubt, twisting the knife:

“Maybe Emily wasn’t ready for marriage… maybe she wanted freedom.”

“Lucas, you deserve someone who truly loves you.”

And grief made him weak.

Six months later, he proposed to Madison.

And she — triumphant — said yes.

She thought she had won.

She had no idea the universe had prepared a punishment she could never escape.

---

THE WEDDING NIGHT

The honeymoon suite at the Harborview Grand Hotel sparkled with rose petals and candlelight.

Madison spun in her white satin robe, flushed with victory.
Emily was gone. Lucas was hers.

Lucas, however, stood by the window, silent, tense, strangely distant.

“Lucas?” she whispered, slipping her arms around his waist. “Talk to me.”

He finally looked at her — but not with love.

With something colder.

“I’ve been keeping something from you,” he said.

Madison’s stomach flipped.
“…What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, he picked up a white envelope from the dresser and placed it in her hands.

“Open it.”

Madison slowly pulled out the paper.

It was a DNA test.

She frowned.
“What is this?”

“A test,” Lucas said. “I took it three weeks ago.”

“For what?”

“For biological relatives in the U.S.”
He inhaled deeply.
“I uploaded my DNA to a national database.”

A cold ripple ran through her.

She scanned the results.

HER HEART STOPPED.

At the top:

Relative Match: 99.98% — Full Sibling

MATCH FOUND:
EMILY CARTER — Biological Sister

Madison’s knees nearly gave out.

“W-what? That’s impossible— Emily was your fiancée!”

Lucas’s jaw tightened.

“Because we didn’t know.”

He looked like the truth was suffocating him.

“I was adopted at age four. My records were sealed. I had no idea who my biological family was until I submitted that test.”

“No…” Madison whispered, backing up. “No, that can’t be real—”

“That’s why Emily disappeared,” Lucas said darkly.
“She must have found out. She was terrified. Confused. She vanished the same week she visited the genealogy office.”

Madison froze.

She hadn’t planned for this.

She planned for Emily to vanish with her secret —
not for Emily’s disappearance to reveal a new one.

Lucas continued:

“But that’s not all.”

He pressed a button on the TV remote.

A paused video appeared.

Madison’s throat closed.

No.
No, no, no—

It was security footage.
From the border.
From the night Emily disappeared.

Emily being forced into a van.
Men exchanging money.
And one woman handing over cash in a black cap and mask…

Carrying Madison’s handbag.

Lucas’s voice cracked like ice.

“I received this footage two nights ago.”

Madison’s blood ran cold.

“I—I can explain—”

“No,” Lucas snapped. “You can’t.”

He stepped back.

“You had my sister — my biological sister — kidnapped so you could take her place.”

“I didn’t know you two were—” she gasped.

“That’s the part that disturbs me most,” Lucas said.
“You didn’t care who you hurt. You didn’t care if she lived or died. You just wanted what she had.”

Madison collapsed onto the bed, shaking.

“Lucas… I love you…”

“No,” he said. “You don’t. You love victory.”

The suite door opened.

Two FBI agents entered.

“Madison Carter,” the lead agent said. “You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit human trafficking, kidnapping, and attempted murder.”

Madison screamed.

“LUCAS! Lucas, PLEASE—help me!”

But Lucas didn’t move.

He whispered:

“You destroyed my sister’s life. I won’t let you destroy mine.”

As they dragged Madison out in cuffs, mascara streaking down her face, she shrieked:

“She’s DEAD! Emily’s DEAD— you’ll never find her!”

The agent stared at her.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Madison stopped thrashing.

“What?”

The agent leaned down.

“Emily Carter is alive.”

Madison’s mouth fell open.

“She was rescued last week and identified you.”

Lucas spoke the final blow:

“I proposed to you because Emily — my sister — asked me to.”

Madison choked.

“What— what do you mean?”

Lucas’s eyes hardened.

“She wanted to face you herself. She wanted you trapped, legally and publicly.”

He stepped closer.

“You didn’t just lose me. You didn’t just lose your freedom.”

He whispered the last words as she was dragged into the hallway:

“You lost the sister you tried to erase…
because she came back to take her life — and yours — back.”