My Father's Kindness Almost Got Me Killed

Melody's POV

“Why would Mr. Hutchinson go out of his way to support someone like me, a below-average student? Why would he hire Alvin as the family gardener? And why would he let me visit the house so often? Every time I came by, he’d even smile at me.”

Alvin let out a laugh. “Funny thing is, at first, I thought Mr. Hutchinson had a thing for Karrie. I figured he was planning to marry her and make her your stepmother.”

Karrie looked a little awkward at that. “Thank goodness I didn’t actually try to seduce him. Because I suddenly remembered, when I first met Mr. Hutchinson, he made a point to tell me something: that you and I were born on the exact same day.”

Her voice hardened as she went on, “That’s when it clicked. I’m the real daughter of Mr. Hutchinson. That’s why he looked at me differently. That’s why he treated me so well. But Mr. Hutchinson’s too kind. He didn’t have the heart to throw you out, so he chose to keep things the way they were for now.”

She stood taller, her voice full of smug righteousness as she added, “But as Mr. Hutchinson’s true daughter, it’s only right that I help him fix this mistake.”

As she spoke, her expression grew colder—almost twisted.

She stared straight at me. “Melody, nothing in this world comes free. You’ve lived a life of luxury all these years. Did you really think there wouldn’t be a price to pay? You think I’m just going to let you walk away?”

The two thugs standing behind her glanced at me with sleazy eyes, then turned to Alvin.

“Boss, you’re really cutting this daughter loose?”

Alvin nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I raised Karrie myself. She’s the one I care about. Once she takes her rightful place as Hutchinson’s heiress, she’ll take care of me.”

Then, he gave me a disgusted look. “As for her, I couldn’t care less. She’s nothing but trouble for Karrie. If she disappears for good, or better yet, ends it herself, that’d be the best outcome for everyone.”

The thugs cracked their knuckles and started walking toward me.

My heart was racing. I grabbed Damon’s sleeve in desperation and looked up at him, silently begging for help.

He was tall, strong, and the captain of our school’s karate club. He’d even competed at the provincial level and done really well.

I chose to ignore how useless he’d been earlier. Maybe he was just scared. So I whispered, “Damon, please… help me—”

But before I could finish, he yanked his arm away and walked straight over to Karrie.

“Karrie,” he said, smiling warmly, “I knew you weren’t just anyone.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Damon… you—”

He rolled his eyes at me. “What? Don’t tell me you thought I actually liked you? The only reason I ever flirted with you was because you're Hutchinson. But the truth is, the only one I’ve ever cared about is Karrie. Now that I know you’re not Hutchinson’s real daughter, I have no reason to take your side anymore.”

Karrie looked thrilled to see me so humiliated. “Nobody ever liked you, you know. They only liked the status that came with being ‘Miss Hutchinson.’ But the joke’s on you. Your identity was fake all along.”

She followed my gaze to Damon and let out a smug laugh. “All thanks to Damon. If it weren’t for him, I never would’ve figured out I was the real heiress.”

Damon gave a modest shrug. “Karrie, you’re giving me too much credit. It wasn’t that hard. I mean, look at you. You don’t look anything like someone who grew up in the mountains. You don’t resemble Alvin either. But Melody? She doesn’t look like Mr. Hutchinson at all. With all those coincidences, how could I not start putting the pieces together?”

As I listened to them, it finally sank in.

This whole thing was all because of Damon?