Chapter 3
Emilia's POV
I stood at the top of the stairs with my hastily packed luggage. The bag contained a few clothes, some jewelry, and my passport—the only things I was certain belonged to me. Twenty-four years of identity, gone in an instant. Family, husband, status, all vanished within hours.
"In a hurry to escape?" Victoria's voice came from behind me.
I turned to see her leaning against the end of the hallway, her posture leisurely yet hostile. "You've got what you wanted. Isn't that enough?" My voice was hoarse.
She walked toward me, each step full of the arrogance of a victor. "How could it be enough? You enjoyed everything that should have been mine. And I was forced to live in poverty."
"So this is your revenge?" I questioned, anger suddenly overshadowing grief. "Taking everything from me?"
"Taking BACK, dear, taking back," she corrected me, her finger poking my chest. "You were just a temporary replacement. Now the real star has returned."
I pushed her hand away, suddenly feeling unprecedented anger. "You think Noah will love you? He doesn't love anyone except himself. You're just another piece on his business chessboard."
Victoria's face contorted. "You BITCH!" She shoved me hard, with surprising force.
I stumbled backward, my back hitting the stair railing. "Don't touch me!" I warned sharply, steadying myself.
"What? Scared?" Victoria stepped closer, a malicious smile on her lips. "Without the protection of the Harkins and Blake families, you're nothing. Now you finally know what you really are—an unwanted abandoned baby."
Her words hit my most vulnerable spot. Having just learned I was a switched baby meant that somewhere, I might have biological parents. But I knew nothing about this, not even where to begin looking.
"Get away from me," I clenched my fists, my voice trembling. "You've won, haven't you? You've got everything."
Victoria reached for my bag. "I want to see what you're taking. These things should have been mine anyway."
"Let GO!" I instinctively grabbed the other end of the bag, and we fell into a tug-of-war. During this struggle, we moved closer to the top of the stairs.
Victoria's eyes flashed dangerously, and she suddenly released the bag, deliberately letting me stumble forward from the momentum. In that moment, she stepped back and shouted loudly, "No! Don't push me!"
Before I could understand what she was doing, she had grabbed the stair railing, making it look as if she'd been pushed, while letting out a sharp scream as she deliberately slid down onto the stairs.
"HELP!" she screamed hysterically. "She's gone crazy! She's trying to kill me!"
Damn it! This crazy woman was setting me up!
"I didn't push you! This is a trap you set up yourself!" I shouted angrily, but it was too late.
Victoria's performance had worked. The Harkins couple and two security guards rushed upstairs to find the "injured" Victoria and me standing above her.
"She attacked me!" Victoria sobbed convincingly. "Just because I'm the real Harkins daughter! She tried to kill me!"
"I did NOT!" I desperately defended myself, but seeing Jonathan's twisted face, I knew it was all over.
"You ungrateful BITCH!" he roared, his face turning red. "We raised you for twenty-four years, and this is how you repay us? By trying to murder our real daughter?"
"Daddy, I'm so scared!" Victoria threw herself into his arms, continuing her act. In that moment, I saw the malice and triumph in her eyes.
Caroline rushed forward, and if not for the security guards holding her back, she would have hit me herself. "I knew you'd show your true colors! You animal! I regret not throwing you onto the street the first day we discovered the truth!"
"Grab her," Jonathan yelled at the security guards. "Call the police, attempted murder! Let her rot in prison for the rest of her life!"
Fear shot through my entire body like an electric current. My baby. I couldn't go to prison. This child was the only thing I had left.
I turned and ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over my own feet. The security guards were in hot pursuit, and I could hear Jonathan shouting behind me, "Catch that murderer! Don't let her get away!"
I burst through the front doors, and the downpour instantly soaked my clothes. Looking around, I found my driver had disappeared. Damn it, they had planned even this.
I heard the security guards shouting behind me. Without time to think, I could only run forward, clutching my meager belongings. My vision was blurred by the rain, and I stepped into a puddle, nearly falling. In the storm, lightning illuminated the road ahead before plunging it back into darkness. Fear and desperation consumed me, but survival instinct pushed me forward.
Noah. Maybe he could help me. This thought flashed through my mind. Despite his decision to divorce me, perhaps he wouldn't leave me to die? With trembling hands, I took out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart.
The phone rang three times before Noah's cool voice came through. "What is it? I'm in a meeting." The sounds of business negotiations could be heard in the background.
"Noah!" I choked out, my voice broken by running and fear. "Please help me! The Harkins family is calling the police to arrest me! They're saying I attempted murder! I didn't—"
"Emilia," he impatiently interrupted me. "I have important business to discuss right now. Don't waste my time with these boring tricks."
"No, listen to me! I need your help—"
The call suddenly cut off, leaving only a cold dial tone. He had hung up. I stood in the pouring rain, feeling the last glimmer of hope being crushed. He wouldn't even let me finish a sentence.
The footsteps and shouts behind me grew closer. I forced myself to keep running, tears mixing with rain, blurring my vision. My baby. I had to protect my baby no matter what. It was the only thing I had left, the only thing that truly belonged to me.
I turned down a small street, hoping to lose my pursuers. Through the rain, I barely saw the traffic ahead. A bright headlight shone, and the screech of brakes cut through the night. I instinctively turned, but it was already too late.
Pain hit me from the side, and I felt myself thrown into the air before crashing heavily onto the wet pavement. I curled up, my hands instinctively protecting my abdomen.
Don't hurt my baby, please...
Through the haze, I saw two men jump out of the car and rush toward me. One knelt beside me, anxiously checking my condition.
"Ma'am? Can you hear me? Hang on, we're calling an ambulance!"
I tried to answer, but the pain only allowed me to make a weak moan. The other man approached, suddenly gasping.
"Wait... is this... Oh my God! It's you!"
On the edge of consciousness, I heard him urgently telling his companion, "Call Dad quickly. Oh God, this can't be... We found her. We found our sister!"
Sister? What sister? I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. I tried to understand, but my mind was a mess, unable to grasp anything. The pain—God, it was unbearable, like someone had set my insides on fire. I felt myself slipping away, my vision growing darker. My baby... please protect my baby... That was the only thought I had before everything faded to black.
