Chapter 15: The Blood We Share

The word on my phone screen felt like a heavy weight on my chest: 'SISTER.'

I looked at Serena, who was still leaning against me, shaking after the back and forth with my mother. Then I looked at the police officers coming into the room to take Lily Vance away. My mother didn’t fight them. She walked out with her head high, like getting arrested was just another business meeting.

But I wasn’t watching her anymore. My mind was racing. Eleanor had woken up from a coma, and the only thing she said was a word that linked her to someone else.

"Edward? What is it?" Serena asked, seeing how shook I looked. She reached out and touched my phone screen. She gasped when she read the message. "Sister? Why would she say that? Does she mean Louise?"

I looked over at Louise Bennet. She was still sitting in the chair, her face in her hands, crying quietly. She looked broken.

"I don’t think she means Louise," I said. I thought about the recording Simone played. My mother’s voice echoed in my head: We’ll keep the Blakes in our pocket forever. We have their daughter as a backup plan.

A cold feeling ran down my spine. My mother hadn’t just used Serena’s father to kill my dad. She had used something worse.

"Simone," I called out. The butler was standing by the window, watching the police lights outside. He turned to me. "The recording. My mother mentioned a daughter. She said they had the Blakes' daughter as a backup plan. She wasn’t talking about Serena, was she? Serena was only twelve."

Simone sighed. It was a long, tired sound, like he had been carrying secrets for thirty years. He walked toward us, his cane tapping on the floor.

"Your father’s death was ten years ago, Edward," Simone said. "But the Blakes had another daughter. An older one. She was sent away to a private school in Arizona right after the accident."

Serena stepped forward, her eyes wide. "My sister, Maya? My parents told me she got adopted by a lovely family. They said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She never came home. My dad said she liked the West Coast and wanted her to start a new life there."

"It wasn't an adoption, Serena," Simone said gently. "It was a deal. Your father agreed to mess with the car, and in return, Maya was taken care of. But she wasn’t just adopted. She was given a new name. A new identity."

I felt dizzy. "Maya. Maya became Eleanor?"

The room went completely quiet. Serena covered her mouth in shock. Louise looked up, her eyes red and puffy.

"Maya... Eleanor Sterling?" Serena whispered. "No. That’s impossible. Eleanor is a Sterling. She’s the daughter of a shipping company owner."

"The Sterlings couldn't have children," Simone explained. "They wanted an heir to keep their company in the family. Your mother, Lily, made a deal. She gave them a smart, beautiful girl whose past was erased. In return, the Sterlings helped Lily control the Vance money in secret."

I sank into a chair. My legs shaking. Eleanor wasn’t just my first love. She wasn’t just the woman who hurt me. She was Serena’s sister.

My mother hadn’t just broken my heart ten years ago. She set me up to fall in love with the daughter of the man who killed my father. And now, I’m with Serena, the other sister.

"I have to get to the hospital," I said, standing up fast. "If Eleanor is Maya, if she knows the truth, then the attack on her wasn’t just to keep her quiet about the marriage. It was to stop her from telling Serena who she really is."

"I'm coming with you," Serena said. Her voice was strong. She wasn’t crying or shaking anymore. She looked like a woman who had just found a missing piece of her life.

The drive to Oaktown was fast and tense. I kept looking at Serena. She stared out the window, her jaw tight. I wanted to comfort her, but what could I say? I’m sorry my mother stole your sister and used her?

When we got to Stanley’s Heart Hospital, Michael was waiting by the nurses' desk. He looked tired, his hair messy.

"She's awake, but she’s weak," Michael said, grabbing my arm. "The doctors say the damage was too much. She’s fighting, but she wanted to see you both."

He looked at Serena with a frown. "Why is she here, Ed? This is private."

"She needs to be here, Michael," I said, walking past him.

We entered the ICU room. The machines were beeping, a constant reminder that Eleanor was close to death. She looked so weak, her skin pale against the white pillows.

As we walked to the bed, her eyes opened. They were tired and dark, full of sadness.

She looked at me first and gave a small, sad smile. "Edward," she whispered.

Then, she looked at Serena.

A single tear ran down Eleanor’s cheek. She reached out a shaky hand. Serena stepped forward and held it tight.

"Maya?" Serena whispered.

Eleanor took a shaky breath. "You... you grew up so beautiful, Rena. I saw the photos. Lily... she showed me. Every year."

"Why didn't you come home?" Serena sobbed, falling to her knees by the bed. "Why did you stay with them?"

"I couldn't," Eleanor whispered. "I was the backup plan. If I left, if I told the truth, she would have sent Dad to prison. She would have taken you away too. I stayed to keep you safe."

I stood at the foot of the bed, feeling like I shouldn’t be there. My first love hadn’t cheated on me because I was "too serious." She had been trapped for ten years, playing a part to protect a family she could never see.

"Edward," Eleanor said, looking back at me. "I'm sorry. I loved you. I always loved you. Michael... he was the only one who knew."

I looked at Michael, who was standing in the corner with his head down. He hadn’t just been the "best friend" who betrayed me. He had been Maya Blake’s anchor.

Eleanor squeezed Serena’s hand one last time. "Don't let her win, Rena. Be the wife I couldn't be. Be the person who stays."

The machines started to scream. A long, steady beep meant it was over. Doctors and nurses ran in and pushed us back.

"No! Maya! Maya, don't go!" Serena screamed, her voice echoing in the room.

I pulled Serena into my arms, holding her as she broke down. We were forced into the hallway, the doors shutting behind us.

We stood there in the quiet hallway, with the smell of medicine and loss around us. My mother was in a jail cell, Eleanor was gone, and the woman I loved was the sister of the woman who had haunted me.

Serena looked up at me, her eyes red but strong. "It’s not over, Edward."