Chapter 196 She Will Be Heartbroken
She froze for a moment, then looked at Daniel and Scarlett, as if suddenly figuring out what was going on.
She quickly waved her hands at Scarlett .
"Mrs. Scarlett Wilson, I think there's been a misunderstanding. Mr. Daniel Wilson hired me to pretend to be Waverly!"
Scarlett stared at her in shock, then turned to look at Daniel.
"She's not Waverly?"
Daniel's thin lips curved slightly into a bitter smile.
"I wish she were, but I couldn't find her."
The woman pretending to be Waverly quickly explained, "Mrs. Wilson, my name is Matilda Sharp. I'm not Ms. White."
Seeing Matilda's anxiety as she stood there awkwardly, Daniel spoke up.
"You can sit down and talk."
Only then did Matilda sit down to explain.
"I'm an orphan. When I was a teenager, I got really sick and lost all my childhood memories. About four months ago, Mr. Wilson found me and said I might be the family member he'd been looking for.
I was excited and happy at the time, thinking I'd found my family. But later, when I did a DNA test with Mr. Wilson's friend, we found out I wasn't the person Mr. Wilson was looking for.
Mr. Wilson said Waverly's mother Ella had spent her whole life searching for Waverly, and now she's dying. He didn't want Ella to pass away with regrets, so he asked me to pretend to be Waverly.
To be honest with you, Mrs. Scarlett Wilson, I really need the money. Last year my husband was diagnosed with kidney failure and requires a transplant. My daughter Kismet is still so young. I can't let my husband die so young, and Kismet can't lose her father.
But kidney donors aren't easy to find, and we were barely scraping together enough for treatment .
Mr. Wilson said if I agreed, he'd help with my husband's surgery. I really couldn't refuse that offer, so I returned to the country with Mr. Wilson. That's the whole story."
After talking for so long, Matilda was thirsty but felt too embarrassed to get water herself.
After all, the house belonged to someone else. Matilda was just staying temporarily.
There was a cup and teapot on the coffee table, so Daniel leaned forward and poured two cups of water.
He handed one to Scarlett and pushed the other in front of Matilda.
Matilda quickly thanked him and took a few sips.
Scarlett really hadn't expected this situation. She was shocked and still processing it when she noticed Daniel's thoughtful gesture.
That day, Daniel had also thoughtfully opened the car door for Matilda.
And at the hospital, when Matilda was looking at her phone and didn't see the steps, Daniel had reached out to steady her.
These gestures wouldn't mean much coming from most people.
But they were unusual for Daniel.
Because of what she had seen, Scarlett mistook Matilda for Waverly.
But it turned out Matilda was just a fake Waverly.
Because Matilda resembled Waverly, Daniel treated Matilda with such gentle care.
"Mrs. Scarlett Wilson, I've only met Mr. Daniel Wilson alone twice, and both times he was just telling me things so I wouldn't mess up.
Oh, and Mr. Daniel Wilson asked me about pregnancy things before because you're pregnant. He really cares about you."
Matilda's voice interrupted Scarlett's thoughts.
Scarlett came back to herself. Hearing this, the clouds in her heart cleared, and that faint worry from earlier faded.
She smiled at Matilda a bit sheepishly and said, "Thank you for telling me all this. By the way, is your burn still not healed? If it's not healed, it's better not to keep it covered."
Scarlett looked at Matilda's gloved right hand. She had been wearing gloves the last time at the restaurant as well.
Matilda froze for a moment, seeming to curl her fingers instinctively.
Scarlett thought her fingers looked odd somehow, but couldn't quite figure out what was strange.
But Daniel beside Scarlett said, "If you don't mind, could you take off the glove and let my wife see?"
"I don't mind, I'm just afraid of scaring Mrs. Wilson."
Scarlett didn't quite understand their exchange, but Matilda put down her cup and reached to remove her glove.
Even though Scarlett sensed something was off and had mentally prepared herself, when she saw what was under Matilda's glove, her face still went pale and her fingers trembled.
Because Matilda's right hand was incomplete.
She had no thumb. Her thumb had clearly been cut off at the base.
Though it had long since healed and the wound was smooth, it was still deeply unsettling.
Scarlett suppressed her shock and politely looked away, her voice strained as she spoke.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's been many years. I'm used to it."
Daniel reached out and held Scarlett's trembling hand, then said to Matilda, "I'd like some time alone with my wife."
Matilda quickly nodded. She got up and went to the small living room, picked up Kismet, and headed upstairs.
Scarlett gripped Daniel's hand back, looking at him with undisguised shock.
"Her hand..."
Scarlett had a guess but hoped it wasn't true. That would be too terrible.
But Daniel spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Yes, I found her because of that hand. I thought she was Waverly."
Scarlett's heart shook. She could hardly believe it, and her breathing slowed.
She pressed her lips together. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I won't ask."
Daniel shook his head. By bringing Scarlett here today, he'd decided to tell her.
For so many years, Waverly had been his forbidden topic.
No one dared mention it, and he himself couldn't speak of it to anyone.
But some things he ultimately had to face.
"That day, the kidnappers' target was actually only me from the start. But Waverly, being playful, had cut her hair in the same boyish style as mine.
I got hot and took off my jacket and hat, and she picked them up and put them on me. That's why the kidnappers took her instead. When they realized they'd grabbed the wrong person, they came back and drugged me.
Later, when the ransom was being paid, something went wrong and the police got involved. The two kidnappers got angry and took Waverly and me out of Shadow City.
For two whole weeks, we were beaten and starved, and tortured endlessly. One kidnapper died in an accident along the way, giving us hope of escape.
The day we tried to escape, we bit through the ropes binding us while the kidnapper was out getting supplies and scouting. But we didn't expect him to come back early."
Daniel described it lightly, but what two eleven-year-old children endured at the hands of desperate kidnappers for half a month was unimaginable.
Scarlett unconsciously raised her arms and hugged Daniel's waist tightly, her face pale and her heart clenching.
She wanted to say, stop talking.
If she'd known it was such a painful past, such a deep scar, she would never have pushed him to tell her.
But her throat was choked , and any words felt weak and powerless.
All she could do was hold him, tighter and tighter.
Daniel sensed her emotions. His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked down at her.
His thumb brushed across Scarlett's face, his voice full of helplessness.
"Why are you crying again?"
Without realizing it, Scarlett was crying again. Her heart ached.
She felt terrible, just terrible.
She was so upset she could barely breathe, and felt powerless.
She couldn't do anything, couldn't comfort him back then, couldn't experience those things with him like Waverly had.
And Daniel had said before that Waverly was his savior.
Waverly might have even saved his life.
But Scarlett couldn't be part of any of that.