Chapter 86 086
CECILIA
I had always believed that time buried things.
That if you pushed hard enough, lived carefully enough, and dressed your sins in silk and silence, they would stay where you left them. Forgotten and powerless.
I was wrong.
Because a few weeks ago, everything I thought I had buried clawed its way back to the surface.
And it came wearing Emily’s face.
I stood by the window in my study, staring out at the perfectly trimmed garden that had once brought me peace. Tonight, it did nothing. My fingers tightened around the edge of the curtain as the memory replayed in my head for what felt like the hundredth time.
Emily was not an orphan.
The moment I found out, something inside me shifted. Not fear. Not yet. Something colder. Something sharper.
Recognition.
Because the truth had a face I could never forget.
And I had seen it before.
Years ago.
Back when I was young. Reckless. Hungry for more than what I had.
Back when everything started.
I closed my eyes slowly, letting the past take over.
Back in high school, I had everything going for me. Beauty. Status. Attention. I knew how to walk into a room and own it. I knew how to make people want me. Need me.
And William Thorne was one of them.
He was nothing back then. Just a poor boy with big dreams and stubborn pride. But he looked at me like I was the only girl in the world. Like I mattered.
I liked that.
No, I thrived on it.
But liking something has never meant I could stay loyal to it.
Finn, Ryan’s father, came into the picture not long after. Charming. Wealthy. Everything William was not. He didn’t look at me like I was fragile. He looked at me like I was a prize.
And I chose him.
I thought I was clever, careful, and untouchable.
Until the day William found out.
I could still remember the look on his face. Not anger. Not even heartbreak.
Disappointment.
Like I had reduced myself in his eyes.
He didn’t yell. Didn’t beg. Didn’t fight for me.
He just walked away.
And that was the moment I should have known he would become something greater.
Because men like that always do.
I thought I would win anyway. I had Finn. I had security.
But then Gianna happened.
I let out a bitter laugh under my breath as I opened my eyes again.
Gianna freaking Cavendish.
The golden girl.
Rich. Elegant. Untouchable.
Everything I told myself I didn’t need to be.
William moved on to her like I had never existed. Like I had been nothing more than a lesson.
And the worst part?
He loved her differently.
I saw it in the way he looked at her. The way he stood beside her. Like she was something sacred.
It burned.
God, it burned.
I hated them together.
Hated the way they fit.
Hated how easy it seemed for them.
I told myself I was over him. That I didn’t care.
But I cared enough to watch.
Cared enough to compare.
Cared enough to hate.
Then everything changed.
I got pregnant.
The memory made my stomach tighten.
I had been terrified. Completely unprepared. Finn was no help. He panicked more than I did. He kept talking about his reputation, his future, and what people would say.
He was weak.
And I realized very quickly that I was on my own, but he came around few years later.
But I was not the only one.
Gianna was pregnant too.
Almost at the same time.
The irony of it still made me sick.
Two college girls.
Both carrying children.
The difference was how we were treated.
While I hid, while I scrambled to keep everything together, William stood beside her like a shield. He went to every appointment. Every checkup. Every moment.
He chose her.
Openly.
Proudly.
And I watched.
I watched as she got everything I should have had.
Support. Love. Stability.
It twisted something inside me.
Something ugly.
Something that refused to be ignored.
By the time we both gave birth, I had already made my decision.
Gianna had twins.
I remember hearing it clearly.
Two girls.
Perfect.
Healthy.
And then I heard something else.
She had blacked out after delivery and was still unconscious.
Opportunity.
That was all I saw.
I had already arranged it.
Paid one of the nurses quietly. Carefully. No loose ends.
All she had to do was make sure Gianna left that hospital with only one child.
Simple and very clean.
I told myself it was justice.
That life had given her too much already.
She would survive losing one.
People like her always did.
But things did not go the way I planned.
The nurse was a fool.
A greedy, selfish fool.
Instead of doing what she was paid to do, she took the child for herself.
Disappeared.
Vanished with her like she had never existed.
I searched.
For a while.
But I had my own child to protect. My own life to rebuild.
So I let it go.
Or at least I thought I did.
Until years later.
Until Ryan walked into the house one afternoon with a girl by his side.
Emily.
I remembered that moment clearly.
The first time I saw her.
Something inside me paused.
It was not obvious at first. Just a flicker. A feeling.
She looked familiar.
Too familiar.
I asked questions.
Carefully. Casually.
Where were her parents?
Who raised her?
She told me they were dead. Said she grew up in an orphanage.
And just like that, I let it go.
Because it made sense.
Because I wanted it to make sense.
Because the alternative was something I was not ready to face.
So I accepted her.
Welcomed her.
Even liked her.
For a while.
Until a few weeks ago.
The past returned.
Gianna came back into the country with her husband, her perfect life, and her daughter.
The other twin.
The moment I saw that girl, my world tilted.
She looked exactly like Emily.
Not similar.
Not close.
Exactly.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Same presence.
It was like looking at the truth I had buried years ago.
And suddenly, everything clicked into place.
Emily was not just some girl from an orphanage.
She was Gianna’s daughter.
The child that was supposed to disappear.
The child that should have never existed in my world again.
My chest tightened as anger surged through me.
I could not let this happen.
I could not let Gianna have everything.
Not again.
Not after everything.
She already had the life. The husband. The respect.
She would not take this too.
She would not take Zara.
Because that was what it would lead to.
If the truth came out, everything would unravel.
Ryan.
Zara.
Everything I built.
Everything I protected.
Gone.
No.
I would not allow it.
That was when I became desperate.
That was when I started making moves.
Careful ones.
Calculated ones.
Emily had to be removed.
Completely.
I did not care how.
I did not care what it cost.
She had to go.
My phone buzzed suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I turned quickly, grabbing it from the table without hesitation.
This had to be it.
I answered immediately.
“Did you get it done?”
There was a pause on the other end.
And I knew.
Even before he spoke.
“No.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What do you mean no?”
“Dr. Jones came back before I could inject it.”
Rage hit me instantly.
I slammed my hand against the wall.
The sharp pain barely registered.
“Couldn’t you move faster?” I snapped.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t expect—”
“I don’t care what you expected,” I cut in coldly. “You had one job.”
Silence followed.
Then hesitation.
“I… I don’t think I can try again.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
And then he said the words that made everything inside me go still.
“They met already.”