CHAPTER 4 â The Mother Who Lied
Emilyâs mother finally told the truth.
Twenty-five years ago, Emily had been born into a poor family.
But the Harpersâ real baby was dying.
Emilyâs mother, desperate and broken, made a deal with a hospital nurse.
One child disappeared.
One child was buried under a fake name.
And Emily was raised inside a mansion built on lies.
But the worst part came next.
Sarah was not just Ethanâs ex.
She was the daughter of the family Emily had been stolen from.
That meant the little girl on the porch was Emilyâs blood.
Her niece.
Emily collapsed into a chair.
âSo Ethan knew?â
Her mother looked away.
âHe found out last year.â
Emilyâs chest tightened.
âAnd you paid him to keep quiet?â
Her mother said nothing.
That silence was the answer.
Then the front door opened.
Ethan walked in, soaked from the rain, his face destroyed.
âEmily, I was going to tell you after the wedding.â
Emily laughed through tears.
âAfter I became your wife?â
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out one final document.
âThereâs more.â
Emily stared at the paper.
A legal adoption record.
Her name was not Emily Harper.
Her real name was Lily Carter.
And at the bottom of the page was one signatureâŠ
Her fatherâs.
Not the man who raised her.
May you like
The man she had been told died before she was born.
And he was still alive.
