A DECADE LATER

“Ten years later, the fire still burns but this time, she is the spark.”

Emily’s Point of View

Ten years later, I return to the city that buried my happiness in smoke and silence. This is the place where my dreams collapsed and my soul fractured but I have come back stronger . I step out of the airport into a breeze that bites at my skin. It is different now—colder, sharper. Like the city itself knows I have returned with a vengeance. A mother scorned. A woman reborn .

Gone is the meek, weeping Emily Jacobs. In her place stands someone new , untouchable , mysterious , and powerful. My name has changed. My face has changed. But the rage? That has only deepened with time. They will not see me coming. Not Delilah. Not Jackson. Not anyone who played a part in my suffering.

My first stop ? The graveyard of my past—St. Grace Memorial Hospital. The place where my babies were born… and supposedly died. I arrive cloaked in a long coat, my scarf wrapped tight around my jaw, sunglasses veiling my eyes. My appearance is now globally recognized thanks to the billion-dollar empire I built from my pain. If people knew who I really was beneath this scarf, I would be surrounded by paparazzi. But today, I need anonymity more than applause.

The hospital still stands or rather the skeleton of what it once was . The fire left it blackened and broken. No renovations. No memorial. No effort to rebuild. Even Jackson, the father of those children, did not bother to restore what was destroyed. No plaque. No flowers. Nothing.

“Buy the land,” I command my financial advisor through the phone. “We are rebuilding it . It will be the best hospital in the city and it will offer free care to everyone .”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replies without hesitation .

My babies may not be here, but their legacy will be. They deserve that much.

“Take me to my penthouse,” I tell my driver as I climb into the sleek black car waiting for me.

What my enemies do not know is that I have strategically bought a penthouse directly across from Delilah Tomson’s. My informants tell me she rarely stays at the mansion with Jackson and prefers the city life instead. Good. That makes it easier to watch her. To study her .

Jackson’s business is crumbling, and now he is scrambling for investors. How ironic. The same empire I helped him build with my money and ideas is now teetering on collapse. Without me he is nothing. With Delilah by his side, he is losing everything. I should feel satisfied but it is not enough at least not yet.

They took my peace. Now, I will take everything from them slowly, methodically, and completely.

Nurse Nancy’s Point of View

The fire ten years ago destroyed more than just a building , it ruined lives. But in its smoke, I found light. I became a mother to two angels: Primrose and Jane. Their cries in that inferno led me to them, and I have never looked back . I loved them from the moment I held them in my arms.

I did not change their names. Somehow, I felt it would be wrong. They were named after their grandmother—Jackson’s mother. Primrose bears her first name, and Jane her middle name . Strange how fate works. Even in secrecy, their identity was tied to the truth I hid.

Motherhood has been the greatest joy of my life. But it has not been easy. Jane’s lungs were badly scarred by the fire, and she’s battled breathing problems ever since. The public hospitals can only do so much. Every wheeze, every labored breath haunts me.

I work two jobs. Night shifts. Double shifts. I have pawned everything worth selling. All so I can afford a specialized surgery at a private facility. I can not lose her. I won’t. Even if I have to lie, steal, or beg, I will get Jane the help she needs. I just pray that one day, the truth will not take them away from me.

Delilah Tomson’s Point of View

They say you should be careful what you wish for. I used to dream of living in a mansion, married to a powerful man, dressed in designer clothes, and sipping champagne on balconies overlooking the city skyline. I got all of it… but it came at a price I never expected.

The mansion is massive, but it feels like a gilded prison. Every chandelier, every imported marble floor echoes with loneliness. And Jackson? He only cares about our son ,the boy I stole to complete my fantasy.

To the outside world, we are the picture-perfect family. But inside, I live in constant fear.

Last week, Jackson had a major investor pull out of a deal. He came home in a fury. I made the mistake of asking how the meeting went. The next thing I knew, his hand was across my face, the sting lingering long after the impact. He did not even apologize. He never does anyways .

This was not what I signed up for. I wanted luxury, not bruises. I wanted admiration, not humiliation. I wanted Jackson to love me but he never has. He only loves his son. And even that feels like possession, not affection.

I gave up everything my dignity, my sanity, and my soul for this life. I played the villain and won the prize, only to realize it was poison. Emily’s ghost haunts this house. Sometimes I think Jackson still sees her in the corners of his eyes. And sometimes… I do too.

I thought I had won. But now I am not so sure anymore .