LOGIN"Miss, what were you trying to do?" The man that pulled her back asked.
She quickly got off him, realizing he was a roofing contractor. "I'm sorry," She quickly mumbled. "This is private property. Don't come trying to commit sucide here next time," the man scolded. Aurora nodded as she quickly ran off. What was she thinking, trying to kill herself. She didn't even bother saying goodbye to George. What if a miracle happened and George didn't die ? All those thoughts ran through her mind when suddenly she remembered someone who could help. Her mother's sister, Rose. Aunt Rose was cold-hearted and didn't give a damn about her and George. But, she still wanted to try her luck. Firstly, she has to see George now that he is still breathing before anything else. She got a taxi that quickly drove her to the hospital. Immediately, she was done paying her cab fare. She took to her foot running into the hospital. She didn't stop till she got in front of George's ward. He looked really pale as he lay unconscious on the hospital's bed. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pushed the door open and slowly made her way to the side of the bed. "George," she whispered, taking hold of his hand. "I'm sorry I can't currently help you," she cried. "Please hold on a little longer, I'm going to Aunt Rose's place, I'm sure she's going to help. Please stay strong," Laura said before reluctantly letting go of his hand. The door pushed open and the doctor walked in. "You can see he's not doing well yourself," Doctor Connor said. "Please, Doc, can you at least just go ahead with the transplant, I promise to bring the money soon, please," Aurora pleaded. "I'm sorry, Mrs Anderson, but that's not how we work here. Get the money quickly, or I'm afraid you'll lose George," Doctor Connor replied. Aurora sighed as she glanced at George, then back at Doctor Connor. "I'll go get the money," she said. And with that, she ran out of the ward with one place in mind. THE SMITH'S MANSION The mansion stood tall and grand, its white walls shining like a pearl in the sunlight. The roof was a deep, rich brown, with tiles that sparkled like diamonds. A wide, sweeping driveway led up to the mansion's front doors, which were made of solid oak and adorned with shiny brass handles. Inside, the mansion was just as impressive, with high ceilings, sparkling chandeliers, and walls lined with expensive artwork. The floors were made of polished marble, and the rooms were filled with plush, comfortable furniture. The mansion's backyard was just as beautiful, with a sparkling swimming pool, a tennis court, and a lush, green garden filled with colorful flowers and towering trees. Rose was amongst the powerful and influential people in NY (New York). Her husband owned the fourth largest production companies, but even with the wealth and power they lacked one thing, and that was children. Aurora arrived at the gates, but the securities were not letting her in. "Please, I need to see Aunt Rose, please," she pleaded with one of the security guards. "Mrs Smith isn't expecting a guest today. Therefore, I can't allow you in," the guard replied. "Aunt Rose !" Aurora shouted, banging on the gate. "Miss you're being noisy, we'll call the cops on you if you don't leave," the security guard threatened. Aurora paid deaf ears to his threat as she kept on banging on the gates. "Aunt Rose, please come out!" She shouted. The security guard had enough as he grabbed her and was about pulling her away when an elegant voice interrupted. "What's going on here," Rose asked from behind. Aurora quickly turned to see Rose, looking more gorgeous than ever. She exuded elegance and sophistication, with a refined beauty that commanded attention. Her blonde hair was styled in an impeccable updo, adorned with intricate details that framed her face. The hairstyle was reminiscent of classic British aristocracy, evoking a sense of timeless refinement. Her slender fingers were clad in sleek, white gloves that added to her air of sophistication. Around her neck, a luminous pearl necklace glimmered, complemented by matching pearl earrings that sparkled with understated luxury. Her features were finely chiseled, with high cheekbones, a slender nose, and a determined jawline that spoke to her formidable business acumen. Her eyes were bright and piercing, shining with intelligence and poise. "Ma'am, she demanded to see you, but, since you weren't expecting any guest, I didn't let her in," the security guard replied. Rose eyes narrowed as she zoomed in on Laura's face. It didn't take her long to realize who Laura was. "Let her in," she said before walking away. The security guard stared at Rose then at Laura before releasing his grip. Laura instantly took to her heels following Rose. Rose stopped walking when they got to the luxurious living room and turned to face Laura. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice cold and detached. "Please, Aunty, George..." "No," Rose held up a finger. "It's madam, point of correction," Rose said, taking a seat. Laura's clenched her fist, trying her best not to snap. "Madam, George health has gotten critical, and the hospital is asking for the sum of $7,000. They need it for a transplant. Please can you help me with the money. Consider us as your own just this once, please," Laura a said, falling on her knees. "Hmm..." Rose hummed, with her evil smirk playing on her lips. "You'll have to earn the money," she said. "Anything, please." Laura said, her voice laced with desperation. Rose was about to speak when Mr Smith came out with Scott Williams. Laura's gaze darted to them, and as soon as she made eye contact with Scott, she felt a chill run down her spine. Scott was extremely handsome. He had a strong face with sharp features that made him look very attractive. His piercing blue eyes were cold and serious. His thick brown hair was styled perfectly, showing off his sharp jawline. He was tall and lean, with broad shoulders that filled out his expensive-looking suit. He looked like a man who was used to getting what he wanted, and his confident air was intimidating. His eyes seemed to bore into her soul, and she could swear she sensed a sinister intent under those piercing gazes. She quickly looked away, returning her gaze to Rose. "And that's my wife Rose," Mr Smith introduced. Rose immediately ignored Laura as she stood up and approached Mr Smith and Scott. Laura couldn't hear what they were saying as they started walking away. She felt so devastated and hoped Rose wouldn't give her a complicated task. She stared at them, unable to read their lips as they discussed. All of a sudden, Scott said something, and they all turned to her. The look Rose gave her made her nervous. Mr Smith continued walking away with Scott while Rose returned to where Laura was. "The money," she started but paused. "Are you willing to do anything for it ?" She asked. "I told you before, I'll do anything," Laura replied. "Marry Mr. Williams," Rose blurted out. "Who ?" Laura raised a brow. "The young man I was talking to earlier," Rose clarified. "What?!" Her eyes widened.She continued reading.“Margaret told us that Lily had been placed into the foster care system and that she was being cared for by the state until a new adoptive family could be found,” Scott continued.“Your father and I immediately tried to get Lily back, but Margaret told us that we had signed away our parental rights and that there was nothing we could do. We hired a lawyer, but he said the adoption contract we signed was ironclad and that we had no legal way to get Lilyback.”Scott turned to the last page. “We spent years trying to find out where Lily was and how she was doing, but the adoption agency wouldn’t tell us anything. Eventually, Margaret Sullivan disappeared and the agency closed down. We never found out what happened to Lily or if she ever got the medical treatment she needed.”Laura was sobbing now because her parents hadn’t deliberately abandoned Lily, they had been tricked into giving her up, then blocked from getting her back.“Every day of my
They went inside and found the storage unit. When Scott opened it, Laura saw boxes and boxes stacked up against the walls full of her parents’ stuff that George had saved after theydied.“Where do we start?” Laura asked because there were so many boxes she didn’t know which ones might have the information they needed.“Let’s look for anything that says documents or important papers,” Scott suggested. “That’s most likely where your parents would have kept anything about your birth.”They spent the next hour going through boxes, and Laura felt like she was violating her parents’ privacy by looking through all their stuff, but she needed answers more than she needed to respect their privacy.Scott found a box labeled “Important Documents” and pulled it down from a high shelf andset it on the floor between them.Laura opened the box and started looking through the papers inside, which were mostly tax returns, insurance documents, and other boring adult stuff. But then
Laura and Scott had been at the mountain house for three days when Detective Chen called, saying he had important news and needed to meet with them. They drove back to the city, even though Laura didn’t really want to leave the safety of the mountains where Lily couldn’tfind her.They met Detective Chen in Scott’s office at the mansion, and Laura could tell from the look on his face that whatever news he had wasn’t going to be good. She grabbed Scott’s hand before they even sat down.“Thank you for meeting with me,” Detective Chen said as he sat down across from Scott’s desk. “I’ve made some significant discoveries in my investigation.”“What did you find?” Scott asked, squeezing Laura’s hand.Detective Chen pulled out a folder from his briefcase and opened it on the desk. “I was able to obtain DNA samples from Laura’s medical records and compared them with DNA from Lily Jacobs, who is in the system from a previous arrest for shoplifting when she was nineteen.”La
Two days after the incident with Lily outside the gate, Laura was having breakfast in the kitchen when Amelia came in holding a white envelope and looking concerned.“This just came for you, Miss Laura,” Amelia said as she handed the envelope to Laura.“There’s no return address on it.”Laura took the envelope and immediately felt her stomach drop because who would send her a letter with no return address? She had a bad feeling she already knew who it wasfrom.“Thank you, Amelia,” Laura said, and she waited until Amelia left the kitchen before she opened the envelope with shaking hands.Inside was a single piece of white paper with just one sentence written in neat handwriting that said, “You stole my life.”Laura stared at the words and felt like she couldn’t breathe because this was from Lily and it confirmed what Laura had been afraid of which was that Lily blamed her for something thatwasn’t her fault.“What’s wrong?” Scott’s voice came from behind her and Lau
Laura’s hands shook as she grabbed her phone from the nightstand. She thought aboutcalling Scott but instead opened the app Scott gave her to control the security system afterthe threatening text.She pulled up the camera feed from the front gate and zoomed in on the woman’s face.Laura felt sick to her stomach because it was like looking in a mirror, only this woman’s hairwas a bit messier, and she wore different clothes, but the face was exactly the same.The woman wore dark jeans and a black hoodie, her hands stuck in her pockets. She juststood there looking up at Laura’s window like she knew exactly which room Laura was in.Laura watched the screen for a minute trying to decide what to do. Then the woman raisedone hand and waved at the camera like she knew Laura was watching. That made Laurafeel cold because how did this woman know about the cameras?Without thinking, Laura ran out of her room and down the hall to Scott’s room. She neededto tell him now, even if
“Need me? You don’t need me,” Laura said but her voice wasn’t very strong. “You just think you do because of the woman who looks like me.”“No,” Scott said, cupping her face. “I needed you before that. I just didn’t realize it until you were threatened and I thought about what it would be like if something happened to you.”Laura didn’t know what to say, so she just looked at him, trying to tell if he was honest or if this was just some stress reaction.“Eat your breakfast,” Scott said, pulling back. “It’s getting cold.”Laura picked up her fork and started eating while Scott sat next to her on the bed. She could feel the tension but it felt different—like they reached some kind of understanding.“This is really good,” Laura said after a few bites. “Thank you.”“You’re welcome,” Scott said, almost smiling, which was rare.They sat in comfortable silence while Laura finished and Scott just watched. It wasn’t creepy or obsessive now, it was like he just wanted to be near her, which was







