Chapter 4

Elina's Pov

The moment the door clicked shut, I collapsed onto the couch, the photo still clutched in my trembling hands.

What the hell just happened?

I stared at the picture again— I was smiling as I held the twins in my hands. Like they were mine. Like I was their mother.

But I wasn’t. I couldn’t be. Right?

I shook my head furiously, trying to push away the heaviness forming in my chest. No. This had to be some elaborate mistake… or worse, a setup.

I had never given birth. Never had children. And I sure as hell never abandoned any. I would never do that.

So how could a complete stranger walk into my house and accuse me of that?

My mind went to Lily. She would know what to do. She could help me look into it. Maybe she would get answers. Maybe this Ethan guy was just some stalker with a fabricated story and a fake photo.

 Yes. That made more sense. It had to make more sense.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Lily’s number. One ring. Two. Then it went to voicemail.

I tried again. Still nothing. She didn't answer the call.

“Dammit, Lily,” I muttered.

Tossing my phone aside, I paced the length of the room like a troubled animal. I kept glancing at the photo in my hands like it would morph into something else. But it stayed the same.

My face. The twins. That warmth in my eyes… too convincing to ignore.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but there was something eerily familiar about their eyes. 

The way they squinted when they smiled… It reminded me of old photos I had seen. Of myself as a child.

A chill crawled up my spine.

What if he wasn’t lying?

No. No. I would know. I would feel it. Right?

I sank to the floor, hugging my knees to my chest, trying to remember anything— anything— from seven years ago that could explain this. But my memories were clean. Innocent. Empty of any such secret.

Until one small moment slipped through the cracks.

A hospital bed.

A voice whispering, “It is better if she doesn’t remember…”

I shot to my feet, gasping for breath. What the hell was that?

I gripped the edge of the wall to steady myself, my mind foggy and thick with confusion.

Did something happen to me back then? Something I couldn’t remember? 

But Nanny would have told me. Right?

I staggered to the sink and splashed cold water on my face, staring at my reflection in the mirror. 

Am I really the mother of those twins?

Who was I really? What had I buried deep that I can't seem to remember now?

And what if Ethan Stark is just right and I abandoned my kids seven years ago?

**********

The next morning, I was barely functioning. I hadn’t slept a wink. My thoughts ran in circles all night, tangled in doubt, fear, and confusion.

I dragged myself to the kitchen, barely able to lift the kettle.

I couldn’t get his voice out of my head.

"You have until tomorrow."

"Decide what version of the truth you want to live with.”

The words played on a loop like a curse. And when I tried brushing it off, I kept remembering the two kids. There was something that kept me thinking about them.

I poured the water into a mug, watching the steam rise like fog clouding my thoughts. What if there was a version of my life I had no access to? A past stolen from me, like pages ripped from a book?

I knew I was left at the orphanage home at a very young age but not a hidden past.

The doorbell rang and I jumped, my heart racing. Was it him again?

I better give him a piece of my mind.

Leaving the kitchen, I walked to the door and peeked through the curtain. Relief flooded me when I saw it was Lily.

I yanked the door open. “Where the hell have you been?”

She stepped in, eyebrows raised. “Good morning to you too.”

I didn’t respond, I just grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside, 

And shutting the door.

“You won’t believe what happened yesterday,”

Her amused expression faded the moment she saw my face.

“Elina? What happened?”

I handed her the photo, watching her eyes widen.

“Where did you get this?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Did you have siblings I didn't know of,”

I shook my head. “A man named Ethan Stark came to my house. He called me Ava and said I abandoned these kids— my kids, rather, as he kept insisting. He gave me this and told me… told me I was their mother.”

Lily’s eyes darted between the photo and my face, her mouth opening and closing like she was searching for words.

“Shocking right? That was exactly my reaction when he told me,” I said and she kept looking at me, frozen.

“Lily?” I pressed. “Do you know something I don't?”

She hesitated.

A silence stretched between us, thick and dangerous.

“Lily,” I repeated, stepping closer. “You are scaring me. Just tell me.”

She finally met my gaze.

“This looks so much like you and their eyes…” she gasped. “They look like yours,” she finally said. 

Now that Lily said it, their eyes look like mine. That's why they looked familiar when I first saw them.

“How? Are you a twin?”

I shook my head. “Nanny never mentioned that. I was brought here alone,”

“Then how did you end up in the picture?” She asked, confused. 

“I don't know either. I really don't know," I ran my hand into my hair in frustration. 

A loud sound came from a hard impact on the door. I paused and looked at the door.

What was that? 

I looked back at Lily and she shrugged her shoulders. I took a step forward to check the door when another loud bang cracked through the window, and the glass shattered.

Then another hit. Something or someone was attackingthe house.

“Elina, get down!” Lily screamed.

I ducked just as the window closest to me exploded inward and a stone flew through, landing with a heavy thud.