Chapter 4

The moment Dad laid eyes on Brie's bloodied face, he raised his hand and slapped me.

My ears rang, and half of my face went numb as I stood there without moving.

Dad held Brie in his arms, his eyes bloodshot. "Tiana, have you lost your mind? She's pregnant!"

I touched the blood at the corner of my lips, then said, "It wasn't me."

Brie shrank into Dad's arms, her voice trembling. "Mike, please don't be too harsh on her. She just can't accept that I'm pregnant. I know she thinks I'm taking her mom's place…"

Dad became even more enraged. "How long are you going to keep up the act? Marie saw you arguing with Brie just now."

I sneered, "So just because we argued, that means I definitely pushed her? So if Vance says he slept with her and got her pregnant, does that mean it's true too?"

Dad roared, "Vance already said that was a whole bunch of nonsense caused by the food poisoning. Why do you have to keep dragging this out? Are you trying to tear this family apart?"

Why was I always the one who did something wrong?

Why did no one ever listen when I tried to defend myself?

I refused to back down. "Dad, do you really not suspect her at all? Mom discovered that there was something going on between Brie and Vance before she passed away, and there's a copy of Mom's death certificate in her bag. Also, Vance is the father of her baby."

Dad finally snapped, "Enough! Tiana, are you really going to stoop this low and make up accusations like these just to drive Brie away?"

Brie sobbed so hard that she could barely catch her breath. "Mike, I don't want to live anymore. I really don't. If me being here only brings Tiana suffering, I'll leave."

Dad wrapped his arms around her tightly. "No one can make you leave." Then, in a cold, commanding tone, he ordered, "From now on, you'll move to the west wing and reflect on what you've done. You're not allowed to leave the house until the engagement party."

I froze when I heard "west wing". It was Mom's old laboratory building that Dad had kept sealed for seven years after she died there. And now, he wanted to lock me up in that place.

"Dad, aren't you afraid I'll die there too?"

Dad did hesitate for a moment, but Brie tugged on his sleeve and whispered, "Tiana can be a little temperamental at times. Maybe it's better to let her cool down."

And just like that, I was locked in the west wing.

The moment the heavy iron door slammed shut, the cold, musty smell of mold hit me. I leaned against the wall, finally losing all strength as I slowly slid to the floor.

They took away my phone, posted someone outside the door, and welded iron bars over the windows, making the place feel less like a room and more like a grave for the living.

But there was something that they didn't know.

Years ago, Mom had built a hidden fire escape here in case one of her experiments ever went wrong.

I felt my way through the dark to the basement, coughing as the thick layer of dust filled my lungs. The iron door in the corner was covered in rust, and I struggled to turn the latch.

Then the door opened, and a rush of cold air swept through. A sealed document fell to the floor. I recognized Mom's handwriting on the front.

It read, "If anything happens to me, give this to Tiana."

My hands trembled as I opened it to find a paternity test between Dad and me. The result indicated that we were in no way biologically related.

My breath hitched.

I wasn't his daughter?

By the time I escaped through the fire exit, it was completely dark outside. I was covered in dust, and my palms were bleeding after I accidentally cut them on the iron door.

Yet I felt no pain at all.

The paternity test weighed on my chest like a heavy stone. If I wasn't Mike's daughter, then his coldness toward me all these years finally made sense.

I just couldn't fathom why Mom didn't tell me the truth.

I contacted the old lawyer Mom trusted the most, Aaron Kruger.

He let out a long, emotional sigh. "Ms. Kemp, you've finally found it."

My throat tightened. "Aaron, what exactly is going on?"