Chapter 1

My mind went blank, leaving me frozen on the spot.

"Daddy, Mommy, this is the lady who helped me."

Leo Reynolds pulled Carter Reynolds and Vanessa Miller over by their hands, but the smiles on their faces vanished in an instant.

"Audrey..." Carter reflexively tried to hide Leo behind his back.

A sharp sting hit my nose. "Don't bother hiding him, Carter. Care to explain?"

"Since you've found out, I won't lie to you anymore," he said, taking a deep breath. "Yes, Leo is the baby you gave birth to. I lied to you back then."

Vanessa's lips turned pale as she squeezed Leo's hand. "Audrey, please don't blame Carter. It's all my fault."

She pushed the boy forward. "Leo, go to her. That's your real mom."

"No!" Leo cried, clinging to her. "I don't want her. Mommy, I only want you. Please don't abandon me."

Vanessa wrapped her arms around him and wept bitterly. To my parents, the sight made me look like a villain trying to tear a happy family apart.

"Audrey!" Ida Wilkinson rushed forward, placing herself squarely in front of Vanessa. "Don't you dare try to tear them apart! Your dad and I gave this our blessing."

"So, you all knew?" I asked in disbelief.

"You only have yourself to blame," Ida sighed, looking away with guilt. "When you had that ski accident, Vanessa got severe frostbite saving your life and lost her chance to ever become a mother. Letting her raise Leo is only fair."

"Only fair?" I remembered clearly that Vanessa had lost her fertility due to a botched pregnancy termination during college.

Ida bit her lip nervously, unable to face me. When I remained silent, she took it as a sign of acceptance. "It's been three years. Don't dwell on it anymore. You and Carter can always have another baby. We've visited Leo every week in the past three years.

"Vanessa is gentle and attentive, whereas you've spent all your time moping around and crying. She's far better suited to raise him than you are."

My dad, Soren Wilkinson, nodded in agreement. "Vanessa treats your mother and me with so much devotion. We've already adopted her as our daughter.

"You've gotten a younger sister. As for Leo, if you really can't let go, you can just spoil him as your nephew. That should settle it."

Standing together, they looked like a happy family, but every drop of blood in my body turned ice cold.

A shaky, agonizing laugh escaped my lips. "I nearly died giving birth to him, only for him to be handed to another woman.

"My husband acts like her husband, and my parents want her as their daughter. What have I been to any of you all these years? Why didn't anyone have the decency to tell me?"

I pointed a trembling finger at Vanessa. "While I was breaking down in tears night after night, were you gloating the whole time?"

"Audrey!" Carter frowned, looking at me with stern disapproval. "Vanessa has nothing to do with this. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

A metallic taste of blood rushed to my throat. I leaned heavily against a palm tree to steady myself and summoned the system.

"Confirm exit! I don't want to stay here for another second!"