Chapter 3

The elegant and dignified Norah Walsh hugged Elisa tightly, tears streaming down her face as she called out to her daughter. For a moment, the entire square seemed to hold its breath. Especially Lance and his lackeys, who had arrived a little too late. They all stood there in shock.

Rumors had been circulating for a while that the Watson family, the wealthiest in Vinelake, had sent out people to find their long-lost daughter. Apparently, that daughter was Elisa. The lackeys gasped. One of them turned toward Lance and asked, "What do we do now, Mr. Grantham? Do we still grab her?"

Of course, they couldn't capture her anymore. Lance sneered coldly, but his leering gaze lingered on Elisa. "Let's see how this plays out. If she's really the Watson family's daughter, this just got even more interesting. I don't care who she is if I want her, she's mine." With one last sneer, he said, "Let's go."

Quietly and unnoticed, Lance and his gang of lackeys slipped away.

Meanwhile, Norah continued to cry in the square, her eyes red and swollen. Despite being nearly 50, her face still appeared youthful, though now streaked with tears. She reached out, wanting to gently touch Elisa's face, but Elisa subtly avoided her.

In stark contrast to Norah's emotional outburst of heartache and joy, Elisa remained unnervingly calm. From start to finish, her face stayed blank, as if she were a bystander to the whole situation.

Norah's hand froze in midair, but she quickly reminded herself that Elisa still didn't know the full story. Wiping her tears, she hastily explained everything.

"Licia, I'm your mother, your real mother. I only recently found out that the daughter I fought so hard to bring into this world was switched at birth. The moment I learned the truth, I've been searching everywhere for you. And now, I've finally found you." Norah's tears flowed again as she spoke, her red eyes filled with heartache and guilt. It was her true emotions as a mother.

Elisa's didn't doubt the sincerity of Norah's feelings at that moment of time in her past life, and she didn't doubt it in her current life, either.

At that moment, Norah was genuinely her mother. Her heartache was real, and so was her guilt. However, Norah's favoritism and disdain that came later were real too.

Every time Norah had to choose between Elisa and Isabelle, it was always Elisa who was cast aside. That happened very single time.

For example, in her previous life, after Isabelle had faked her death by jumping into the sea, Norah had slapped her hard and said, "Elisa, the biggest regret of my life is bringing you back!"

Elisa closed her eyes briefly, her body trembling uncontrollably. Despite her vivid memories, she couldn't express her pain and grievances.

She slowly disentangled herself from Norah's embrace, her movements gentle but firm. "You've got the wrong person, lady."

"Licia..." Norah's face was filled with sorrow, but she quickly pulled herself together, forcing a smile through her tears. "It's okay, sweetheart. I understand you can't accept this right now. Blood is thicker than water, and I believe one day you'll recognize me." Elisa stayed silent.

Norah, trying her best to appease her, said softly, "Licia, it's so late. Why don't you come home with me tonight? I'd feel much better knowing you weren't out here alone."

Ever since learning that her biological daughter had been switched at birth, Norah had immediately sent her men to gather all information about Elisa's whereabouts. Hence, she knew quite a bit about Elisa's adoptive family and their background. Her adoptive mother was unemployed, spending most of her time arguing with the neighbors. Her adoptive father was a petty criminal, constantly involved in scams. Meanwhile, her brother was a gambler, always neck-deep in debt.

Norah couldn't bring herself to respect such a family. She was also worried that Elisa would pick up their habits as she grew up in such a terrible environment.

Since her real daughter was in front of her, there was no way she would allow her to go back to that awful place. After all, this was her biological daughter, her flesh and blood.

"Licia, please come home with me."

Despite Norah's genuine pleading and careful attention, Elisa didn't respond. Her gaze, however, shifted toward Shawn, who was still frozen on the ground in shock.

Shawn was stunned, unable to believe that Elisa was really the rich Watson family's daughter. That was good news to him as it meant he could blackmail the Watson family for money. His gambling debts of tens of thousands would be cleared within minutes. After all, his family had raised Elisa all these years. Wasn't it fair to ask for compensation? A few million, maybe tens of millions, wasn't unreasonable, right?

Upon having figured it out, Shawn's eyes gleamed with a greedy and cunning light.

Elisa, of course, would never return with Shawn. It wasn't a place she would call home; it was suffocating, worse than an abyss.

Besides, neither Shawn nor Lance would forgive her so easily. The best way to escape these lowlifes was to follow Norah back to the Watson residence.

With that thought, Elisa expression softened slightly as she looked at Norah. She seemed like a child yearning for love, with a hint of hope and longing in her eyes. The sight of it melted Norah's heart, and she started crying again. "Let's go, Licia. Let's go home."

Elisa allowed herself to be led into the car by Norah, not resisting the affection.

As she sat in the back seat, Elisa's eyes dropped, and all traces of warmth and softness vanished, replaced by cold indifference and mockery.

It was time to meet Isabelle again. The fleet of luxury cars started up and headed toward the Watson residence.

Still sprawled on the ground, Shawn stared at the cars as they drove away, watching as Elisa flashed him a thumbs-up before drawing her thumb across her throat in a menacing gesture.

Shawn snapped out of his daze, his face flushing with anger.

That little brat! So what if she just became the daughter of a rich family? How dare she threaten him like that?

He scrambled to his feet and immediately called his parents, shouting, "Dad! Mom! Elisa was just taken by the Watson family. We need to go over there right now to demand justice. We shouldn't have raised their daughter for free for 18 years! Oh, and one more thing." Shawn suddenly recalled what Norah had said about her daughter being switched at birth. His eyes lit up with realization.

Since Elisa was the Watson family's real daughter, that meant Isabelle, the current Watson family's heiress, was actually his biological sister. "It's also time to bring our family back."