Chapter 5

"Stay away! Don't come near me!" Isabelle screamed. Terrified, she hid behind Norah.

Norah couldn't bear seeing Isabelle in distress and immediately ordered the maids and bodyguards in the mansion to hold the intruders back.

However, that just made things worse. Robert swung his fist at the staff, and Olivia, with all her audacity, started pulling her clothes off. She threatened them, saying, "Go ahead, touch me if you dare! I'll accuse you of molesting me!" The staff had seen difficult people before, but never anyone this shameless. Faced with such a scene, the bodyguards hesitated to act, and soon, the entire mansion echoed with Olivia's sharp, grating voice.

Even Norah, who was usually composed, couldn't take it anymore. Her face hardened as she snapped, "Enough! Just tell me how much you want!"

Seeing that they had the upper hand, Robert stopped hitting people, and Olivia stopped tearing her clothes off.

Shawn stepped forward with a smirk. "50 million dollars. Give us 50 million, and we'll leave right now. I promise you'll never see us again."

50 million?

Everyone except Elisa gasped. They had seen greed before, but never at this level.

"Absolutely not!" Lucas was furious. It wasn't about the money. He simply refused to be extorted.

Shawn sneered at his reply and said, "Well, then, let's go, Mom, Dad. We'll just take my sister and leave! Do you think being the richest man in town means you can hold our family hostage?"

Exactly. It was only right to take their daughter back. Without hesitation, Robert and Olivia rushed forward and grabbed Isabelle, refusing to let go.

Norah was beside herself with worry. Instinctively, she looked over at Elisa, who had been sitting quietly the entire time. After all, this was her adoptive family for 18 years. Couldn't she say something to stop this madness?

Elisa was looking back at her with an expression filled with disappointment, coldness, and hurt. Maybe Norah didn't realize it herself, but in that moment, her frustration and disappointment in Elisa were more painful than she knew. Elisa almost wanted to laugh, but all she felt was a wave of bitterness.

Norah had witnessed firsthand just how vile that family was. Yet her first instinct was to protect Isabelle from being taken, to feel anger at Elisa for not helping, rather than to feel compassion for her biological daughter, who had been raised in such a family for 18 years.

18 years, during which Elisa had longed countless times for a loving gaze from her parents, only to receive nothing but beatings from Robert and Olivia. Finally, after her real mother had finally found her, all her attention and care were still directed at someone else. In her previous life, and now in this one, the love she had craved was still nothing but a dream.

Norah, stung by the look Elisa gave her, felt a pang of regret. She opened her mouth to say something. However, before she could, Elisa stood up and walked over toward Robert and Olivia to stop them.

"Let her go. I'll go back with you," Elisa said calmly.

Isabelle, desperate to be rid of them, eagerly nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, that's right. Blood ties don't matter as much as the bonds that were formed. My true parents are the ones who raised me, and I intend to honor them. I don't want anything to do with these people!" Before anyone could react, Norah's voice broke the silence, almost hysterical. "No!"

Elisa smiled bitterly. "Isabelle is right. The ones who raised me are the ones I am indebted to, so I should be the one to leave."

No one could have everything in life, but Norah wanted it all. She couldn't bear to lose either the daughter she had raised for 18 years or her biological child.

"Fine! 50 million it is," Norah snarled, grabbing a pen and swiftly writing a check before throwing it at them. "Take this and get out! And remember this: from now on, you have no connection to my daughter whatsoever! Got it?"

"Yes, yes. We got it!" Shawn said, his face lighting up with joy as he held the check. His hands shook as he counted the zeroes.

However, Isabelle panicked, clinging to Norah's arm and pleading as she always did when she wanted something. "Mom, let Elisa go with them! We can just leave things the way they are. That way, no one's life has to change. Isn't that better?"

For a moment, Norah thought she must have misheard. That suggestion was ridiculous, but looking at Isabelle's teary, pleading face, she couldn't help but relent.

"Isabelle, you can't say things like that. Elisa's is my daughter, and so are you. That will never change."

"I know, Mom. I misspoke," Isabelle said, forcing a smile and looking as sweet as ever.

Norah gently patted her head, then turned back to Shawn and his family, her face darkened again. "Why are you still here? Get lost!"

Shawn and his family, satisfied with the money they had received, eagerly left. Finally, the chaos was over.

Elisa also turned to leave, but Norah grabbed her arm.

"Elisa's, don't be mad. I didn't mean anything by it earlier. Please don't be upset, okay?" Norah's voice wavered, her eyes reddened with emotion. "Elisa, are you going to abandon me? Don't you want your mother anymore?" Anyone hearing this would be moved, especially a child who had been starved of love for so long.

In her past life, by this point, Elisa's hand had already been crushed by Shawn. The only person in the world who could have healed her was herself, but because nerve damage was irreversible, she couldn't perform acupuncture on herself. Her hand was left permanently impaired.

Back then, Norah had been devastated for her, furious at Shawn for his cruelty, vowing to send him to jail. However, when faced with Shawn's threat to take Isabelle away, Norah dropped the charges and chose instead to pay him off to cut ties.

That was the first time Elisa had been abandoned. To make up for it, Norah had promised to throw a grand party to announce to the world that her real daughter had returned.

However, Isabelle cried and begged, fearing the mockery she might face as a fake heiress. Consequently, Norah changed her mind, letting Elisa assume the role of the adopted daughter instead.

That was the second time Elisa had been abandoned. And then there was the third and the fourth time.

"So what would it be this time, Mom?" she thought to herself. Elisa didn't need to pretend. Just thinking about her past life brought tears to her eyes.

"Mrs. Watson, you asked me to stay, but... what role am I supposed to take?" Elisa asked.

"You're my daughter, my real daughter, the one I carried for nine months and nearly died giving birth to!" Norah was overwhelmed with guilt, her voice breaking with emotion.

She continued, "I promise, I will announce your true identity to everyone. From now on, you'll have nothing to do with those people. You are my daughter, the heiress of the Watson family!"

Elisa showed no reaction to her declaration, but Isabelle's face went pale. "Mom, if you announce Elisa's identity, what's going to happen to me? If my friends and classmates find out I'm not actually part of the Watson family, they'll laugh at me!" Norah had thought about that before. Both of them were her daughters, so she struggled to find a perfect solution that would satisfy them both.

Sobbing, Isabelle suggested, "Mom, what if we just say Elisa is your adopted daughter? That way, she can stay with us, and no one will make fun of me... Does that sound okay?"

The idea only served her own interests, but Norah actually considered it. "Well, I—"

Elisa couldn't take it anymore. She turned and headed for the door.

Norah hurriedly grabbed her arm, pulling up her sleeve in the process. The marks on Elisa's arm-scars from years of beatings-were now in full view, the bruises old and new, telling a painful story of abuse. Norah's heart ached.

"Who did this to you?" she demanded furiously.

Elisa calmly pulled her sleeve back down, covering the scars. "It's been like this since I was little. I got used to it, so it doesn't matter anymore."

Her light and casual remark sent waves of emotion crashing through Norah's heart.

She had pampered someone else's daughter like a princess, giving her all the love and care in the world, while her own daughter had endured a life of suffering-hungry, cold, and beaten in that awful family.

The thought of it made Norah's hands tremble with anger and guilt. Her heart ached so much it felt like it was bleeding.

She didn't hesitate any longer. Turning to Lucas, whose face was just as grim, she said, "Honey, make the arrangements. Send out the invitations. Next Sunday, I'm officially announcing my daughter's return to her rightful place in this family!"