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بيت / The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever / Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

مؤلف: Jasmine Flower
For a while,

the backlash was everywhere.

Almost everyone was condemning the Bennett family.

They knew their biological daughter had been out there all these years,

yet instead of looking for her,

they had simply carried on with their lives as if nothing had happened.

Ethan Bennett stormed into my office and threw a newspaper onto my desk.

“Was this your plan all along?”

I looked down at the headline announcing that I was the Bennett family’s biological daughter.

“What are you talking about?”

“First, you rejected the house and the trust. Then you walked away as if you wanted nothing from us.”

His voice was tight with anger.

“And now, suddenly, every newspaper knows who you are.”

I looked up at him.

“You think I leaked it.”

“Who else would benefit from it?”

He stepped closer.

“You knew public pressure would force us to acknowledge you. You knew people would accuse Mom and Dad of abandoning their biological daughter.”

His expression filled with disgust.

“You made us believe you were walking away when you were really waiting for a better way to force yourself into the family.”

I stared at him.

So that was what he believed.

Even my refusal had become evidence of manipulation.

Even my silence was part of some plan to take Emily’s place.

“We offered you a house, a trust, and the same financial support Emily receives,” Ethan continued. “There was only one condition.”

“Pretend I’m not your sister.”

“Keep your identity private,” he corrected coldly. “You had nothing to lose.”

“Except my name.”

“You said you didn’t want the Bennett name.”

“I don’t.”

He gave a bitter laugh.

“Then why is the whole country talking about you as the Bennett family’s real daughter?”

Real daughter.

Not biological daughter.

Not another daughter.

In Ethan’s mind, acknowledging me could only mean replacing Emily.

He had never imagined that both of us could belong.

“You’ve already decided what happened,” I said.

“Because I know you.”

“No. You remember the woman who spent ten years begging this family to love her.”

His jaw tightened.

“You stayed because this family mattered to you.”

“I stayed because I hadn’t learned when to stop hoping.”

“And now you expect me to believe you suddenly want nothing from us?”

“Yes.”

His eyes hardened.

“You don’t walk away from a family you spent your entire life searching for.”

There it was again.

The certainty beneath every accusation.

He believed I could lie, manipulate the media, and hurt Emily.

But he could not believe I might genuinely choose to leave him.

“You keep mistaking my leaving for a strategy to make you chase me,” I said.

I met his eyes.

“It isn’t.”

Ethan went still.

Then his expression turned cold again.

“Emily already died because of you once. Now you’re trying to take away the only life she has left.”

“The only life she has,” I repeated quietly. “Is that my name?”

“You know that isn’t what I mean.”

“No. I know exactly what you mean.”

I pushed the newspaper back toward him.

“You believe I still want your house. Your name. Your parents. So every time I say no, you assume I’m only demanding more.”

I held his gaze.

“You don’t know me, Ethan. You only know the woman who once refused to leave you.”Ethan was about to respond when someone suddenly rushed through the door and stepped between us.

Professor Hayes spread an arm in front of me.

“Mr. Bennett, Claire is my student. I know her character.”

“She would never do something like this.”

Ethan gave him a cold once-over.

“You're her professor?”

“Then you can't be much of a mentor if you tutored someone this…”

“Mr. Bennett.”

Professor Hayes cut him off sharply.

“Watch your mouth.”

I looked at Professor Hayes standing between us, and my anger slowly faded.

“Professor, I've got this.”

Then I turned back to Ethan.

“If you don't have proof, please leave.”

The tension hung in the room for several seconds.

Then there was a knock at the door.

My assistant peeked inside.

“Dr. Morgan, we found the surveillance footage you asked us to check.”

“There was another unauthorized visitor at the institute two days ago.”

She glanced at Ethan.

“He came in right behind your family.”

Ethan's expression froze.

He took the visitor log from her and read through it.

At last, it became clear.

My identity hadn't been leaked by me.

The Bennett family's business rivals had done it.

Ethan's expression shifted several times before he finally spoke.

“I'm sorry.”

He avoided my eyes.

“I was wrong about you.”

I remained calm.

“Now that you've found the truth, Mr. Bennett, please leave.”

Ethan stood there for a moment.

This time,

he didn't ask me to come home.

The next day,

he came back.

But he didn't enter my office.

He stood outside the conference room and watched me lead a project meeting.

Several senior researchers gathered around me, discussing the latest data.

Someone raised a concern.

I immediately proposed a solution.

When the meeting ended, Professor Hayes patted my shoulder.

“I'll leave tonight's classified transfer to you.”

“Got it.”

Ethan had been standing outside the entire time.

When I finally walked out, he spoke quietly.

“You're leading this project?”

“Yes.”

He was silent for a long time.

“I went home and looked through your records with Mom and Dad.”

His voice was strained.

“Your papers, your awards, your position. We had no idea.”

He paused.

“Mom and Dad were proud when they found out.”

“They want you to come home.”

I said nothing.

Ethan lowered his eyes.

“I also saw the dates on everything.”

“You won those awards without us.”

“You published those papers without us knowing.”

“You built this entire career on your own.”

His voice dropped.

“The Bennett family had nothing to do with any of it.”

“But when we finally found you,”

“The first thing we did was ask you to keep hiding who you are.”

He looked up at me.

“So Mom and Dad thought we should at least make it up to you.”

“We'll transfer a house into your name.”

“Emily can stay at home, and you can live there.”

“You won't have to deal with each other.”

“That way, things will be fair to both of you.”

I looked at him.

“Fair?”

Ethan nodded.

I held his gaze.

“Then why don't you make Emily move out?”
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  • The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever   Chapter 10

    I clung tightly to Dr. Hayes' arm and shouted toward the hallway,“Someone! Help! Hurry!”The base medical team arrived within minutes.They lifted him onto a stretcher and rushed him to the infirmary.I stood in the hallway, leaning against the cold wall.Then my legs gave out, and I sank to the floor, burying my face against my knees.My head was buzzing.All the details I'd ignored came rushing back.He'd been coughing more often lately.He'd been eating less and less.In my last life, he'd died from a serious illness.He'd died during the classified project in Alaska, and I hadn't even gotten to see him one last time.And somehow, I hadn't noticed any of it this time.I was such an idiot.The infirmary door opened.The doctor stepped out, removed his mask, and looked grim.I forced myself to stand, my legs still trembling.“How is he?”The doctor was silent for a few seconds.“Initial tests suggest acute organ damage caused by radiation exposure. His condition isn't good.”“We've c

  • The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever   Chapter 9

    I never imagined they could actually find me here.Everyone stationed at the Alaska Base had to sign strict confidentiality agreements before arriving. Their identities were erased from public records, and as far as the outside world was concerned, they were officially dead.Even the Bennett family shouldn't have been able to track me down in the middle of this desert.Yet now, they were standing outside the base's reception room.Mrs. Bennett had lost a tremendous amount of weight.Her hair had turned noticeably grayer, and dark circles shadowed her eyes.Mr. Bennett stood beside her, looking exhausted and years older.My brother, Ethan Bennett, stood at the front.The moment his eyes landed on me, his whole body trembled.“Claire.”Mrs. Bennett 's tears immediately spilled over.“Claire, sweetheart. Mom came to find you. I know I was wrong.”She took two steps toward me, reaching for my hand.I stepped back.Her sob caught in her throat, and she froze.Mr. Bennett opened his mouth, h

  • The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever   Chapter 8

    Professor Hayes and I were never actually killed.That night, we secretly staged our deaths, deactivated our identities, and officially joined the Alaska Space Program.We did it to keep our research and identities from being exploited by the wrong people.When Professor Hayes and I boarded the westbound flight that night,we were the only two people in the plane.The lights outside gradually faded into the distance,until they were completely swallowed by the darkness.Once we arrived at the Alaska base,we were quickly assigned to the core laboratory deep inside the underground facility.Professor Hayes stood at the doorway and smiled at me.“Nervous?”I shook my head, walked over, and placed my hand on the control panel.Then I smiled.“You're kidding, Professor. Why would I be?”“This is exactly where I'm supposed to be.”The days that followed seemed to fly by.The entire project team practically lived in the lab.We started preparing the first phase from scratch.Every parameter

  • The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever   Chapter 7

    I watched my family repeat everything they had done to Claire in her previous life.Only this time,they were even more ruthless.They didn't just treat Emily like she was invisible.They allowed the staff to mistreat her, too.Her clothes were “accidentally” thrown into the trash.Breakfast was constantly forgotten.Her room was cleaned only once every three days.When she confronted the housekeepers, they looked at her with open contempt.“You're just an impostor who stole someone else's place.”“What makes you think you deserve to complain?”“You killed the real daughter, and you still have the nerve to stay here?”One day, one of Dad's longtime business associates came over.After a few drinks, he sighed.“I heard your biological daughter who was lost for all those years was an incredible young researcher.”“MIT graduate, so many awards.”“Such a pity.”Dad's hand froze around his glass.He said nothing.But the regret in his eyes was almost unbearable to look at.After the guest l

  • The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever   Chapter 6

    “What?”I jerked my head up, my eyes burning red.“You're lying. How could that be?”“You said everyone made it out safely.”“How could Claire…”I couldn't finish.I stared at the young assistant, who was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.My legs suddenly gave out.I stumbled backward and slammed into the cold wall.Then I slowly slid down until I was crouched on the floor, burying my face in my hands.I thought about that afternoon.Emily had told me not to drive Claire back.And I'd actually listened.What if I'd gone after her?What if I'd insisted on taking her home?While I sat there trembling, two police officers approached.One of them, a middle-aged officer, removed his cap.“Mr. Bennett?”“We've completed the scene investigation and identity verification. One of the two researchers who died in the explosion has been confirmed as Dr. Claire Morgan.”“I'm very sorry for your loss.”It felt as though someone had drained every ounce of strength from my body.I sat there, s

  • The Daughter They Erased Was Gone Forever   Chapter 5

    Ethan POV It took our family the entire afternoon to calm Emily down.After she cried herself out and finally went upstairs to rest, mom sank onto the couch and rubbed her temples.“She really was wronged today.”“Considering what happened to Emily in our previous life, it's understandable that we're being protective.”Dad nodded.“And we did promise Claire that Emily would move out eventually.”“She is our daughter too. She wouldn't really walk away from us.”Mom finally relaxed.“Good.”But I remained silent.I kept thinking about Claire's cold expression these past few days.And the way she had walked out of the house in the afternoon without looking back.A growing unease settled in my chest.What if she really didn't want to come back?I suddenly stood up and grabbed my jacket.“I’m going to the institute.”The car sped through the night.Streetlights flashed past one after another.But as I rounded the final corner,a deafening explosion suddenly shook the night.A moment later,

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