Chapter 4

Leander helped me to my feet, but the moment I tried to stand on my own, my knees buckled, and I nearly fell again. He caught me before I could hit the floor, then slipped one arm around my waist and the other beneath my knees before lifting me into his arms.

I wanted to tell him that I could walk, that I wasn't a child who needed to be carried around, but the words refused to come out of my mouth. I was too exhausted to argue, and the thought of walking up the stairs with my legs trembling beneath me felt impossible, so I rested my head against his chest and allowed him to carry me to my bedroom.

He didn't say anything along the way, and neither did I.

When we reached my room, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to stop when he saw the mess I had made the previous night. Clothes were scattered across the floor, books lay open near the wardrobe, and several picture frames had been thrown aside, with one lying face down beneath the dressing table. The room looked nothing like the place I had spent years keeping neat, and I knew he could tell how badly I had fallen apart.

His eyes moved around the room before settling on me, but he didn't ask what had happened or why I had destroyed everything.

Instead, he carried me to the bed and lowered me gently onto the mattress.

"Stay here," he said, pulling the blanket over my legs. "You need to take a bath and get some rest. You've been crying all night, and you look like you haven't slept at all."

I stared at him without answering.

"Seren, did you hear me?"

I nodded.

"Good." He brushed a strand of hair away from my face, his expression softening slightly. "I'll go to the kitchen and get you something to eat. You haven't had anything since yesterday, and I don't want you getting sick on top of everything else."

I nodded again.

He glanced toward the scattered belongings on the floor before turning back to me.

"I'll ask the maids to clean this place up while you're in the bathroom. You don't need to worry about anything right now, okay? Just take care of yourself."

"Okay," I whispered.

My voice sounded so weak that I barely recognized it.

Leander watched me for another moment, as though he wanted to say something else, but he eventually reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'll be right back."

I didn't respond, and he seemed to understand that I wasn't in the mood to talk, so he left the room and closed the door behind him.

For several minutes, I remained in the same position, staring at the ceiling while his words echoed through my mind. I knew I should get up and take a bath, but I couldn't find the strength to move. Even lifting my hand to wipe my face felt like too much effort, and I was beginning to feel as though my body had become as heavy as the pain sitting inside my chest.

Eventually, I heard footsteps outside, followed by the soft voices of the maids as they entered the room and began gathering the things I had thrown around.

I watched them from the bed without saying anything.

One of them picked up the broken picture frame near the dressing table, while another folded the clothes scattered beside the wardrobe and returned them to their proper places. They worked quietly, occasionally glancing in my direction, but neither of them asked me any questions.

I was grateful for that because I didn't think I could have answered them without breaking down again.

When they finished cleaning, one of the maids approached my bed and asked whether I needed anything else, but I simply shook my head, and they left me alone.

My room was clean again.

Everything had been returned to its place, the drawers were closed, and the broken frame had been removed. If someone walked in without knowing what had happened, they might never have guessed that I had spent the previous night destroying my own belongings because I couldn't bear the thought of losing my family.

Yet, despite the room looking exactly as it had before, nothing inside me felt the same.

I didn't get up.

I didn't take a bath, and I didn't even bother changing my clothes. I simply remained on the bed, staring at the wall while the hours passed, barely noticing when the sunlight shifted across the floor.

Leander returned at some point with a tray of food, but I could only manage a few bites before pushing it away.

He didn't force me to eat, although I noticed the worry in his eyes when he collected the tray.

"You need to try, Seren," he murmured. "You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"I don't want anything."

He sighed and sat beside me.

"I know things are difficult right now, but you can't give up on yourself because of what happened yesterday."

I turned my face toward the window.

He was quiet for a moment before continuing, telling me that Knox Enterprises had been dealing with an unexpected problem and that he might have to leave for a while. I barely listened, only catching a few words about an emergency meeting and something that needed his immediate attention.

Under normal circumstances, I would have asked him what was wrong, but that morning, I could barely think about anything beyond the fact that my parents had left to find their biological daughter without telling me.

Leander stood up and adjusted his shirt before looking down at me.

"I have to go and handle something at Knox Enterprises."

I nodded.

He hesitated, then leaned forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Seren, look at me."

I slowly turned my head.

His expression had become serious, and there was something almost desperate in his eyes.

"Please don't do anything to hurt yourself, okay?"

I frowned faintly.

"Why would I do that?"

He swallowed.

"Because I know how much this is hurting you, and I don't want you to think that losing your place in this family means you've lost everything."

I stared at him, unable to understand why he sounded so worried.

Then he bent down and pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly against his chest.

"You're all I have, Seren," he whispered. "Please don't destroy yourself over this."

My eyes filled with tears again, and I clutched the back of his shirt.

For a moment, I wanted to ask him to stay, to forget about Knox Enterprises and whatever emergency was waiting for him, and simply sit beside me until I felt strong enough to face the world again.

But I couldn't bring myself to ask.

He had his own responsibilities, and I didn't want to become another burden he had to carry.

So I let him go.

Leander kissed the top of my head before straightening up, then promised to check on me later and walked out of the room.

I listened to his footsteps fade down the hallway, and once again, I was alone.

I didn't know how much time had passed when the sound of car engines drifting into the driveway finally caught my attention.

I had been lying on my side, watching the curtains move slightly whenever the breeze slipped through the open window, but the familiar sound made me sit up.

Several cars had arrived at the mansion.

I walked toward the window and looked down, my heart beginning to beat faster when I recognized the vehicles parked outside.

It was my parents.

Dad stepped out of the first car, followed by Mom, while Grandpa emerged from another vehicle with Uncle Julius close behind him.

They were back.

I stared at them, barely daring to breathe as a small, desperate hope rose inside me.

Perhaps they had found their daughter and discovered that the information was wrong. Maybe they had met her, compared the results, and realized that someone had made a mistake. Perhaps they were coming back to tell me that everything would return to normal and that I could stop worrying about losing my family.

I didn't care if their biological daughter existed or if they wanted to meet her. If they truly were my parents, I could accept that there was another girl somewhere who shared their blood.

I only wanted to know that there was still a place for me in their lives.

Without waiting another second, I hurried out of my bedroom and rushed down the staircase, gripping the railing as I tried to move faster.

By the time I reached the living room, the front door was opening, and Mom was the first person to step inside.

"Mom!"

I ran toward her, my heart pounding with relief.

She turned in my direction, and I didn't notice the strange expression on her face until I was already standing in front of her. I had missed her so much, even though we had been in the same house the previous day, and all I wanted was to wrap my arms around her and feel her hold me the way she always had whenever I was upset.

So I reached for her.

But before I could embrace her, her hand shot up and struck my face.

The slap was so hard that my head snapped to the side, and I lost my balance completely. I fell backward, landing painfully on my butt as a sharp ringing filled my ears.

For several seconds, I couldn't move.

I slowly lifted my hand to my cheek, staring at Mom in disbelief as tears gathered in my eyes.

She had slapped me.

My mother had just slapped me.

I looked at Dad, expecting him to rush toward me or demand an explanation for what had happened, but he stood beside Grandpa with a look of disgust on his face.

My heart sank.

"Mom?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Why did you do that?"

She stared down at me, her eyes blazing with anger.

"I was worried about how you would handle the news that you weren't our biological daughter," she said, her voice shaking with rage. "I thought you would be hurt. I thought you would need time to accept it, and I was prepared to give you that time because I knew it wouldn't be easy for you."

She took a step closer, and I instinctively leaned away from her.

"But I never imagined you would betray us."

My mouth fell open.

"Betray you?"

"What else would you call it?" she snapped.

I looked at Dad, but he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"What's happening?" I asked, my voice breaking as I struggled to get up. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Grandpa reached into his bag, pulled out a tablet, and threw it toward me.

I barely managed to catch it before it struck the floor.

"Watch it yourself," he said coldly. "Then tell us you don't understand."

My hands trembled as I looked down at the screen.

A security recording was already playing.

The footage showed the hallway outside Dad's study, and as I watched, a girl who looked exactly like me appeared on the screen. She glanced around before entering the room, then walked straight toward Dad's desk as though she knew precisely what she was looking for.

My breathing became uneven.

The girl opened drawers, searched through some documents, and eventually walked toward the safe behind the desk.

Then she opened it.

I stared at the screen in horror as she removed several files and began taking pictures of the documents inside. The images appeared to show confidential business plans and details about Whitmore Group's latest developments.

I shook my head.

"No..."

The recording continued.

The girl placed the documents back inside the safe, closed it, and turned toward the camera. Although the footage had no sound at first, the next section suddenly played with audio, and I heard my own voice pouring from the tablet.

"I'll make sure you regret this," the girl on the screen said. "If I can't be a member of this family, then I'll destroy everything you have. I'll send your precious business secrets to your rivals and watch this entire family fall apart!"

The tablet nearly slipped from my hands.

I stared at the screen, unable to understand what I was seeing.

The girl looked like me.

She wore clothes similar to mine, had the same hairstyle, and even moved the way I did, but I never entered Dad's study. I spent the entire evening locked inside my bedroom yesterday, crying until exhaustion finally forced me to sleep and today if not of Leander, I might still be in the floor of the living room, so how?.

I never touched his safe, I never taken those documents and I had certainly never threatened to destroy my own family.

I looked up at them, tears streaming down my face.

"That wasn't me."

Mom's expression hardened.

"Don't lie to us!"

"I'm not lying!"

My voice echoed through the living room as I held the tablet out toward them.

"I swear I didn't do this! I never left my room last night!"

Grandpa's eyes narrowed.

"Then explain why the person in that recording looks exactly like you."

I opened my mouth, but no answer came.

Because I didn't have one.