Semua Bab The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins: Bab 371 - Bab 380

Mia's POVThe smell, industrial disinfectant mixed with something.The kind of smell that lived in the walls of places where people went when society had decided they couldn't be trusted with freedom anymore.Madison's small hand found mine as we walked through the metal detector, her fingers cold despite the building's aggressive heating. She'd been quiet during the drive here, sitting in her booster seat with her elephant clutched against her chest, staring out the window at the gray February sky like she was memorizing clouds."Remember what we talked about," I said softly as we waited in the sterile lobby area. Around us, other visitors shifted in plastic chairs—a woman bouncing a crying baby, an elderly man clutching a paper bag that probably contained homemade cookies, a teenager with headphones around her neck who kept checking her phone.Madison nodded, her grip on her elephant tightening. "If I get scared, I can ask to leave.""That's right." I smoothed her hair. "And what el

MiaThe corrections officer led Madison and me through a series of increasingly sterile corridors, our footsteps echoing off polished concrete floors. Madison's small hand gripped mine tightly, her fingers still trembling."This way, ma'am," the officer said, stopping at a heavy steel door marked "Interview Room C." He produced a key ring that jangled with metallic finality. "The child will wait in here with Officer Martinez while you have your meeting."Through the reinforced glass window, I could see a smaller room furnished with child-friendly furniture—bright plastic chairs, a low table scattered with coloring books and crayons, posters of cartoon animals attempting to make this place feel less like what it was. Officer Martinez, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and graying hair, looked up from where she was arranging art supplies."Madison," I knelt down to her level, smoothing her dark hair away from her face. "You're going to stay here with Officer Martinez for a little while

MiaTaylor sat perfectly still in her metal chair, her eyes fixed on my face.I didn't speak. Just watched her.I wanted to see through her, to glimpse the depths of her soul, but I realized that she had no soul.Only an unsettled, twisted child remained, forever screaming her hunger.Taylor inhabited a world that existed entirely within her own twisted mind, a place where reality bent and warped.And the sole anchor connecting that world to reality was me.Not a romantic anchor. Not even a familial one, despite the accident of our father's choices that had made us stepsisters.This was a terrifying anchor. The kind that dragged ships to the bottom of the ocean."You're not going to say anything?" Taylor asked. "You just came here to stare at me? Like I'm some kind of zoo animal?"I remained silent, studying her face. Prison had stripped away the polish she'd worn, revealing the raw desperation underneath.She'd been watching me my entire life."I remerber everything about you, Mia. E

Mia's POVAlice sat in the harsh fluorescent light, like a child waiting for punishment.The silence between us stretched thin, punctuated only by the distant sound of metal doors closing somewhere in the building's depths.I studied her face—so similar to mine in bone structure, yet carrying a softness that spoke of a different kind of life."How old are you, Alice?""Twenty-three." She tucked a strand of badly cut hair behind her ear. "I know that doesn't excuse anything. I know being young and stupid isn't a defense.""No, it's not." I said. "But it's context."Alice's eyes flickered up to mine, searching. "I've thought about you every day since it happened. About your children. About how terrified they must have been." Her voice cracked. "I keep seeing that little boy's face when he realized I wasn't really you. He looked so confused, so scared.""Ethan.""Is that his name?" Alice's hands twisted in her lap. "He was trying to protect the others, wasn't he? Even though he was scare

Mia's POVThomas stood frozen, which somehow made him look dangerous. His eyes stayed fixed on Sophie.Alexander, oblivious to the tension crackling between the adults, tugged on Sophie's silk sleeve with fingers still sticky from marzipan. "Sophie, what's a supporting character?"Sophie's smile didn't waver. She knelt down to Alexander's level. "Ah, mon petit, a supporting character is someone who helps tell someone else's story, but they are not the main character themselves."Ethan stepped closer. "But everyone is the main character in their own story, right? That's what Mama always says."Thomas cleared his throat, the sound careful and controlled. "Your mama is absolutely right, Ethan. Everyone is the main character in their own story."He turned to look at me then."Mia," he said gently, already reaching for the apron strings behind his back, "I think I should go.""Thomas, wait—" I started, but Sophie's laugh cut through my words like a knife through cake."Oh, don't be so sens