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Todos os capítulos de Three Years Betrayed: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

10 Capítulos

Chapter 1

Cody Vantor curled into Summer Walsh’s arms, burying his face into her neck and rubbing against her affectionately.I had poured my heart and soul into raising him for three years, and yet Cody had never once shown me that kind of closeness."Lenora, don’t just stand at the door. Come in and sit for a bit?"I stepped inside stiffly.Directly across the living room was a massive photo wall. Every picture on it was of Dorian Vantor and Summer, with Cody between them. A family of three.The photos were arranged neatly in chronological order, from maternity shoots to his one-month celebration, all the way to Cody’s second birthday.As the so-called mother who had raised him for three years, I didn’t have a single proper photo with him.My entire body trembled as I stared at Dorian. "Three years ago, in the delivery room… The child I gave birth to… Where is that baby?"Dorian didn’t dare meet my eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed. His voice came out dry."You hemorrhaged and fell into a

Chapter 2

"You’re the older sister. You’ve always been the sensible one. Just treat this as helping her out. Give in a little."I hung up immediately, pressing my back hard against the cold elevator wall.Even my own mother was in on it. My whole family was feeding off me.I staggered back to the small apartment.Everywhere I looked, there were traces of Cody. The height markings I had drawn for him were still on the doorframe. His toys were scattered across the couch.I gasped for breath as I tore through drawers and cabinets. I dumped out every drawer Dorian owned, scattering everything across the floor.Finally, at the bottom of a metal box hidden in the nightstand, I found Cody’s birth certificate.Mother: Summer Vantor.Father: Dorian Vantor.The birth date was eleven days earlier than my due date.Inside the box was also a property deed. Only Dorian’s name was on it.The $400,000 I had put down as a deposit and the $120,000 in premarital savings were all for nothing.I flipped

Chapter 3

I stared at the receipt from the children’s home, my fingers digging hard into my palm. I pulled out my phone and messaged my former supervisor, Monica Crossing."Ms. Crossing, I want to come back to work."She replied instantly: "You’re always welcome. I’ve kept your position open."At the same time, I paid to hire a private investigator. I sent him a photo of the receipt."Help me check this children’s home’s intake records from three years ago. Focus on baby girls."Early the next morning, Dorian drove Cody back.The moment Cody walked in, he started crying loudly. "I want my real mom. I don’t want to stay here."I looked down at him. Around his neck was a new silver necklace, engraved with the words "Summer loves you".Dutifully, I took Cody to the kindergarten registration desk. It was crowded. Parents lined up in a long queue.When it was our turn, the staff checked the household registration documents and frowned."The mother’s information doesn’t match the birth certi

Chapter 4

Sunshine Children’s Home was bustling with noise. Colorful banners were strung across the courtyard.Dorian and Summer, presented as a model philanthropic family, stood with Cody, preparing for a media interview.I avoided the front entrance and climbed over the iron fence into the back courtyard. It was damp and cold, thick with the smell of mildew.On a set of steps in the corner, I saw a little girl no older than three. She wore thin, worn-out clothes, shivering in the wind.In her hand, she clutched half a hardened, cold chunk of bread. Her exposed arms were covered in bruises, layer upon layer of them.She shrank back and looked up.Those eyes. That face…It was exactly like my childhood photos.My limbs went weak.Just then, the private investigator’s message popped up."Ma’am, I got the intake record from that year. The signature belongs to Dorian Vantor. The girl’s name is Quinn."I stared at the proof on my screen, then at my daughter, who was covered in wounds. Qui

Chapter 5

Her breathing was so faint it was almost impossible to detect."An ambulance! Call an ambulance now!" I screamed, my voice tearing apart.Dorian finally snapped out of his daze, fumbling for his phone.Summer slammed her hand down over his. "Why call an ambulance? Dorian, do you want the Vantor family splashed across headlines tomorrow? It’s just a stray kid. If she dies, we pay compensation. That’s better than ruining our reputation."I jerked my head up, my bloodshot eyes locking onto her."You can’t beat me, Lenora. Ever since we were kids, you’ve always had to give in to me. Mom and Dad love me the most. Now Dorian does too."You’re just a recycling bin, taking whatever I don’t want."At that moment, sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder. Under flashing lights, several officers rushed in and quickly secured the scene.A man in a suit followed behind them—calm, composed—walking straight toward me."Mrs. Vantor, I’m Ronnie Talbot, your attorney. Monica Crossing was w

Chapter 6

My mind exploded, dragging me back to when I was eighteen.I had been accepted into a top university. Summer had failed her exams.That night, she spiraled, smashing things in her room and crying that she didn’t want to live anymore.Mom knelt in front of me, begging me to give her my admission letter."Lenora, you’re the older sister. You’ve always been the sensible one. Summer’s health is fragile. If she doesn’t go to school, she’ll die. Just help me, please?"In the end, I went to a mediocre college. Summer took my acceptance and walked into a prestigious university.From that day on, I knew that in this family, I would always be the one sacrificed.And now, history was repeating itself. Only this time, what was at stake… was my daughter’s life."She deserves to die.""You—!" Mom raised her hand to strike me.Dorian rushed forward and stopped her. His face was ashen, dark circles heavy beneath his eyes."Mom, stop." His voice was hoarse as he pulled a black card from his

Chapter 7

"Summer didn’t have a choice back then! That deadbeat dumped her while she was pregnant. If she hadn’t found someone to step in, how was she supposed to survive on her own?"Dorian froze like he’d been struck by lightning. He rushed to the hospital like a madman. For the first time, he lowered his pride in front of me, dropping to his knees outside the ICU while begging through the glass."Lenora… Lenora, let me in. Let me see the baby…"Lenora, I’m a scumbag… I’m worse than garbage… I’ll do anything. Just please, let me see you one more time…"His sobs were raw, desperate, almost animalistic.I ignored him.A few days later, when Ronnie called, I was reading Quinn a story."Mrs. Vantor, the results are back." His voice was heavy. "It’s exactly what you suspected. Dorian Vantor is not Cody’s biological father."The moment the call ended, the hospital room door slammed open with a violent crash.Dorian burst in, clutching a crumpled sheet of paper in his hand—a DNA report.His

Chapter 8

Summer had learned how to fake illness, how to play weak, how to use tears and even self-harm to gain sympathy to get whatever she wanted.From my college admission letter, to my fiance Dorian, to my entire life… she had stolen everything from me, step by step.My mother’s blind obedience toward her wasn’t love. It was guilt, fear, and years of manipulation.I stood outside the interrogation room, listening to it all. It felt absurd and pathetic.All those years of swallowing my pride and being "the good one" had been nothing but a cruel joke."You think sending me to prison ends this?" Summer leaned toward the glass, her voice laced with venom. "I forgot to tell you. Cody’s real father is Troy Saltar, from the Tencrest Group. If you dare touch me, he’ll bury your entire family with me."Dorian’s face drained of all color.Tencrest Group. Troy Saltar.That was the Vantor family’s biggest business rival, a man known for being ruthless, vindictive, and utterly unhinged.…Summe

Chapter 9

A year later, in Harbor City, a warm coastal southern city where it felt like spring all year round…With Monica’s help, I joined the Harbor City branch of her company. With my strong capabilities, I quickly found my footing.Quinn’s physical and emotional health slowly improved. She started to smile again. She acted like any other child her age, tugging on my hand, whining for attention. At night, before bed, she would softly call me, "Mom."I enrolled her in the best kindergarten and hired a professional therapist. I worked relentlessly, giving her everything I could, trying to make up for the three years I had taken from her.My life finally fell back into place.Calm.Steady.Full of hope.Until Dorian appeared and shattered everything. He found where I lived.That day, when I came home from work, I saw him standing downstairs, holding a giant teddy bear.He had grown gaunt. His shirt was worn and faded. His hair had gone gray, and his eyes were sunken. There was nothing

Chapter 10

He transferred everything he had left into a trust.Quinn was the sole beneficiary.Ronnie was named the executor."He has one last request." Ronnie’s tone was complicated. "He wants to return the ashes of your first child, the one he kept all these years in private."It felt like an invisible hand clenched tightly around my heart.That child… The one I thought had long been disposed of, the one I had never even seen. All this time, he had kept those ashes."He said he doesn’t have the right to see you. He mailed me the key to the memorial locker. The address is—""That won’t be necessary." I cut him off. "Ronnie, please retrieve them for me and scatter them into the sea."I needed a clean ending. A complete severance from everything in the past."Alright." He fell silent for a moment before agreeing.Not long after I hung up, an unfamiliar number called. It was Mom.Her voice sounded aged, exhausted. She cried, saying Summer had been causing trouble in prison, dragging her

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