Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Wife They Tried To Replace: Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

Dante’s POVFor several seconds, nobody moved.I stared at Serena.Then at the photograph in her hand.Then back at her.“You said you gave birth to her.”My voice sounded strange even to me.Serena swallowed. “I did.”“And you said I’m her father.”“Yes.”The room seemed to shrink around us.Valentina was standing beside me, so still that I could feel the tension coming off her without even looking at her.“Start talking,” I said.Serena glanced toward the hallway.“Not here.”I almost laughed.After everything we had been through, she still wanted privacy.“Serena, you just told me I have another daughter. You don’t get to tell me we need somewhere private.”“I know.”Her eyes met mine.“And if Helena hears what I’m about to tell you, she will kill the child.”That shut me up.Valentina stepped forward.“Evelyn is alive?”Serena nodded.“Yes.”“Where is she?”“I don’t know.”Valentina’s face changed.“What do you mean you don’t know?”“I mean I don’t know where she is now.” Serena’s

Valentina’s POVI hit the floor hard enough to knock the breath out of me.For a second, I couldn’t move.Dust filled the air. Somewhere nearby, something metal groaned before crashing to the ground.Then I heard Evelyn crying.I pushed myself up.“Evelyn?”“I’m here.”Her voice came from a few feet away.I crawled toward her and pulled her into my arms.“Are you hurt?”She shook her head.“No.”I checked her quickly anyway.Nothing.Thank God.Then I heard Dante.“Valentina!”“I’m here!”His voice came from somewhere to my left.“Are you okay?”“Yes.”I could barely see him through the dust. He was already getting to his feet.Adrian was farther away, leaning against a broken section of wall.He had blood running down the side of his face.“Where are we?” Dante demanded.Adrian looked around.“Below the old maternity wing.”I stared at him.“This place is under Saint Aurelia?”“Yes.”A terrible realization settled over me.We hadn’t discovered the hidden level.Helena had wanted us t

Valentina’s POVI couldn’t make sense of what she had just said.My mother stood at the end of the corridor, crying.Not the woman I remembered from old photographs.Not the woman who used to tuck me into bed.Not the woman whose perfume I could still remember.She looked like someone who had been carrying the same secret for so long that it had become heavier than she could bear.“What did you do?” I asked.She shook her head.“I was young.”My chest tightened.“What did you do?”“I didn’t know what Helena was capable of.”“That doesn’t answer my question.”Her eyes closed.“I gave her my baby.”The words barely came out.Everything around me went quiet.Dante moved closer.“What baby?”My mother opened her eyes.“Your sister.”I stared at her.“You had another daughter.”“Yes.”“And you gave her to Helena?”“No.”Her voice broke.“She took her.”I shook my head.“You just said you gave her to her.”“I was forced to sign the papers.”She wiped her face.“Helena threatened your father

Valentina’s POVI pulled Evelyn closer to me.The woman didn’t move.She stood in the doorway of the chapel, breathing hard, her eyes fixed on the little girl beside me.Evelyn was staring back at her.She didn’t look afraid.She looked confused.“Who are you?” I asked.The woman looked at me.For a moment, neither of us spoke.Then she said my name.“Valentina.”The way she said it made something twist inside me.Like she had known me for years.Dante stepped in front of me.“Don’t come any closer.”The woman stopped.“I didn’t come to hurt anyone.”“Then tell us who you are.”She swallowed.“My name is Elena.”I felt the air leave my lungs.Dante went still.“Elena?”She nodded.“I know what you’ve heard about me.”“You were supposed to be dead.”“So were half the people in this family.”Her eyes flicked toward Adrian.He looked away.I stared at her.“You said Evelyn is your daughter.”“Yes.”“She can’t be.”Elena’s eyes filled with tears.“She is.”“She was created from my embryo

Dante’s POVFor a moment, I couldn’t tell which woman I was looking at.Valentina stood beside me.The other woman stood across the room.Same dark hair.Same eyes.Same face.It was like someone had taken Valentina and changed nothing except the expression.But I knew my wife.I knew the way she held herself when she was frightened.I knew the slight tightening of her jaw when she was angry.And right now, she was terrified.Not of the woman.Of what this meant.Helena smiled.“You finally understand.”I stepped in front of Valentina.“No. We don’t.”The woman beside Helena laughed quietly.“You always did protect her.”Valentina looked at her.“Who are you?”The woman’s smile faded.“My name is Eva.”Helena’s expression hardened.“Don’t give her that name.”Eva looked at her.“You stopped having the right to name me years ago.”Something passed between them.Hatred.Old and deep.Valentina stepped around me.“Eva.”The woman looked at her.“Yes.”“Are you my sister?”“Yes.”“Twin?”