Todos los capítulos de When the Fake Heiress Hurt Me, My Whole Family Felt It: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

I'd gone missing when I was three. I grew up moving from one foster home to another, then lived on my own as an adult. After all those years, my birth parents, Richard and Caroline Hartley, finally found me.The day we were reunited, a strange notification sounded in my head. Pain-link system connected. All of the host's injuries, pain, and sensations will be shared instantly with the following immediate family members: parents and two older brothers. No distance limit.At first I chalked it up to the shock of coming home and didn't give it another thought.That first day, Mom brought out a stack of old photo albums. She showed me pictures of myself as a little girl, turning the pages one by one. When I ran my hand over the page from my third birthday, the sharp edge of the photo nicked my right index finger. A thin cut opened, and bright red blood slowly welled up.Mom immediately grabbed a tissue and leaned forward to wipe it away. But before she touched me, an identical cut opened o

Dad.Relief washed over me. Before I could ask for help, Vivian snatched the phone. She glared at me with hatred, even as she tried to play the victim."Dad, Nora stole Mom's ring and won't admit it. I only wanted to teach her some manners for you. She needs to know her place.""Let Nora go! Give her the phone!" Dad sounded furious. "Vivian, stop this right now!"Vivian's smug smile froze. For a moment, she looked scared. Amber held her phone still, and the girls around us fell silent. The whole room seemed to freeze.Clutching the phone, Vivian turned away from me and tried to defend herself. "She's a mess. The guests will laugh if she goes out like this. I'll take her to get cleaned up first."She hung up before Dad could answer and shoved the phone back into Martin's hand.Then she turned on me and reached for my coat. "You're going to parade around looking like that? Do you want everyone laughing at our family?"I shook her off and held up my swollen left hand. "Give me back the ri

I broke into another fit of violent coughing. All four of them swayed at once and doubled over, choking and gasping just as I was.Vivian stumbled backward in fright and knocked over a chair. She looked back and forth between me and our injured parents and brothers. Trembling, she tried to speak, but nothing came out."Nora!" Mom ran toward the pool, nearly sobbing with panic at the sight of me.I tried to answer, but couldn't stop coughing. My chest felt ready to burst. Leo moved to jump in after me, then nearly collapsed. Ethan caught him."Don't move!" Ethan told him firmly. He turned to Ben Davis, our driver, and the security guards. "Help the lifeguard get Nora out. We'll stay clear. Be careful with her."At last, Vivian panicked. She clutched Dad's arm and babbled excuses. "Dad, I didn't know this would happen! I didn't know you'd feel it, too! Tell them to stop filming. Get everyone else out of here!"Dad pried her hand off his arm. He looked at her coldly, without a trace of hi

The next day, Ethan helped me organize all the video evidence. We sent it to the team handling our public response, along with the photos from when Mom gave me the ring.The footage left no room for doubt. Every word I'd said, every moment of Vivian grinding her shoe into my hand. It was all there.People who'd spread the theft rumors quietly deleted their posts. Many apologized to me privately. Others tried to avoid consequences by going through mutual contacts to reach Dad and beg him to let it go.Dad's expression didn't change as he ended each call.Then he turned to me, his voice gentle but firm. "Just rest and get better. You don't need to worry about any of this."Two weeks later, our lawyer, Paul Mercer, told us Vivian had been released pending trial. She wanted to meet with us, hoping I'd sign a letter saying I forgave her and asking the judge to give her a lighter sentence.Mom frowned immediately. Her answer was firm. "Nora isn't seeing her."I set down my glass of water and

The day before the party, I finally understood what Dad had meant by "the whole place is yours."The entire estate had been closed to outside guests. For a full week, every member of the hotel's staff had been preparing for my party.As we drove through the gates, trucks full of flowers kept arriving. White roses and delicate moth orchids lined the broad stone steps all the way to the main building.A glass-walled pavilion had gone up in the middle of the garden, where workers were raising the last crystal chandeliers into place. Light shimmered through every pane.Mom told me that once night fell and all the lights came on, people would be able to see the pavilion shining from across the lake.I looked up at it all, so overwhelmed I almost forgot to keep walking.Dad reached out to steady me. "You can look all you want tomorrow," he said fondly. "Let's go upstairs and try on your dress."An entire styling team was waiting in my private room upstairs. Three stunning couture gowns hung