Chapter 2
The hospital reeked of disinfectant. Edward had left me in the hallway, claiming there were no free rooms.
Even with my eyes shut, I could catch every whisper and every mocking laugh around me.
"She's the impostor who muscled into the Sinclair family for over twenty years and schemed to drive out the rightful heir," whispered a young nurse.
"She looks so miserable. She might even end up disfigured," whispered another nurse.
Someone chimmed in, "Oh, please. You really don't get it. That's all part of her act.
"She just cries a little, puts on the poor victim routine, and before you know it, she's back living the easy life."
No, that was not the truth.
Ever since Olivia came back to the Sinclair family, I'd honestly been happy for Mom and Dad.
I'd even gotten myself ready to leave.
It's just... I couldn't bear losing the love of my parents and my brother, and I couldn't let go of how I felt about Edward.
But now that I'd been given a second chance, all I wanted was to keep my distance from it all.
"Charlotte, I finally found you," Sean called out, panting hard as he ran toward me, squinting against the harsh hospital lights.
I struggled to open my burned eyelids. That's when I recognized him. It was Sean Harris, my apprentice for the past three years.
"Looks like you're the only one who bothered to come see me now," I rasped, forcing a bitter smile.
"Come on, that's not true. Everyone's been worried sick about you, Charlotte. It's just with everything going on, nobody could get off work, so they made me the messenger," Sean explained.
Sean was still just as naive as ever, never able to tell when people were just being polite or actually meant what they said.
But with all that noisy fussing about my injuries, I couldn't help feeling a little warmer inside.
"Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Foster are really something, leaving you out here in the hallway," Sean muttered, shaking his head. "It's so noisy here; how could anyone get any rest?"
Somehow, all that concern started to spread warmth through me, from my heart to every corner of my body.
But Sean's next words stopped my smile dead in its tracks, my burned, swollen face stiffening awkwardly.
He said, "Charlotte, how about you just give me Olivia's address? I'll fetch her myself.
"Then Mr. Foster won't trouble you anymore."
I slowly put down the apple Sean had just peeled.
I met his gaze, silent for a moment, "Sean, you've been working under me since the day you joined the company.
"Whenever you got into trouble, I was always the one cleaning up the mess for you.
"It was my reputation that I put on the line to vouch for you—without that, you wouldn't be where you are today."
Under my steady stare, he looked away, awkward and unable to meet my eyes.
Sean mumbled, voice barely above a whisper, "Charlotte, I swear, I'm only thinking of you here.
"Just tell me where Olivia is, and I promise I'll go beg Mr. Foster to get you moved upstairs to a VIP room."
"Get out," I yelled, forcing myself upright and flinging the flower Sean brought to the ground with all the strength I could muster.
Sean hadn't seen that outburst coming at all; his face just fell.
"Hey, what's all this racket? It's a hospital. Knock it off," a familiar man's voice snapped from behind us.
I started trembling unconsciously, and the burned area flared with sharp pain.
Edward's voice cut through the air like ice. "Charlotte, I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me—where have you hidden Olivia? Otherwise—"
As he spoke, Edward raised a hand and coldly ordered the nurse to stop changing my bandages.
The skin on my face was burning, but I refused to just accept my fate like I did in my previous life.
"If you come clean about those photos, I'll give you your answer," I told him, my voice steady despite the pain.
I knew that Edward was holding all the dirt—evidence of me being drugged, and every second of the video where I was set up.
In my previous life, all my begging and pleading had been for nothing.
I couldn't help but wonder... If I told him something about Olivia this time, would Edward finally compromise?
"You—" Edward's face twisted with rage. "You really are just a piece of trash, always trying to push it, aren't you?"
He was about to lose it when William showed up just in time; otherwise, Edward might've completely snapped.
"I have an idea," William said, his voice steady but resolute.
"Charlotte, after all these years as siblings, I never thought we'd end up like this," he turned to me.
In his arms was the old shepherd dog I'd raised for so many years.
He had gotten so old that even breathing felt like an effort.
When I was kicked out of the Sinclair family, he was the only one who refused to leave me behind.
He stayed by my side through those endless, dark days.
I'd made sure to leave it at my apartment. Why was it suddenly here?
A faint unease began to stir within me.