Chapter 4

A cab slowed down by the curb, the driver giving me a questioning look, as if asking if I needed a ride.

I shook my head.

The driver muttered something under his breath and drove off.

The chilly wind made me shiver.

I hugged my arms to myself, about to wander off in any random direction, when my phone buzzed again.

A strange number flashed on my screen.

I was about to decline the call, but before I knew it, my finger hit answer.

I said, "Hello?"

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

Then a woman's voice came on the line. It was soft, with a subtle hint of nervousness. "Hi, is this Nina Anderson?"

I replied, "Yeah, that's me. Who's this?"

There was another pause.

I could even hear her trying to steady her breathing.

"Nina," she finally said, her voice thick with emotion, "it's me, your real mom."

I stood there, completely stunned.

My phone almost slipped out of my hand.

I stammered, "What... what did you say?"

"I know this is sudden, but please, let me finish," she spoke quickly, like she was scared I'd hang up. "Twenty years ago, you were born at Riverdale Women and Children's Hospital.

"A nurse accidentally switched you with another baby, and we got separated. We've been looking for you for twenty years.

"Is there a small, butterfly-shaped birthmark on the back of your left shoulder? Kind of a pale red?"

Instinctively, I reached for my shoulder.

Sure enough, the birthmark was there.

Only I and those closest to me ever knew about it.

Robert and Mary had no clue; they never bothered with things like that.

"How... how do you know that?" I asked.

"It's a birthmark you inherited from me," her voice trembled even more. "Nina, I really am your mother. Your father's last name is Sterling, and I'm Victoria Sterling. You're our daughter, Serena Sterling."

Serena Sterling.

I murmured the name to myself.

It was foreign, yet somehow familiar.

"We watched the Anderson family's birthday party livestream tonight," Victoria continued, her voice trembling with barely suppressed anger. "I can't believe they treated you like that right in front of everyone."

"Livestream?" I repeated.

"The Anderson family bought trending spots to hype up their real daughter and streamed the whole reunion live across the internet," Victoria said, taking a deep breath. "Nina, don't let it get to you. That kind of family isn't worth it."

Suddenly, I remembered—there really were reporters and cameras at the party tonight.

Turned out, they weren't there to capture my birthday at all.

It was all to set the stage for Sophie.

"Where are you right now? Are you safe?" Victoria asked, her voice full of worry. "We're coming to get you right now."

"Come get me?" I managed a weak smile. "No, really, I'm okay."

"How could you possibly be okay?" This time, a man's voice came through—deep, commanding, and brooking no argument. "I'm Richard Sterling, and no one gets to bully my daughter."

Richard Sterling?

That name rang a bell.

"Nina, listen to your dad," Richard said, his voice gentler but still firm. "Don't move; share your location with me. Someone will come get you in ten minutes, no, make it five."

"Who are you guys, really?" I clutched my phone tighter. "I don't even know you; why should I believe any of this..."

"Because I'm your real father," Richard said, his voice slow and firm. "And the Sterling family's wealth makes the Andersons look like paupers.

"The Anderson family's assets? They're not even worth my spare change.

"They dare treat my daughter like that? I'll show them what real regret means."

Victoria's gentle voice came through, soothing and careful. "Richard, don't scare her. Nina, please, trust us, okay? Please, honey, I'm begging you."

Her voice was so soft, with a gentle, almost timid pleading.

It was worlds apart from Mary's icy "Pack your things and get out."

I felt a lump in my throat all of a sudden.

It had been twenty years.

Mary had never hugged me as far back as I could remember.

She always said a proper lady should be dignified and never too clingy.

When I got first place in class, she'd just say, "That's how it should be." If I were sick in the hospital, she'd send the nanny to stay with me.

Whether I was crying, laughing, or feeling hurt, all she said was, "Mind your manners."

I always thought all moms were like that.

But I was wrong.

So this was how a mom really talked.

Mom would worry; she would get anxious; her voice would tremble, and she would gently plead, "Please, honey, I'm begging you."

"Nina?" Victoria's voice grew even more anxious when I didn't answer. "Please say something, don't scare me."

"I'm here," I heard myself say, my voice thick with emotion. "I'm at the entrance of the Anderson estate on Riverside Road."

"Okay, okay, just wait there, don't move!" I could hear hurried footsteps and the sound of a door opening on the other end.

"Zack, get the car ready. We need to get to Riverside Road now.

"Call the Riverdale branch and have them send people over to make sure she is safe.

"And tell the legal department to get ready. The Anderson family is going to have to answer for this!"

Richard's voice was swift and commanding, radiating the kind of authority that came from years at the top.

I stood in the night breeze, clutching my phone; it felt hot in my palm.

My thoughts were all over the place.

My real parents?

The Sterling family?

They were so much richer than the Andersons?

It all sounded totally unreal.

But that birthmark...

And the way they spoke, so desperate, so genuinely worried, it really felt like they cared.