Chapter 2

Even so, I still took Yvette to a clinic to see a doctor.

By the time we got home, it was already two in the morning.

I couldn't sleep, so I checked out Juliet's latest updates.

Every day, she showed off her lavish lifestyle and her perfect, golden child.

The comments section was overflowing with praise for her gentle and delicate charm.

Hard to imagine this same woman once took a knife to my face.

Even when it was scorching hot, I still couldn't bring myself to lift my heavy bangs and show the ugly scar on my forehead.

I only took half a day off for Yvette, so in the afternoon, I rode my electric scooter and took her to kindergarten.

On my way back, a luxury car stopped in the middle of the road, blocking my only way through.

The window rolled down, and a beautiful woman leaned out.

She called out, "Claire!"

I stood there, stunned, meeting Margaret's gaze.

She looked even younger than she did back then.

If we walked together, people would probably mistake us for sisters.

I ditched my scooter and hurried off, but she threw open the car door and was hot on my heels in her designer stilettos.

She said, "Claire, just turn around and look at me, okay?"

Maybe she was running too fast, but her voice trembled with a hint of sobbing.

I couldn't figure out why she was coming after me.

Back then, she abandoned me for wealth and status.

She even told everyone right to my face that I wasn't her daughter.

She went so far as to fake that I was pregnant, just to get Juliet, her precious stepdaughter, to accept her.

Back then, her blood-red nails jabbed into my skin, leaving angry red marks all over my face.

She said, "You only made it this far thanks to me. What right do you have to judge your own mother? If I'd known you'd block my path to riches, I would've strangled you the day you were born."

Just as I was lost in those memories, the driver, on Margaret's orders, slammed on the brakes and cut me off.

I stumbled and fell to the ground in shock.

Margaret hurried over and reached out to help me up.

She said, "Claire, I just wanted to see you."

I yanked my hand away from her, a mocking smile curling on my lips.

I said, "What, you're here to see if I'm still alive? Or maybe you want to check if I'm still chasing after Juliet's man?

"Don't worry, Mrs. Sinclair. I'm not dumb enough to make the same mistake twice. I won't mess with Elvis and Juliet's marriage. I'll keep my distance from them and from your fancy world."

Margaret seemed hurt by my words, her eyes growing teary.

She said, "Claire, that's not what I meant."

Her eyes fell on my custom-made phone case, the one with a picture of my little girl and me.

She abruptly changed the subject. "About that child from all those years ago..."

At her words, all my nerves disappeared, and I blurted out, panicked. "What kid? Didn't you already get rid of that one yourself?"

I frantically hid the phone case behind my back. The chill of the floor brought back memories of that operating table in the private clinic, four years ago.

Margaret's venomous gaze settled on my belly.

She said, "This baby has to go! Don't think I don't know what you're plotting. There's no way I'm letting you bring that bastard into the world and threaten Juliet's marriage!"

She didn't even let them give me anesthesia, just to make sure I learned my lesson.

The operating room was filled with my blood-curdling screams.

In the end, the doctor couldn't stand it and secretly helped me get out of there.

Now, Yvette was everything to me. I couldn't bear the thought of almost losing her again, so I insisted, almost pleading.

I said, "That baby was really gone! If you don't believe me, go ask the doctor. Didn't you see that bundle of flesh and blood yourself?

"I swear, I don't love Elvis anymore, and I'm not going to go after him ever again."

Desperate for her to believe me, I lifted my shirt without a second thought, exposing the long scar on my abdomen, my words tumbling out in a rush.

I said, "Look, the scar's still here. The baby's been gone for ages. If you don't believe me, feel it for yourself. It's real!"

Before she could react, I grabbed her hand and forced it onto the scar.

The next moment, she suddenly wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.

She murmured, "Claire, don't be like this..."

I froze for a moment, then panicked and thrashed wildly until she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

I ran for my life, darting around the car and not looking back.

I barely got a few steps before I totally wiped out, hitting the pavement hard.

I didn't care about the burning pain in my knees. I just scrambled up and kept running.

When I got home, I didn't waste a second. I grabbed my important papers and all the cash I could find.

I bumped into Elvis last night, and now it was Margaret today.

There was no way this could be a coincidence.