Chapter 1

My biological daughter, Grace, had been missing for five years. I'd cried so much I nearly went blind, and I was a total wreck every single day.

That was when my best friend, Emily Ross, brought home an orphan who looked just like my daughter, and it gave me somewhere to pour all my grief.

I treated this adopted daughter, Anna, like she was my own, giving her all my love and even leaving her everything I owned.

I grabbed Emily's hand, tears streaming down my face.

"Emily, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it this far," I choked out.

Emily hugged me, crying even harder than I was, and kept saying she'd do anything if it meant I'd be okay.

My husband, Charles Warren, put his arm around my shoulder, eyes red, and promised he'd cherish our adopted daughter as his only heir.

I was lost in the joy of having a daughter in my life again.

All of a sudden, Anna was diagnosed with leukemia. When I rushed to the hospital to see her, I found Emily and Charles were already there.

Through the half-open door, I saw Emily leaning on Charles's shoulder, sobbing her heart out.

"Is this karma for losing Sophie's daughter six years ago?" Emily choked out.

Charles comforted her, his voice full of concern.

"Don't overthink it. Our daughter's got a guardian angel watching over her. She'll find the right bone marrow, I promise."

I leaned against the cold wall, barely able to keep myself upright.

Charles had powerful genes, and his features were stamped all over both of them.

Both my real daughter and the adopted one looked just like him, without a hint of their mothers in them.

So it never once crossed my mind to doubt anything.

*****

I leaned against the wall, my mind spinning as a flood of information crashed over me, making my head swim and my stomach churn.

Inside the room, Emily was still crying.

She said, "There's still nothing from the bone marrow registry. What should we do for Anna?

"She's still so little. I can't lose her..."

Charles held her close, his voice gentle as he tried to comfort her. "Sophie's already pulled some strings for a special approval. We'll find a match soon."

Emily's voice caught. "But what if she finds out..."

"She won't find out," Charles said.

He was so sure, it was almost like he was declaring a truth of the universe.

"She can't live without Anna. Even if she learns the truth, she could never bring herself to let her go."

He paused, his voice turning icy. "And if she really can't accept Anna, I'll divorce her. You know I've owed you the title you deserve for way too long, and Anna wants you to be her real mom."

"No!" Emily suddenly clapped her hand over his mouth, stopping him mid-sentence. "Charles, Sophie's my best friend. I can't betray her.

"If she really finds out and can't accept it, I'll leave on my own.

"As long as she's willing to save Anna, I'll do whatever it takes."

I stood outside the door, and suddenly, I let out a bitter laugh.

But my tears came fast and fierce, landing hard on the back of my hand.

Of course, they knew me inside out.

They knew how I'd destroyed myself over the years, desperately searching for my daughter.

And they knew just how terrified I was of going through that kind of loss again.

I was still clutching the new stuffed rabbit I'd bought for Anna.

She was having chemo today, and the nurse called to say she was hurting so badly, she kept calling out for her mom.

I ran all the way from the office, and my heel snapped halfway there, and my ankle swelled up and turned black and blue, and the pain went straight through me, but I never once considered stopping.

But only now did I understand that when Anna called for her mom, she was not calling for me.

She was calling for Emily.

Six years ago, my biological daughter, Grace, went missing.

That day, she was wearing the pink dress I'd just bought her, her two pigtails bouncing as she ran. She was holding a colorful pinwheel, and every time she took off, it spun like crazy.

Emily said she'd take her downstairs to buy some candy.

But when she came back, she was all alone.

She dropped to her knees in the pouring rain, slapping herself again and again, crying herself unconscious right there.

"Sophie, I'm so sorry. I lost Grace," her voice breaking as she spoke.

"Sophie, just kill me. I can't live with myself."

I nearly lost my mind.

I clutched Grace's clothes and searched the streets all night, calling out her name until my throat bled and I lost my voice.

For the next five years, I was just a walking corpse.

Then, a year ago, Emily brought home a little girl.

She said the kid was from an orphanage. When she first saw her while volunteering at the orphanage, she nearly mistook her for Grace herself.

The girl really did look like Charles, because her eyes and brows were exactly his.

And when she smiled, it was just like the little girl in my memories, the one who'd run into my arms and call me Mom.

I named her Anna.

Her name was my way of keeping Grace in my heart, and wishing her peace wherever she was.

I poured all the love I'd bottled up for five years into her.

I was always worried she'd choke while eating, or kick off her blanket at night, or get too cold in winter, or too hot in summer.

When she finally called me "Mom" for the first time, her voice so shy and hesitant, I hugged her so tight I cried until my legs gave out and I couldn't even stand.

I grabbed Emily's hand, repeating again and again, "Emily, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it this far."

Emily hugged me and cried even harder than I was crying.

"Sophie, as long as you get better, I'll do anything," Emily sobbed.

Charles, his eyes red, pulled us both into a hug from behind.

He saidm "From now on, Anna is our daughter.

"I'll treat her like she's my only heir."

But it turned out, she was his real daughter all along.

My phone buzzed against my palm.

It was Killian Thompson from the hospital's special care department.

I swiped to answer.

"Mrs. Warren, the bone marrow allocation you requested has been approved. The donor is in stable condition. As soon as the family signs the consent forms, we can start preparing for the transplant tomorrow," Killian said.

I gazed at the couple inside the hospital room, locked in a tight embrace. They looked so right together, like a picture-perfect scene straight out of a painting.

I was just the outsider, the pathetic onlooker left outside the frame.

"Cancel it," I said.

Killian sounded stunned, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Mrs. Warren, are you sure? The child's condition is critical, and if we miss this chance it will be nearly impossible to find another match this good..."

I let out a cold, bitter smile, making sure every word came out sharp and clear.

I said, "Cancel the special approval.

"Put it back in the regular queue. Let the next patient have it."

After hanging up, I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Inside the room, Emily had already wiped away her tears.

She sat by the bed, gently tucking the blanket around Anna. Her whole face was wrapped in a glow of motherly tenderness, like she was radiating warmth.

Charles stood by the window with his phone pressed to his ear. His face was tense and his jaw was set and his brows were drawn, and he looked like a father who had run himself ragged for a sick daughter.

When he saw me come in, his frown got even deeper, and he sounded a bit annoyed, almost blaming me.

He said, "What took you so long?

"Anna's woken up several times, kept asking for you."

Emily hurried over to me, her eyes still red, carrying that delicate, vulnerable look that always made people want to protect her.

"Sophie, don't blame Charles. He's just worried sick about Anna," she said.

She reached out to take my arm, with the same easy affection as always.

"What did the doctor say? Any updates on the bone marrow?" she asked.

I lowered my eyes, looking at her hands.

It was these very hands.

Six years ago, they took Grace away from me.

And just a year ago, those same hands brought Anna into my life.