Chapter 4
William's smug grin froze, then melted into pure shock.
He stared at Margaret, whose face was as pale as a sheet and fingers were shaking, and suddenly felt a surge of anger boiling up inside.
"Mom, what are you even saying?" William hissed, barely keeping his voice down.
He leaned in, voice tight with annoyance. "It's your big birthday, and everyone's here. Don't embarrass me!"
He thought Margaret was just getting sentimental. Seeing Wendy made her remember Julia, and she was trying to make things awkward for Wendy on purpose.
He'd seen these kinds of petty tricks from the older women plenty of times before.
But Margaret acted like she didn't even hear him.
Her eyes stayed glued to Wendy, filled with terror, regret, and a desperate kind of despair, like she was about to completely fall apart.
"You, come here," Margaret called out.
She waved William over, her voice raspy, like it had been scraped raw by sandpaper. "Come with me. Now."
She ignored the stares from everyone, turned around, and staggered toward the inner room, nearly losing her balance.
William's face was as dark as a thundercloud.
The grand party he'd planned to show off his new life was about to turn into a complete circus before it even started.
William shot Wendy an angry glare, his eyes blazing as he looked at her completely lost, innocent face.
"Just stay here!" he snapped.
With that, he marched after Margaret, leaving Wendy standing there.
The relatives exchanged confused glances, whispers rippling through the crowd like a wave.
"What's going on here?"
"What's up with Margaret today? Shouldn't she be thrilled seeing such a gorgeous future daughter-in-law?"
"I bet Margaret's still got Julia on her mind."
"That's right. After all, that's five years of history."
Wendy stood in the middle of the crowd, and all those whispers felt like needles, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
Her smile had vanished, leaving only embarrassment and a sense of being wronged on her face.
Inside, the door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Margaret grabbed William's arm, her nails digging in so hard they nearly broke the skin.
"Are you out of your mind?" Margaret yelled, her whole body trembling. "How could you bring her here? How could you even dare?"
William was startled by how Margaret was acting like she'd lost her mind, and he jerked his arm away from her grip.
"Mom, have you lost your mind?" William shouted. "Did Julia brainwash you or something? Why are you so on her side?
"What's wrong with Wendy? She's younger, prettier, and way more charming! What else could you possibly want?"
"You know nothing!" Margaret screamed, her voice piercing William's ears. "Tell me! Does Wendy have a red mole behind her ear?"
William froze.
He couldn't help but think back.
Wendy's skin was flawless, and that tiny red mole behind her ear was impossible to miss.
He'd even teased her once, calling it her "beauty mark."
He said, "Yeah, there is one. Why?"
William paused, uncertainty flickering in his voice. "What's wrong?"
Margaret let out a bitter laugh, tears streaming down her face.
Her tears were a mix of terror and agony.
"That's a birthmark." Her voice was shaking so hard that she could barely get the words out. "It's the birthmark my daughter had when she was born. The daughter I gave up!"
William's mind exploded, leaving him utterly blank.
It was like he'd just heard something ridiculous.
He said, "Mom, what are you saying?
"What daughter? When did you ever have a daughter?"
"The daughter I abandoned!" Margaret screamed, shaking him wildly, like she'd lost her mind. "It was a year before you were born. We were dirt poor, and everyone wanted a son.
"Your dad said we couldn't afford to raise her, and that she was just extra trouble.
"She didn't even cry when she was born. So I... I wrapped her up in a ragged old quilt and left her under Rivergate Bridge, in the dead of night.
"I remember it so clearly. She had the exact same red mole behind her ear. Exactly the same!"
Margaret screamed out a secret that had been buried for over thirty years, her voice raw with pain.
The noise outside seemed to vanish.
All William could hear was the thunder of his own heartbeat and Margaret's desperate, heart-wrenching cries.
It felt like all the blood in his body froze in an instant.
"No, that's impossible," William muttered, his face drained of color, even paler than Margaret's. "Lots of people look alike, and plenty have the same kind of birthmark. It can't be."
"It's her!" Margaret screamed, her voice cracking with hysteria. "I'd never get it wrong! That face and those eyes look so much like mine when I was young. She's my own flesh and blood. How could I ever mistake her?
"This is karma. The universe is punishing me!"
Margaret collapsed to the ground, pounding her fists against the floor as she wailed uncontrollably.
William stood there, completely stunned, as if he'd just been struck by lightning.
His brain felt like mush.
He thought, 'Wendy is my sister?
'The woman I was so proud of, the one I showed off to everyone as my "true love", is actually my long-lost sister?'
'No way.
'Absolutely impossible!
'This has to be a ridiculous mix-up!
'Julia. Julia must be scheming behind all this!'
William spun around, yanked the door open, and stormed out.
He was going to find Wendy and get the truth straight from her.
He was going to bust this insane lie wide open.
William burst out of the room like a wild beast, totally out of control.
Everyone in the yard snapped their attention to him.
His face was pale and furious, eyes blazing red, as he marched right up to Wendy.
Wendy shrank back a step, fear flickering in her eyes. She spoke timidly, "William, what's wrong? Your mom..."
"I'm asking you!" William snapped, grabbing her wrist so hard that it felt like he might break her bones.
His voice was ragged, cracked with terror and fury. "Who are you? Tell me, who the hell are you?"