Chapter 2
During the days I was unconscious, Emily stayed by my bedside around the clock.
She barely slept. Even the doctors and nurses were moved by how devoted she was.
Even though I couldn't move, I heard everything—every sob, every shaky whisper.
"Mom, I'll take care of you forever. Please don't leave me."
Emily wasn't just taking care of me. She kept calling David, trying to reach him.
She searched for him for days, but he never showed up.
Instead, Vanessa appeared at the hospital.
I remember her sending Emily out of the room on some excuse.
Then the bed shifted sharply beneath me.
I forced my eyes open just a sliver—enough to see a flash of light—before everything went black again.
Vanessa had moved me. She had wheeled me away and locked me in an abandoned storage room.
Before leaving, she leaned over me with a cruel smile. "A couple of days in here and you'll choke or starve to death. Sophia, you should've given up the Mrs. Carter title a long time ago."
Terrified and barely conscious, I tried to pull myself off the bed.
But before I could, Emily forced David to come to the hospital by threatening to hurt herself if he didn't.
And when he finally showed up, he didn't believe a word about my heart attack.
Instead, he turned his anger on Emily. "Where did you learn to act like this? You're behaving like a little lunatic!"
The moment I heard David snap at Emily, anger shot straight through my chest like a lit match dropped into gasoline.
And right then, Vanessa started her pitiful act.
"David, she's just a kid. Don't be so hard on her," she whined, already tearing up. "If you want to blame someone, blame her mother for raising her this way. Don't worry. Once I become Emily's mother, I'll make sure she—"
She didn't even get to finish before a sharp scream ripped out of her. "Ah!"
Turns out, Emily had grabbed Vanessa's hand and bitten her hard.
"I only have one mom!" Emily shouted. "And I don't want some home-wrecking witch pretending to take her place!"
She used every bit of strength she had, biting Vanessa so hard that she actually drew blood.
Vanessa clutched her bleeding hand, fury blazing in her eyes even as she forced innocence back onto her face.
She sobbed, "David, don't hit her. I get it. She hates me. It's okay. I understand."
David glanced at Vanessa's hand and exploded. "Emily, you don't deserve to be my daughter!"
He raised his hand again, ready to strike her.
But Vanessa stepped in front of him with a weirdly sweet smile.
She said, "David, she's just a child. Don't blame her.
"Go grab me some band-aids, okay? I'll explain things to her while you're gone."
David sighed and brushed her hair back like she was some fragile angel, "I swear, if the two girls in my life had even half your sense, I wouldn't be losing my mind every day."
He shot Emily a look full of disappointment. "I've given you everything, and this is who you've become. You really broke my heart today.
"Once Vanessa becomes your mother, she's going to fix that attitude of yours."
With that, he stormed out and slammed the door behind him.
The second the latch clicked, Vanessa's whole expression flipped.
She curled her lip into a cold smile and slapped Emily across the face so hard the sound echoed.
She snapped, "You little stray. You're even more annoying than your useless mother."
Her long nails dragged across Emily's cheek, leaving thin, burning scratches.
"No need to wait for later," she hissed. "I can start 'teaching' you right now."
She raised her hand again.
Emily panicked and tried to run, but Vanessa yanked her by her braid and threw her to the floor like a rag doll.
"You bite like some wild mutt," she sneered. "Careful. I don't need to catch rabies from you."
The crack of Emily's body hitting the tile sent a chill down my spine.
Her head smacked the floor hard, and blood welled instantly from the broken skin.
But Vanessa wasn't finished.
She lifted her heel and drove it into Emily's back. "Pathetic little brat. Go join your dead mother in hell."
Emily curled up on the cold floor, clutching her head as tears streamed down her face.
She cried, "Mom! Mom, help me! Please, Mom, where are you?
"Mom, it hurts. I'm scared."
Her voice broke with every word—raw, terrified, heartbreaking.
My hatred burned so hot it felt like it could drag my soul right back into my body.
I wanted nothing more than to tear this monster off her with my own hands.
Vanessa laughed—a harsh, ugly sound, "Keep screaming. Your useless mom probably died ages ago."
Emily shook her head desperately. "You're lying. My mom's not dead. You're lying!"
Just as Vanessa raised her hand again, ready to hurt Emily one more time, the door to the hospital room burst open.
A group of nurses—Emily's regular playmates in the ward—rushed in.
One of them snapped, "Stop! Touch her again and we're calling the police!"
They scooped Emily into their arms before Vanessa could get anywhere near her.
The moment Emily saw their familiar faces, she broke down completely.
She curled into the nurse's chest and pointed at Vanessa with a trembling hand. "She hid my mom! She wants my mom dead!"
"Please," Emily begged, her voice raw, "please help me find my mom. I'm really scared she's in danger."
Hearing her hoarse little voice felt like someone was twisting a knife straight into my heart.
Even when she finally passed out, the last thing on her mind was still me.
She murmured, "Please find my mom. Please save her."
Emily went limp.
The nurses' panicked shouting drifted down the hall, pulling David back toward the room.
The moment he walked in and saw Emily lying motionless on the floor, blood on her lips, he frowned.
Before he could take another step, Vanessa grabbed his arm, eyes red as she wiped at fake tears.
She cried, "David, I'm terrified. I don't know what's wrong with her. She just came at me like she lost her mind.
"I pushed her away to protect myself. I never hit her. I don't even know if she's actually hurt or just putting on a show."
Her words eased David.
That was all it took for David's expression to change from mild concern to pure irritation.
"Emily, get up right now," he snapped. "Stop acting like your mother. I'm not falling for this. The more tricks you pull, the more disgusting you and your mother look to me."
My already shattered heart felt like he had thrown it to the floor and was stomping on it again and again.
David, how could you become someone so cruel?
You could hate me. You could hurt me.
But how could you bring yourself to treat your own daughter like this?
She had always been gentle. She was the child I treasured more than anything.