Chapter 6
The afternoon the preliminary DNA test results came out, the whole Carter Family showed up at the hospital all at once.
Andrew looked worn out, with Margaret, Rachel, and Sophie, who'd been flown back early, following right behind him.
Sophie was wearing a hat and a mask, her eyes red and swollen.
As soon as she walked into the hospital room, she came straight over to me.
"Mom, I canceled my performance," Sophie said, her voice trembling.
Margaret immediately felt a pang of sympathy for her.
"Sophie turned down such an important opportunity just for you," Margaret said.
Sophie took off her mask, her voice thick with tears. "I'm scared you won't want me anymore, Mom," she whispered.
After she finished speaking, she glanced over at the hospital bed.
Lily hid behind me, hugging the music box to her chest.
Sophie took a step closer.
"Lily, if you're really having such a hard time, I can give you my room, and even my piano. But please, don't take my mom away from me," Sophie pleaded.
Lily's hand suddenly tightened, and the music box let out a harsh, grinding noise.
Joanna stepped in front of Lily, blocking Sophie's way.
"Drop the act. Don't pretend you don't know who's really taking what here," Joanna snapped.
Sophie flinched, then hurried over to Andrew's side.
"Dad," she called out.
Andrew frowned.
"Joanna, you're just an assistant. Don't overstep," Andrew said coldly.
"She's my assistant. You don't get to boss her around," I shot back.
Margaret let out a cold laugh.
"Emily, you're really throwing away your dignity for some stray kid," she sneered.
Just then, the police officer and the staff from the identification center arrived at the door.
The staff member opened the envelope.
"The preliminary results show that Ms. Bennett and Lily are biological mother and daughter," the staff member announced.
The hospital room fell silent.
Margaret's bag dropped to the floor.
Rachel clutched the doorframe, trying to steady herself.
Sophie's tears stopped, like she didn't even know how to cry anymore.
I closed my eyes and hugged Lily tightly to my chest.
"Did you hear that? You're my daughter," I whispered to Lily.
Lily looked lost for a moment, then pressed her forehead against my shoulder, her sobs coming out in broken gasps.
Andrew stepped forward, reaching out a hand toward her.
Lily screamed and shrank back, her injured leg slamming into the bed frame. The pain made her curl up, her whole body trembling.
Emily said, "Don't touch her," stepping in front of Andrew.
I stepped between Andrew and Lily, blocking him from getting any closer.
Andrew stared at his hand for a long moment before finally pulling it back.
Andrew said softly, "Lily, I'm your dad."
Lily shook her head desperately, then grabbed a pen and scratched frantically at the paper.
Lily scrawled: 'No.'
Lily scrawled: 'Don't want a dad.'
Andrew's face fell, his expression darkening inch by inch.
All of a sudden, Sophie dropped to her knees in front of me.
"Mom, what about me?" Sophie asked, her voice trembling.
She lifted her tear-streaked face to me, eyes full of heartbreak.
"You raised me for three years. Even if I'm not your real daughter, did those three years mean nothing to you?" Sophie sobbed.
Margaret's eyes filled with tears, and she quickly wiped them away.
"That's right. What did Sophie do to deserve this? She's a victim too," Margaret cried.
Joanna snorted, her laugh tinged with anger.
"Is that what a victim would say, 'how is she still alive'?" Joanna shot back.
Sophie shook her head, sobbing as tears streamed down her face.
"I was terrified and just blurted it out. Joanna, why are you making such a big deal out of one thing I said?" Sophie cried.
Rachel chimed in.
"Emily, we're all happy that Lily is your real daughter. But Sophie is innocent too. You can't just try to make it up to one and ruin the other," Rachel said.
"Innocent?" I retorted, my voice sharp.
I looked straight at Sophie.
"Do you even remember whose family you belonged to before the accident three years ago?" I asked.
Sophie bit her lip.
'I honestly don't know,' Sophie said, her voice trembling. 'When I woke up in the hospital, everyone kept saying I was Sophie Carter.'
"Everyone?" I pressed.
She glanced at Andrew.
'Dad told me I was,' Sophie whispered.
Andrew didn't deny it.
I asked, "Then why do you know how to play 'Lullaby'?"
Sophie's shoulders gave a visible shudder.
"I just knew how to play it after I woke up," she whispered.
"And those weird pauses you make when you play. How do you explain those?" I pressed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sophie replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
Suddenly, Lily reached out from the hospital bed and pointed straight at Sophie's left hand.
Sophie instantly hid her hand behind her back.
I saw a red string bracelet on her wrist.
I had woven that red string bracelet myself for Lily's fifth birthday, threading a tiny silver bell in the center.
My voice was thick with emotion.
"Show me your hand," I said, my voice firm.
Sophie shook her head.
"Dad gave this to me," she said.
"It's just a bracelet, Emily," Andrew said.
"I said, show me your hand," I repeated, my voice unwavering.
Sophie was crying even harder.
"Mom, do you think everything I wear looks like I stole it now?" Her voice was breaking as she spoke.
Lily gripped the bedsheet, letting out a low growl from deep in her throat.
She snatched up the pen and scrawled: Mine.
Seeing those words, Sophie suddenly ripped the red string bracelet off her wrist, sending the silver bell skittering across the floor.
"Here, take it!" Sophie shouted, her voice cracking.
She wailed, her cries echoing through the room.
"Take it all! Whatever you want, Mom, Dad, the Carter family, it's all yours! Is that what you wanted?" she screamed, her voice raw with anguish.
She bolted out of the hospital room.
Margaret rushed after her, her face twisted with pain, but not before shooting me a vicious glare.
"Emily, you're going to tear this family apart," Margaret snapped.
Andrew stood there, frozen.
"You really crossed the line today," he said, his voice cold.
I crouched down, picked up the silver bell, and put it in Lily's hand.
"The real messed-up stuff happened three years ago," I said, my voice steady.
Andrew looked at me.
"Sophie's really not doing well right now. She can't handle any more," he said.
"And all the trauma Lily's been through. Does that mean nothing to you?" I shot back.
"That's not what I meant," Andrew said.
"Then what do you mean?" I pressed.
He rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.
"Lily stays in the hospital for treatment. Sophie stays with the Carter Family. Once I find out what really happened three years ago, we'll decide what happens next," he said.
I let out a short, bitter laugh.
"You're going to investigate?" I shot back.
Andrew's face darkened.
"Emily, don't push me," he said, his voice cold and threatening.
"Andrew, from today on, I'm taking Lily and walking away from the Carter Family for good," I said, my voice steady and unwavering.
He stared at me, his words slow and icy.
"You can walk out that door, but you won't take a single dollar, the house, or any of the Carter Family's connections with you," he said, his voice icy.
Joanna's face went pale with worry.
"Emily," Joanna called out, her voice full of worry.
I looked at him.
"Fine," I said, my voice steady.
Andrew clearly hadn't expected me to agree so quickly.