Chapter 7

Rachel came back in, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

"Emily, don't do anything drastic. You haven't handled anything outside the Carter Family since you got married. How are you going to survive on your own?" Rachel pleaded.

I gently tucked Lily's hand back under the blanket.

"You don't need to worry about that," I said, my voice calm and unwavering.

Andrew said, "You have until tomorrow to think it over."

"I don't need that long," I replied, steady as ever.

I turned to Joanna.

"Call the lawyer and draw up the divorce papers. I want custody of Lily. I don't want a single thing from the Carter Family," I said, my voice steady and unwavering.

Andrew's eyes went cold.

"Emily, do you even know what you're saying?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"I know exactly what I'm saying," I replied, my tone unwavering.

A middle-aged man in a black coat appeared at the door and knocked.

"Ms. Bennett, I've got news about the driving records from three years ago you asked me to find," he said.

Andrew's expression finally shifted.

The man was Mr. Quinn, my father's driver back when he was alive.

After I married into the Carter Family, he returned to his hometown to care for his aging mother, and I hadn't seen him in years.

He stood at the door, his shoes still caked with mud.

"Ms. Bennett, I didn't want to call your husband," he said.

Andrew's face turned ashen.

"Mr. Quinn, what do you mean by that?" Andrew demanded.

Mr. Quinn shot him a look.

"Mr. Carter, I only answer to the Bennett Family," he said, his tone firm.

Rachel's face turned pale.

"Mr. Quinn, Sophie's emotional state is fragile right now. Please don't upset her with anything uncertain," I said.

Mr. Quinn pulled an old memory card from inside his coat.

"The day of the car accident three years ago, I went to pick up Mrs. Carter. My car was parked at the back door of the Carter residence. I had a dashcam, and after I sold the car, I took out the card and kept it. Mrs. Carter asked about it a few days ago, so I searched all night for it," he explained.

I took the memory card from him.

"What's on it?" I asked.

Mr. Quinn said, "Two cars left through the back door. One had Sophie inside, and the other carried another young girl. The drivers were the Carter Family's driver and Rachel."

Rachel yelled, "You're lying!"

Mr. Quinn pulled a printed photo from his canvas bag.

The photo was blurry, but you could still see Rachel in the driver's seat, with a child bundled up in a blanket in the back seat.

Joanna rushed over and grabbed the photo.

"And you said you couldn't remember?" Joanna shot back.

Rachel's face went ghostly pale.

"I was just helping get the kid to the hospital. Everything was a mess that day, and Andrew told me to drive," she insisted.

Andrew snapped his head toward her.

"When did I ever tell you to drive?" he demanded.

Rachel froze.

As their eyes met, I could see the crack forming between them.

"So you're both lying," I said.

My voice was cold.

Margaret returned, supporting Sophie. When she heard what I said, her face went rigid.

Sophie's gaze locked onto the photo, her hand slowly reaching for the broken red string on her wrist.

I asked her, "Are you the other girl in the photo?"

Sophie bit her lip.

"I don't remember," she said.

Suddenly, Lily threw off the blanket and struggled to get out of bed.

I held her down.

She scrawled on a piece of paper, desperate: "Basement."

Everyone saw what she wrote.

Her face went pale beneath the makeup.

"Basement? What basement? She's just rambling," Margaret shot back.

Lily wrote again: "Grandma."

Margaret took a step back, nearly bumping into Sophie.

Sophie caught her and whispered, "Grandma, are you okay?"

Margaret snapped.

"She's just scribbling nonsense! What basement? I've never been in one!"

Mr. Quinn was silent for a moment.

"There's a basement storeroom in the backyard of the Carter family's old house. After Sophie disappeared, Mrs. Carter was bedridden, so Mr. Carter had the place sealed up," he said.

I turned to Andrew.

"Why did you seal it off?" I asked.

Andrew replied, "The wiring was old. I was afraid something might go wrong."

"Then let's go check it out," I said.

"No," he replied.

He didn't even hesitate.

Joanna let out a cold laugh.

"Wow, Mr. Carter, you always know just when to say no, don't you?" she sneered.

Andrew fixed his gaze on me.

"Emily, Lily's finally home. You should focus on helping her get better, not getting distracted by a bunch of old photos," he said.

"I'll help her heal, but I'm not letting this go. I'm going to find out who did this to her," I replied.

Suddenly, Rachel dropped to her knees in front of me.

"Emily, I admit it. I drove that day. I wasn't trying to keep it from you, I just didn't want you to worry. Sophie was burning up, so I took her to the hospital. That's really all that happened," she said.

I stared at her.

"Which Sophie did you take to the hospital?" I asked.

Rachel was speechless.

Sophie clung to Margaret, panic written all over her face.

"Mom, do you really want me dead?" she cried.

She suddenly dashed to the window and pushed it open halfway.

The hospital room was on the eighth floor.

Margaret screamed.

"Sophie!"

Andrew rushed over and caught her just in time.

"Don't do anything stupid," Andrew said, his voice tight with worry.

Sophie broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I didn't steal anyone's life, I swear I didn't know! Please, believe me! You all blame me, but I was just a kid back then!" she cried, her voice raw with pain.

People were crowding the hallway outside.

Some had already pulled out their phones, recording everything.

"Wow, the real mom is pushing her own kid to jump!" someone shouted.

"Rich families are always so messed up," another person muttered.

Joanna tried to block the cameras, but someone shoved her aside.

I stood by the hospital bed, watching as Andrew held Sophie, Margaret sobbing and calling her "my darling," while Rachel knelt on the floor, trembling.

Lily sat behind me, biting her lip until it bled, but she didn't make a sound.

She'd long since gotten used to her pain going unnoticed by everyone.

I walked over to the window.

"Sophie, come down," I said.

She shook her head, still crying.

"Mom, please, just tell me you still want me," she pleaded.

"I won't let you die," I said.

Something flickered in her eyes.

I went on, "You need to stay alive, so you can finally set the record straight about what happened three years ago."

Her crying paused for a beat.

Andrew barked out, his voice low and urgent.

"Emily!"

I ignored him.

"If you're really innocent, then get down from there. But if you think pulling a stunt like this will shut me up, you're messing with the wrong person," I said.

Margaret lunged at me, but Mr. Quinn stepped in and held her back.

"Mrs. Carter, the kid's still at the window," he reminded her.

Sophie looked at me like she was seeing me for the very first time.

Andrew gently lifted her down from the window, holding her close.

Once her feet touched the floor, she collapsed into his arms, her voice so hoarse it barely came out.

"Dad, I'm scared," she whispered, her words barely audible.

Andrew shot me a look so cold it could freeze over hell.

"Emily, are you happy now?" he snapped.

I walked back to the hospital bed and gently wiped the blood from Lily's lips.

"It's not over yet," I said.

Lily pressed the silver bell into my hand, then struggled to write a few words on the paper.

"Mom, don't go back to the Carter Family."

I took her hand.

"We're not going back," I said.

That evening, I transferred Lily to a private hospital.

But Andrew had his people blocking the entrance, saying no one was allowed to transfer her without his say-so.

Joanna, fuming, slammed the transfer papers down on the nurse's desk. "The patient's real mom is standing right here. Who put him in charge?" Joanna snapped.

The bodyguard didn't even blink. "Mr. Carter's orders. You can leave, but the kid isn't going anywhere," he said flatly.