Chapter 3: The Daughter Who Was Erased
I couldn’t breathe.
The garden suddenly felt smaller.
The ocean waves crashed against the cliffs below, but all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat.
Alexander looked at my face.
“Samantha, what did you see?””
I quickly locked my phone.
“Nothing.””
He didn’t believe me.
“You’re shaking.””
“I’m fine.””
“You’re not.””
I looked at him.
For years, people had ignored my pain.
But this stranger noticed it within minutes.
That frightened me more than anything.
“I need to go.””
I stood up.
But before I could leave, Alexander spoke.
“Your mother is hiding something.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She reacted when I said your name.””
I slowly turned around.
“What do you mean?””
Alexander looked toward the mansion.
“She wasn’t surprised that I knew who you were.””
A chill moved through me.
“She was afraid.””
Those words followed me back inside.
Afraid.
Why would Victoria Collins be afraid of me?
When I entered the mansion, Olivia and Charlotte were waiting.
Their smiles were gone.
Olivia crossed her arms.
“What did you say to him?””
I blinked.
“Excuse me?””
Charlotte stepped closer.
“You think we didn’t notice?””
“Notice what?””
“That he was interested in you.””
I almost laughed.
“Interested?””
Olivia’s face twisted.
“You were standing there in that ugly apron, and somehow he ignored us for you.””
Her words were cruel.
But familiar.
I had heard worse.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I said quietly.
Charlotte laughed.
“We know enough.””
Then she leaned closer.
“You’re lucky Mother keeps you here.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
Before she answered, Victoria entered the room.
“What’s going on?””
Immediately, Olivia became innocent.
“Nothing, Mother.””
Victoria looked at me.
Then at the kitchen.
“Go finish cleaning.””
I stared at her.
“Mother…”
The word felt strange.
She raised an eyebrow.
“Did I misunderstand?””
I looked around.
At the mansion.
At my sisters.
At the life I had accepted for twenty years.
Then I remembered the message.
*You need to know the truth.*
For the first time, I didn’t lower my eyes.
“I want answers.””
The room went silent.
Victoria’s expression changed.
“You don’t ask questions.””
“I think I deserve to.””
A strange look crossed her face.
Not anger.
Fear.
“You have no idea what you’re asking.””
My heart pounded.
“What does that mean?””
Olivia and Charlotte looked confused.
Victoria quickly recovered.
“You’re tired. Go upstairs.””
“No.””
The word surprised everyone.
Including me.
“I want to know why you treat me like a stranger.””
Victoria stared at me.
Then she said something I would never forget.
“Because sometimes, Samantha, family is not about blood.””
Silence.
The sentence felt like a confession.
I whispered:
“What does that mean?””
Victoria turned away.
“It means you should stop searching for things that will only hurt you.””
Then she walked away.
But I wasn’t finished.
Not anymore.
Later that night, after everyone went to sleep, I returned to the kitchen.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the photograph.
The unknown person who sent it.
The baby bracelet.
The words.
I searched through old boxes hidden beneath the kitchen cabinet.
My mother never let me enter certain rooms.
Never let me touch family records.
But tonight was different.
I needed the truth.
After nearly an hour, I found a small wooden box covered in dust.
Inside were old documents.
Photos.
Letters.
My hands trembled as I opened the first envelope.
The name written on it made my blood run cold.
*Samantha Collins.*
I pulled out the paper.
It was an adoption document.
But something was wrong.
The date.
The names.
The details.
They didn’t match what Victoria had always told me.
Then another paper slipped out.
A hospital record.
My eyes moved across the page.
And I stopped.
Because at the bottom was a sentence that changed everything.
*Birth mother: Victoria Collins.*
I dropped the paper.
Impossible.
My entire life had been built on a lie.
Victoria wasn’t just my adoptive mother.
She was my biological mother.
But if that was true…
why had she spent twenty years making me feel unwanted?
A sound suddenly came from behind me.
I turned around.
The kitchen door slowly opened.
Someone stood in the darkness.
I couldn’t see their face.
May you like
Then a familiar voice whispered:
“Samantha… you finally found it.””
