Chapter 2
Miranda, the real daughter of the wealthy Hawke family in Zephra, had a life straight out of a drama. She was mistakenly swapped at birth and only reunited with her biological family three years ago.
All the Hawke family members disliked her, including her four older brothers, who loathed her the most. Arabella Hawke, the impostor, was the cherished one instead, the center of their universe. The brothers were so protective of her that they viewed Miranda as a threat to Arabella’s happiness and treated her with cold indifference and harsh words.
While her own parents, who claimed they’d make up for her, had never allowed Miranda to steal any thunder from Arabella, prioritizing the impostor.
Two years ago, Arabella pushed a classmate down the stairs, leaving her vegetative.
Things took a turn for the worse; to protect Arabella, the Hawkes conspired together to frame Miranda for the crime by pulling some strings, sending her to prison.
They convinced her to confess in court with false promises of clearing her name, and Miranda had anticipated the fulfillment, yet leaving her with nothing but handcuffs.
Miranda made a silent vow. “Don’t worry. Since I’ve been given this second chance, I’ll make sure justice is served.”
Just as those who had bullied Miranda in prison, they’d all get their share of punishment.
“Ms. Hawk, shall I drive you to President Lancaster’s villa?” the driver asked politely.
Miranda opened her eyes. “How far is the Lancaster family estate?”
“Not far, about the same distance as the villa,” the driver replied.
“Take me to the Lancaster estate,” she instructed.
The driver hesitated. “It…alright.”
He found himself somehow complying. It was odd, he thought, how someone who had just been released from prison could command such authority. Turning the steering wheel, the driver took them to the direction.
At the Hawke family home, everyone was at the living room. Alistair’s return was met with sour expressions.
“She’s not back yet?” Alden snapped. “She’s really putting on airs.”
Dorian Hawke frowned at the cake on the table. “Let her be. It’s a waste of Bella’s effort.”
Orion shrugged, unconcerned. “Don’t sweat it. She’ll come back eventually. She has nowhere else to go.” They were all well aware that Miranda didn’t have anywhere to go except the Hawke family home. Arabella dabbed her tears in grievance. “It’s my fault. Miranda doesn’t want to come back because of me.” Lysander Hawke looked displeased. “Why blame yourself? Not everything is your fault.”
Arabella suddenly thought of something. “Wait, Alistair, you said a luxury car picked her up? What car? Miranda just got out of prison. Who could possibly be there for her? Besides, given her connections, it’s unlikely that she could know someone like that.”
Although Alistair mentioned it earlier, the family hadn’t given it much thought; but now as they gave it a second thought, it indeed seemed strange. Who would pick up Miranda the moment she got out of jail?
They all exchanged skeptical glances.
“I don’t know,” Alistair admitted quietly. “But I feel she seemed different somehow.”
Arabella frowned. “Could she have arranged it herself? Trying to make a statement to us?”
07:19
Chapter
The family agreed with Arabella’s theory. After all, Miranda had grown up with a poor foster family and had been in prison for two years. She couldn’t possibly have the connections for such a car.
“Probably,” Orion scoffed. “Anyone can hire a fancy car from the platforms these days just to show off. Let’s see how long she can keep up the act.”
Meanwhile, the Lancaster family estate was equally lively with tensions.
“Her illness is just torture for her. Maybe we should…”
“No way! Mom’s only seventy, and she hasn’t even written a will yet. How would we divide the assets?”
“Stop arguing and focus on helping Mom! All you could do is arguing non–stop!” Lavinia Lancaster snarled, smacking her hand down on the table, “Right now, the important thing is to think of a way to cure Mom.”
The woman who spoke looked ten years younger than her actual age, like someone in her 30s. Being the youngest and the only daughter in the Lancaster family, Lavinia took control of the family finances and was a power holder as well. Her authority was undisputed, and her brothers fell silent.
“It’s easy to say, but how do we cure her? She’s been searching treatment for years but to no avail. We’ve tried everything, and no doctor even knows what it is!” the eldest brother scoffed.
“Who says it can’t be cured?” Lavinia replied firmly. “We just have to keep hoping. Sometimes miracles happen.” She would come out of prison today; as long as she was out, there was hope.
“Do you really believe that? Even the best specialists have given up. Who else has the skills? If it could be cured, it would have been by now,” Susan snorted.
With these words, the hope in the room seemed to dim.
Five years ago, Anna came down with a strange ailment. She spent half of her day in a deep, unrelenting sleep, and upon waking, she’d be overwhelmed with a sensation as if thousands of ants were biting her all over, leaving her in unbearable pain and even causing her to convulse.
To ease her suffering, they had no choice but to administer sedatives daily, keeping her in a state of prolonged sleep. But everyone knew this was no long–term solution.
Today, Anna was once again gripped by her illness, prompting the entire family to rush back to the family estate.
Just when hope seemed to be slipping away, a calm and gentle voice of a young girl floated in from outside the room. “I can help her.”
