Chapter 8
After Samuel left, Mom clutched her chest and called out my name for the first time in years. She tried to call me but realized she hadn’t even saved my phone number. Her phone contained absolutely no trace of my contact information.
Then, she ran to my room to look for clues, only to discover that none of my belongings remained there. She asked, “Where are Isadora’s things?”
“Mom, this room is closest to mine, so I moved my piano here for convenience…” Elaine explained.
“Where’s Isadora’s stuff?” Mom demanded, glaring at Elaine.
Elaine kept her head down, not even daring to meet Mom’s eyes. “I threw them out.”
A loud smack echoed in the room as Mom slapped Elaine hard, her hands trembling. “Since when did you start calling the shots in this house?”
No matter how hard she
searched, Mom couldn’t find a single trace of me. In the end, the only thing she dug out was a signed disownment agreement between the Wilde family and me.
With a tearing sound, she ripped the document into shreds and tossed the pieces into the fireplace, watching the flames reduce it to ash.
“Find out where Isadora is–she’s my flesh and blood. No matter what, she’s still my daughter.”
Yet, no one could find me anymore, and Mom’s hair turned white overnight.
Meanwhile, Samuel had uploaded the surveillance footage online, and the Wilde family’s stock value plummeted overnight. With the pressure mounting, Dad had no choice but to send Elaine abroad.
He said, “Out of respect for the years we’ve been family, we won’t make this harder than it has to be. But don’t ever let me see you again.”
Elaine’s theft of my research paper and attempted assault shattered whatever hope Mom had left in her. She said coldly, “You were never really one of us.
“Look at Isadora–she earned her publications with her own talent. She’s now working on classified projects for the country. And you? All you’ve done is humiliate this family.”
