CHAPTER 16
Laura
It had been eight years since I last stood before this door–a door I once opened with a heart full of hope, and closed with a back full of wounds.&
Now I was back.
Not as a wife abandoned. Not as a victim of a carefully orchestrated tragedy. I returned as a woman who had survived. And more importantly–as a woman who knew the truth.
My left hand trembled slightly as I pressed the main doorbell of the Hudson estate. But it wasn’t fear. It wasn’t longing either. The tremble was my body realizing that this was real–and once that door opened, my life would never be the same again.”
The chime echoed. A moment later, the door opened.
All sound vanished instantly.§
The music stopped. Laughter died. Conversations halted, as if the grim reaper had just walked in uninvited.
My eyes swept the room: elegant decorations, blue and white balloons hanging from the ceiling, a three–tier birthday cake standing proudly in the center of the room. But nothing was grander than the shock on the faces staring back at me.
Oliver froze by the piano. Amber dropped her phone, her eyes wide as if she’d just seen a ghost rise from a coffin. And the triplets…
Leon was the first to speak.
“You–you can’t be!” His voice was sharp, cold, and full of denial.§
Luca followed. “Who are you?! Why do you look like that bitch?!“}
I stepped inside, steady. “Who are you calling a bitch, kid?“}
Hatred had rooted deep, even after I was declared dead.
Levi crossed his arms over his chest, his voice low but piercing. “So you’re alive. Is this some kind of birthday joke? Did you hand over another body for us to bury? Then show up like some cheap drama?” He let out a short laugh. “But maybe even death got bored of you.”
There was a smattering of dry laughter among the guests. But most had begun murmuring, whispering, staring at one another.}
“Who is she?”
“That’s Laura Hudson, isn’t it?”
“But… wasn’t she dead?“}
“Then what did they bury in the Hudson family cemetery?”
“What if this was all staged?“>
I stood tall. One step forward.§
“Oliver,” I called, my voice hoarse but firm.§
He looked tom between reality and the belief he’d clung to for the past eight years. His eyes locked on mine, as if still trying to confirm I wasn’t an illusion.
“Laura…” he whispered.”
“Everyone in this house called me a liar. A murderer. A woman trying to steal everything from her own sister.”
I stepped closer. My voice rose, cutting through the silence around us. “But none of you knew that I was nearly murdered. Not out of love. But because someone wanted everything I once had–Hudson’s name, the position as the lady of this house, and the love of the people within it.”
Silence fell again. I scanned the room once more with a burning gaze.}
Amber–ah, Amber.
Her face had gone pale. Her fists clenched at her sides. Her eyes were sharp, but her body trembled like leaves in a storm. I held back a smile.
“Miss Payne,” I said, my voice soft like a server asking after a guest’s wellbeing, “you look pale. Are you unwell?“>
All eyes turned to her. Some held their breath.
Amber let out a bitter laugh, like a woman cornered but still trying to appear composed. “What are you talking about? I’m fine.”
“Or…” I stepped closer, “are you afraid someone might take back what you’ve worked for over these past eight years?“}
Levi stepped forward, placing himself in front of Amber like a human shield. “Enough! Don’t you dare insult Amber in front of us!“? “You’re insane!” Luca added. “First you fake your death, now you come here accusing the person who took care of us!“”
I scoffed quietly. “Took care of me? You tried to kill me three months ago, remember?“!!
Gasps. Guests exchanged stunned glances. Hushed murmurs rippled through the room.
“Kill?”
“The children?”
“No way.“%
I turned to Evelyn Hudson. “Ma’am, I know this is hard to believe. But let me ask you: who forced Maureen to return to this town, after she’d retired from modeling?”
1:06 PM
Evelyn frowned.}]
“Someone burned down our family’s house–my father’s house. Someone knew that if that house was destroyed, Maureen would come
back.”
Oliver muttered, “To protect her family…”
I nodded. “And just a few nights after Maureen gave birth to the triplets, that accident happened–someone made it look like an accident, but it was sabotage. Someone wanted her dead. But I was in that car too.”
I turned to Amber.
“You thought by killing us, you’d get Oliver? The title of lady of the house? These children? Too bad. One of your two targets survived. And \now I’m back.“}
Amber opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her eyes welled up–not with sorrow, but with fear.>
I stepped closer. Whispered words meant only for her.
“I know about the brakes, Amber. And the missing CCTV footage from the garage–I’ve got the backup.”}
Amber stiffened. Her eyes widened.§
And behind her–Leon, Luca, and Levi–glanced at each other. A small shift in their expressions. Just a flicker, but enough. Doubt. What a shame. They may have believed the wrong person.
I looked at the three of them, then whispered–soft but echoing across the entire room:
My
time was scorched to ashes by lies, but I’ve returned. And now… I’m the one who’s going to burn it all down.“}
CHAPTER 16
