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The world around her blurred as she stared at the boy in green nightwear. And the girl beside him in pink.
Chapter 24 A Servant
Her gaze dropped to the girl's face. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
Her fingers brushed over the image, her voice shaking. “Is that…” Her voice broke, the word sticking in her throat. ‘Me’?
And then—
A flood of images slammed into her mind all at once. Ellie clutched her head, pain stabbing through her skull as memories flashed in a relentless stream.
Her childhood—racing through the house, calling Jessica ‘Mom’ and Jack ‘Dad.’ Growing up with Sawyer, falling in love. Then, the betrayal—Kelly, her supposed friend, luring her into this very house, attacking her, setting it on fire to kill her.
Ellie gasped, the agony intensifying as she remembered the flames. Kelly had also been caught in the fire. Her face had burned. And maybe, just maybe, that’s when the twisted idea took root.
When the real Olivia was never found, Kelly seized the opportunity. She went to the hospital under the name Olivia Whitlock and took her place. With a hefty bribe, she convinced the doctors to alter her face through plastic surgery. She was certain the real Olivia had been too badly burned to survive—let alone be recognizable.
She had stolen Olivia’s identity, stepping into this house with a lie that her face had been burned beyond recognition. And no one had questioned it.
A distant voice broke through the chaos in Ellie’s mind. She lifted her head to find Jessica staring down at her in concern.
"Ellie, are you okay?"
Ellie’s vision blurred, her lips parted, and the only word that escaped was, “Mom.”
Jessica’s eyes widened. Her fingers trembled as she searched Ellie’s gaze. The familiar glint in Ellie’s eyes was unmistakable.
“You’re… our Olivia?” Jessica’s voice shook.
Ellie didn’t answer. She threw herself into Jessica’s arms, hugging her tightly as sobs wracked her body. The dam of emotions broke, years of stolen time crashing over them.
Jack rushed over, and the moment he saw Ellie—the way she looked at him—he knew. Their daughter had come home.
But from a distance, another figure watched.
Kelly—still ‘Olivia’ in everyone else’s eyes—stood frozen. Hatred and panic flickered across her face, but then, her expression hardened.
"So what if that bitch has returned? I'm your daughter in front of the world. And since I’m your daughter, everything you have is mine." Her lips curled into a smirk as she turned and walked away.
Minutes later, flames erupted. Fire spread rapidly through the house, thick smoke curling into the sky. The scent of gasoline hung in the air.
A deafening explosion shook the walls.
Ellie’s breath caught. The horror of the past, the trauma of the fire she barely survived, flashed through her mind. The heat, the pain, the suffocating helplessness.
"Ellie!" Jack grabbed her just as her legs gave out, pulling her into his arms, the fire raged around them.
They had to get out. Fast.
Jessica’s sobs echoed through the chaos. "Why is this happening to us? Why again?" Tears streamed down her face as fear gripped her. She clutched Ellie tighter. They had just gotten their daughter back—how could they lose her again?
Outside, Kelly watched, a wide grin stretching across her face as flames consumed the house.
But her victory was short-lived.
A car roared onto the estate, headlights slicing through the smoke.
It was Sawyer.