Chapter 14
The girl shot an irritated glare at the steward. “What are you all doing? Why haven’t you thrown this madman out yet? He scared me half to death-do you realize that?”
The steward’s expression darkened as he quickly stepped between them, shielding her. “Mr. Black,” he said sternly, “you need to leave immediately, or I will have no choice but to call security.”
But Lucas didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes were wild, desperate, as he lunged forward, trying to reach for the girl behind the steward. “Emily, it’s me! Don’t you recognize me?”
The girl scoffed before the steward could respond. “Mr. Black,” the steward said firmly, “you’re mistaken. This isn’t Emily. This is Miss Sophia Carter, the daughter of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter.”
The words hit Lucas like a sledgehammer, sending a dull, throbbing pain through his skull. “W-what did you say?”
The steward sighed, seeing the confusion in Lucas’s eyes. “Miss Sophia Carter and Miss Emily Carter were cousins. They looked so alike that outsiders often mistook them for twins. As for what you saw at the airport-the person escorting Emily’s parents to Arcadia State was also Miss Sophia Carter. After you sent Emily abroad, she worried her parents would have no one to care for them, so she asked Miss Sophia Carter, who happened to be in the country at the time, to accompany them. Even if your grief has clouded your judgment, Mr. Black, you cannot go around accosting strangers.”
A sharp slap cut through the air. Sophia, her face flushed with anger, struck Lucas across the cheek. “Are you insane?” she snapped. “If you can’t tell people apart, go see a doctor! Don’t harass me like some lunatic!”
She turned to the steward. “What are you standing there for? Call security and get him out of here!”
Within moments, a group of bodyguards rushed forward, dragging Lucas away as he struggled violently, his eyes burning
with refusal. “Emily! Emily!”
Sophia watched coldly as the guards hauled him off. Only when he was gone did she pull out her phone and dial Emily’s
number.
On the other end, Emily thanked her after hearing what had happened. “I really appreciate your help today.”
Back in a villa in Arcadia State, Lucas sat surrounded by documents, his face growing paler by the second.
How? How could he have mistaken her?
Even if it had only been a glimpse, he had been certain-that was Emily. Not someone else.
So why had she turned into a stranger before.his eyes?
Had Emily truly died in that plane crash? Was everything now just a figment of his broken mind?
His vision blurred as despair settled deeper.
Then, a knock at the study door. “Mr. Black,” the steward said quietly, “someone is here to see you.”
Standing in the doorway was Sophia, her expression solemn. “Before Emily passed away,” she said carefully, “she left behind a recorded message. There were some things in it… about you.”
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She paused, studying his reaction. “Would you like to hear it now?”
Chapter 14
