Chapter 55
Emily’s POV
Nina helped me bring them in, though I felt the weight of every step. The tension in the room was palpable as Frank followed, released on bail, his presence a constant reminder of everything that had shattered in the last few days.
Before they arrived, Vincent had pulled me aside, his usual’stoic expression a little softer than usual. “Emily,” he began, his voice calm but firm, “we need to discuss what happens next with Frank. Are you planning to press charges?”
I looked at him, my mind swirling. “Vincent, I don’t know. I don’t even know how to feel about everything that’s happened. It’s all so…” I trailed off, my voice catching in my throat.
Vincent sighed, his eyes meeting mine with a level of empathy I hadn’t. expected. “You don’t need to decide right now. But think about it carefully. Frank’s not just being investigated for what he did to you. There are other charges, including infiltrating the police system. Even if you don’t sue him, he’s not walking away from this easily.”
I hesitated, biting my lip. “Do you think… do you think I should press charges?”
He didn’t answer immediately, his gaze intense as he watched me,
Chapter 55
probably reading the conflict in my expression. “This is your decision, Emily. It’s not about what anyone else thinks–it’s about what you want. But I’ll tell you this: justice and forgiveness aren’t mutually exclusive. You can still hold him accountable and heal in your own time.
”
I nodded slowly, trying to digest his words. “I just don’t know if I can forgive him, Vincent. I don’t even know if I want to.”
Vincent placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice gentle. “Take your time. You don’t have to rush into anything. We’re here to support you no matter what you decide.”
As Vincent walked away, his words lingered in my thoughts, circling the overwhelming blur of emotions I hadn’t yet managed to sort through.
Justice. Forgiveness. They seemed like two distant, unreachable concepts, both tugging at me from opposite sides. Could I ever truly forgive Frank for what he’d done? Could I ever forget?
I barely had time to process before Vera, who had remained quiet until now, stepped forward. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, filled with a grief that seemed to reach beyond words. She hesitated for a moment, her voice shaky as she finally spoke,
“Emily, I… I want to apologize on behalf of Frank,” she began softly, her words careful, each one laced with guilt. “What he did to you is… unforgivable. And as his mother, I should have seen the signs. I should’ve known…”
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Nina, always the fierce protector, didn’t hold back. “And what about the fact that he did all this to your own daughter?” she asked sharply, her arms crossed, her gaze unrelenting. “Doesn’t that bother you?”
Tom, who had been standing with his hand resting on Vera’s shoulder, spoke next, his tone firm. “Frank will pay for what he’s done,” he said. “We will make sure of that. But he’s still our son, and we can’t turn our backs on him completely.”
Vera’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked down at her hands as if ashamed. “I’m so sorry, Emily. We didn’t raise him to be this way, I swear,” she whispered, wiping her tears quickly. “We just want a chance to make things right, to know you.”
I stared at them, the words catching in my throat. I wasn’t sure what they wanted from me. “What are you hoping to achieve?” I asked coldly, trying to keep the flood of emotions at bay. “After everything?”
Vera fumbled with her purse and pulled out a folder. “We did a DNA test, Emily,” she said, holding it out to me. “You have Tom’s brown hair, and my eyes. You’re ours. You’ve always been ours.”
I felt the weight of her words sink in as I took the paper from her trembling hands. My vision blurred as I looked at the report, my fingers tracing over the lines confirming the connection I never thought I had. The realization hit me hard–Vera and Tom were my biological parents.
A rush of emotions flooded through me. I could feel the humiliation from the Donald family creeping back into my mind. They always knew I wasn‘ t one of them, that I didn’t belong. They kept me, not out of love, but as a
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pawn in their game.
Over the years, they had hurt me in every possible way, making sure I knew I wasn’t truly theirs. And now, here I was, standing in front of the people who were supposed to be my real family.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as the pain and betrayal overwhelmed me. The years of rejection, the unanswered questions–it all came crashing down. Vera, seeing my tears, stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.
For the first time in years, I felt the warmth of a mother’s embrace. The love I had longed for, even unknowingly, enveloped me as Tom joined in, holding me tightly.
“Please, Emily,” Vera whispered through her own tears, “give us a chance. We know it won’t fix what’s happened, but we want to be there for you. now. We want to be the family you deserved from the start.”
I couldn’t stop crying, my body shaking as the pain I’d kept buried for so long surfaced. I wanted to hate them for not finding me sooner, for not being there when I needed them the most.
But in that moment, all I felt was relief. I let myself feel the love I had been missing all these years. Maybe this could be a new beginning, a
fresh start.
But just as I started to catch my breath, the doorbell rang again, interrupting the fragile peace that had settled over the room. Nina, ever vigilant, stood up to answer, but I could hear voices rising before I even
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had a chance to move.
“What are you doing here?” Nina’s voice was sharp, her words cutting through the thick air.
I got up, wiping my face quickly as I stepped into the hallway. There, standing at the door, were Tyler, Lily, and Keith–each of them with a different expression of concern, anger, and desperation.
But it was the figure behind them that caught my attention. Nicole. My so–called mother.
She stood stiffly, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her eyes narrowing slightly as they met mine. She didn’t look like the woman who had raised me, she looked like a stranger.
“I want to talk to you,” Nicole said, her voice surprisingly calm given the
situation.
I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. After all these years, what could she possibly want from me now?
