Chapter 7
Samuel assigned two bodyguards to stand guard outside Daisy’s hospital room.
The moment the door clicked shut behind them, Daisy grabbed her phone and dialed another hospital. She had no intention of staying in a facility run by the Thomas family, or remaining under the control of her manipulative parents.
Once her transfer was confirmed, she changed out of her gown and waited patiently. As soon as the bodyguards stepped away for their meal break, she slipped out, moving swiftly and silently through the hall.
But just as she turned a corner, voices stopped her in her tracks. Her father’s voice, low and tense, reverberated off the sterile walls.
“Heather, you acted too recklessly. Hiring someone to start that fire? It’s too easy to trace back. I barely managed to stop Desmond from investigating further. If the truth comes out, I won’t be able to protect you.”
Heather’s reply was sharp, laced with venom.
“That’s because you’re weak! You swore to my mom that you’d give me everything the Johnson family owns. And now what? You’re hesitating because you can’t let go of your precious Daisy? Don’t forget, I’m your daughter too.”
“Let go?” Samuel scoffed, his voice dark. “If I really couldn’t, would I have staged that car accident five years ago? Heather, I’ve always loved you, and your mother. Everything I’ve done has been for you.”
Daisy stood frozen, her entire body numb.
Then Heather’s voice turned smug. “And Desmond… I want him too. Him and the Thomas family behind him. I’ll have it all.”
The words slammed into Daisy like a wrecking ball. Her ears rang, her knees threatened to give out. Her nails dug deep into her palms as she struggled to breathe.
Her own father. The man she once trusted more than anyone. He had orchestrated the accident that nearly killed her. And Heather… she was his illegitimate daughter?
A cold gust of wind swept through the hallway, snapping her out of her trance.
She turned and ran.
When she burst through the front door of her childhood home, her mother and Desmond looked up in shock.
“Daisy?” her mom gasped, frowning. “Why are you back?”
Desmond’s brow furrowed, a flicker of concern breaking through his confusion.
Daisy rushed to her mother’s side, clutching her hand tightly. Her voice trembled with the weight of what she’d just learned.
“Mom… Desmond… I overheard Dad and Heather talking.” Her chest heaved with every breath. “The car accident from five years ago, it wasn’t an accident. Dad planned it. And Heather… she’s his daughter. His real daughter.”
The color drained from her mother’s face. Desmond stiffened, his eyes widening.
“Are you sure?” her mom asked, voice shaking.
Daisy nodded, the truth cutting her deeper than any wound. But even through the pain, she had to protect them. They needed to know.
Before she could say anything more, Heather’s voice rang out behind her, soft and laced with practiced innocence.
“Sis?”
Daisy’s heart dropped. Slowly, she turned to face the two people who had destroyed her world.
Heather stood there, wide-eyed, tears brimming as if she were the one betrayed.
“I never thought you’d make up something so cruel,” she whispered. “Hasn’t Dad loved you enough? Even a tiger doesn’t harm its own cub, how could he ever hurt you?”
She sniffled and glanced at their mother. “And me… I was only brought into the Johnson family because I looked like you. I know I was just a stand-in. If it weren’t for this face, I’d never have known what it felt like to have a father… a mother… a brother who cared. But now you’re saying I stole all that from you?”
Doubt flickered across Hannah’s face. But when she looked at Heather, her heart melted. She rushed over, pulling Heather into a protective embrace.
“Of course not, sweetheart. I’ve never doubted you or your father for a second.”
Desmond turned to Daisy, his eyes cold, distant.
“Is this your idea of payback? Stirring up lies to divide us?”
A wave of ice crashed over Daisy, stealing the breath from her lungs.
Her lips parted, but the words caught in her throat.
And just like that, she realized, coming back had been a mistake.
