Chapter 5

"Stay away! Don't come near me!" Kayla screamed. Terrified, she hid behind Myra. Myra couldn't bear seeing Kayla in distress and immediately ordered the maids and bodyguards in the mansion to hold the intruders back. However, that just made things worse. Howell swung his fist at the staff, and Tabitha, with all her audacity, started pulling her clothes off. She threatened them, saying, "Go ahead, touch me if you dare! I'll accuse you of molesting me!" The staff had seen difficult people before, but never anyone this shameless. Faced with such a scene, the bodyguards hesitated to act, and soon, the entire mansion echoed with Tabitha's sharp, grating voice. Even Myra, who was usually composed, couldn't take it anymore. Her face hardened as she snapped, "Enough! Just tell me how much you want!" Seeing that they had the upper hand, Howell stopped hitting people, and Tabitha stopped tearing her clothes off. Shawn stepped forward with a smirk. "50 million dollars. Give us 50 million, and we'll leave right now. I promise you'll never see us again." 50 million? Everyone except Felicia gasped. They had seen greed before, but never at this level. "Absolutely not!" Dexter was furious. It wasn't about the money. He simply refused to be extorted. Shawn sneered at his reply and said, "Well, then, let's go, Mom, Dad. We'll just take my sister and leave! Do you think being the richest man in town means you can hold our family hostage?" Exactly. It was only right to take their daughter back. Without hesitation, Howell and Tabitha rushed forward and grabbed Kayla, refusing to let go. Myra was beside herself with worry. Instinctively, she looked over at Felicia, who had been sitting quietly the entire time. After all, this was her adoptive family for 18 years. Couldn't she say something to stop this madness? Felicia was looking back at her with an expression filled with disappointment, coldness, and hurt. Maybe Myra didn't realize it herself, but in that moment, her frustration and disappointment in Felicia were more painful than she knew. Felicia almost wanted to laugh, but all she felt was a wave of bitterness. Myra had witnessed firsthand just how vile that family was. Yet her first instinct was to protect Kayla from being taken, to feel anger at Felicia for not helping, rather than to feel compassion for her biological daughter, who had been raised in such a family for 18 years. 18 years, during which Felicia had longed countless times for a loving gaze from her parents, only to receive nothing but beatings from Howell and Tabitha. Finally, after her real mother had finally found her, all her attention and care were still directed at someone else. In her previous life, and now in this one, the love she had craved was still nothing but a dream. Myra, stung by the look Felicia gave her, felt a pang of regret. She opened her mouth to say something. However, before she could, Felicia stood up and walked over toward Howell and Tabitha to stop them. "Let her go. I'll go back with you," Felicia said calmly. Kayla, desperate to be rid of them, eagerly nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, that's right. Blood ties don't matter as much as the bonds that were formed. My true parents are the ones who raised me, and I intend to honor them. I don't want anything to do with these people!" Before anyone could react, Myra's voice broke the silence, almost hysterical. "No!" Felicia smiled bitterly. "Kayla is right. The ones who raised me are the ones I am indebted to, so I should be the one to leave." No one could have everything in life, but Myra wanted it all. She couldn't bear to lose either the daughter she had raised for 18 years or her biological child. "Fine! 50 million it is," Myra snarled, grabbing a pen and swiftly writing a check before throwing it at them. "Take this and get out! And remember this: from now on, you have no connection to my daughter whatsoever! Got it?" "Yes, yes. We got it!" Shawn said, his face lighting up with joy as he held the check. His hands shook as he counted the zeroes. However, Kayla panicked, clinging to Myra's arm and pleading as she always did when she wanted something. "Mom, let Felicia go with them! We can just leave things the way they are. That way, no one's life has to change. Isn't that better?" For a moment, Myra thought she must have misheard. That suggestion was ridiculous, but looking at Kayla's teary, pleading face, she couldn't help but relent. "Kayla, you can't say things like that. Felicia is my daughter, and so are you. That will never change." "I know, Mom. I misspoke," Kayla said, forcing a smile and looking as sweet as ever. Myra gently patted her head, then turned back to Shawn and his family, her face darkened again. "Why are you still here? Get lost!" Shawn and his family, satisfied with the money they had received, eagerly left. Finally, the chaos was over. Felicia also turned to leave, but Myra grabbed her arm. "Felicia, don't be mad. I didn't mean anything by it earlier. Please don't be upset, okay?" Myra's voice wavered, her eyes reddened with emotion. "Felicia, are you going to abandon me? Don't you want your mother anymore?" Anyone hearing this would be moved, especially a child who had been starved of love for so long. In her past life, by this point, Felicia's hand had already been crushed by Shawn. The only person in the world who could have healed her was herself, but because nerve damage was irreversible, she couldn't perform acupuncture on herself. Her hand was left permanently impaired. Back then, Myra had been devastated for her, furious at Shawn for his cruelty, vowing to send him to jail. However, when faced with Shawn's threat to take Kayla away, Myra dropped the charges and chose instead to pay him off to cut ties. That was the first time Felicia had been abandoned. To make up for it, Myra had promised to throw a grand party to announce to the world that her real daughter had returned. However, Kayla cried and begged, fearing the mockery she might face as a fake heiress. Consequently, Myra changed her mind, letting Felicia assume the role of the adopted daughter instead. That was the second time Felicia had been abandoned. And then there was the third and the fourth time. "So what would it be this time, Mom?" she thought to herself. Felicia didn't need to pretend. Just thinking about her past life brought tears to her eyes. "Mrs. Fuller, you asked me to stay, but… what role am I supposed to take?" Felicia asked. "You're my daughter, my real daughter, the one I carried for nine months and nearly died giving birth to!" Myra was overwhelmed with guilt, her voice breaking with emotion. She continued, "I promise, I will announce your true identity to everyone. From now on, you'll have nothing to do with those people. You are my daughter, the heiress of the Fuller family!" Felicia showed no reaction to her declaration, but Kayla's face went pale. "Mom, if you announce Felicia's identity, what's going to happen to me? If my friends and classmates find out I'm not actually part of the Fuller family, they'll laugh at me!" Myra had thought about that before. Both of them were her daughters, so she struggled to find a perfect solution that would satisfy them both. Sobbing, Kayla suggested, "Mom, what if we just say Felicia is your adopted daughter? That way, she can stay with us, and no one will make fun of me… Does that sound okay?" The idea only served her own interests, but Myra actually considered it. "Well, I—" Felicia couldn't take it anymore. She turned and headed for the door. Myra hurriedly grabbed her arm, pulling up her sleeve in the process. The marks on Felicia's arm—scars from years of beatings—were now in full view, the bruises old and new, telling a painful story of abuse. Myra's heart ached. "Who did this to you?" she demanded furiously. Felicia calmly pulled her sleeve back down, covering the scars. "It's been like this since I was little. I got used to it, so it doesn't matter anymore." Her light and casual remark sent waves of emotion crashing through Myra's heart. She had pampered someone else's daughter like a princess, giving her all the love and care in the world, while her own daughter had endured a life of suffering—hungry, cold, and beaten in that awful family. The thought of it made Myra's hands tremble with anger and guilt. Her heart ached so much it felt like it was bleeding. She didn't hesitate any longer. Turning to Dexter, whose face was just as grim, she said, "Honey, make the arrangements. Send out the invitations. Next Sunday, I'm officially announcing my daughter's return to her rightful place in this family!"