Chapter 28
Rosetta listened to her youngest daughter’s gentle words, her heart swelling with relief. “You really are the considerate one. Your sister… well, she’s a lost cause,” she sighed.
“Mom, it’s not that I care about anything for myself,” Emma replied, her voice trembling. “It’s just that—”
Suddenly, her words dissolved into sobs. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to speak.
“It just hurts so much to be accused by my own sister. Sometimes I wish I’d been the one taken all those years ago. I mean, I was an orphan anyway… it wouldn’t have mattered where I ended up. You adopted me, and I owe you everything. If I could trade places with her, I would. Then maybe she wouldn’t have suffered so much, and none of you would have to go through this pain…”
“Don’t be silly,” Rosetta scolded gently, dabbing at Emma’s tears with a tissue. “We may have adopted you, but you’re every bit as much our daughter as she is. Don’t ever say things like that.”
“Mom…” Emma’s voice was muffled by another wave of sobs as she threw herself into Rosetta’s arms.
But hidden from Rosetta’s view, Emma’s eyes were cold and dark, burning with resentment and bitterness.
In the maid’s quarters, Ivy could hear Emma’s weepy performance outside and felt her blood boil. What a manipulator. Even an Oscar-winning actress would envy those acting skills. But what truly infuriated Ivy was how her own family – her closest loved ones – were all too blind to see the truth, swallowing Emma’s lies without a second thought.
Clenching her jaw, Ivy swore to herself that one day, when the truth finally came out, she’d tear off Emma’s mask and show everyone who she really was.
The room was a complete mess, with clothes and belongings scattered everywhere. Ivy set about making the bed and tidying up. She’d come back here empty-handed, with nothing but the clothes on her back. Over the past few days, she’d gradually bought new clothes, shoes, and essentials. The tiny closet in the maid’s quarters was already bursting at the seams. She’d need to buy a proper wardrobe and a desk.
She texted Katrina, who replied that she was free that morning, so they agreed to meet up.
On her way out, Ivy passed through the living room and overheard Adkins on the phone, his face flushed with worry.
“How did the market drop so much?”
“I don’t care—this is your screw-up!”
“It’ll rebound tomorrow? You want to double down? What if it crashes again tomorrow?”
“Fine… this is your last chance.”
As Ivy walked by, she caught enough to piece things together. Looks like the market crash hit out of nowhere.
She saw Adkins slam his phone down, his face red with anger. Ivy was nearly out the door, but paused for a moment. Remembering how Adkins had softened and let her stay, Ivy decided to throw him a bone.
With a half-smile, she said, “Friendly tip: don’t double down today. Cut your losses and sell now, before it gets worse.”
Adkins was stunned, turning to stare at his eldest daughter with a bewildered look. “Are you talking to me?”
Clearly, it hadn’t occurred to him that Ivy would have anything to say about the stock market.
Ivy couldn’t help but laugh. “Unless you think I’m talking to a ghost?”
“…” Adkins scowled.
His broker had just told him they’d lost three million dollars today – wiping out over a month’s gains. He was furious, looking for someone to blame. Hearing Ivy’s sarcasm only made it worse. “Get lost! What do you know? Just don’t get in my way!”
Ivy just shrugged and left, her good intentions wasted.
In the cab, she pulled out her phone to check the market. Down a hundred points, and the panic was just getting started. The trend looked grim.
She opened the “Stonks Only Go Up” group chat on WhatsApp to see how everyone else was faring.
Bob: Sold off early this morning – managed to hold on to my profits from the last few months.
Jay: Not so lucky. Didn’t sell, and even bought more on the dip.
Dale: [laughing emoji] Didn’t you see Mrs. Smith’s message this morning? She sold yesterday. You bought the dip? Man, you’re stuck halfway up the mountain now.
Jay: I read Dr. Handsome’s analysis. He said it wouldn’t drop further, so I took a gamble.
Mrs. Smith: Can’t stop people from lining up to be someone else’s lunch. What can you do?
Ivy scrolled, mostly to see if Dr. Handsome had said anything. But the group kept chatting, and he never chimed in. He must be busy at work, she thought.
Then she caught herself. Why should she care if he lost money? If he refused to listen, that was his problem. She muttered under her breath, “Why am I worrying about him, anyway?”
After meeting up with Katrina, they headed straight for IKEA. The maid’s quarters were tiny, and no matter how she tried, Ivy couldn’t find any furniture that was both practical and would fit.
“Ivy, are you really planning to stay in that room?” Katrina asked, eyeing the miniature furniture Ivy was considering. “That closet barely holds anything, and with a desk in there, you’ll barely have room to move.”
Ivy gave a wry smile. “Honestly, I almost lost even that little room today. I’m not about to dream of anything bigger.”
Katrina’s face fell. “What do you mean?”
So Ivy explained everything that had happened the night before and that morning.
Katrina was outraged, cursing more than once. “That’s insane! You’re their real daughter. Why would your parents believe some sob story from a girl they adopted?”
Ivy shrugged. “What can I do? I don’t have any proof.”
“But how will you get proof? You can’t just let this go, can you?”
Ivy thought for a moment, her tone calm and calculating. “It’s been three years. Who knows where that trafficker is now—he might even be in prison. It’s not like I can find him for a statement.”
“So what are you going to do?”
A sly smile curved Ivy’s lips. “There might be another way. If I play my cards right, I just might make Emma confess herself.”