1 The day my fiancé and the true heiress announced their engagement, I wanted to drive my car straight into the hall and take them all down with me. But just as that insane thought took hold, my phone wouldn’t stop ringing. I answered. It was the hospital. “Miss Qin, you’re pregnant…” The engine died, and I sat there, frozen. Half an hour later, as cheerful music drifted from the grand hall, I started the car again. I turned it around and drove straight to the airport. And so, just as everyone wanted, the fake heiress of the Qin family vanished from Veyra City. I fled a thousand miles away to Port Blossom. I fought tooth and nail to survive, to bring my daughter—my own flesh and blood—into this world. I never contacted any of them again. Until four years later, when they started showing up, one by one. 2 The first time I saw Leo Vance in four years was outside the kindergarten. I had just picked up Daisy when another mom nudged me. “Hey, Daisy’s mom, look across the street. Isn’t that the famous singer… what’s his name again…” I followed her gaze and saw him. “Leo Vance!” The mom snapped her fingers. “That’s him!” I pulled my eyes away. “Never heard of him.” She looked surprised. “You don’t listen to music? Leo Vance! He’s been the biggest indie singer-songwriter for the past few years! Won a ton of awards!” She leaned in closer. “You know, looking at him… he actually looks a bit like you. You both have that kind of striking beauty…” I just smiled and shook my head, leading Daisy away. “Barbara Qin.” His voice cut through the air behind me. I ignored it and kept walking. “Barbara!” Daisy looked up at me. “Mommy, is that man calling you? Why did he call you Barbara Qin?” I smiled down at her. “He’s got the wrong person, sweetie.” But when we reached the parking lot, just as I was about to open the car door, a hand grabbed my arm. I turned. It was Leo, panting, his face flushed. “Barbara,” he breathed, “you… you’re actually alive?!” His words, as always, were laced with acid. But maybe from the run, his eyes were rimmed with a faint, unmistakable red. 3 I dropped Daisy off at the neighbor’s. When I came back downstairs, Leo was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets. “What are you doing living in a dump like this? Where’s your apartment? I’m coming up.” I shook my head. “There’s no need.” Four years ago, he was the one who said his only sister was Isabelle Vance. He was the one who said the thought of calling someone like me his sister made him sick. When Ethan Qin cast me out, when Julian abandoned me, I was lost. I had thought, for a desperate moment, of turning to him—my own blood brother. I stood outside his record label’s building all night in a blizzard, nearly freezing to death. But all I got from him was a single, brutal sentence: His greatest wish was that I had never been born. “If you didn’t exist, Isabelle would never have been switched at birth. She wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.” “Sister? What a joke. Now that the Qins have thrown you out, you’re trying to play the 'family' card with me? I would never acknowledge someone like you.” That’s when I finally understood. No matter how much I had done for him, he would always hate me because of Isabelle. Now, he was looking at me with that same judgmental gaze, his brow furrowed. “That kid… is she Julian’s? Did you run off just to have his baby?” I paused. “She is my daughter. Mine alone.” A smirk twisted his lips. “Barbara, she’s the spitting image of him. Do you think I’m blind?” “Don’t tell me you actually thought you could win him back by secretly having his kid. Are you that delusional… God, it’s not just pathetic, it’s sad.” “I told you, she is my daughter,” I cut in, my voice sharp. “I have no intention of ever returning to Veyra City, and I certainly have no plans to use my child to fight with your precious Isabelle over Julian. You can relax. You don’t have to be so hostile.” “Just like you said back then, we’re strangers who happen to share some DNA. I’m not interested in your life, so please, do me the courtesy of staying out of mine.” He stared at me, stunned. “If there’s nothing else, you should go,” I said, turning away. “Wait.” He grabbed my arm again, his grip tight. He opened his mouth, then closed it. “You… you…” I frowned. “What?” “Why… why did you leave back then?” he finally stammered out. “You were a pampered princess who couldn’t do anything for herself. So what if a few people said some mean things? You just had to run away with a baby in your belly like some drama queen.” “If I hadn’t found you, how long were you planning on living this miserable life? And these past four years…” He hesitated. “How… how the hell did you survive?” 4 I glanced at his eyes, red-rimmed again. Probably from anger. He was likely shocked that I was still alive. My existence was a threat to Isabelle’s perfect life. How did I survive? Someone else gave their life so I could. But I had no reason to tell him that. The old Barbara Qin was a delicate hothouse flower, sheltered from the world. But the woman I was now, Barbara Shaw, had long ago learned not to cry for help. He saw my silence and grew agitated. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so withdrawn? Don’t tell me that big earthquake in Port Blossom a few years ago rattled your brain. Serves you right for running off to a godforsaken place like this.” Just then, a neighbor walked by. “Hey Barbara, getting dinner started?” I forced a smile. “Just about to.” Leo froze. “You should go now,” I said. But his grip on my arm tightened. “Why did your name change? Shaw?! Are you married? Wait, whose name is that?” “Whose name it is has nothing to do with you.” I pried his fingers off my arm, one by one. “My name, my life… Leo, none of it is any of your business.” 5 Leo was a celebrity. He couldn’t afford to make a scene in public. I went upstairs, brought Daisy home, and from the hallway window, I saw him still standing below, looking lost. He never cared about me before. This sudden display of concern was probably just his discomfort with my new indifference. After all, four years ago, when I learned of his musical dreams, I had used every connection I had in Veyra City’s high society just to get him an audition. The very record label he was signed to now was the one I had fought to get for him. He was my brother. He had suffered. I wanted him to succeed. But he twisted my kindness into a calculated plot to isolate and hurt Isabelle. “Mommy, was that uncle today… your family?” Daisy asked from her bed. I paused, then smiled, stroking her hair. “No, sweetie. Why would you think that?” “Just guessing. You two look alike.” Family. An image of Ethan flashed in my mind. I used to believe that no matter what, blood or not, Ethan would always be my brother. But four years ago, he had held Isabelle in his arms after she’d fallen down the stairs, and the look he gave me was pure rage. “Barbara, you have disappointed me more than I can say.” “From this day on, you are no longer a part of the Qin family. And I no longer have you as a sister.” “My only sister is Isabelle.” I had cried, clinging to his legs, pleading that I hadn’t pushed her, begging him not to abandon me. But he kicked my hand away and walked out with Isabelle in his arms, never looking back. I shook my head, clearing the memory. “That man is not mommy’s family.” Daisy’s face fell. “Oh. I thought maybe you had other family besides Uncle Sean.” I smiled and booped her nose. “Mommy has you and Uncle Sean. That’s all I need.” “But Uncle Sean is gone…” she mumbled, her lip trembling. “I miss him.” I understood. But a gentle sadness was better than the soul-crushing agony of having something, depending on it, only to have it ripped away. I had lived through that. I would never let my daughter experience the same pain. I just never expected to see Ethan the very next day. 6 Daisy spiked a fever in the middle of the night. I rushed her to the hospital. The viral infection was aggressive, and she needed to be admitted for an IV drip. I didn’t sleep a wink. By morning, the fever finally broke. She was listless and weak. I carried her on my back, stopping at a street vendor to buy some meat and vegetables on the way home. Just as I paid, a hand with long, elegant fingers took the bags from me. I froze. I looked up and saw Ethan’s face through the hazy morning mist. My sleep-deprived brain went blank. For a split second, I almost called him ‘brother’ before I remembered. He had forbidden me from ever calling him that again. The Qin family was a power I couldn’t afford to cross. After all, to punish me for ‘bullying’ Isabelle, Ethan’s single word had been enough to get me blacklisted by all of Veyra City. “Mr. Qin,” I corrected myself immediately. I was too busy trying to figure out why he was in Port Blossom to notice the flicker of pain that crossed his face. “Let me carry that,” he said softly. “It’s fine.” I reached for the bags, but my movement was clumsy, and Daisy whimpered on my back. “Don’t push yourself, Cece.” He stopped me, his hand on my arm, keeping the bags from me. “Let me take you and the child home.” 7 Cece. It had been so long since Ethan had called me that. Our parents were always abroad, so for most of my life, Ethan was the one who raised me. And when he saw me as his sister, he truly spoiled me. Someone once asked him if he wasn’t afraid I’d cause trouble with how much he pampered me. He had just smirked. “So what if she causes trouble? Let her. No matter how big the mess, I’ll be there to clean it up.” But then Isabelle came home. At first, he promised me I would always be his sister too. But every time Isabelle provoked me, he would tell me to be the bigger person. “She’s been through a lot, Cece. Just let it go.” He said we had to make it up to her. I didn’t want to make things difficult for him. He had been my brother for over twenty years; I just wanted him to be happy. So I let it go. I endured it. Again and again. It wasn’t until he blindly believed Isabelle’s lies about me that I finally realized: I saw him as my brother, but he had long since stopped seeing me as his sister. And when he took back all his affection, leaving me to be torn apart by the world, I understood just how foolish I’d been to ever depend on him. We drove in silence. It had been ages since I’d ridden in a Maybach. The luxury felt alien. I just held Daisy tighter, my mind racing. Did Leo tell him? Was he here to make sure I wouldn’t hurt Isabelle? What would he do to me? Punish me for secretly having Julian’s child? I didn’t know. My head throbbed. I hugged Daisy closer, completely missing the look of profound longing in his eyes as he watched me. “Cece…” I looked up. There were new lines around his eyes. “Four years ago… we all thought you…” “You thought I was dead, I know,” I finished for him. “Honestly, it’s better if you just assume I am. I gave up fighting with Isabelle a long time ago. Everything was hers to begin with; it’s only right that it went back to her. You don’t have to be so tense, so defensive. You don’t need to come check on me. All I want is to live a quiet life with my daughter.” “And about my daughter,” I added, “she will only ever be with me. I will never go looking for Julian. I swear on my life, I will not use her to sabotage Isabelle and Julian’s relationship. You can rest assured.” I met his gaze and repeated, “You really can rest assured.” He looked stunned. “That’s not…” “Then are you afraid I’ll use the Qin family name to cause trouble? Don’t worry, I won’t. I changed my last name years ago…” “Cece!” he cut in, his voice cracking. His eyes were red. “Brother… is here to bring you home.”
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