The rain poured relentlessly, blurring Emma’s vision as she tried to find her way down the mountain.
Suddenly, she missed a step.
Her foot slipped.
She fell hard, her body crashing against a tree.
Pain exploded through her, and before she could react, darkness consumed her.
The sharp scent of disinfectant pulled her back to consciousness.
Emma’s eyelids fluttered open.
The sterile white ceiling greeted her.
The moment she realized where she was, she reached for her phone.
“Book me a flight to Canada.”
She couldn't stay here any longer!
Just then, the hospital room door swung open.
Mike and Jeff walked in.
“What flight? Where are you going?”
Emma’s fingers tightened around her phone.
She hung up the call immediately and forced a smile.
“I’ve been feeling down lately. Thought I’d take a trip to clear my head.”
She tilted her head slightly, her tone light.
“Why? Do you want to come with me?”
It was a question, but Mike heard something else entirely.
He and Jeff had stayed in Boston for one reason—waiting for Emilly’s return.
And now, she was coming back soon.
How could he possibly leave Emma?
But something about this didn’t sit right.
Emma never talked about traveling.
She was either at home or at work.
Why was she suddenly planning a trip?
Mike’s brows furrowed.
Was she upset because they had abandoned her on the mountain yesterday?
That thought made his expression darken.
“When did we say you could leave?” His voice was sharp. “Cancel the ticket.”
Jeff chimed in, his tone equally firm.
“Emma, what did you promise us before? You said you’d stay with us forever.”
Back then, after agreeing to be Emilly’s substitute, Emma had followed them around shamelessly, vowing to replace her and never leave.
But now that Emilly was returning…
Did that promise still mean anything?
Of course not.
Emma wasn’t foolish enough to tell them that.
Right now, her priority was dispelling their suspicions.
Lowering her gaze, she moved her fingers quickly, canceling the ticket before flashing a small smile.
“It’s done,” she said. “The ticket is canceled.”
The tension in the room eased.
Both men smiled.
Jeff placed a bag of fresh fruit on the bedside table and sat down beside her, trying to sound appeasing.
“Alright, Mike and I were wrong yesterday. We shouldn’t have left you alone on that mountain.”
His tone softened.
“Don’t be mad. How about I take you to see Ella?”
Emma’s posture straightened instantly.
Surprise flickered in her eyes.
“You’re not lying to me?”
Since the Knapp family’s downfall, her parents had taken their own lives.
The only family she had left was Ella Knapp, her younger sister.
But Ella had always been in fragile health, confined to a hospital under the watch of Mike and Jeff.
Emma hadn’t seen her in a long time.
She knew this was a manipulation tactic—one hit, then a sweet reward.
Still, she desperately wanted to see Ella.
And Mike and Jeff kept their word.
As soon as Emma was discharged from the hospital, they took her straight to see her sister.
The moment she stepped into the hospital room, her heart clenched.
“Ella, why have you lost so much weight?”
Ella had been born with a congenital heart condition.
Her health had always been fragile.
Emma had assumed Mike and Jeff would take good care of her.
But now, looking at her, she realized she had been terribly wrong.
Ella looked even more frail—her skin paler, her frame thinner.
She was lying on the hospital bed, struggling to sit up.
“Sis,” Ella said softly, her voice laced with worry.
“I should be the one asking you. Why haven’t you come to see me for so long?”
Her brows furrowed.
“The creditors… have they been coming after you again?”
She had always known how much weight Emma carried on her shoulders.
When the Knapp family was thriving, Emma had nowhere to be found.
But when everything crumbled, when their family name became synonymous with disgrace, Emma was the one left standing.
Bearing it all.
Alone.
Emma swallowed the lump in her throat.
She couldn’t let Ella worry.
She shook her head.
But Ella’s sharp eyes caught something—bruises.
Faint blue and purple marks peeking through her sleeves.
Her breath hitched.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Sis…”
Her voice trembled.
In the next second, she threw herself into Emma’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
