CHAPTER 2 : The Woman Who Destroyed Everything
I didn't sleep after Elias's phone call.
Not because I believed him.
That would have been easier.
Believing him meant admitting that six months of pain, anger, and loneliness might have been built on a lie.
And I wasn't ready to forgive a lie.
Especially one that had stolen so much from me.
I sat in the darkness of my apartment, one hand resting over my stomach, listening to the quiet sounds of the city outside my window.
My daughter moved gently beneath my palm.
A tiny reminder that even when my world fell apart...
Something beautiful had come from it.
I whispered softly,
"Your father hurt me."
The words felt strange.
Because even after everything...
I couldn't say I hated Elias.
Hate was easy.
Indifference was harder.
And I had spent six months trying to convince myself that I felt nothing.
But when he called...
When I heard the pain in his voice...
I realized the truth.
A part of me had been waiting.
Waiting for him to come back.
Waiting for him to say:
"I made a mistake."
"I was scared."
"I should have chosen you."
But now that moment had arrived...
And instead of relief...
I felt afraid.
Because what if the truth was worse?
What if Vanessa really had lied?
What if Elias wasn't the villain I had created in my mind?
What if I had walked away from the man I loved because someone else wanted me gone?
The next morning, I arrived at the hospital earlier than usual.
I needed routine.
Routine was safe.
Patients didn't care about broken relationships.
They didn't care about old wounds.
They needed a doctor.
And I knew how to be that.
"Dr. Adelaide?"
I looked up.
The nurse from yesterday approached me.
"There is someone here asking for you."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Before she could answer, I heard a familiar voice.
"Still hiding behind your white coat?"
Every muscle in my body froze.
Vanessa Hart.
She stood at the entrance of the hallway wearing a designer coat, expensive jewelry, and the same confident smile I remembered.
The smile of someone who believed she had already won.
Six months ago, I thought she was my enemy because she loved Elias.
Now...
I wasn't sure what she was.
"Vanessa."
She smiled.
"Good. You remember me."
How could I forget?
She was the woman who walked into my apartment carrying a folder.
The woman who showed me pictures of Elias and Sophie.
The woman who told me:
"Elias doesn't need another woman complicating his family."
The woman who made me believe I was the outsider.
"What do you want?"
Her smile disappeared slightly.
"I heard Elias found you."
I said nothing.
"And I heard about the baby."
My hand instinctively moved toward my stomach.
Vanessa noticed.
Of course she did.
She noticed everything.
"Congratulations."
Her voice was cold.
"Although I suppose congratulations are complicated."
I looked directly at her.
"Why are you here?"
She stepped closer.
"To protect Elias."
I almost laughed.
"Protect him?"
"Yes."
"From what?"
Her eyes moved to my stomach.
"You."
The word landed like a slap.
But I refused to react.
"I think you should leave."
"You still don't understand, do you?"
Vanessa lowered her voice.
"Elias has always been weak when it comes to guilt."
My expression changed.
"What does that mean?"
"It means he will blame himself for hurting you."
She smiled slightly.
"And when people feel guilty, they make stupid decisions."
I stared at her.
"What did you do?"
For the first time...
Her confidence disappeared.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
"I didn't do anything."
"Liar."
The word came out before I could stop myself.
Vanessa's face hardened.
"You should be careful, Adelaide."
"Is that a threat?"
"No."
She leaned closer.
"It's advice."
Then she walked away.
But this time...
I wasn't the scared woman she met six months ago.
I was a doctor.
A mother.
And I knew when someone was hiding something.
That afternoon, Elias came to the hospital.
Not for Sophie.
For me.
"I need to explain."
I continued typing on my computer.
"You have five minutes."
He looked surprised.
Maybe because once upon a time, I would have given him forever.
He sat across from me.
"I found out Vanessa visited you."
I looked up.
"So she admitted it?"
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because I found the security footage."
My fingers stopped moving.
"What?"
"From my building."
He pulled out his phone.
"I was looking through old records after I started questioning everything."
He showed me a video.
The quality wasn't perfect.
But there was no mistake.
Vanessa entering his building.
Six months ago.
The exact day everything changed.
My heart started beating faster.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"She came to see you?"
"No."
His voice became quiet.
"She came to see you."
The room felt smaller.
I looked away.
"Why would she do that?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
And that scared me.
Because I knew him.
When Elias Bennett didn't know what to say...
It meant the truth was painful.
"Because she wanted you gone."
For years, Elias had believed Vanessa was helping him.
After his wife died, Vanessa became someone who helped care for Sophie.
She attended school meetings.
She helped with doctors.
She became part of their lives.
Elias thought she was family.
But over time...
She became something else.
Possessive.
Controlling.
She didn't want Elias to move on.
Because if he remarried...
She would lose her influence.
And she definitely didn't want another woman having a child with him.
A child who would change everything.
A child who would create a new family.
A family without her.
"I should have known."
Elias looked broken.
"I should have seen it."
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you?"
He swallowed.
"Because I trusted the wrong person."
I looked down.
"And you didn't trust me."
His eyes filled with regret.
"No."
The honesty hurt.
"I didn't."
Silence.
Then he whispered:
"I was afraid."
I looked at him.
"Of what?"
He looked away.
"Becoming like my father."
That answer surprised me.
I had never heard him talk about his father.
"My father left when I was young."
His voice was low.
"He promised my mother he would stay. He promised me he would be there."
He laughed bitterly.
"Then one day he disappeared."
I listened quietly.
"I spent my whole life telling myself I would never become him."
He looked at me.
"But when you asked me about building a family..."
He shook his head.
"I panicked."
My heart hurt.
Because suddenly...
I saw something I hadn't seen before.
Elias wasn't afraid of loving me.
He was afraid of failing me.
But fear had still hurt me.
And pain didn't disappear just because there was a reason behind it.
That evening, Sophie was discharged.
Her wrist was healing well.
She walked beside Elias holding his hand.
Then she saw me.
"Dr. Adelaide!"
She ran toward me before remembering her wrist.
I smiled.
"Careful."
She stopped.
Then looked at my stomach.
"Can I talk to the baby?"
I laughed softly.
"She's not going to answer."
Sophie placed her hand gently against my belly.
"Hi."
A second later, the baby moved.
Sophie's eyes widened.
"She heard me!"
I couldn't help smiling.
"Maybe she did."
Behind Sophie, Elias watched.
And something changed in his expression.
Not jealousy.
Not sadness.
Something deeper.
A longing.
He wanted what he had lost.
A family.
Then Vanessa appeared.
Again.
But this time...
She wasn't alone.
She had a lawyer with her.
My smile disappeared.
"Elias."
The lawyer handed him an envelope.
"We need to discuss guardianship arrangements."
Elias frowned.
"What is this?"
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Sophie."
The little girl's face changed.
She immediately moved closer to Elias.
"I don't want to go anywhere."
Elias knelt beside her.
"You're not going anywhere."
Vanessa smiled.
"That depends."
Everyone became silent.
The lawyer opened the file.
"Mr. Bennett, there are concerns regarding your legal status as Sophie's guardian."
Elias looked confused.
"What concerns?"
The lawyer hesitated.
Then said:
"There is a question about your biological relationship with Sophie."
The hallway went completely quiet.
I looked at Elias.
He looked terrified.
"Excuse me?"
Vanessa stepped forward.
"Maybe it's time you knew the truth."
Sophie's eyes filled with fear.
"Daddy?"
Elias immediately pulled her close.
"I'm here."
But his face had lost all color.
The lawyer slowly removed a document.
"I received these results this morning."
Elias stared.
"What results?"
The lawyer looked down.
"A DNA test."
My heart stopped.
Vanessa smiled.
And in that moment...
I understood.
This wasn't about me.
This wasn't about the past.
This was about destroying Elias's entire life.
The lawyer handed him the paper.
Elias looked at it.
His hands started shaking.
Then he whispered:
"No..."
I stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
He looked at me.
And the pain in his eyes terrified me.
Because whatever was written on that paper...
Was about to change everything.
He looked down at Sophie.
Then back at me.
May you like
And whispered:
"She's not my daughter."
