Emerging From the Haze novel Chapter 3

At those words, Eugene finally turned to face Scarlett, his eyes meeting hers, a flicker of unease passing through them.

"Why would you say something like that about yourself? You've always been like a sister to me. I'd never wish anything bad on you."

Calvin's shoulders tensed, and he turned around in frustration, his voice stern. "Scarlett, I get that you're upset, but you can't just scare us like this. I'm already getting everything ready for the wedding. What am I supposed to do if something happens to you and I'm left all alone?"

It was the same thing Scarlett had heard countless times before.

They'd always said they cared about her, couldn't picture their lives without her, treated her like a sister, and loved her like a partner. Yet, they hurt her without a second thought.

What kind of brother or lover would do something like that?

She let out a bitter laugh, tears streaming down her face. She turned and made her way to her room alone. Her blood dripped, leaving a long, crimson trail on the floor as she walked.

In the stillness of her room, Scarlett carefully removed the glass shards from her wounds with a pair of tweezers.

Her hands shook, and beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead, trickling down and landing on the injury. Each drop sent a fresh jolt of sharp, stinging pain through her body.

Calvin and Eugene's voices drifted in from outside the door, gentle and comforting.

"Sharon, is it still hurting? Do you want me to put some ice on it?"

"Your hand's pretty bruised. Maybe we should have a doctor look at it, so it doesn't leave a scar."

Scarlett listened, her eyes closing as she fought to keep the flood of emotions at bay. When she had finished cleaning her wounds, she grabbed her phone and saw Sharon's taunting message.

"You honestly think they're keeping you around because they care? They're just too comfortable with holding on. Before long, they'll belong to me, heart and soul.

"Scarlett, you've been stealing my identity for years. Eugene and Calvin will spend the rest of their lives making it right with me. So, don't even think about going up against me! I'll see to it that you return everything you took. You'd better watch out!"

Scarlett knew every word Sharon said was the truth. As an adopted daughter, she could never measure up to the Swain family's biological child. So, she decided to leave Calvin's and Eugene's lives for good.

And when she vanished without a trace, Sharon wouldn't come out ahead, either. After all, the living could never outdo the dead.

Scarlett opened a shopping app and ordered a lifelike corpse. Once she got her immigrant visa, she'd fake her own death and disappear. From then on, she'd return to her birth name and start fresh.

She carefully placed the pinhole camera she'd picked up on her way home into her necklace. From this moment on, every step Sharon took would leave a trail.

…

As the first light of dawn began to filter through the windows, the housekeeper roused Scarlett from her sleep. When she sat up, she noticed Calvin and Eugene walking toward her with cameras, their faces etched with deep sorrow.

"Scarlett, Sharon's work has been exposed as plagiarized. It's causing a huge scandal. We need you to make a video admitting that you copied her work out of jealousy."

They handed her a phone, and Scarlett's gaze immediately landed on the trending topics at the top.