The Stolen Life- My Mother Gave My Fiancé to Her Favorite Student novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I felt anxious, and a flicker of guilt, too.

My father’s wife was a gentle, gracious woman.

She’d married him out of family duty. Theirs wasn’t a passionate love match, but they treated each other with

mutual respect and kindness.

When I moved into the Voss mansion, she took care of all my meals, travel arrangements, and daily needs

quietly and thoughtfully.

The twin boys idolized me after learning I’d saved a child in the war zone. When they found out I’d been top

of my class all through school, they brought me piles of snacks and begged me to help them with their

studies.

Only my mom.

No matter the time or place, she seemed determined to ruin me completely.

I arranged to meet her alone at a café near the hospital.

The second she saw me–dressed in designer clothes, sitting in a custom luxury wheelchair–she was

seething with jealousy.

“Climb up the social ladder, and you ditch your own mother. Real nice of you.”

I smiled softly.

“Mom, you only have the courage to show up today because the Voss family didn’t cast me aside. They took

me in, didn’t they?”

After all, Mom had fled for her life decades ago.

She knew full well my grandmother’s death was partly her fault.

She’d only kept me and raised me back then because she feared the powerful Voss family would track her

down–and I was her only protection, her only bargaining chip.

From the day I was taken in by the Voss family, Mom had bombarded me with texts, begging for details about the family and their wealth.

I never replied to a single one.

That sent her into a furious rage..

I was her own daughter. Why did I get to live a luxurious life while she struggled?

Mom was beside herself with anger.

“Elara, if you won’t put in a good word for me with your father, you will come back to Willowbrook with me

Chapter 9

5.96%

right now.”

“I’m not going.”

“I knew it. You’re just a greedy, ungrateful brat.”

She unleashed every cruel, vulgar insult she could think of, directing all of it at me–her own daughter.

When she finally ran out of breath and stopped screaming, I pressed the record button on my phone.

“Mom. The true circumstances of my grandmother’s death, and her last wish–those have been kept secret all these years.”

“But from today on, you’ll be publicly labeled guilty of manslaughter.”

“From this moment on, my only obligation to you is the legal duty of financial support.”

Mom stared at me, stunned and speechless.

She broke down sobbing and threw herself onto the floor, screaming hysterically, calling me unfilial,

accusing me of ruining her.

I said nothing.

I knew a teacher with such a tarnished reputation would never be allowed to work in education again.

This was the first time I’d ever seen Mom look so weak and helpless.

I’d thought I might cry.

But I didn’t.

After enduring so much unbearable pain, all that was left was numbness–and a chance to start over.

Mom refused to leave Havenridge City.

She convinced herself that since my grandmother had been dead for years, all debts were settled with her

passing.

I’d been fully accepted by the Voss family, no strings attached.

She’d raised me single–handedly through hardship. She believed she deserved a huge payout, at the very least.

Lila Mae stepped forward, pretending to be a peacemaker.

“Elara, Ms. Voss raised you through so much suffering. She never mistreated you. There’s no real grudget between mother and daughter.”

I laughed coldly.

Chapter 9

5.96%

“When I was scraping by on that watery soup in college, you were spending my mom’s money freely and

sending loads of things back to your family.”

“Do you want me to settle that score right now?”

Lila Mae turned pale and started crying, accusing me of forgetting my roots now that I was rich.

Jax hated seeing his pregnant wife upset and stepped in to defend her.

“Elara, Lila Mae had a terrible childhood. Her father used to beat her all the time.”

“Ms. Voss helped her because she wanted to save a girl in the prime of her youth.”

I pressed my lips into a thin, mocking smile, suddenly finding the whole scene absurd beyond belief.

I braced myself, ready to let them have it.

But before I could speak, Aunt Catherine and the two boys appeared behind my wheelchair, tearing into Jax

and Lila Mae for their hypocrisy.

They reserved their harshest words for Lila Mae.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify