The Stolen Life

"Ms. Shaw, are none of your family seeing you off?"

The staff member who came to pick me up glanced curiously at the villa behind me.

The scoop about the legitimate and imposter daughters had become the talk of the town, and the man seemed to recognize me. He assumed the online rumors were exaggerated, but he now realized I had fallen so low.

"No."

Without saying anything else, I loaded my suitcase into the boot and climbed into the car. The sky erupted with breathtaking fireworks, their brilliant colors blending with drone displays. It was a mesmerizing sight, and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"Happy Birthday, Rhianne," the drones spelled out the words in neat rows, and the car fell into silence.

Today was also Rhianne's birthday. We were born on the same day and mistakenly switched at birth. With this knowledge, they still chose to give me nothing.

"Ms. Shaw, isn't it your birthday too?" asked the driver in a stupor as it dawned on him.

I lifted my phone and snapped a photo of the scene before me.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go."

As the car merged into traffic, the sounds of celebration grew more and more distant.

Two days later, Jeffrey and Rhianne returned to the villa, having exhausted themselves.

Jeffrey sensed something amiss. In the past, I would have greeted him at the door. But this time, there was nothing—just an unnervingly quiet house.

"Eleanor?"

Ivor seemed to also notice something odd. He scanned the villa with a stiffened expression. Their initial assumption was that I was upset and throwing a tantrum. Rhianne, in particular, felt genuinely remorseful.

"Ives, Jeff, is El mad at me? I told you it was her birthday too. But neither of you was willing to come back and wish her. How could you? She grew up with the two of you! This is all my fault—I shouldn't have shown up in the first place."

Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked broken-hearted, as though she were the one who had been abandoned.

"Rhianne, stop talking nonsense. None of this is your fault. She's just too sensitive. You've gone so many years without celebrating your birthday—what does it matter if she skips one? In fact, I'd love to see what kind of tantrum she's throwing this time."

That was the first time Jeffrey had lost his temper in the villa. The household staff were trembling with fear, yet no one could explain my whereabouts.

On the day of my departure, I deliberately chose a time during their break to leave. That was why no one had set eyes on me in the past two days. No one realized I had already left this place for good.

"What's all this about?"

Jeffrey frowned at the items I left in the living room. They were hard to miss.

He knew full well that those were all the gifts he and Ivor had given me over the years.

"What is she trying to do? Is she crazy?"

Ivor stopped before a pair of plaster figurines. They were crafted in our likeness, once my most treasured possession.

But there they were now, sat in the living room gathering dust. Annoyed, Ivor whipped out his phone to call me.

"Get Eleanor from her room right now."

An unsettling feeling gnawed at Jeffrey. For some reason, he felt this time was different, as if I were intending to sever all ties with them.

They all felt a hint of panic, yet stubbornly refused to admit it. They were masking their guilt under the guise of indifference.

Half an hour of searching later, there was still no sign of me. They also discovered that I had blocked all three of their numbers.

Jeffrey was growing anxious. He had always believed I was in the wrong for what happened to Rhianne. In his eyes, his neglect and cold treatment were his way of avenging his real sister.

Nevertheless, he never thought of abandoning me, nor did he expect me to disappear from their lives.

"Mr. Shaw."

A maid in the living room spoke up after finding a note and a bank card I had left behind.