Chapter 9 - I FIGHT BACK
I wiped my face. I stood up. I looked back through the glass at Olivia, sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that the world was trying to tear her away from me.
Margaret wanted war. Fine.
But she had forgotten one thing.
My father had prepared me. He had given me the truth. He had given me the documents. And he had given me the power to protect Olivia—no matter who she was.
I picked up the phone and called my lawyer.
“Claire,” I said when she answered. “I need you to do something for me. Immediately.”
I told her everything. The whole terrible truth. I held nothing back.
Claire was quiet for a long time.
“Emma… this changes everything. Legally… emotionally… everything.”
“I know,” I said. “But listen to me. Olivia is my daughter. I raised her. I loved her. I gave birth to her. And no piece of paper, no DNA test, no malicious old woman is going to take her away from me.”
“Margaret will use this,” Claire warned. “She will smear your name. She will tell the court you conspired with your father. That you knew all along. That you are unfit.”
“Let her try,” I said. “Because I have the truth too. I have proof that Margaret adopted Daniel illegally. That she stole him from his mother. That she has been blackmailing me. That she attacked Olivia. And I have proof that she has known about Olivia’s parentage for years and said nothing until it suited her.”
Claire considered this.
“She has no legal standing to take Olivia. She is not related to her. She is not her guardian. She is not even Daniel’s real mother. If we expose her… she loses everything. Her reputation. Her status. Her place in the family.”
“Exactly,” I said. “She is playing with fire. And I am done standing back while she burns everything I love.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“I want you to file an emergency order,” I said. “To prevent Margaret from having any contact with Olivia. I want you to file a countersuit. And I want you to send Margaret a message. Directly from me.”
“What message?”
“Tell her that I know everything. That I have proof of her adoption fraud. That I have the documents. The witnesses. The truth about who Daniel really is. And tell her that if she tries to take Olivia… I will destroy her. I will expose every lie she has ever told. I will strip her of every title, every privilege, every shred of respect she has ever enjoyed. And I will do it publicly. In open court. For the whole world to see.”
Claire took a breath.
“You realize what this means. If you expose her… you expose Daniel too. You expose his entire life. And you expose Olivia’s parentage alongside it.”
“I know,” I said, tears stinging my eyes. “But Margaret left me no choice. She wants to drag Olivia’s name through the mud? Fine. I will drag hers right along with it. I will burn it all down before I let her hurt my child again.”
“I’ll send the message,” Claire said. “And Emma… be careful. Margaret has nothing left to lose. And people like that… they don’t fight fair.”
“I never expected them to,” I said.
I hung up. I walked back inside. I sat beside Olivia’s bed and watched her sleep.
I didn’t care who her father was. I didn’t care about blood or DNA or what the papers said. She was mine. She had been mine from the moment I felt her move inside me. She was my daughter. My sister. My whole world.
May you like
And I would burn every lie, every secret, every corrupt relationship to the ground before I let anyone take her away.
Margaret had started this war. But I was going to finish it.
