A Five-Year Deception, A Lifetime of Payback

care. My parents adored me, my husband cherished me, and the woman who tried to ruin

urprise my husband, Ivan, at h

te art gallery across

husband and their five-year-old son. I watched through the glass as Ivan

pte

ebi Frost said, shaking her head as she stirred her

ars, and it still felt like a

rl your parents took in and showered with affection for years before they even found you. And how does she

my place. When I, the real Donovan heiress, was found and brought home, the fairytale reunion was shattered by Kiera

d clung to for half a decade. "My parents felt responsible. They made sure she was sent to the best private

ly I'd been lost from as a child. I had loving parents and a handsome, successful husband. I was safe. I was loved. The

park, you know? Just for a day. To feel like a kid again." I confided in Debi, "My birthday's coming up. I sent hi

e table. Ivan's name lit up the screen, and I

Urgent project at work. We'll be swamped f

e table, her expression encouraging. "Hey. Go to him. Walk right into his office a

ng lobby of Hughes Biomedical, carrying two cups of his favorite coffee. The security guard in the lob

ut Mr. Hughes has a private appointme

de my disappointment. "Did

the west side," she said, checking h

my stomach. Reese. The

gallery I'd never heard of. The sign read 'Reese Gallery.' It wasn't open to the publi

, I saw a scene that didn't make sense. And then, I saw him. My husband, Ivan. He wasn't in a

aybe four or five years old. The boy was giggli

tanding next to them, her

a Re

happy mother and partner. She laughed, a sound I remembered with a shudder, and leaned up to kiss Ivan on the cheek. He

ts axis. I stumbled back into the shadow

pen side door, the sound of

citement. "Daddy, you promised! For my bi

never truly received. "Of course, buddy. Daddy's already bo

y understood. Ivan hadn't rejected my wish because he was busy. He had r

g?" Kiera asked, her tone shifting slightly.

l cruelty that stole the air from my lungs. "She's so grateful to

ass in false sympathy. "She still keeps

you, Kiera, Leo will be our only heir. When the time is right, I'll tell h

inst his chest, s

money for this lavish life, this secret family, this gallery-it ca

found after a childhood in foster care-was a carefully constructed stage. And I was the fool p

, my body shaking so hard I could barely turn the key in the

ting. So exhausting. I m

his real family, was the final blow. The world d

hey couldn't control. The grief was a physical weight, crushing my

pathetic. They th

o find out just h