Chapter 2

2

Sienna helped me up.

A young maid walked over and bowed slightly. "Mr. Miller, Ms. Lydia, dinner is served."

"Mr. Miller? Ms. Lydia?" My suspicions were confirmed. Logan was the master of this luxury estate.

For years, he had kept this entire life a secret from me.

Every time he called home, he gave the same excuses: "Work is busy, I'm doing okay, don't worry." He never sent a single dollar back.

When our family hit rock bottom a few years ago and the debts piled up, I borrowed money from everyone I knew. I didn't want to burden him while he was "struggling" in the city.

Meanwhile, he was living like a king.

Anger boiled in my blood, but I forced myself to stay calm.

Logan looked flustered. "Miranda, let me explain. I only just started seeing success recently. Mr. Zavala gave me this house as a bonus. I just brought Sienna here and was planning to send for you next."

"Exactly. The staff just use fancy titles. Don't take it to heart, Miranda," Lydia chimed in.

Just then, a man in a construction vest walked by. "Mr. Miller, are you sure you want to cut down that oak in the yard? It's been there since you moved in eight years ago."

"Shut up and do your job!" Logan barked, his face turning pale with guilt.

I took a deep breath. He had been away for ten years. He had played the part of a poor man for eight of them while living in a mansion.

"Uncle Logan, Auntie, is this my aunt? Let's have dinner together." Leah walked over with a sweet, practiced smile.

I was stunned. Leah looked like a princess, draped in designer clothes and radiating elegance.

My daughter, Sienna, stood next to her in simple, worn-out clothes. She looked thin and exhausted.

My heart ached with a sharp, physical pain.

Leah took Sienna's hand and led her toward the garden. Logan relaxed a bit, seeing the girls "getting along."

But I noticed Sienna's body was shaking. I looked at Leah with newfound suspicion.

Dinner was a feast of delicacies I couldn't even name, served in a beautiful garden pavilion.

Sienna looked overwhelmed. For years, we had skipped meals to save money.

When things were at their worst, we couldn't even pay rent and moved from one basement to another. Our "provider" was dining on lobster and fine wine.

Leah walked over to us with a bowl of soup. "Auntie, Sienna, you have to try this. It's delicious."

She handed the bowl toward us, but suddenly, her grip loosened.

The boiling liquid splashed all over our hands. Sienna let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! My hand just slipped!" Leah cried out, her face a mask of fake horror.

Sienna looked up, her eyes brimming with tears and rage. "Leah, you did that on purpose!"

"How dare you speak to your cousin like that? She was being kind!" Lydia slammed her hand on the table, her face twisted in anger.

Logan reached out and rubbed Lydia's back to soothe her.

"Uncle Logan, do you believe me?" Leah looked at Logan with big, watery eyes.

Logan frowned and didn't hesitate. "I've raised Leah since she was a child. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. It was just an accident. Sienna, don't be so dramatic."

Sienna broke down. "You're my father!" she screamed before turning and running away.

Logan's face remained cold. "This is how you raised her? She's a brat, Miranda."

I didn't waste another word on him. I gave them both a look of pure hatred and ran after my daughter.

I found Sienna in a dusty, cramped storage room at the back of the estate. She was frantically packing her bag.

"Mom, I want to leave. I want to go home," she sobbed.

I stroked her hair and looked her in the eyes. "Okay. Mommy is taking you home."