Chapter 3: The Daughter Who Was Erased
Samantha stood frozen outside the office door.
For several seconds, she forgot how to breathe.
The mansion around her continued moving.
The distant sound of the ocean.
The ticking of the antique clock.
The soft footsteps of employees cleaning the halls.
Everything sounded far away.
Because one sentence kept repeating inside her mind.
“I finally got rid of the problem.””
Her.
She was the problem.
Not Olivia.
Not Charlotte.
Not the woman who had spent twenty years pretending to be a loving mother in front of strangers.
Her.
Samantha slowly stepped away from the office door.
Her hands trembled as she walked back toward her bedroom.
The room was small compared to the rest of the mansion.
That was the first thing she noticed whenever she entered.
The Collins mansion had dozens of rooms.
A huge master bedroom for Victoria.
Beautiful bedrooms for Olivia and Charlotte.
Guest rooms decorated with expensive furniture.
But Samantha’s room was hidden at the end of a quiet hallway.
A simple bed.
A small wooden desk.
A closet filled with clothes that were mostly old.
It wasn’t a prison.
But it never felt like home.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it.
For years, she had wondered why Victoria treated her differently.
Why her sisters received expensive gifts while she received forgotten leftovers.
Why Olivia and Charlotte were introduced proudly at events while Samantha was told to stay upstairs.
Why her mother looked at her with disappointment instead of love.
She always thought maybe she wasn’t enough.
Maybe she wasn’t beautiful enough.
Maybe she wasn’t successful enough.
Maybe she wasn’t the daughter Victoria wanted.
But now…
There was something else.
A secret.
A secret involving her birth.
Samantha walked toward the old wooden desk.
Hidden inside the drawer was the only thing she had from her childhood.
A photograph.
Three little girls standing beside Victoria.
Olivia.
Charlotte.
And Samantha.
They were all smiling.
At least, she was smiling.
She was only five years old.
Too young to understand why her mother’s hand rested on Olivia’s shoulder while Samantha stood slightly apart.
Too young to understand why Victoria never looked at her in the picture.
Samantha touched the photo.
“What happened to me?””
Her voice was barely a whisper.
A knock suddenly came from the door.
She quickly wiped her eyes.
“Come in.””
The door opened.
It was Adrian.
Samantha immediately stood.
“Mr. Bennett?””
He looked surprised by her reaction.
“You don’t have to stand every time I enter a room.””
She looked away.
“Sorry.””
Adrian stepped inside.
For once, he didn’t look like the billionaire everyone feared.
He looked like someone who was worried.
“I wanted to talk to you.””
Samantha became nervous.
“About what?””
“About what you heard.””
Her expression changed.
The silence answered him.
“You know?””
Adrian nodded.
“I saw you near the office.””
Samantha looked down.
“I wasn’t trying to listen.””
“I know.””
She swallowed.
“I just heard my name.””
Adrian sat in the chair near the desk.
“Do you know what she meant?””
Samantha shook her head.
“No.””
“What do you think?””
The question was difficult.
Because there were too many possibilities.
“I think…”
She paused.
“I think my whole life has been built on something I don’t know.””
Adrian watched her carefully.
“You deserve answers.””
Samantha gave a small, bitter laugh.
“People keep saying that.””
“Who?””
“Myself.””
The answer surprised him.
She looked at the photograph.
“I stopped expecting other people to care.””
Adrian followed her eyes.
“Your sisters?””
Samantha nodded.
“Olivia and Charlotte have always been the perfect daughters.””
“Do you hate them?””
The question caught her off guard.
She thought about it.
Then slowly shook her head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because they were raised to believe they were better than me.””
Adrian was quiet.
Samantha continued.
“That doesn’t excuse how they treat me. But sometimes I think they never learned anything else.””
“That’s a very generous way to see people who hurt you.””
She looked at him.
“Maybe.””
A small silence passed.
Then Adrian asked:
“What do you want?””
Samantha frowned.
“What?””
“If you could have anything right now, what would it be?””
The question seemed impossible.
Nobody had ever asked her that.
Not once.
She looked around the room.
“I want to know the truth.””
Adrian nodded.
“Then we find it.””
Samantha stared at him.
“You would help me?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Because the truth was…
he didn’t fully understand it himself.
He had met Samantha less than twenty-four hours ago.
But something about her bothered him.
Not in a bad way.
It bothered him because she reminded him of something he knew too well.
Being unwanted.
Being underestimated.
Being judged before anyone knew the truth.
“My mother used to say something,” Adrian finally said.
Samantha listened.
“She said people reveal themselves by how they treat those who cannot help them.””
Samantha looked at him.
“And what does that mean?””
“It means I learned a long time ago to pay attention to the people everyone else ignores.””
Before Samantha could respond, another knock interrupted them.
This time, the door opened without waiting.
Victoria.
Her eyes immediately landed on Adrian.
Then Samantha.
The anger in her face appeared for only a second.
But Samantha saw it.
“What is happening here?””
Adrian stood.
“We were talking.””
Victoria smiled politely.
“I’m sure you were.””
The tone was completely different from her expression.
Samantha recognized it.
The same voice Victoria used when guests were around.
Fake kindness.
“Samantha, I need you downstairs.””
Samantha looked confused.
“Why?””
Victoria’s smile disappeared.
“Because I said so.””
Adrian stepped forward.
“She was having a conversation.””
Victoria looked at him.
“This is a family matter.””
“Then perhaps it’s a matter she should be included in.””
The room became silent.
Victoria’s face tightened.
Nobody talked back to her.
Especially not a billionaire.
Especially not in her own home.
“Samantha has always been difficult,” Victoria said.
Samantha looked up.
The words still hurt.
Even after all these years.
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Difficult?””
Victoria nodded.
“She has always questioned things. She never accepted her place.””
Her place.
Those words burned.
Samantha finally spoke.
“What place is that, Mom?””
Victoria looked at her.
“You know exactly what I mean.””
“No.””
Samantha’s voice shook.
“But I think I deserve to know.””
For the first time, she didn’t immediately lower her eyes.
Victoria noticed.
And she looked afraid.
Not angry.
Afraid.
That scared Samantha more.
Victoria quickly turned toward Adrian.
“I apologize. She’s emotional.””
Adrian looked at Samantha.
Then back at Victoria.
“I don’t think she’s the one who should be explaining herself.””
Victoria’s jaw tightened.
“Mr. Bennett—”
“Adrian.””
She stopped.
He rarely corrected people.
But this time, he did.
“Adrian,” Victoria repeated carefully.
“Tomorrow morning, I need to speak with you.””
Adrian looked at her.
“About what?””
“About the truth.””
The word hung in the air.
Samantha felt her heart stop.
Victoria walked closer to the door.
“Some things are better explained by the person who knows the whole story.””
Then she left.
But Samantha knew something.
Victoria wasn’t offering answers.
She was preparing a defense.
Later that night, Samantha couldn’t sleep.
She kept thinking about the word.
Birth.
Documents.
Truth.
At 2:13 in the morning, she finally gave up and walked downstairs.
She needed water.
She needed air.
She needed anything to stop her thoughts.
But when she reached the hallway near Victoria’s office, she saw something.
The door wasn’t completely closed.
Inside, someone was searching through drawers.
Samantha slowly moved closer.
It wasn’t Victoria.
It was Charlotte.
Her sister was holding a folder.
A folder with Samantha’s name written across the front.
Samantha froze.
Charlotte looked nervous.
She opened the folder and pulled out a document.
Then she whispered to herself:
“I can’t believe Mom hid this for twenty years.””
Samantha’s heart started racing.
Charlotte turned the page.
And her face changed.
Shock.
Fear.
Confusion.
Then she said the words Samantha would never forget.
“Mom lied to us…”
The folder slipped slightly from Charlotte’s hands.
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And on the top page, Samantha saw a word written in bold letters.
*ADOPTION.*
