Chapter 2 You're Engaged To The Bailey Heir

Worried Nadine might doubt him, Jacob quickly reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a worn pocket watch.

He popped it open, revealing a faded photograph inside.

"Nadine, look at this. That's our family-see for yourself!"

The image showed a graceful woman with a gentle smile, cradling a little girl who looked like a porcelain doll. Both were beaming, their happiness captured forever.

There was no mistaking it-the woman's features mirrored Nadine's own. Their faces had the same soft shape, and when they smiled, identical dimples formed at the corners of their mouths.

Nadine's breath caught.

Now she understood how Jacob had recognized her instantly. He really was her brother.

"You vanished twenty years ago-a trafficker grabbed you right outside our gate. We went crazy looking for you. Mom lost herself from the grief. She clings to your favorite doll and whispers your childhood nickname, Naddie, all day long..." Jacob's hand reached out, trembling, but he hesitated before touching her sleeve.

With a desperate hope, he pleaded, "Please come home. Mom's sick-she's never stopped waiting for you to walk back through the door."

Nadine nodded, her answer gentle but sure. "I'll come with you."

While they walked, Jacob asked how she'd managed to find them after so many years apart.

Nadine offered a simple reply: she'd registered with a missing persons initiative that bridged Archam and Urygan. By chance, the search reunited her with her family.

The man in black who had appeared earlier was simply a government escort, tasked with bringing her home.

Nadine decided to keep her true circumstances to herself.

Everything she had endured, and the influence she now held, felt impossible to explain to her family in a way they could understand.

She worried that the truth might only frighten them.

When Jacob heard that Nadine had been trafficked to Urygan, his entire body trembled with guilt and sorrow.

Regret gnawed at him-if only he'd kept a closer eye on her years ago, maybe she wouldn't have endured so much pain.

A fierce promise took root inside him. He would stand by his sister from this day on, never letting harm come her way again.

He never let go of her hand for a single step as they approached the house.

The moment the door swung open, a disheveled woman raced out, clinging to a worn, filthy doll. "Is my baby home? Has Naddie finally come back to me?"

The woman's gaze found Nadine's face, and hope blazed in her eyes. "Naddie... my sweet Naddie... It's really you!"

She crushed Nadine in a desperate embrace.

For a moment, Nadine went rigid, overwhelmed by the woman's wild energy.

Could this truly be the mother who had lost her mind searching for her child?

Nadine wrapped her arms around Stacey, choking back a rush of emotion. "I'm here, Mom. I've come back."

This time, Nadine was determined-she'd never let anyone harm the Clark family again.

Just then, another door creaked open behind them.

A girl draped in expensive silk, a luxurious bracelet flashing at her wrist, leaned against the frame, her expression cold and unimpressed. "So the real daughter finally shows up? Perfect. I've played the stand-in long enough. Now I can leave without a backward glance."

Daniela Clark, standing in the doorway, gave Nadine a slow, contemptuous once-over. "Enough with the touching mother-daughter reunion at the entrance. It's making me sick. Get inside, will you? I don't want you wasting my time-I need to finish packing."

Jacob's face turned pale. "Daniela, where exactly do you think you're heading? This family has cared for you for more than ten years. Have we ever treated you badly?"

"So I'm supposed to stick around?" Daniela sneered, her voice sharp. "For what-so I can nurse a mother who's lost her mind and a dying father? I'm not letting you ruin my future with your endless problems."

"That's enough!" Jacob's hands balled into fists, anger simmering in his eyes.

Daniela only laughed harder, her voice rising. "What, did I hit a nerve? Go ahead, enjoy your little reunion. From this moment on, I want nothing to do with this miserable place!"

With a toss of her hair, she disappeared into the house.

Watching her, Nadine pieced it together in an instant.

So this was the adopted daughter who'd grown up under the Clark family's roof-eager to walk out the second an opportunity arose, clutching every last valuable she could carry.

Moments later, Daniela reappeared, wrestling a stuffed suitcase behind her.

Nadine stepped squarely in her path. "So that's it? Now that you've drained the Clark family of everything, you're just going to walk away? You leech."

"Don't talk rubbish! Move!" Daniela shrieked, voice shrill.

Without a word, Nadine wrenched the suitcase from her grasp, then swiftly slipped the bracelet from Daniela's wrist and unclasped the necklace at her throat.

To Nadine, Daniela was nothing more than a thief-someone who'd already taken too much.

Daniela screamed and lunged. "What do you think you're doing, you maniac? Give those back!"

Nadine dodged her easily, letting Daniela sprawl awkwardly to the floor.

A twist of Nadine's wrist cracked open the suitcase, scattering its contents-gold bracelets, necklaces encrusted with diamonds, and several pieces of rare jewelry-across the floor.

What remained in Daniela's suitcase was likely all the Clark family had left of any value.

Daniela clearly intended to leave them penniless and desperate.

"Those belong to me! Give them back!" Daniela shrieked, her eyes wild as she scrambled to snatch the scattered treasures.

But Nadine stood her ground, knowing full well these items were the only way to afford medicine for Stacey and Jordy.

She thought of Jacob taking beatings just to get by, and fury flashed in her eyes.

Without warning, Nadine raised her foot and drove her boot straight into Daniela's stomach.

"Ah-!" Daniela's cry split the air as she tumbled into the muddy courtyard, clutching her side in agony.

Glaring down at her, Nadine's words came out cold as stone. "Get out. If you show your face around here again, you'll regret it."

Coughing and trembling, Daniela dragged herself upright, shooting Nadine a look filled with hatred. "This isn't over! Just wait!"

She pointed a shaky finger at the pile of jewelry and gemstones, sneering, "Keep it. Think of it as a parting gift for your dying father and your mad mother."

Then, lips curling into a malicious grin, Daniela added, "Almost slipped my mind-congratulations, Nadine. You're engaged to the Bailey heir. The one everyone calls a lost cause-a notorious playboy. Enjoy your happy ending!"