CHARLOTTE

The DNA test results trembled in my hands, each word a dagger to my heart. I read them again, desperately hoping the letters would rearrange themselves into a different truth. They didn't.

"This can't be right," I whispered, my voice barely audible in the suffocating silence of the Windsor family study.

My father—no, Mr. Windsor now—cleared his throat. "I'm afraid it is, Charlotte. You're... you're not our daughter."

The world tilted on its axis. I gripped the mahogany desk, my knuckles white, as memories flashed through my mind: birthday parties, family vacations, my lavish wedding. All lies.

"But how?" I choked out.

As if summoned by my question, Sophia Smith glided into the room, a triumphant smile playing on her lips. "It's quite simple, really," she purred. "My mother, your beloved nanny Anna, switched us at birth. I'm the true Windsor heiress."

I turned to my moth—to Mrs. Windsor, silently pleading. She averted her gaze, shame coloring her cheeks.

"Anna confessed everything," Mr. Windsor said, his voice heavy. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, but you're... you're the imposter here."

The word 'imposter' echoed in my head, growing louder with each repetition until it drowned out everything else. I barely registered the shuffle of feet as the Windsors—my family for twenty-five years—left the room, leaving me alone with Sophia.

She leaned in close, her breath hot on my ear. "Don't worry, 'sister.' I'll take good care of your life. After all, it was mine to begin with."

Days blurred together after that. I found myself relegated to the servants' quarters, treated with thinly veiled contempt by those who once called me 'Miss Charlotte.' The Windsors, ever conscious of their public image, didn't cast me out entirely. Instead, I became a shadow in my own home, invisible unless needed for some menial task.

But the true heartbreak came when Liam, my husband, learned the truth. I'll never forget the look in his eyes—disgust mingled with a cold calculation that chilled me to the bone.

"Liam, please," I begged one night, reaching for him. "Twenty-five years of memories, our love, our child—does none of that matter?"

He jerked away as if my touch burned. "What matters is that you're a fraud, Charlotte. Or whatever your real name is." His gaze softened as it drifted to a photo of Sophia on the mantel. "Sophia is the one I should have married. The one I will marry, once this mess is sorted out."

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.

The final blow came after Sophia's drunk driving incident. I was summoned to the main house, where the family—including Liam—waited with grim expressions.

Mr. Windsor spoke first. "Sophia made a mistake. She's facing three years in prison."

"I don't understand," I said, a sense of dread creeping over me. "What does this have to do with me?"

Liam stepped forward, his eyes cold. "You're going to confess to the crime, Charlotte. You'll serve Sophia's sentence."

I stumbled back, shocked. "What? No! I won't—"

"You will," Liam cut me off. "Unless you want Charles to grow up without either parent. I've already filed for divorce. Sophia will be a loving stepmother to him while you're... away."

"You can't do this," I whispered, tears streaming down my face.

Liam's expression hardened. "You stole Sophia's life. Now it's time to pay for your crimes. Besides," he added with a cruel smile, "you're nothing but a worthless impostor. Prison is where you belong."

As the reality of my situation sank in, I felt something inside me break. The Charlotte I had been—loving wife, doting mother, Windsor heiress—was dead. In her place stood a woman I didn't recognize, facing a future I couldn't comprehend.

~•~

After three years.

As I stepped out of the prison gates, blinking against the bright sun and warm breeze caressing my neck, a single word echoed in my head.

Freedom. I was free.

It had been three years since my arrest—three years since my whole life fell apart at the seams.

Today was supposed to be my happy day. After all, I had prayed for it for so long. But no, instead of relief, I just felt cold and empty.

There was an indescribable heaviness resting deeply in my heart. One I couldn’t understand even if I tried to.

Blinking again, I scanned the busy prison street, searching for a familiar face. Maybe someone had come to pick me up, but there was no one.

With a sigh, I continued walking when suddenly a sleek black car drove in and stopped a few feet away from me.

The door opened, and my breath caught when I saw a familiar face.

"Liam…” My ex-husband.

My chest tightened as he exited the car and walked towards me.

What the hell was he doing here?

Surely, he didn’t come out of guilt or the love he had for me. He didn’t love me anymore. He told me this several times, years back. So why was he here?

Or… a tiny part of me wondered if he was here because he still cared about me. Maybe he finally believed I was innocent and wanted to apologize. Then we could start anew, start over, and…

“You’re out finally.” He muttered coldly, stopping in front of me.

“Yes. I… Liam, what are you doing…”

“Good. I need you immediately.” A dark look filled his gaze as he looked down at me. “Sophia is seriously ill. And she needs urgent medical attention. I need you to donate your bone marrow to her."

My blood ran cold at his words. It felt like a million needles stabbing deep into my skin, and I blinked, surprised.

"Wait, what?”

He ignored my question and spat coldly. “Now. I don’t have time to waste here.”

At the same time, he reached out to grab my arm, but I flinched, stumbling backward. Different emotions raced through me, from anger to disappointment to heartbreak to sadness.

After all these years… after all my suffering… after the bullying and abuse I endured in that prison… I came out to meet this.

“You son of a…” I half screamed as a tear almost fell down my face. “You must be joking.” I hissed.

A strange look passed Liam’s features before he replied. “I am not joking. I am serious, Charlotte. And you owe her this. We both know you stole her life for 22 years or even more. She wouldn’t have suffered and gotten prone to all kinds of infection if she lived with her real parents and not that trash nanny and shack she grew up in.”

“You are out of your mind if you think I will donate anything to her or do you any favors. I’m done taking the fall for…”

“Oh, you will take this fall because Sophia’s condition is all your fault.” Liam interrupted harshly, and before I could do a thing, he grabbed my wrist roughly, making me wince in pain.

“Liam… Let me go… let me…” I stammered, trying to wiggle free from his grasp as he tugged harshly at my arm. “Liam, stop!”

But he wasn’t listening. “Get in the car, you bitch!” He pushed me into the passenger side, his grip unrelenting.

I continued to struggle and kick at him, desperate to be free, but he just laughed cruelly.

“Stop struggling. It’s not going to get you anywhere, you useless piece of shit,” he hissed. “We only have a few minutes before…”

“Let her go!” A deep voice suddenly bellowed from behind, and suddenly, a hand reached for Liam and pulled him back.

I gasped for breath as I recognized the voice.

It was Noah, my brother. He must have come to pick me up, and a tear welled up in my eye at the thought.