[Seven months later.]
"Where the hell am I?!" Constance screamed in panic, jolting up from the majestic bed, and found four maids treating her gently. "NO! BACK OFF!"
"Who are you?!" Connie was intimidated, fear and adrenaline pressing into her body. She forced herself to move and walk, not expecting the stinging, burning ache of her surgical wound.
Her hands reached for the wall. Then she staggered, feeling her head stabbing violently, almost stumbled forward; Asher Cromwell swiftly supported her.
"Lady Sadie, calm down. You're safe here, don't worry. I know you're panicking and scared. Let me help you lie back down," Asher uttered softly, embracing Sadie's waist slowly to the bed.
Doctor Eileen prepared with her medical check equipment; she smiled sweetly. "You should get plenty of rest, my lady. Let me check your condition first."
Connie winced in ache, her defensiveness finally loosening. Experiencing horrible days of torture and hostage-taking at Morelli's residence left her with a traumatic feeling of constant minefield.
"How is it, Doctor Leen?" Asher folded his arms over his chest; he had to report Sadie's latest condition to Lord Linus.
Eileen smiled fabulously, jotting something on her tablet. "There is nothing to worry about; all the fatal wounds have fully recovered. In the next few days, with a few adjustments, you can resume your activities."
"Who are you?" asked Connie sternly, observing Asher and Eileen cautiously. "Where am I?"
"I'm Asher Cromwell, and this is Eileen," Asher smiled broadly, showing the warmest and most sincere expression, pointing at Eileen sitting beside him.
"She's the personal physician at the Grand Mansion. This is your home. It's good to have you home safely, my lady.
"After undergoing emergency surgery, you were in a coma for seven months. It is a miraculous blessing to see you regain consciousness today."
Constance's eyes narrowed. She winced in vexation. Unsure what was really going on in this grand and lavish place. In her eyes they were all strangers.
However, Connie felt she knew Sadie.
Almost every night the terror screams of a woman calling out Sadie's name, often haunting her as if a damned nightmare. "Sadie? Are you nuts? I'm not Sadie—you think I'm someone else, but I'm Constance Sylvaine! Stop talking nonsense! I've never met any of you before!"
Asher's smile vanished, his expression tightening.
He could only hope that Lord Linus and Sadie's meeting would end well. "There's much I wish to explain, yet it is not my place, my lady.
"Perhaps this will be tough for you to fathom as time goes on, but you must know—it's an official order from my lord, and our duty is to ensure your safety."
With a mysterious look in his eyes. Asher added. "The first rule: you saved. No one must ever know who you truly are. Constance Sylvaine is dead. Forever."
"You can trust us. Everyone in Grand Mansion is loyal and reliable, my lord—including you. Your secret is safe, as long as you're willing to follow the situation."
Connie furrowed her brows, dismayed, and felt insane. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Then she snapped. "And who do you think you are?! I do not bow to anyone, particularly strangers! You have no right to command me!"
"Nothing. Are you prepared to meet my lord—to hear the whole truth that will shake your sanity? It will be hard for you to believe." Asher gives a staged smile. He spoke in a sing-song tone.
"My lord seeks only to restore your life completely."
***
"I'm Linus Kaiser. Welcome back, my child." Linus greeted from his grand office chair; he had a genuine smile, shady yet sharp ice-blue eyes, and a well-built body that was authoritative and firm despite his age.
Linus is eager to hug Sadie. He misses her a lot; still, he knows the situation is tough. They've been apart for 18 years, and Linus is trying so hard to wait until Sadie accepts him and the whole reality.
Look, Andromeda, I've brought your beloved daughter home, as promised. I swear, I'll give Sadie the best life as you want.
The office is spacious and grand, functioning more like an intercontinental executive suite. Restricted, not just anyone could enter except his trusted assistant, Asher Cromwell.
And Connie was the second person Linus had specifically invited into this secluded office.
Private conversation, sweet treats, and cups of warm chamomile honey tea were served. Linus asked her to come closer. He stated firmly. "Let's talk."
Then Constance's eyes were glued to a gilded picture of the Kaiser family; she gaped at the gorgeous, graceful woman with her shining red copper hair—
Constance was frightened, thinking to herself. That flawless woman? Why does she look like me?!
Connie was starting to give up, and no matter the Grand Mansion residents who kept calling her Sadie, yet it was not pleasant at all, Constance felt that she had stolen someone else's life.
Linus Kaiser? This wasn't the first time they had met. Connie had crossed paths with Linus in the past—
They always met by chance. Again and again, under strange circumstances.
At that time, Linus was completely alone. His appearance was almost plain—far different from what it is now.
Now, he exudes the aura of strength, the alpha commander's dominance, the wisdom of a true leader, or that undeniable charisma that could make anyone bow in respect before him.
"You—? Haven't we met before?" Connie tried to remember; they had even interacted several times, in cafés, hospitals, and city parks. "The mysterious man."
"You once paid for the entire hospital treatment when I had an accident—? At the café, you paid for all my orders, and—"
A handful of flashback memories crashed into Connie's mind. However many times they had met and talked, she never asked his name or found out who Linus really was.
As she swamped, take care of Morelli's residence and Don Salvatore's health.
"You should know, I have a reason for all that," Linus retorted. He was stumped, not knowing where to start.
"Excuses?" Connie scoffed, and she gave Linus a sharp look as if a dagger was stabbing his heart. "Why am I here?! I need an explanation. Even though my life is rough, I'm not interested in stealing other people's lives!"
"Believe me, this is complicated for us." Linus let out a long breath, the tension more intense. "You didn't steal anyone's life, sweetheart. You are truly Sadie Kaiser.
"That's why I brought you here. For eighteen years I've searched for you. I was too late and found you in the middle of the Morelli famiglia."
"For heaven's sake!" Constance rebuked, a wave of outrage washing over her body. She was sick of experiencing betrayal, despair, and unjust, ridiculous death.
"Why would a wealthy man play me so easily?! You're all insane! I don't want to hear anything else. Just let me go!"
Asher entered after knocking on the door; he held up a folder storage and smiled broadly at Connie. Bowing respectfully before Linus, handing over the lavish folder storage into Connie's hands, as Linus had ordered.
Connie noticed how everyone in the Grand Mansion was so submissive and respectful towards Linus. Her forehead frowned sharply, "Now what?!"
Linus shows a hopeful expression, his calm eyes imbued with broken wounds, deep longing, and relief. He explained sternly. "This is strong evidence of all my irrational explanations and actions to you. Your DNA test.
"You can't run away from reality anymore; it's time for you to come back. Beside me. Forget it all. Leaving the past behind. The best option for us now.
"That you are Sadie Elaine Kaiser—my long-lost beloved granddaughter. You are the daughter only of Andromeda and Reiner Kaiser."
Connie's face was bloodlessly pale, her empty eyes misty. She was frightened. As if her whole world collapsed instantly under her feet.
***