Taken Away (4) - Evan's POV

"Look how much she resembles them. It wouldn't be odd if someone thought they were her parents," grandma mumbled.

My parents couldn't disagree with grandma as they watched the lovely scenery. Almost dazzled by their beauty like a wall of extravagant roses bloomed behind them. Rika was one of them, almost like using their expensive things changed how she entirely looked.

She naturally sat in Joanna's lap, calling her mother instead of coming to my parents. Her innocent eyes reflected Joanna's sweet and loving gaze towards her.

As I carefully studied my parents, they appeared betrayed by Luke. Rika's current appearance couldn't have come from her illness. It didn't make sense that it would be a coincidence that she had the same silver hair as Luke's family. My parents turned to Luke for an explanation, getting offended when he coldly ignored them. Meanwhile, Rika begged Luke's parents if she could raise a pet, pulling out the most mesmerizing eyes. And unexpectedly, they absolutely melted under her, agreeing to let her raise a pet. She barely acknowledged us existing, resembling the rest of Luke's family.

After Rika got what she wanted, she kissed Joanna's cheek, displaying their closeness. Meanwhile, Luke never let Rika come closer to us than the chosen fixed distance. My parents were heartbroken, their eyes glistening, mixed with envy. Taking this chance, Joanna slightly smirked in our direction, and then sent Rika away with Luke and Alex. She brightly smiled as she gestured, "we should resume our discussion in the meeting room."

The tension heightened inside the meeting room, and Luke's parents didn't hide their dislike towards us anymore. Unlike before, William got straight to the point, and passed my parents a thick folder of documents. I stayed silent as my parents froze in the middle of reading the first page, almost slamming the entire folder down.

"We're not selling our daughter away," my mom's hands trembled.

"Is one trillion not enough to compensate you?" Joanna wondered.

"We would never sell our daughter for any amount of money," my dad was angry.

"I think you are misunderstanding the situation. We are compensating you for taking care of our daughter for the last month and a few months of her life," she revealed.

Months? I didn't understand. Although my memories of when I was that young were hazy, I grew up with my twin sister back then.

I looked at my parents for answers, and found them angry rather than confused, almost like they were trying to hide their fear. My dad raised his voice, startling me.

"She's still my daughter. She used to have my red hair before you did something to her."

"Red hair is not concrete evidence," Joanna passed us another folder.

My eyes widened when the title of the first page displayed it was the results of a paternity test. Underneath the complex explanations, a single sentence concluded my sister and I were not related. Not a single drop, nor to my parents, my sister was very distantly related to more than ten generations at most.

"How did I know?" She smiled.

"If only she didn't lose her memories, if only if she didn't share her mana with your actual daughter in the past," she covered her mouth.

"I'm the one that bargained with her for that illusion spell," she surprised William.

Illusion spell? I still didn't understand, but when I turned to my parents again, they stayed silent like they knew what Joanna was talking about. Almost like we were in a whole other world, a fantasy world where magic existed.

"You knew?" My mom was disgusted.

"You visited my daughter behind our backs back then and now you're trying to take our parental rights away," My mom yelled.

"Well, we tried to be generous," Joanna flipped her hair.

"Your actual daughter just died back then and we thought it would be cruel to take Blair immediately," she politely smiled.

"We were being generous. We could have easily gotten custody without having to meet you. However, we decided to have a discussion with you," William agreed.

"You mean your lawsuits?" Grandma guessed.

"We do not want to go to court. We wish to settle this matter on amicable terms," he urged them.

"What gives you the right to take our daughter away from us?" My mom shouted.

"You made my children and nephew stay inside a former storage room the previous month. You nearly killed my daughter from your carelessness when she caught a virus," Joanna scoffed.

"And few days ago, my daughter was almost kidnapped! This is neglect and a clear sign you do not have the ability to take care of my daughter," she pointed out.

"That storage room was the most luxurious room in my entire house," grandma laughed.

"The space you gave them was less than the size of this table. The picture my son sent me shows they could have gotten severely sick within the first day from the unlivable condition," Joanna turned on the screen.

Grandma went speechless as Joanna pointed out the stained rotten corners of the storage room. The leaking ceiling where old rainwater dropped onto the nasty floors, covered with dirty bugs and endless balls of dust. No sunlight could come inside as there were no windows, creating terrible bacteria and viruses. In addition to the horrible beds that were surprisingly hand-me-downs her neighbor's dogs used. It brought back my memories of how badly grandma treated them in the beginning. As Joanna's presentation continued, it was obvious whose side the judge would pick if my parents took this to court.

"She was an unwelcome guest in the beginning," grandma admitted.

"It wasn't like you did anything to stop me," she guiltily mumbled.

"I should have done something back then," my mom regretted.

"Take their money. At least help your sister with the lawsuits," grandma suggested.

"We can take back the lawsuits in addition to compensating you if you sign these documents," William agreed.

"Your daughter is a complete stranger to you. Instead, think about your sister who is about to go to jail with her husband. Who is willing to take in their children? You can do more for Evan with the money they're offering you. It's better than nothing," grandma aggressively argued.

"We can also offer visitations. However, it is a maximum of once a year inside our villas," Joanna added.

Luke's parents were giving an illusion of a choice. With the terms they were offering, it was hard for my parents to refuse. Especially with grandma on their side, eyeing the cheque in Joanna's hand. My dad tightly clenched his hands, helplessly gazing, "you're not giving us a choice."

"It's not like you can provide her a better future than we could," Joanna gazed at her wealth.

"That's right. They're rich. How would you afford something like this even if you worked all your life for this?" Grandma shook my mom.

"But- ."

"She's not your real daughter anyways. Illusion spell of whatnot magic you call it, your sister is more important to us," grandma shouted.

"Enough. I get it, I understand," my dad interrupted them.

"I'll sign it. I'll sign it so just don't do this in front of Evan," he pleaded.

My dad swiped the contract on the table and furiously began to sign everything, immediately making Joanna brighten.

I didn't expect this, it felt odd. It felt like it was my fault that my mom had to sign the contract now. My mom didn't want to sign the contract. She was forced to, pressured by grandma to quickly finish everything while her hands trembled, struggling to pick up a pen.

"Here is the check," Joanna insultingly passed them.

"We- ."

"Thank you," grandma swiped the check.

"Mom!" My mom was embarrassed.

"It's fine. I finally get to leave now," Joanna smirked.

My mom froze as she watched Joanna leave the room while her husband got rid of the lawsuits. And eventually, the bright day turned into the evening as William thoroughly went over the documents with my parents, disclosing everything.

My mind was hazy, not listening to their discussion anymore.

It was like my life was a lie. It was the truth that my parents loved my sister, sometimes making me think more than they loved me. Although my sister wasn't my real sister, if they could give up on my sister, what would that mean for me?

Although I knew they didn't have a choice, it was disappointing. Near the grand doors, William put his phone on speaker mode, letting us hear Luke asking Rika, "your parents are leaving right now. Do you not want to say your farewells?"

"I don't. I want sleep," Rika was clearly disappointed.

As we exited the mansion, I raised my head to look at someone who I thought was my sister standing behind a large window. Her sad eyes stared at us from above, trapped inside her castle, pure and unknowing. Somehow reminding me of a confined princess, waiting to be freed.

The tragic day where she was unknowingly taken away from my family forever, and the start of a new beginning for my family.