Emma turned around and looked at Vivian in disdain. “Vivian William, I hated you from the moment I saw you. Why does an illegitimate daughter get to stay with us?
For that reason, I took you to the hospital to get a forged DNA test done in hope that Harvey would kick you out of the house. To my surprise, the paternity test came back negative and that was when I realized you aren’t blood-related to Harvey at all!”
Emma’s disclosure triggered some of Vivian’s distant memories. Emma did take me to the hospital once when I was a little girl. She said that I looked a little malnourished and needed to go for a medical check-up so that she could take better care of me thereafter. I remembered feeling touched by her thoughtfulness and acceptance of me. I wouldn’t have thought that her real intention was to kick me out of the house!
“That’s impossible. If you had known that I’m not his daughter, you wouldn’t have waited until today to tell him the truth!” Vivian insisted that what Emma claimed could not be true.
If she had known for sure that I’m not my father’s daughter, her initial plan would have succeeded. Why would she hide this information from her husband for so many years? This doesn’t make any sense.
“Why don’t you turn to your mother for this question?” Emma snickered and glanced toward Rachel. “Rachel William, now that the cat is out of the bag; you’re not still planning on keeping quiet about this, are you?”
“Mom, what’s going on?” Vivian turned to her mother in bewilderment.
Rachel had stood frozen since the instant Emma dropped the bomb by saying that Vivian was not Harvey’s biological daughter. Her face was white as a sheet and her whole body was trembling as she stood there, at a loss how to answer her daughter’s question. It seems this secret can’t be kept forever, after all.
“Vivian, I-I…” Tears kept rolling down her cheeks as the older woman was fumbling for an explanation.
Her mother’s uncontrollable sobbing made Vivian feel anxious. “Mom, please say something. How is it that I’m not Dad’s daughter? Why don’t you just set them straight?” Vivian’s voice grew desperate.
However, Rachel just shook her head and kept muttering, “I’m Sorry, Vivian. I’m so sorry…”
“Since you’re too much of a coward to admit, I’ll help you do the honor,” Emma said to Rachel with a smirk on her contorted face. “Many years ago, I confronted you as soon as I found out the truth about Vivian. You carried a child for another man and even have the audacity to pass her off as Harvey’s daughter! Do you remember what you did when I showed you the DNA results?”
Emma let out an unsettling laugh as she continued, “You begged me! You got onto both your knees and you begged me to keep it a secret. Oh! What a satisfying moment to see my nemesis crawling before me to ask for a favor!
“You promised that as long as I turn a blind eye to this, you would disappear from Harvey’s life forever. That’s the only reason why I agreed to keeping Harvey in the dark about Vivian’s true identify. Rachel William, have I left out anything?”
Every audience in the room now looked at Rachel in disbelief as they tried to digest the rapid unfolding of events. This woman is really something. Not only did she have a child with another man, but she also made Harvey Miller raise that child. They were now shooting sympathy looks at Harvey for being kept in the dark all this while.
“Mom, please say something. She was wrong, right? Mom?” Vivian was already in tears. She desperately needed her mother to deny this in front of everyone in the room. Vivian was disappointed again as Rachel just kept her head low and continued to sob inconsolably.
Harvey was on the brink of an emotional breakdown after soaking up all the information. He walked up to Rachel and demanded an explanation. “Is everything Emma said true? Talk to me!”
Rachel was visibly shaken up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I’m sorry…” All the woman could muster was more apologies.
Seeing as questioning Rachel was not getting them anywhere, Harvey grabbed hold of Vivian and barked, “You’re coming with me to do a DNA test right now!”
The man did not care that his excessive force had left bruises on Vivian’s arm as he dragged her onto his car. His mind was now occupied with only one thing—the truth about Vivian’s identity.
