All Chapters of The Substitute Bride's Twins : Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter One

"Make a divorce papers ready, with my name and Nathaniel's boldly written on it,,” I demanded, my voice came out steadier than I expected. "And I need them fast."I clearly heard him sigh on the other end of the phone. He knew more than anyone how desperate I am right now and I hope he wouldn't go about questioning my decision."Elena," he called, dragging my name out like he was giving me a chance to take all I just said back, "Are you sure about this? Your married Nathaniel for a reason and your parents…”“To hell with what they have to say about it,” I half yelled. “I was pushed into this Marcus. Nathaniel doesn't love me, my presence disgusts him. I wanted to adapt…I thought I could hold it in for a little longer but, I tried,” Hot tears rolled down my cheeks, as I kept sniffing my nose every second.I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the couch. Family survival and bankruptcy. The company my father built from nothing and then drowned in bad investments and worse deci

Chapter Two

I sat down across from them, keeping my back straight and my hands still. The silence stretched between us like a rope about to snap, and I could feel Elora watching me the way a cat watches a bird through a window; curious, patient, already certain of the ending.Before anyone could speak, the doorbell rang again.Nathaniel frowned and went to answer it, and I heard familiar voices in the hallway; too loud, too cheerful, too early for a casual visit. My mother swept into the living room first, her heels clicking against the hardwood, her arms already open wide. She didn't look at me. She never looked at me first."Elora," my mother cried, her voice cracking with tears I hadn't seen her shed in years. "My baby. You're home."She rushed past me like I was a piece of furniture and threw her arms around Elora, pulling her close and rocking her back and forth like she had just returned from war instead of two years of selfish silence. Elora melted into the embrace, her face pressed agains

Chapter Three

The welcome home dinner was exactly what I expected, which somehow made it worse.My mother arrived an hour early to "help," which meant she stood in the kitchen and told me everything I was doing wrong while I chopped vegetables and seasoned meat and checked the oven temperature for the tenth time. She didn't lift a finger, of course she never did; but she had plenty of opinions about the salt, the presentation, the timing, and the way I had set the table."Elora always preferred the silver forks," she said, rearranging the cutlery I had already arranged. "And the napkins should be folded differently. You know that."I didn't know that. No one had ever taught me the difference between silver forks and regular ones, because no one had ever cared enough to teach me anything. Elora got lessons in etiquette, piano and French. I got leftover uniforms and hand-me-down shoes and a bedroom facing the wall.I said nothing. I just watched my mother change my work to suit her favorite daughter,

Chapter Four

The police came for Nathaniel at dawn.I woke to the sound of pounding on the front door and the deep, unfamiliar voices of men who were not here to be polite. By the time I pulled on a robe and made it downstairs, two officers were already standing in the foyer, and Nathaniel was halfway down the stairs with his shirt unbuttoned and his face still heavy with sleep.Elora stood at the top of the staircase, wrapped in a silk robe, watching everything with wide, innocent eyes."Mr. Vance," one of the officers said, holding out a folded document, "you've been served with an emergency restraining order filed by your wife, Elena Vance."My blood stopped moving.Nathaniel's head turned toward me so fast I heard his neck crack. His eyes were ice, sharp and cold, and the look he gave me was not confusion or hurt; it was pure, burning hatred. "You did this?""I didn't," I said, and my voice came out smaller than I wanted. "I never filed anything."But the officer was already handing him the pa

Chapter Five

The automatic doors of City Hospital slid open, and I rushed inside I even barely remembered parking the car.Just a few minutes ago, I had been standing face-to-face with my grandmother, the same grandmother I thought was dead ,the next thing I knew, I was racing through traffic with shaking hands, praying I wasn't too late to save Marcus.He couldn't be dead,he just couldn't be.The receptionist pointed me toward the emergency wing, and I broke into a full run, when I reached his room, I shoved the door open so hard it slammed loudly against the wall.Marcus looked up and thank God he was aliv, relief hit me so hard my knees almost gave out right there, his left arm was wrapped in a cast, a deep cut ran across his forehead, and dark bruises covered one side of his face but he was breathing."Elena," he said, his voice sounding rough and strained.I crossed the room in seconds. "What really happened?"Marcus studied my face for a moment, and his expression softened. "You look worse th

Chapter Six

The silence inside the hospital room felt heavier than a concrete marcus was the first one to break it, he slowly lowered himself back onto the edge of the bed, while his eyes locked onto mine."Did your grandmother really just say that Clara and Richard aren't your actual parents?"I swallowed hard, my throat feeling completely dry. "I don't know," I whispered, even to me, the words sounded ridiculous. For twenty-six years, Clara and Richard had been my parents though they were terrible and cruel people but they were the only parents I had ever known.Now, a woman who was supposed to be resting in a grave had destroyed my entire life's certainty with a single sentence, marcus rubbed a hand over his face, looking exhausted. "We need answers."I nodded firmly. "We're going back to her place.""Tonight?, Yes Tonight."Neither of us wanted to wait another second my phone stayed completely silent after the call hanged up,there was any new messages,follow-up or an explanations…..nothing.T

Chapter Seven

The room suddenly felt incredibly small, beween the decaying walls of the old apartment, the hidden lockbox, and the birth certificate trembling in my hands, everything else seemed to fade into the background compared to the words Marcus had just spoken."He's supposed to be dead."I stared at him, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. "What do you mean by supposed to be dead…Marcus looked deeply uncomfortable, for the first time since I'd known him, he seemed genuinely, completely unsettled.He gently took the document from my shaking fingers, his eyes lingering on the father's name before he let out a long, slow exhale."I never met him personally," he admitted…."Then how on earth do you know who he is?""Because I've spent years working with corporate records, inheritance disputes, and estate law," Marcus explained, his voice tight.My stomach knotted. "And?"Marcus hesitated, I absolutely hated when people hesitated especially tonight, “Marcus, tell me." "He was one of the

Chapter Eight

The room went silent after the video ended. Marcus replayed the video again and again, but neither of us spoke.The grainy footage showed the hooded figure kneeling beside Marcus's car, tampering with it before walking away. Then, turned just enough for the camera to catch part of his face, it wasn't not clear, and not enough for certainty, but it was enough to recognize and was enough to make Marcus pale.I looked at him. "Who is it?" His jaw tightened. "Not yet," anger flashed through me. "Marcus.""I need to verify something first."I stood abruptly. "You expect me to sit here after everything that has happened," "I expect you to stay alive." His voice came out sharper than intended, we stared at each other and for several seconds neither of us moved, and then he sighed. "I'm not hiding it from you.""Then tell me.""I could be wrong," his expression remained grim. "And if I'm wrong, telling you now will send you chasing ghosts."I hated that he had a point. Eventually, I sat back

Chapter Nine

The train was gone, leaving the platform exposed once more and all around me, life moved in a blur,businessmen checking their watches, tourists dragging luggage, and children chasing parents through the terminal but the one person I cared about was nowhere to be seen."Grandmother!" I shouted but no answer came. I walked forward Marcus followed immediately on my heels. "Elena, wait."But I was already moving, reaching the exact spot where Grandma had been standing less than thirty seconds earlier. There was nothing, no sign of her, no sign of the man, and no proof that either of them had ever been there."It's impossible," I breathed.Marcus looked through the crowd, pointing toward a nearby staircase. "They didn't disappear, but there are multiple exits here." My stomach twisted me, a busy station offered hundreds of escape routes the perfect place to stage a meeting, or a warning. We searched for nearly an hour, but found completely nothing. Eventually, Marcus persuaded me to stop.

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