My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 1003

Emily switched on the light, sat on the edge of Emma’s bed, and leaned over, searching the clean, tidy pillow for one of her mother’s hairs. It was easy to find; Emma had long hair, dyed her favorite shade of dark brown. Emily spotted a single strand on the corner of the pillow and carefully plucked it out.

She examined it closely to make sure the root was attached before sealing the hair in a small, clear bag. With the sample secured, Emily snuck out of the room, completely undetected by Emma.

Back in her own room, she took the dart from her luggage. Using the edge of a plastic card, she carefully scraped the dried blood from its tip into another small bag. She placed the two bags together in a safe place, then sent a text to her assistant, asking him to come by in the afternoon to pick them up.

Putting her phone down, Emily let out a quiet breath. She didn’t want to tell Emma yet because she still wasn’t certain if Juliana was really Isabella. She couldn’t bear to give Emma a fragile hope that might be shattered. If the test confirmed her suspicions, she would tell Emma then.

For Emily, finding Isabella wasn’t about a family reunion. It was about making Isabella face the consequences of her actions. If Juliana really was Isabella, then she needed to take responsibility for her crimes instead of hiding and evading justice.

That afternoon, her assistant called to let her know he was downstairs. Emily’s fever had completely broken. Using the excuse of taking out the trash, she brought the samples down and handed them to him. “Get the results as soon as possible,” she instructed.

She was worried that if she was right, Juliana might disappear again before she had a chance to act.

Since she hadn’t gone to the office, Emily spent the day at home catching up on work. During that time, Andrew sent a text asking how she was feeling. Emily replied with only three words: [I'm fine.] He didn’t message her again.

That evening, after dinner, Emma came into her room. “Emily, I need to talk to you about something.”

Emma watched her expression carefully. “I still think I should go talk to Isabella’s parents. At the very least, they should know that you’re their real daughter, and Isabella isn’t…”

Emily wasn’t surprised. Emma could be incredibly shrewd at times, but in other ways, she was as naive as a child. She always held a certain fantasy about the wealthy, believing their morals were superior to those of ordinary people. She viewed the rich through rose-tinted glasses.

Emily had seen it clearly during their time with the Lane family. So even though Isabella’s parents had verbally torn her to shreds, Emma was still determined to try.

It seemed Emma had to hit rock bottom, to be bruised and broken, before she would ever see the truth. Just like when she had fled from the Lane family all those years ago. Only then had Emma finally realized how terribly wrong she had been, how she had completely misjudged them.