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THE PREGNANT STEPMOTHER WAS BLAMED FOR THE GIRL’S FALL—UNTIL THE GIRL SPOKE / Chapter 7 / 10

Chapter 7 - The Cornered Snake

Daniel rushed back toward the estate, calling Claire continuously, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Panic surged through his veins.

He dialed his home security detail. “Where is Claire?”

“Sir, Mrs. Vance received a call from your private clinic an hour ago,” the guard replied. “They said you had requested an emergency prenatal scan and sent a private medical car to pick her up.”

“I never sent a car!” Daniel screamed into the phone. “Track that car’s GPS right now!”

Meanwhile, miles away, the black sedan carrying Claire bypassed the city medical center and turned onto an isolated, winding mountain road leading toward an abandoned lakeside estate owned by the family.

Claire looked out the tinted window, her heart racing as she noticed the unfamiliar surroundings. “Driver, where are we going? This isn't the route to the clinic!”

The driver remained silent as the car pulled up to a rusty iron gate and parked in front of a dilapidated boathouse near the lake. The doors locked automatically.

The rear cabin door opened from the outside, and Margaret stepped forward, wearing a dark coat, her eyes wild and bloodshot.

“Get out of the car, Claire,” Margaret commanded coldly.

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Claire held her stomach, her instinct as a mother kicking in with fierce intensity. “Margaret... you’ve lost your mind. Daniel knows everything. The police know everything!”

“Daniel knows nothing compared to what I’ve built for this family!” Margaret shouted, stepping closer as Claire climbed out of the vehicle, backing up toward the wooden pier over the dark, freezing lake. “You ruined everything! If you had just left when I told you to, none of this would be happening!”

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Chapter 9 - The ReckoningThree months later.
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