Chapter 4 - The Web of Lies
The next morning, Sarah awoke trapped in her old bedroom. The door was locked from the outside. Panic seized her as she pounded on the wood, crying out for help.
"Save your breath," a muffled voice replied from the hallway. It wasn't Helena.
"Who's there?" Sarah cried out.
"It’s Arthur, Sarah. Your mother’s lawyer." The door clicked open, and a middle-aged man in a sharp grey suit stepped inside, looking highly uncomfortable. Helena stood right behind him, a smug look of satisfaction on her face.
"What is the meaning of this?" Sarah demanded, backing away, protectively shielding her belly.
"Your mother has filed for emergency temporary custody of your unborn child, citing your severe psychological instability," Arthur said, refusing to meet Sarah's eyes. "She has medical records—historical and recent—detailing your 'violent tendencies' and 'dissociative memory loss' regarding your late sister."
"That’s a lie! She's gaslighting me!" Sarah screamed. "She locked me in here!"
"It's for your own good, darling," Helena said smoothly. "You are unfit. Just like your father was. You will stay here under my care, and when the baby is born, I will raise her. I will finally get the perfect daughter I deserved."
In that moment of sheer terror, a sudden clarity washed over Sarah. Her mother wasn't protecting her. She was a master manipulator who had spent a lifetime manufacturing Sarah's guilt to keep her controlled.
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"Arthur," Sarah said, her voice dropping to a deadly quiet whisper. "If Clara died when we were three... why is there a bank transfer receipt from last month on the vanity downstairs, addressed to a 'Clara Vance' at the Hopewell Care Center?"
The lawyer froze, his eyes darting nervously toward Helena.
