Chapter 3: CRASH! The Two Cars Collided
The hospital was in a frenzy as Emily was rushed into the emergency ward. Howard was pacing back and forth, his face pale with worry, while Richard, Emily's father, tried to calm him down.
"Howard, please, you need to stay calm," Richard said, placing a hand on Howard's shoulder.
"Calm? How can I be calm? Emily's in there fighting for her life!" Henry snapped, shrugging off Richard's hand.
Lydia and Martina, who had followed the car to the hospital, stood nearby, exchanging teasing glances, seemingly communicating with their eyes.
Clive and Eileen arrived shortly after, and Eileen immediately approached the nurse who had just come out of Emily's room.
"How is my sister doing?" Eileen asked, her voice trembling with concern.
Lydia sneered. "Your sister? Trying to climb up the ladder now, are we?"
Martina smirked. "Does she think Emily is going to die in there so that she can take over again?"
Eileen felt a sharp pain at their words but tried to convince herself otherwise. Emily was her sister—the same girl she had taken care of since she was eight years old, after their mother had died.
Emily had always been in fragile health, and Eileen had let her fiancé Howard stick close to Emily because of it, never interfering.
"We're sisters forever, aren't we?" Eileen muttered to herself, trying to hold back her tears.
She looked over to her father. "Father, I don't understand what this is, but we can take it slowly, okay? I mean, I've worked for our company for eight years."
Her father turned to her, his face contorted with anger and grief. "Is this all you can think about? The company? My daughter is in there fighting for her life!"
Eileen felt a sting at his words. "Father, calm down. I'm your daughter too," she said softly, tears streaming down her face. "Please."
The doctor came out from the ward, looking grave. "She needs blood. Who among you here is AB positive?"
Howard immediately grabbed Eileen by the arm and dragged her towards the doctor. "She is. She can give her blood."
Eileen looked at Howard, shocked by his reaction.
"Howard, have you forgotten? My father said we don't have the same DNA. How could I have the same blood type as Millie?" She mockingly said, purposely irking him to see the outcome.
Howard's face twisted in frustration and anger. "Haven't you been giving her your blood all these years? Can you stop being pretentious for once, Eileen? You've been playing the heiress for years now. Can't you just let Emily have what belongs to her? Do you want her to die in there?"
Eileen was furious but heartbroken. She whispered, "Howard, is this really you?"
Howard didn't respond, his eyes wild with desperation.
Lydia and Martina snickered in the background.
"Eileen, you're going to go in there and donate blood to your sister. Don't be stingy with your blood. This is someone's life we're talking about. It's not just her; she's carrying a baby," Howard said, his voice echoing through the hall.
Eileen's eyes widened in shock. "What? Emily is pregnant?" She turned to her father, who didn't seem shocked, then went back to Howard. "How is Emily pregnant?"
Howard's face hardened. "Stop asking questions! She's carrying my child, and both Emily and my child need to be saved!"
Eileen felt as if the world had crumbled around her. Her younger sister, her sick little sister, was carrying her fiancé's child. How?
Before she could process this, Howard clapped his hands, and two bodyguards appeared, grabbing her by the arms and dragging her towards the ward.
As they dragged her, Eileen felt numb. She barely resisted, letting them take her to donate blood. She was too shocked and dumbfounded to react.
After what felt like an eternity, she emerged from the ward, dizzy and wearing the hospital's patient clothes. She leaned against the wall for support.
She spotted Howard and managed to whisper, "She's pregnant with your child? How?" She was both disappointed and frustrated.
Clive approached her, concern etched on his face. "Miss Sterling, you need some rest."
Eileen snapped, "Do not call me Miss Sterling! Didn't you hear? I'm no longer the heiress. I'm nothing. Emily stole everything—my identity, my life."
Clive tried to console her. "Madam, we can resolve this."
Eileen looked around, seeing the pity and disdain in everyone's eyes. Her world had changed irrevocably, and she was left alone to pick up the pieces.
Emily was wheeled out of the ward, looking pale but smiling. She reached out and held Eileen's hand. "Thank you, sister, for saving me," she said softly, then placed her other hand on her stomach. "And my baby... I mean, sorry, I and Brother Howard's baby."
Eileen, instinctively, slapped her hard across the face.
"How dare you say that to me? For seven years now, seven sad years, you haven't even spoken to me affectionately as a sister, and all of a sudden, all you can say to me, the first time you speak to me so affectionately, not even wishing me a happy birthday, is this?"
Immediately, Richard, Emily's father, and Howard rushed forward. "Eileen!" Richard yelled.
"Eileen, how dare you?" Howard shouted, striding towards her and gripping her neck. "Do you have a death wish?"
Eileen coughed and gasped for breath while Emily began to cry. "Howard, let me go!" Eileen demanded in despair.
Clive, standing at the back, pleaded, "Mr. Richard, please, tell Mr. Howard to let Miss Sterling go. She just gave a large amount of blood."
Eileen, choking, managed to say, "Clive, shut up. Don't defend me." She then turned to her father, still struggling. "Father, tell me, is today even my birthday? Is today truly my birthday because why these?"
Richard's words hit her like a blow. "Yes, everything about you is just a copy of your sister Emily. In fact, today is her birthday."
Howard let Eileen go, throwing her to the ground. She coughed, trying to process the revelation. "What? I'm just a copy in space. A counterfeit."
Howard then went to Emily, pulled out a ring case from his pocket, and opened it. "Happy birthday, Millie. Would you marry me?"
Eileen, driven by a surge of fury, slapped Howard hard across the face. "How dare you! How dare you do this in front of me!" she yelled, then slapped Emily, causing her to nearly fall from the wheelchair if not for the support of the nurses.
Clive rushed to Eileen's side, trying to hold her back. "Miss Sterling, please."
Howard, enraged, threw a blow at Eileen's face. "And who gave you the guts! You cannot touch me, okay? You're filthy. You're not a member of the Sterling family, and you dare lay your hands on me? Who do you think you are?"
Security finally intervened, restraining Howard from trying to beat Eileen further. "This is a hospital!" one of them shouted, trying to bring order to the chaos.
Richard, crying and torn apart, muttered, "This is a total disaster."
Eileen, feeling utterly devastated, said, "No problem. Since I'm just a copy, I'm going to leave. But reassured that I'd be back to take all that I worked for. All of it!"
She then turned to the nurses. "Dear hospital, may I wear these clothes while I go? Because I can't wear that dress. It's not mine."
Not waiting for responses, she walked out with the intention of leaving. Clive called after her, "Miss Sterling..."
She turned back, glaring at him. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare call me that."
She stormed off, got into her white car, and drove herself to a bar. Once there, she ordered several drinks and drank herself into a stupor.
As night fell, she got back into the car, still wearing the hospital clothes and clutching a bottle.
She drove recklessly, the speedometer climbing dangerously high as it began to rain heavily all of a sudden.
Meanwhile, a black car was parked on the side of the road. Inside, the driver noticing something ahead, looked to the person in the passenger seat. "Get out," he said urgently.
"What are you talking about, brother? Why should I get out? Aren't we on our way to the mansion?" the passenger replied, confused.
"I said, get out!" the driver repeated.
The passenger reluctantly obeyed, and as soon as they were out, the driver drove into the road, heading straight for the white car Eileen was driving.
Eileen with drunken eyes saw the black car approaching and, in her drunken haze, pressed down on the accelerator thinking she was in some kind of racing event. Only that in reality the car was approaching hers from the front but in her mind, it was beside her, competing with her.
Both cars drove towards each other, the black car slowing down as it approached but Eileen's white car at high speed.
CRASH!
The two cars collided with a sickening crunch of metal and glass.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone