- 1 day ago
Reading My Real Grand Daughter's Mind
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Back to the Moretti estate, the welcome gala.
00:02Stella's husband, Julian, rushed forward,
00:04leaving a small girl named Brianna.
00:06Everyone said she was a true Moretti heir,
00:08just like me, the Donna.
00:09I reached for her hand,
00:10then a soft voice slipped into my mind.
00:12So that's what grandmother looks like.
00:14Her eyes were just like mamas.
00:16But papa said she's sister's grandmother.
00:18I can't call her Gram.
00:19My hand froze.
00:20I scanned the ballroom, then I saw her.
00:22A tiny girl huddled behind a marble column.
00:25Torn dress, Julian followed my gaze.
00:27That one is an orphan Stella took in.
00:29Antisocial?
00:30I kept her out of sight.
00:32I didn't answer, because I saw Stella in that girl.
00:34The same birthmark my daughter had was on her neck.
00:36I ruled the underworld for decades,
00:38yet behind my back,
00:39someone dared to replace my daughter's child with a...
00:43Someone.
00:44Lock the doors.
00:45Tonight, no one walked out of here.
00:47The door slammed shut.
00:49The laughter died.
00:50What's your name, little one?
00:52I'm... I'm Mia.
00:54My daughter's child,
00:55hiding from me like a beaten dog.
00:57Come here.
00:58Julian moved to block her.
01:00Her parents are dead, Donna.
01:01She looks like Stella,
01:02so I keep her out of charity.
01:04Rehearsed lies.
01:05I signaled for cake.
01:06Since she lives here,
01:07she eats what my family eats.
01:09Mia stared at the plate.
01:10Her hands stayed at her sides.
01:12Am I really allowed?
01:13Sister said the good things aren't for me.
01:16I nearly shattered the glass in my hand.
01:18Take it, quickly!
01:20Mia jumped.
01:21She took the cake but didn't eat.
01:23Slipped it into her pocket.
01:24Why don't you eat it?
01:26I'm not hungry.
01:28Grandmother gave this to me.
01:30I want to keep it.
01:32Even a little while.
01:33She steals everything, Grandpa!
01:35My necklace disappeared.
01:37She took it!
01:38Julian glared.
01:39Confess.
01:39I took it.
01:40I'm sorry.
01:42Papa should throw you outside again.
01:44Let you learn like last time.
01:46Mia went rigid.
01:47Sister ate the food.
01:48She broke the vase.
01:50Papa didn't believe me.
01:51Threw me out.
01:52It rained all night.
01:54Nobody came for me.
01:56My glass slipped on my fingers.
01:57Julian Vance, you threw this child outside overnight.
02:01It was serious trouble.
02:02Every house has its rules.
02:03I had to teach her a lesson.
02:05Rules?
02:05Since when did he become boss of the Moretti family?
02:08A woman rose from her seat beside Julian.
02:11Donna, it's my fault.
02:13I've been managing the estate for Miss Stella,
02:15but I failed to raise Mia properly.
02:17Please punish me instead.
02:18Chloe, Julian's so-called distant cousin,
02:21a widow with nowhere else to go,
02:23taken in to care for Brianna.
02:24Mia's silent voice reached me again.
02:26Sister calls her mama when nobody is watching.
02:29Aunt Chloe told me to keep the secret.
02:31I almost let it slip once in front of a guest.
02:34She made me wash laundry for two days straight!
02:36So those two had been having an affair all along.
02:39I didn't expose them.
02:40Gave two custom silk dresses to the girls.
02:43Brianna grabbed the crimson one.
02:44Mia held her dress carefully, not daring to move.
02:47Chloe stepped in fast, yanked the dress from Mia's arms.
02:50Donna, this child is just an orphan.
02:52It's not appropriate for her to wear the dress.
02:54I slammed the table.
02:56The entire ballroom went dead silent.
02:58Who gave you permission to touch her th-
03:01Donna, you misunderstand.
03:02I was worried she'd ruin the fabric.
03:04That's not your call.
03:05Put it back.
03:06Her face finally cracked.
03:08She shoved the dress into Mia's hands,
03:10shot her a venomous glare.
03:12Take it.
03:12It's yours.
03:14Mia held the dress tighter.
03:16Thank you, Donna.
03:17It's my greatest honor.
03:18Five years old, she already knew how to read a room,
03:21just to survive.
03:22A servant brought hot soup to the table.
03:24Mia lifted her bowl.
03:26Brianna's hands shot out and shoved it.
03:28Mia crashed to the floor.
03:29Bowl shattered.
03:30She didn't dare to cry.
03:32Started picking up the shards.
03:34Brianna burst into tears and threw herself into Chloe's arms.
03:37She almost spilled it on me!
03:38She's so clumsy!
03:40Julian's face darkened.
03:41Careless little rat.
03:42You almost burned my daughter.
03:43You want to be punished, don't you?
03:45Who would dare?
03:48Two words.
03:49Every head in the room bowed.
03:50Julian's face went white.
03:51I took a silk handkerchief and knelt beside Mia.
03:54Wiped the broth from her small, trembling hands myself.
03:57She stared at me, wordless.
03:59Is grandmother protecting me?
04:01But Papa said if I ever take sister's place,
04:03he'll throw me out forever.
04:05A cold in my chest sharpened.
04:07A child this small, treating love like a crime.
04:10A scream tore through the hall.
04:12A waiter flipped his silver tray.
04:13A blade flashed from underneath it.
04:15He lunged straight at me.
04:17Chloe was closest to me, Brianna in her arms.
04:20She shoved me forward, straight into the blade.
04:23Then a tiny body flew through the air.
04:25Grandmother, look out!
04:27Mia threw herself in front of me.
04:29The blade sank into her small shoulder.
04:31My soldiers tackled the assassin and pinned him to the marble.
04:34I caught her body as she collapsed against me.
04:37Get the family doctor!
04:39Now!
04:40She looked up at me.
04:41Are you hurt?
04:42I'm fine, baby.
04:44She exhaled softly, eyes fluttered closed.
04:47Something inside me broke open.
04:49I turned to Chloe.
04:50She was still frozen, clutching Brianna, her face white as chalk.
04:54When the assassin lunged, why did you push me forward?
04:57Chloe collapsed to her knees.
04:59Donna!
05:00Mercy!
05:01I didn't mean to!
05:02She's timid by nature.
05:03Panic is only natural in a crisis.
05:05Why must Donna hold it against her?
05:07Panic?
05:07Julian pulled her up.
05:09Checked her.
05:09Even a drop of blood on her hem broke his heart.
05:12Neither of them looked at Mia once.
05:14Julian, this child took a blade meant for me.
05:16And you have nothing to say?
05:18His eyes passed over Mia with zero emotion.
05:20She's a w***, Donna.
05:22If she took a knife for you, she should count herself lucky.
05:25The last thread inside me snapped.
05:27I raised my hand.
05:28I struck him across the face with every ounce of strength I had.
05:32Who's the real wild brat?
05:34Julian hit the floor.
05:36Chloe rushed to help him.
05:37I laughed coldly.
05:39One of you is Stella's husband.
05:41The other is a widow living off her charity.
05:43And in front of every capo in this room, you paw at each other like lovers.
05:47Have you no shame?
05:49Defiling my daughter's home?
05:50Donna, you're mistaken.
05:52I only...
05:52Mistaken?
05:53Tell me, Chloe.
05:55Are you Julian's distant cousin?
05:57Or are you Brianna's real mother?
06:00Donna, watch your words.
06:01Brianna is Stella's blood.
06:03My wife's daughter.
06:04Then let's find out.
06:06Seal every exit.
06:07No one leaves this compound.
06:08Any enforcer who lets a soul slip past me dies on the spot.
06:14Find the doctor who delivered Stella's babies.
06:16Find every soldier who guarded her that day.
06:19Alive or dead, I want them dragged before me.
06:21Donna, you can't tear this house apart over one similar face.
06:24I looked down at him like the roach he was.
06:26I've run the syndicate for 40 years.
06:28You think I haven't seen this trick?
06:30You swapped a b**** into Moretti Bloodline.
06:32You buried my real granddaughter in the dirt.
06:34You thought killing witnesses and forging papers would let you steal my empire?
06:40I gave my final order.
06:41Integrate every soul in this compound.
06:43I want every family in the underworld to see who dared put their b**** in place of my b****.
06:49Three white porcelain bowls arrived.
06:50I didn't test Mia first.
06:52I pointed at Chloe.
06:53Draw her blood and Brianna's.
06:56Chloe's head snapped up.
06:57Why me?
06:57You said you were Julian's distant cousin.
07:00If you have nothing to hide, why panic?
07:02Two enforcers pinned her arms.
07:04A silver needle pricked her fingertip.
07:06Two drops of blood hit the water.
07:08They swirled together and merged.
07:09The ballroom went dead silent.
07:12Chloe shrieked.
07:13That's impossible.
07:14The ball is rigged!
07:16She lunged forward to smash it.
07:17An enforcer's boot caught the back of her knee.
07:19She crashed to the floor.
07:20Blood tests aren't reliable.
07:22Every soldier here saw Brianna born from Stella's womb.
07:25A family doctor rushed in.
07:26Donna, Mia's wound is closed.
07:29But she's severely malnourished.
07:30Weaker than most elderly patients.
07:32She may not wake soon.
07:34His voice broke.
07:35She's five years old.
07:36Her body is failing like an old woman's.
07:38The world went black for a second.
07:40Brianna hid behind Chloe's skirts.
07:42She's the disobedient one.
07:44She stole.
07:45She broke the vase.
07:47Papa was right to punish her.
07:49Chloe wrapped an arm around her.
07:50Donna, Mia was born wicked.
07:52She always knew she looked like Miss Stella.
07:54She's playing the victim on purpose!
07:56My personal guards dragged in the servants.
07:58The kitchen matron collapsed to her knees.
08:00Donna, Miss Chloe gave direct orders.
08:04Mia was never served me.
08:05Not once.
08:06The laundry maid trembled violently.
08:09Last winter, Miss Brianna shoved an oil tycoon's daughter into the garden hold.
08:13Miss Chloe cursed at Mia bloody for it!
08:16My chest cracked open.
08:18I am the godmother of the Moretti Syndicate.
08:20I have crushed rival dons under my heel.
08:22And I couldn't protect one small child.
08:26Chloe kept spinning her lies.
08:28I manage the estate, but I can't watch every servant.
08:31These snakes are betraying me now that I've fallen out of favor.
08:35She threw herself at the laundry maid.
08:37Tell me, who paid you to frame me?
08:40The girl scrambled back in terror.
08:42Hold her down.
08:43Two enforcers slammed Chloe onto the marble.
08:45I threw a folded paper at her feet.
08:47The blood test was fake.
08:48The witnesses were fake.
08:50Was Mia's whole past a lie?
08:52Chloe clenched her jaw.
08:53She's a wicked child.
08:54She's done a ton of awful things.
08:56What does that have to do with me?
08:57I grabbed a glass off the table and shattered it.
09:01She is Stella's daughter.
09:03She is my granddaughter.
09:05She is Moretti Blood.
09:06Chloe finally shut her filthy mouth.
09:08Then a small cry drifted down the hall.
09:10Mia was blanket, cold sweat soaking her hair.
09:13Papa, Mia will be good.
09:16Don't leave me.
09:17Her tiny arms shielded her head like someone was still swinging a belt at her in her dreams.
09:22I gathered her against my chest.
09:23She weighed almost nothing.
09:25For a heartbeat, I saw Stella again.
09:27Little Stella in a red dress running across the garden and throwing herself into my arms,
09:31her eyes crinkling when she laughed.
09:32Then she married Julian, and the laughter died.
09:35The first visit home, she had bruises on her wrists.
09:38She said she'd bumped a table.
09:40The second visit, she was so thin her gowns hung off her shoulders.
09:44I asked if he was cruel to her.
09:45She shook her head.
09:47No.
09:48He was kind.
09:49The last time I saw her, she gripped my hand for a long, silent minute.
09:53Her lips moved without sound.
09:54I thought she just missed me.
09:55I laughed and told her to hurry back to her babies.
09:59Two weeks later, they told me she died of illness.
10:02Every silence was a scream for help.
10:04I never heard one of them.
10:05Mama, save me.
10:07Mia's tears soaked into my collar.
10:08I raised my head.
10:10Every last drop of mercy in me turned to ash.
10:13Throw those two dogs into the cellar.
10:15Chain them to the walls.
10:17Strip Rihanna of the Moretti name.
10:19Burn every dress.
10:20Take back every diamond.
10:22As my soldiers dragged Julian out, he twisted back and screamed.
10:26You can't investigate it!
10:27Stella's been dead five years!
10:28Digging her up will destroy her name!
10:31No!
10:32My head snapped toward him.
10:34What did you say?
10:35Julian tripped as they yanked him.
10:37Panic flashed across his face.
10:39I only meant that reopening old hoons could damage her legacy.
10:42Investigating her death damages her legacy how?
10:45I stared him down.
10:46Unless she didn't die of illness at all.
10:48Julian went ghost white.
10:49I didn't give him another word.
10:53Investigate everything.
10:54What medicine Stella took when she was ill.
10:56Who visited her chambers.
10:57Why Julian refused doctors at her bedside.
10:59Who was standing over her when she took her last breath.
11:01I want to know exactly how my daughter died.
11:02My captain vanished into the night.
11:05I stood beside Mia's bed.
11:07Her face was ash pale on the pillow.
11:09The signs had been there for years.
11:13Stella loved bright dresses.
11:14She always ran to me, laughing.
11:17After the wedding, the visits grew rare.
11:18She grew thinner every time.
11:20Bruised wrists.
11:21Colorless cheeks.
11:22A hand-gripping mind that would not let go.
11:24I thought she was just exhausted from the babies.
11:27I sent the finest herbs.
11:28I told Julian to care for her tenderly.
11:31Those herbs never touched her lips.
11:33I killed her.
11:34My voice would not stop shaking.
11:36She begged me for help every single visit.
11:39And I sent her back to that man.
11:41My captain returned at a sprint.
11:45Donna, the assassin talked.
11:46I spun around.
11:47He was hired.
11:48His targets were me and Mia.
11:49The enforcers pulled a check from his coat.
11:51Drawn on a private bank.
11:52Signed in the hand of the Moretti estate's own house steward.
11:55Three days ago, Julian's personal butler collected that check himself.
11:59I slammed my palm on the table.
12:02He tried to murder me and my granddaughter under my own roof.
12:05I want every hidden room, every ledger, every locked cabinet in this house torn open.
12:09The doctor stepped out of the sick room.
12:10Donna, she's awake.
12:12I ran inside.
12:13Mia was curled against the headboard, eyes wild with terror.
12:16A maid approached with a cup of medicine.
12:18Mia shrank into the corner.
12:19I won't drink it.
12:20I'll be good.
12:21I froze in the doorway.
12:22What had they done to my grandchild?
12:24All of you.
12:25Sat on the edge of the bed.
12:26I didn't touch her.
12:27I placed a plate of sweet pastries in front of her.
12:30Are you hungry?
12:31Mia peeked up at me.
12:32Her eyes went red.
12:34Grandmother is still here.
12:36Am I dreaming?
12:37I broke the pastry in half and ate a bite first.
12:40No poison and no one will punish you for eating.
12:42She took the piece carefully.
12:43She didn't lift it to her mouth.
12:45Are you sending me away?
12:47No.
12:48Do I still have to take sister's punishments?
12:50No.
12:50Papa will be angry.
12:52He won't dare.
12:53Mia stared at me.
12:54I reached out and traced the small birthmark on her neck.
12:58Your name isn't Mia.
13:01Your mother named you.
13:02She named you Pearl.
13:04Her tears spilled over.
13:05How do you know?
13:07Because your mother whispered that name to me herself.
13:10I couldn't hold back another second.
13:11I pulled her into my arms.
13:15Pearl.
13:16I'm your grandpa.
13:18Grandma came too late.
13:19She stiffened for a long moment.
13:21Then a tiny hand reached up and gripped my collar.
13:24Grandma?
13:24The word was barely a breath.
13:26It shattered me.
13:27Mia buried her face against me and finally cried like a child.
13:31Grandma, Mia's so scared.
13:33Mommy disappeared.
13:35Papa hates me.
13:36They said I was nobody.
13:38Who said no one wants you?
13:40I held her tighter.
13:41You are the pearl Stella left me.
13:44Anyone who touches a hair on your hair loses their life.
13:47Mia cried for a long time.
13:48Then she reached under her collar and pulled out a thin cord.
13:51A tiny brass key hung from it.
13:55Mama gave me this before she left.
13:57She said when I met the grandma whose eyes crinkle when she smiles, I should give it to you.
14:03I took the key.
14:04My chest turned to lead.
14:06Mia sobbed out Stella's final words.
14:08Mama said what's at the bottom of the well can make the bad people pay.
14:11Boots pounded down the corridor.
14:14Donna, a fire broke out.
14:16I shot to my feet.
14:17Where?
14:17The accounting room, the medicine vault, and Stella's old quarters.
14:20All three at once.
14:21And the wells have been packed with lime.
14:22We can't draw water.
14:23This was no accident.
14:24Someone had heard my orders and moved to destroy every shred of evidence before I could reach it.
14:28I passed Mia to the doctor.
14:30I gripped the brass key in my fist and ran.
14:32Stella's beautiful courtyard was already swallowed in flame.
14:35Black smoke blotted out the stars.
14:37Servants scattered in every direction.
14:39Several housemen were sneaking crates out through the back gate.
14:42When they saw my enforcers, I turned and ran.
14:45I gave the order.
14:46Take them all alive.
14:48My enforcers sealed every gate.
14:51I walked to the well Mia had described.
14:53A massive stone slab weighed down the mouth.
14:55Kindling was piled around the base.
14:57The house steward stood over it with a torch, ready to collapse the whole shaft.
15:02An enforcer's blade snapped the torch from his hand.
15:04He hit the dirt hard.
15:06Who ordered you to burn the well?
15:07The steward clenched his teeth, silent.
15:10Then he bit down hard on his own tongue.
15:13My guard reacted fast.
15:14He wrenched the man's jaw sideways before he could finish the job.
15:18I stared into his terrified eyes.
15:21You want to die?
15:23Stella waited five years.
15:25I'm not done asking.
15:26You don't get to die yet.
15:27My men rolled the stone aside and rappelled down the shaft.
15:31No water at the bottom, just an iron door hidden behind the stone wall.
15:35I slid Mia's brass key into the lock.
15:37Smoke had already flooded the chamber.
15:39Letters and ledgers were reduced to blackened flakes.
15:42But in the deepest corner sat an iron box wrapped in layers of oilcloth.
15:47Inside lay half a blood-stained letter.
15:49Stella's handwriting.
15:50To my mother, just those three words, my hands started shaking.
15:54The rest of the page was scorched away.
15:56Only broken lines remained.
15:58My husband and Chloe have been lovers for years.
16:01Brianna is not my child.
16:03They stole Pearl.
16:04They used her life to force me to sign over the syndicate seal.
16:07The bottom of the page held a few final lines.
16:10Frantic.
16:11Uneven.
16:12The medicine tastes wrong.
16:13I'm coughing blood.
16:15If I die, it is not illness.
16:17Mother, protect Pearl.
16:18Do not let them take her.
16:21Stella never begged me to save her.
16:23She begged me to save her child.
16:25And this letter lay in the black of that well for five years.
16:28While the daughter she died protecting was starved by her own father in the same house.
16:33I read the last words with burning eyes.
16:35Then I pressed my pistol against the steward's throat.
16:38Who ordered the fire?
16:39He shook violently but stayed silent.
16:41An enforcer patted him down and pulled a folded scrap from his coat.
16:45The ink was fresh.
16:46One line only.
16:47If the estate is compromised, burn everything.
16:49The well must not remain.
16:50Sealed with Julian's personal mark, I laughed.
16:53Cold and ugly.
16:54Locked in the cellar and still passing orders through the walls.
16:56The Moretti estate has become the Vance family playground.
17:02The fire burned all night.
17:04The vault in the medicine store collapsed into ash.
17:07The cleaner the burn, the deeper the secrets.
17:09I ordered my men to sift every handful of ash.
17:12They pulled a half-burned ledger from a wall crack.
17:15Three days after Stella's death, this house dismissed 20 servants.
17:19Find them.
17:20I will hear from their own lips what happened when my daughter died.
17:23Half a day later, my captain returned with shock.
17:26Not one of those servants ever reached home.
17:29The ledger claimed they were paid off and given travel passes.
17:32But my men checked every city gate log.
17:35Not one departure was recorded.
17:37The paperwork was forged.
17:39I ordered a search along the coast and found bodies.
17:42The coroner spoke low.
17:44They all died within two weeks of Miss Stella's burial.
17:47My captain handed me a stack of statements.
17:49Every missing servant's family had received a check from the estate.
17:52The courier told them their loved ones had insulted powerful people and been sold overseas.
17:58Searching would mean sharing their fate.
18:00They were not dismissed.
18:01They were lured out and killed in bachelors.
18:03Julianne had planned every step.
18:05Kill Stella.
18:06Fake the illness.
18:07Erase the witnesses.
18:08Grind the true heir into a nobody.
18:11If Mia had not survived this long, none of it would ever have surfaced.
18:15I ran my finger down the old ledger and crossed off each murdered name.
18:20My captain's hand stopped on one line.
18:22Donna.
18:22This maid, Peach.
18:24She was Miss Stella's closest attendant.
18:27Her name is on the dismissal list.
18:29But none of the bodies match her age.
18:32Slammed the ledger shut.
18:34Lock down every district.
18:36Tear up the ground if you must.
18:37Bring her to me.
18:38By nightfall, my enforcers returned.
18:40They dragged a filthy woman out of an abandoned factory outside the city.
18:44Rags.
18:45Matted hair.
18:47The second she saw the Moretti estate, she thrashed like an animal.
18:50Don't hit me!
18:51I saw nothing!
18:53Miss Stella had no daughter!
18:54Pearl is dead!
18:56Dead!
18:56They're all dead!
18:58Peach was carried in, curled against herself.
19:00She refused to lift her head.
19:02She kept whispering.
19:04Don't take the medicine.
19:05I sent for a ring Stella used to wear.
19:10Peach.
19:11Do you know this?
19:12One glance, Peach screamed and dove under a table.
19:14I didn't take it!
19:15Miss Chloe, mercy!
19:16I'll never carry another letter from Miss Stella!
19:19I stepped down from the dais.
19:21I softened my voice.
19:22Peach.
19:23No one will punish you.
19:25Just tell me.
19:27How did Stella die?
19:28Dead.
19:29Peach started to laugh.
19:30All dead.
19:31Old guy from the pharmacy is dead.
19:33The gatekeeper is dead.
19:35Everyone is dead.
19:36Miss Chloe said dead servants don't miss.
19:38I brought out the burnt letter in the bloody dress.
19:40When Peach saw the blood, she broke loose.
19:42She lunged and grabbed an enforcer's pistol.
19:45If you have the guts, kill me!
19:47I won't talk!
19:48I won't say anything!
19:49They threw everyone into the seat!
19:51I'm there!
19:52My blood turned to ice.
19:54No matter how I pressed, she only screamed.
19:56Then soft footsteps came down the hall.
19:59Mia leaned against the doorframe.
20:00Her face was still deathly pale.
20:04Pearl!
20:04Who let you out of bed?
20:06I moved toward her, but Mia was staring at the woman under the table.
20:09Peach?
20:09Peach went rigid.
20:10She slowly raised her head through her tangled hair.
20:12Then she launched herself forward.
20:14The enforcers thought she meant to attack.
20:16Guns rose.
20:17I said...
20:17Hold!
20:18Mia didn't flinch.
20:19Peach fell to her knees in front of her.
20:21Trembling hands cupped Mia's small face.
20:23She studied every feature.
20:24Then she brushed the hair away from Mia's neck.
20:26The birthmark.
20:27Peach broke into sobs.
20:28Miss Pearl, you're alive!
20:30She clutched Mia to her chest and stared wildly at the door.
20:34Run!
20:34Miss Pearl, run!
20:35They'll kill you!
20:38It's me!
20:38Mr. Vance said if you die, the fake becomes...
20:40Chest.
20:40Sister Peach, it's me.
20:42I'm Mia.
20:43Peach's sobs cut off, her eyes fixed on the brass key at Mia's throat.
20:47Her whole body shook.
20:49Miss Stella told me to take you and run.
20:52Somewhere safe.
20:53She pushed carried you into my arms.
20:55She told me to slip out, out through the servants' gate, but Miss Chloe's men caught up.
21:00They threw me into the sea.
21:03I lived.
21:04The tide carried me back.
21:05When I returned for Miss Stella,
21:07Miss Devon had already locked her away in a secret room.
21:10A hand crushed the back of the chair.
21:12What did you say?
21:14Peach lifted her tear-soaked face.
21:17Miss Stella did not die of...
21:19Sickness.
21:20Those words drove a blade through my chest.
21:23I crossed the room in three steps.
21:24Say it clearly.
21:26How did my daughter die?
21:28Tell me!
21:29Mia reached out and quietly took her hand.
21:31Sister Peach, don't be scared.
21:34Grandma is good.
21:35She'll get justice for you.
21:37And Mama.
21:38Tell her everything.
21:39Peach stared at Mia.
21:40The wildness in her eyes slowly focused.
21:42The truth came out in broken pieces.
21:44But Chloe had already given birth two weeks earlier, her own daughter hidden away.
21:48Julian waited until Stella was unconscious from labor.
21:51He swapped the babies.
21:52He bribed every witness.
21:54He forged birth records.
21:55When Stella woke, one look, told her the child in the blanket, wasn't her girl.
22:00She tried to send word to me.
22:01Julian seized her seal and locked her in the back courtyard.
22:04Mr. Vance told Miss Stella if she accepted Brianna as her own, we'd spare Pearl's life.
22:10Miss Stella had no choice.
22:12But Chloe wasn't satisfied.
22:14Peach's voice trembled.
22:15She had the doctor laced Miss Stella's medicine with slow poison.
22:19The kind that doesn't kill fast.
22:21It drains you day by day until it looks like childbirth complications.
22:26Every rare herb I sent, Chloe intercepted.
22:28Only poison touched Stella's lips.
22:31Later, Stella wrote her blood letter and sent Peach to escape with Mia.
22:34They didn't clear the gates.
22:35Julian's men caught them.
22:37Chloe held Pearl in front of Miss Stella.
22:39She threatened to snap her neck.
22:41Miss Stella crawled on her knees.
22:42She pledged for Pearl's life's life.
22:45Chloe slapped her across the face.
22:46She said, so what if you're the Moretti heir?
22:49Your daughter will be a stray no one wants.
22:51That same night, they forced the final dose of poison down Stella's throat, but she didn't die.
22:58He couldn't risk anyone finding her still breathing.
23:01So he locked her in a sealed room and announced she had died of illness.
23:05I snuck close once.
23:07I heard her inside.
23:09Miss Stella was pounding on the door.
23:11She kept pounding.
23:13She kept screaming.
23:15Pearl's name.
23:16Mr. Vance had them add another lock.
23:18He said, the dead don't ruin plants.
23:22The room tilted.
23:23I nearly went down.
23:24Across the compound, my men pulled a pouch of scorched medicine from beneath the burnt pharmacy floor.
23:29The doctor confirmed it.
23:30Slow-acting poison.
23:32The ledger.
23:32The letter.
23:33The residue.
23:33Peach's words.
23:34All of it matched.
23:35No one could call her mad anymore.
23:37I ordered Julian and Chloe to be brought before me.
23:39Chloe took one look at Peach and turned white as death.
23:42How are you still alive?
23:44The words slipped out before she could stop them.
23:47Peach jabbed a finger at her.
23:48It was her.
23:50She was the one pouring poison down Miss Stella's throat.
23:57Chloe shook her head wildly.
23:58It wasn't me.
23:59Julian made me do it.
24:00You lying bitch.
24:01You were jealous of Stella.
24:03You forced me to get rid of her.
24:04You said once Stella was dead.
24:06The Moretti Empire would go to Brianna.
24:09They tore into each other.
24:10Five years of buried crimes spilled out across the marble floor.
24:14I watched them.
24:15Then I asked, buy it as a blade.
24:16When Stella was locked in that room, did you ever hear her knocking?
24:21It turned gray.
24:22Chloe laughed like a woman gone mad.
24:25So what if I hurt her?
24:27She stole my place.
24:29She stole my man.
24:30She deserved to die.
24:31I looked down at the two kneeling on the marble.
24:33Take them away.
24:34Every ounce of pain Stella and Pearl suffered, they will repay.
24:39The day the case broke, the entire underworld shook.
24:41Julian Vance, guilty of murdering the Moretti heir.
24:44Guilty of hiring assassins.
24:46Guilty of slaughtering loyal servants.
24:49Sentenced to rot in a maximum security cell until his last breath.
24:52Chloe Adams, guilty of poisoning.
24:55Guilty of the baby swap.
24:57Decades behind bars.
24:58Every accomplice went down with them.
25:00Brianna was a child who knew nothing of the swap.
25:02Every asset was stripped from her.
25:04She was sent to a state orphanage.
25:06After the verdict, I walked alone to Stella's old chambers.
25:09The fire had eaten half the courtyard.
25:11I found a scorched bracelet in the ashes.
25:12I clasped it around Stella's wrist myself on her 18th birthday.
25:16She had sat before the mirror that day, laughing.
25:20Mama, when I'm married, can I still come home every day?
25:22To be with you.
25:23I told her the doors of this house would always be open.
25:26Always.
25:26But later, she stood at those doors again and again with words she couldn't speak.
25:31And I never once asked if she was truly safe.
25:33Her letter never reached my hands.
25:35Her fists pounding on that locked door never reached my ears.
25:39I clutched the bracelet and sank into the ashes.
25:42Stella, Mama was wrong.
25:45Mama shouldn't have believed the lie of a happy marriage.
25:48Mama shouldn't have mistake your silence for grace.
25:50Mama came too late.
25:51I closed my eyes.
25:53Regret couldn't bring Stella back.
25:54All I could do now was protect the child she died for.
25:57When I returned to the estate, Mia wasn't in her room.
26:00The maid said she'd woken, found me gone, and hidden herself inside the wardrobe.
26:04I opened the wardrobe door.
26:05She was curled in the corner, arms locked around her knees.
26:08Grandma knows I brought her trouble.
26:11Is she done with me too?
26:13My chest ached.
26:14I reached for her.
26:15Pearl?
26:16Come out.
26:17She didn't move.
26:19Her small voice whispered.
26:20Are the bad people caught?
26:21Yes.
26:23Is Mama's justice done?
26:25Yes.
26:26A tiny light flickered in her eyes, then died.
26:29Then I'm not useful anymore?
26:30I froze.
26:31Mia kept her head down.
26:32Her thin fingers twisted her sleeve.
26:34Papa said children who aren't useful don't get to stay.
26:38The bad people are caught?
26:39Will Grandma still want me?
26:41I don't want you because you're useful.
26:43You could do nothing at all, and you would still be my treasure.
26:47She leaned into me.
26:48After a long silence, she whispered,
26:50Can I go back to the estate just once?
26:53Why would you go back there?
26:54The place held only hunger and pain for her.
26:56Mia grew tense.
26:57Mama's still there.
26:58Your mama?
26:59There's a picture of Mama hidden behind the wall in the storage room.
27:04I look at her every night before I sleep.
27:07Aunt Chloe said I was a wild...
27:10But Mama told me I was her daughter.
27:13I was afraid I'd forget her face if too much time passed.
27:16I couldn't forget.
27:18As long as I remembered Mama, I knew I wasn't a wild...
27:22I took Mia back to that storage room myself.
27:25The door was low and rotting.
27:26The window was boarded shut.
27:28A cracked bowl sat in the corner.
27:30Hers.
27:30Mia knelt by the wall like she'd done it a thousand times.
27:33She pried a loose brick free.
27:35Behind it, a rolled canvas.
27:36Wrapped in oiled paper.
27:38Edges worn thin.
27:39But the painting inside still showed Stella smiling.
27:41The way she looked before her wedding.
27:43Mia reached out and touched her mother's painted face.
27:46So gently.
27:47Like a dream that might break.
27:50Whenever I missed Mama, I came here.
27:52Sister found it once.
27:54She wanted to burn it.
27:55I held on and wouldn't let go.
27:57Aunt Chloe made me eat my meals in the kitchen for a week.
28:00After that, I hid it here.
28:02They never found it again.
28:03She looked up at me.
28:04Her eyes were bright and clear.
28:06Deep inside them, I saw the smile of the woman in the painting.
28:11The eyes in Stella's portrait matched mine at that age.
28:14Through the darkest five years, this child had held on to her identity through one hidden painting.
28:20She had held on to her will to live.
28:22I gathered her against my chest.
28:24She was so thin.
28:25Her shoulder blades pressed into my palms like the wings of a bird not yet feathered.
28:29Let's take your Mama home.
28:30My voice cracked but the words held steel.
28:32She doesn't need to hide in a wall anymore.
28:35And you never have to hide in this house of monsters again.
28:39Mia went still in my arms.
28:40Then her small hands rose slowly and gripped my collar.
28:43Tighter and tighter.
28:44Like she was afraid that letting go would end the dream.
28:46Three days later, Mia stood before every Don and Kapo in a brand new gown.
28:51She was still afraid, but she kept her head high.
28:53I announced it to the underworld.
28:55Mia was Stella's only blood.
28:57The sole heir to the Moretti Syndicate.
28:59Every right, every asset, every acre restored to her name.
29:02When I placed Stella's seal in her small hand, she looked up at me.
29:06I held out my hand.
29:07The nervousness melted from her face.
29:09Her lips pressed together like she was making sure this was real.
29:12Then she walked to me, step by steady step.
29:15Thank you, Grandma.
29:16Her voice wasn't loud, but every soul in the ballroom heard my side and raised her myself.
29:21At first, she was still afraid to eat her fill.
29:23After every meal, she'd slip a pastry into her sleeve.
29:25When a maid tried to clear her plate, her face would go white with panic.
29:29So I put a food box beside her bed.
29:31Every day, it was refilled with the sweets she loved.
29:34These are all yours.
29:36Whatever you don't eat today, there will be more tomorrow.
29:40It took a full month before she trusted that she would never go hungry again.
29:43More weeks passed.
29:44She started running in the gardens.
29:46When she fell, she no longer dropped to her knees to apologize.
29:49Her eyes would tear up, and she'd reach out for me.
29:51Grandma, it hurts.
29:53Every time, I would lift her up and brush the dust from her knees.
29:56There now.
29:58Grandma will blow on it.
29:59She'd wrap her arms around my neck and rest her chin on my shoulder.
30:02Grandma blows on it, and the hurt goes away.
30:06Before winter came, Pearl stood outside my study for a long time.
30:09I asked what she wanted.
30:10She was afraid to say, only when I took her hand did she point shyly to the desk.
30:15Grandma, may I learn to read?
30:17When sister studied, I could only outside the door and listen.
30:22Papa said I didn't deserve to know letters.
30:24I lifted her onto the chair.
30:26I opened a leather journal and pressed a fountain pen into her hand.
30:29My darling, there is nothing in this world you don't deserve.
30:35Water, you are the heir of the Moretti Syndicate.
30:38Every book in this world is yours to read, if you wish it it.
30:43I closed my hand over hers, and guided her through two words on the page, Pearl and Reddy.
30:48She practiced with fierce focus.
30:50The first attempt wobbled, the second was worse.
30:52By the tenth try, two clear words shone on the paper.
30:55She held it up, radiant.
30:58Grandma, this is my name!
30:59Yes.
31:00I watched her eyes crinkle when she smiled, and for a heartbeat, I saw Stella step across
31:05the ears and stand before me again.
31:07That is the name your mother gave you.
31:09No one can ever take it from you.
31:12Remember that always.
31:13Pearl carried the paper carefully to Stella's portrait, now hanging above the mantle.
31:17She leaned on the desk and wrote another line, slowly.
31:21Mama, Pearl came home.
31:23Pearl has family who loves her now.
31:25The first snow of winter fell outside the window.
31:28She ran to my side and pushed her warm little hand into mine.
31:31This time, she didn't hesitate.
31:32She wasn't afraid.
31:34Grandma, let's go see the snow.
31:36Together?
31:37I closed my fingers around hers.
31:40Yes, my darling.
31:41Every year that comes, I will be by her side.
31:44In Stella's place, I will raise this precious child.
31:47I will let her feel a love beyond anything this cruel world has ever shown her.