Dumped By My Husband, I Became A Billionaire Heiress

The world seemed to spin again and again, Lizzy thought she was in a dream, better still, a trance, as she saw the woman she believed was her sister. She turned slowly and finally, her eyes matched hers, staring at each other as minutes were about to turn to hours. 

"Hey Sister." She said it again, in an obvious mocking tone, being almost like Lizzy. She wanted to ask her father if they were twins or if she was her older sister for real. She didn't want to understand or comprehend this kind of resemblance from someone she didn't know at all.

"Sophia…" her father's voice broke as he said it, caught in-between two options, either to continue telling Lizzy about the things she still needed to know or to remain in that moment.

"Hi, Dad." She said, waving at him sarcastically and giggling for some minutes, and she could read terror in his eyes, the like of terror Lizzy had not seen in his eyes before.

"What are you doing here?" He said, surprised, just the way he was the last time he saw her twenty four hours ago. Distraught in his eyes, he realized she was totally enjoying herself as he saw a big smirk on her face. 

"I'm good, thank you. How are you doing too?" She totally enjoyed the way they stared at her, seeing fear written all over their faces, just the way she loved it.

"I heard my dad was in the hospital, and as the good child that I am, I came to pay him a visit." She smiled a little after saying this, looking at the way each word she said created fear in their faces.

There was a very thick silence charged with an electricity that was beyond their control. She looked at them, one after another. "Are we going to stare at one another throughout today? I'm back and I'm here for good." She said, in finality, being the only thing she could do to get them to talk. 

But no one responded. Instead, Lizzy remembered the bracelet and brought it out, tracing the intricacies designed on it. Unlike before, something about it felt alive on her skin, tracing them to feel the unwanted warmth. Her father's monitor, still feeling the heated tension, continued their horrific beeping, more like a technological heartbeat that responded to Sophia's presence in the room.

"You are not supposed to be here." Markus finally found a way to talk. "We have been protecting everyone from you, and you from everyone."

Sophia's laughter was similar to Lizzy's and she watched her as her musical laughter filled the room. "Is that what you call it, dad? Protecting? Locking me away? Not allowing me to see the real world? Stopping me from going to school?"

He winced at every question she threw back at him and Lizzy could easily notice how her father seemed smaller somehow, intimidated and diminished by the presence of Sophia. The strong and confident man who Lizzy had looked up to was reduced to a child just by Sophia's appearance.

"Was it you?" Lizzy also found her voice and wanted to ask her the question on her mind. "Was it you who sent those messages?"

Sophia turned, bringing her full attention from her father to Lizzy. "You are still very smart and curious," she said, not being sarcastic this time, but being genuine. "Always wanting to know more. Always asking the right and tricky questions."

The hospital corridor and everywhere outside became dark, and everyone seemed to walk in slow motion, being controlled by Sophia's energy and she being pleased with everything that was happening.

"The night of the storm," Markus muttered, trying to continue the conversation which was very serious, talking to himself rather than to anyone else, and totally forgetting anyone was there "Everything changed that night."

Her smile cut through the room, and no one could understand what he was trying to say, no one except his first daughter. "Not everything changed, Dad. Some things were always meant to be." She said, now becoming serious.

Lizzy then felt a very strange sensation, something she had never felt before. She felt the bracelet getting warmer on her hands and started sensing things she had never sensed before, things like the room getting disarranged, her father's bed shaking slowly, even her hands shaking.

"How about the sacrifice? Tell me about it," she demanded an explanation for that, remembering the cryptic text message, and for the very first time, she saw a flash of genuine emotions cross Sophia's face. Not mockery or terror, but something that described pains which have been long hidden.

"Some sacrifices aren't made," she said softly. "Some are taken."

This statement made him shift uncomfortably on his bed, making him seem very bad about what she was going to reveal. His hands were shaking in response to the machines monitoring her vitals.

"I feel she does not need to know," he said weakly, looking at Lizzy, making the same statement. "A lot of stories are better left unsaid."

However, Sophia was moving gracefully, with their eyes on her. She went to stay close to Lizzy, staring at her as she stared back, and she felt something heated going between them, something Lizzy could not understand.

"Can you feel it?" Sophia whispered. "The power and connection."

And Lizzy actually felt it, humming beneath her skin. A recognition that went beyond words, beyond understanding. She could see a lot of flashes now, a stormy night, Sophia tied in bands and taken in a bus to an unknown destination. 

After seeing those flashes, she came back and breathed hard. "What happened?" She managed to say in the midst of her heavy breaths.

Before Sophia could answer her questions, the lights flickered, not only in their rooms, but in other rooms of the hospital generally. That could only mean one thing to her and she felt the need to warn them.

"They are coming," Sophia said, her voice sounding urgent. "And now, they will never stop."

This time, Markus struggled to sit up, very scared and extremely fatigued. "No," he said, sounding terrified. "We stopped them before. Not again. We will have to stop them."

"Stopped who?" Lizzy was still very confused. She knew she was still very far from the truth, even though she just felt a power that showed her flickles of the past.

But it looked like she was talking to no one. Outside the window, there was darkness even when it was just 2pm. Lizzy saw everything change in her presence and all she needed to ask herself was: What next?

Sophia's hand - delicate, child-like, yet radiating an impossible strength - reached out and touched Lizzy's bracelet. The moment of contact sent a jolt through Lizzy's body. Memories that weren't her own flooded her consciousness - fragments of a life, of powers beyond comprehension, of a threat so profound it defied rational explanation.

"We are connected," Sophia said. "More than blood. More than family. We are a lineage. A warning."

The hospital room seemed to contract and expand, reality bending around Sophia's presence. Markus had gone completely still, his eyes wide with a terror that suggested he knew something monumentally significant was about to unfold.

Another text message arrived on Lizzy's phone. But this time, the sender wasn't unknown.

It was from her own number.

The message read: "Protect yourself. They are coming."

As if on cue, a sound emerged from the hospital corridor. Not a human sound. Not a natural sound. Something that suggested movement, intelligence, and a hunger that had been waiting, very patiently, for a very long time.

Sophia turned, her child's face now a mask of absolute concentration. "Here we go," she whispered.

The rain started, initially bringing a lot of relief to Markus and Sophia. Everything started changing, as the weather changed into a brighter, normal one. The clouds obeyed as they turned blue from the black that was normal.

Lizzy sighed in a form of huge relief, noticing that her father also felt the same way. She hugged her father, thanking God that nothing bad happened to anyone. She couldn't believe that everything that happened was because of her, because of them.

"Dad, are you okay?" She asked, checking his body to see if nothing was wrong with him.

"Yes, I am. Are you?" He was still panting from whatever happened for the past forty minutes. 

"My name is Sophia, do you still remember me?" she sounded nicer and calmer, with a smile that made her so attractive.

"Yes, I do." She sincerely did not remember anyone like her, but she got flashbacks that made her know things that she had not known about.

"I have to go."

"Why?" he didn't want her anywhere close to them, but he loved her still, despite the stunts she could do. He felt a form of attachment in just a few minutes, and didn't want her far from him. 

"I mean, I know your mum will be scared, but I need you to be here with us, at least for Lizzy's sake." he said to her as he held her soft hands.

Sophia didn't believe what was happening. What changed? What happened? Was she not the one who was neglected? Was she dreaming? No, she wasn't.

Now, she could not hold back her tears, and Lizzy was so emotional as she saw her big sister break down in tears for something she sensed was very serious. 

"I am so sorry. Please, stop crying." Lizzy held her to her arms, calming her and touching her head as it didn't help issues, it only made her cry harder.

When she was done, a nurse came in again, going to Markus to check his vitals again. Looking at Lizzy and Sophia, she was surprised and kept staring at them as she was checking for issues with his body. 

The nurse did her work and went out, taking the trash she saw close to his bed.

"Are you sure I can go home"

"Yes, you can. She will be so scared, but would be so happy to receive you."

Lizzy knew he was talking about Elena. Immediately, she remembered she had not checked up on Mia for a long time. So, she took up her phone to first of all check her inbox for any ignored messages and then call her for updates on her health.

"Thank God, no strange messages," she breathed heavily as she found Mia's number and called immediately. She hoped there was a change or good news at least.

"Hey Lizzy." The voice sounded so disturbed that she had to stand up. 

"Are you okay? Is Elena okay?"

"What makes you think we are not okay?" She asked, still sounding a little disturbed.

Relief washed over her, although she did not believe her one bit.

"Is she awake? Can I talk to her?" She asked, longing to hear her mother talk.

"My baby." 

"Mummy!" She felt tears run down her cheeks as she heard the voice of her mum after what felt like decades.

"My love. I'm sorry. I know I made you and your dad so scared." She still sounded tired, but Lizzy was so elated that she didn't hear that.

"Don't be sorry mummy. You didn't arrange your disappearance, did you?" She chuckled as she asked the question, looking at her dad to give him a wink, his smile getting wider as he realized that truly, the love of his life had been found. 

"Would you want to talk to your love?" She heightened the tone at the pronunciation of "love" and didn't wait for her response as she assumed that she would love to speak with him immediately. 

"My love." He said, smiling as he couldn't control the tears of joy that came with finding his love.

"Are you okay?" He said immediately, frowning at her to indicate something was wrong.

"Who is there?" he asked, standing from his bed as he sensed danger.