My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 1011

“No, wait,” Emma said hastily. “I agree. Please, take me with you.” Emily retrieved the invitation. “Aside from that, there’s something else I need to tell you.” Emma’s expression grew cautious. “What is it?” “It’s about Isabella Austin.” “What happened?” Emma asked softly. “Why so serious?” Emily looked at her, then slowly delivered the shocking news. “Isabella Austin isn’t dead.” Emma stared at her, stunned, for a full minute. She seemed unable to speak, her eyes wide with disbelief and shock. “What did you say?” Emily repeated herself. “Isabella Austin isn’t dead. She’s alive.” A flicker of joy began to spread across Emma’s face. “…Really? Where is she now?” She seemed overwhelmed with happiness, firing off a series of questions. “Didn’t you say she died in a car crash? How could this be?” In stark contrast to Emma’s excitement, Emily remained perfectly calm. “She faked her death in the crash to escape. The identity of Isabella Austin was declared deceased, while she went abroad, had plastic surgery, and created a new identity as Juliana Silva. She recently returned to the country.” Emily kept her explanation brief. “I had a DNA test done between you and Juliana Silva. It confirmed she is Isabella Austin.” Though Emily spoke slowly, it took Emma a long time to process the short statement. “When did you do this… this test?” “A few days ago. I took some of your hair.” Emma looked at her with an expression Emily found unsettling. After a moment of silence, she asked, “What’s her name now?” “Juliana Silva.” “She had plastic surgery? And she’s back in the country?” “Yes.” “Can I see a picture of her?” Emily took out her phone, found the photos Tristan Davis had sent her, and enlarged one for Emma to see. Emma took the phone, her expression a mixture of complexity and sorrow. “This is her?” “Yes.” “She looks completely different. I can’t imagine how much pain she must have gone through. I’ve heard plastic surgery is excruciating.” “Compared to her suffering,” Emily said flatly, “the people she hurt are the ones who truly suffered.” Emma fell silent. She was suddenly reminded of all the terrible things Emily had told her Isabella had done. She remembered that Isabella had faked her death on the very day the police were coming to arrest her. Emily looked at her. “Isn’t it true? The grandmother and granddaughter she hurt thought she was dead, so they accepted the compensation and dropped the matter. But in reality, Isabella got a fresh start abroad. She never faced any of the punishment she deserved. She even has a rich boyfriend now and lives better than most people in the world, while her victims are scarred for life.” “What do you call that?” Emily asked her. “Is that fair?” And in her heart, she asked another question. *Is it fair to me?* Emma bit her lip, her eyes filled with sympathy for Emily. “Emily, I understand what you mean.”