Unveiling Samantha by Veronica Wright
Chapter 2

Chapter 2

68%

Samantha strolled alongside Conrad and Lincoln, not even flinching at the sea of fancy folks. The crowd murmured, puzzled at her nerve. Her plain get-up should have had her shaking, but she was cool as a cucumber. Plus, she had this look

-a dead ringer for Conrad-that really had the room buzzing.

They shifted their gazes to Adrienne, filled with curiosity. Indeed, Adrienne stood out among the crowd, but in terms of appearance, she did not look like the Vanderbilts. It seemed like there was a hidden secret.

The three bumped into Brennan Vanderbilt, the youngest son of the Vanderbilt family. Upon seeing a not-so-cute girl trailing behind Lincoln, Brennan was puzzled. He thought something had happened and decided to go with them.

It wasn’t until they entered the reception room that the guests turned their heads, whispering among themselves.

Adrienne caught sight of Samantha too. The resemblance, even with that scar, was a dead giveaway. Adrienne’s jaw clenched -there was no way she’d let this new girl steal her thunder. She held onto her dress so tight her knuckles went white.

The girl in the slick black dress saw Adrienne’s darkened face and slipped away quietly, sensing drama. People started to catch on. “Adrienne’s not the real deal, they whispered. High-society families always had skeletons in their closets. But Samantha, she had to make them believe she belonged.

Stepping into the reception room, Samantha’s eyes found some faces she knew-Enzo Seaver, Royce Seaver, Christopher Wright, and Stanley Wright

Christopher was dressed down in a white button-up shirt and casual slacks, his black shoes shining from a fresh polish. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing off buff tan arms, and he was all smiles.

“Hey, Dad, check these out.” Lincoln passed the papers over to Hansel Vanderbilt, who’d already spotted the family resemblance when Samantha had walked in. Taking a peek, Hansel nearly jumped out of his chair. “This can’t be,” he whispered, staring at Samantha. But before he could say a word, Royce Seaver, Enzo’s dad, jumped in, “Thought you wouldn’t show. So, what’s it like meeting your family

All eyes were back on Samantha. They all watched her, waiting for her response.

“Nah, not loving it. Just wanna get these papers signed so I can get going,” she replied to Royce with a little shrug.

Royce frowned, obviously ticked off, but then he saw the scar on her face. “What’s with the scar? Didn’t see that last time. What happened?”

Samantha touched her face. “Oh, this thing?” And to everyone’s shock, she took off what turned out to be a fake scar.

Kathleen Fontaine, Hansel’s wife, wide-eyed, stood up. She couldn’t believe it-they were the spitting image of each other. She stammered, “Mr. Seaver, w-who is she?”

“Didn’t you see the papers Lincoln gave you?” Royce said coolly, sipping his coffee. “She’s your daughter, for real.”

“But Adrienne’s my kid,” Kathleen said, her eyes misting over. It was a punch to the gut. She thought, “That’s right. Adrienne doesn’t look like me at all. Why did this happen to me? Have I been raising someone else’s child for 18 years?”

“Yeah, Adrienne is your daughter, not me. You can pretend you’ve never seen me after you sign the contract,” Samantha said, arms crossed, looking straight at Conrad. “Just sign already. Why’s everyone dragging their feet?”

“Look, we just need a minute, okay? We’ll figure this out.” Conrad tried to assure her.

Samantha rolled her eyes. “Yeah? How long do you need? What’s it gonna be-another whole lifetime? Come on, just sign it,

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15:35 Fri, May 31

Chapter 2

and I’m outta here.” Her words cut deep, but all she showed was impatience, pushing them to hurry up and sever the ties.

Someone called out, “Hey, Ms. Vanderbilt.”

Samantha turned to see Christopher. He hadn’t said a word until now, and she gave him a little nod, telling him to go on.

When he looked at Samantha, Christopher was taken aback by how awesome she looked-not just her eyes, but all of her. His heart did a weird flip, and he quickly looked away, coughing bit. “Look, they’ve been family for 18 years. That’s not easy to shake off. Could you give them a month to sort things out? There’s plenty of time, right?”

Samantha wasn’t budging. “No way. I’ve got things to do. Once we sign, they’re free, and I’m out.”

“Sweetie, what if you stick around for two weeks? That’s all we ask, Kathleen chimed in, her voice full of hope. “We’ll pay for everything you need, and if you still wanna leave, we’ll give you some spending money. Deal?” Upon seeing how determined Samantha was to leave, Kathleen felt sad. Moreover, Samantha looked skinny and frail, as if she hadn’t eaten properly for a long time.

Samantha could see the sadness on Kathleen’s face and almost felt bad. Then she looked away, breathed in deep, and stayed quiet for a second. “Fine, but you gotta stay out of my business.” Samantha shot back, and Royce couldn’t help but laugh softly. He mused, ‘She’s acting all tough but it’s just a show. Sammy’s still a kid who wants to feel loved

Standing behind Royce, Enzo almost burst into laughter at the sight. He thought, Is she trying to look broke while carrying that fancy Dawncat bag? Such a waste!”

Samantha caught Enzo grinning, and her glare made him feel like ice cubes were sliding down his back.

“How about you crash in my room tonight? I’ll get you a better place tomorrow,” Kathleen offered, her voice gentle. At the same time, she observed Samantha’s expression, but the latter remained aloof.

Samantha just nodded and said thanks, not letting on what she was thinking.

Royce spoke up again. “Don’t just stand there. You’ve gotta be wiped after getting here.

Everyone glanced at Samantha, knowing the long trek up the mountain with no ride-it would’ve taken hours.

“Have a seat. We’ll have the butler bring up some grub, Lincoln added, kind of surprised by his own niceness to Samantha He never even gave Adrienne this kind of attention. Is it because we’re related or something?’ he wondered.

When Samantha took a seat, Christopher quickly got up, sat across from her, and poured her a cup of coffee. “It’s a scorcher out there, huh, Ms. Vanderbilt? Bet you’re parched. Try some coffee: I made sure it’s not too hot.” While handing her the coffee, he caught a glimpse of her chapped lips and gave her a small smile.

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