Hinovel
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Summary
Once the cherished heiress of the prestigious Cortez family, Elara’s life is turned upside down when she discovers she was actually the daughter of a maid, swapped at birth with the true heiress, Tricia. Overnight, Elara loses everything—her family, her status, and her fiancé, Luka, who betrays her and sends her to prison. After five years behind bars, Elara is thrust into a new nightmare: she is forced to donate a kidney to Tricia, despite her own severe heart condition. Years later, the man who betrayed her is stunned to see Elara alive and holding a child who looks strikingly like his older brother, Lian. Former fiancé: “Elara, how dare you lied to me! Lian: “Don’t deceive yourself. Call her your sister-in-law!” Elara’s comeback is just beginning.
Chapter 1
The old prison gate creaked open, and a woman walked out slowly. She clutched a worn-out backpack tightly against her chest, her shoulders hunched and her head bowed. She nodded politely to each guard as she passed, making her way to the exit.
As she stepped outside, sunlight hit her face. She looked up at the bright sky and had to shield her eyes with her hand. The guard’s last words echoed in her mind as she took her first step to freedom: “Be good and live a better life. Don’t go back to your old ways.”
But how could someone like her, dragged down so low, ever deserve a good life under the sun?
She used to be the daughter of the Cortez family in Maynila. She had loving parents, a caring brother, and a fiancé everyone admired. But all of that vanished overnight.
A woman named Tricia suddenly appeared and exposed who Elara really was at a big event. That night, Elara went from being admired to being despised. She was labeled a thief who had stolen over 20 years of happiness from someone else.
Everyone blamed her for Tricia’s suffering, but no one bothered to ask if she had any control over what happened.
“Elara!” A familiar, cold voice jolted her back to reality.
She looked up and saw a flashy sports car parked nearby. A man sat in the driver’s seat. Even though he wore sunglasses, Elara knew who he was right away. It was Pio, the man she had called her brother for more than 19 years.
She never imagined that the brother who once wished her dead would be the one to pick her up on the day she got out of prison.
Elara tightened her grip on the backpack and cautiously walked toward the flashy car.
"Big bro…” she managed to say, using all the energy she had.
“You don’t get to call me that! You’re not my sister!” Pio snapped, taking off his sunglasses to reveal the disgust in his eyes.
His harsh tone made Elara tremble beside the car. She almost lost her balance, and tears filled her eyes.
“Mr. Cortez, why are you here?” Elara tried to keep herself together and forced a smile.
Pio glared at her and frowned. “Tricia got into a car accident and needs a kidney transplant. Come with me to the hospital. Now.”
Elara’s breath caught when she heard Pio’s words. Was he really asking her to give her kidney to Tricia?
She stared at him in disbelief. The brother who once promised to protect her for life was now demanding that she give her kidney to someone else!
She couldn’t agree. Everyone knew she had heart problems. If she went through with the surgery, she would surely die.
She still had things to do, people to see. She had survived five long years in prison. She refused to die now!
“What’s taking so long? Get in the car!” Pio snapped, losing patience as Elara stood frozen. If he didn’t need her to be healthy, he would have dragged her into the car trunk by force.
Elara nodded timidly and reached for the car door. Then, taking advantage of Pio’s distracted gaze, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.
“This damn b*tch,” Pio cursed under his breath. He opened the car door and chased after her.
Even though Elara desperately wanted to live, her weak body couldn’t keep up. After just a few steps, she got dizzy and had to slow down.
Pio quickly caught up to her, grabbed her hair roughly, and dragged her towards the car.
Elara’s tears flowed from the pain. She grabbed Pio’s hand, trying to ease the pressure. “I never agreed to this! What you’re doing is against the law. The guards are watching us. Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?!”
“Heh.” Pio let out a cold laugh. “Didn’t you learn anything in prison these last five years? How can you still be so naive? In this city, I’m above everyone else. No one would dare go against me. Look around—does it seem like anyone’s here to save you?”
He was right. In Maynila, no one dared cross the eldest son of the Cortez family! If someone had, she wouldn’t have been bullied in prison for the past five years.
A wave of helplessness washed over Elara. Five years in prison had taught her when to beg for mercy and when to keep quiet.
She stumbled but eventually followed Pio into the car.
At the hospital entrance, the red sports car drew plenty of attention after the scene.
Pio opened the passenger door, grabbed Elara’s arm, and tried to pull her inside forcefully. But her frail body couldn’t take it, and she fell to the ground. Half out of it, she kept mumbling, “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to give my kidney. Please, let me go. I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
In the high-class private hospital, everyone who came and went knew who Pio was. Those who admired him before were now full of curiosity. They whispered and pointed, but no one stepped forward to stop him. Elara, meanwhile, was lost in her own world, mumbling to herself.
“If you know you’re wrong, then you should cooperate and help Tricia live a healthy life.” A cold hand grabbed Elara’s chin, cutting off her frantic whispers.