Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

The woman blinked in confusion, then shifted her gaze between Remington and Lizetta.

Having suddenly figured out what was going on, she hurriedly waved her hands to Lizetta and said,

"Oh dear, I think there's been a huge misunderstanding. Mr. Dashiell hired me to pretend to be Stella!" the woman hurriedly explained, waving her hands for emphasis.

Lizetta stared at her, with astonishment written all over her face, before turning to Remington with a puzzled look.

"She's not Stella?"

Remington's lips twisted into a bitter smile, "I wish she was. But I couldn't find her."

The woman, eager to clear the confusion, quickly added, "Mrs. Dashiell, my name's Eileen. I am not Ms. Stella West."

Seeing her nervousness and how she remained standing, Remington gestured towards a chair, "Please, take a seat."

her story, "I'm an orphan, and I fell seriously ill when I was just a teenager and lost all my childhood memories. About four months ago, Mr. Dashiell found me, believing I

found my family. But after a DNA test, it turned out I wasn't

searching for her daughter for her entire life, and now, she's on her deathbed. He didn't want her to pass away with that regret, so he asked if I

Mrs. Dashiell, I was desperate for money. My husband was diagnosed with kidney failure last year and needed a transplant. We have a young daughter, and I couldn't bear the thought

is like waiting for a miracle, and we were scraping by just to cover the medical

the surgery if I agreed to help him, and I simply couldn't refuse. So, I followed Mr. Dashiell

parched, but she felt too embarrassed to help herself

temporary resident, she hesitated

Remington leaned over to pour two glasses

a few sips to quench her

she was still processing the information

same care when helping Eileen with the car door and catching her when she missed

seem trivial to others, but they were uncharacteristic of