Mrs. Austin slipped her arm through her husband's and shot Emily and Emma a cold look. "Don't come near me again. You're nothing but bad luck."

With that, the two of them walked off together without another word.

Emily stepped aside to let them pass, watching them leave.

Juliana stared after the Austins, her eyes a little unfocused, lost in thought.

Emily glanced over, pretending she hadn't noticed a thing. "Ms. Silva, do you know Mr. and Mrs. Austin?"

Juliana's heart skipped. She quickly turned away, forcing a sweet smile. "I've heard they do a lot for charity. I admire them... so I just wanted to get a better look."

"That makes sense," Emily replied. "No wonder you're here tonight."

Juliana didn't want to see Emily's face another second. Holding back her irritation, she took Benjamin's arm and said gently, "We have something else to take care of. We'll head out now."

Emily smiled and nodded as they left.

As Juliana and Benjamin walked away, Emma instinctively took a step to follow. Emily caught her by the arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

Emma froze, looking back nervously. "I just... I wanted to see her for a minute."

Emily pulled her back. "You've been staring at her the whole time she was here. Haven't you seen enough?"

Emma noticed Emily's mood and shrank back. "I just wanted to talk to her..." Emily almost laughed. "Talk? And then what, tell her you know who she really is?" Emma clamped her lips shut and looked down, not saying another word.

Emily let go of her arm. "Seriously, you heard what Isabella's parents said tonight. Stop trying to get close to them. It's pointless."

Emma's voice was barely a whisper. "I didn't know they'd be like that. The way they talked to us... they didn't sound like decent people at all."

"Well, now you know." Emily's voice was sharp. "They don't believe a word you say, they treat you like you're crazy. How does that make you feel?"

Emma peeked up at her. "I... I'm really upset."

"You've already said everything you needed to, and they've made it clear where they stand. Did you hear them? Even if I was their real daughter, they'd never accept me. Now you see just how much they want nothing to do with us?"

Emma nodded slowly. "I get it... I just never thought they'd be so cruel."

Emily crossed her arms. "Let me ask you again. Are you still planning to talk to them?"

Emma hesitated.

Emily's patience was wearing thin. "Don't tell me you still want to try?"

Emma's voice was even softer. "No, I won't."

She leaned closer to Emily and glanced around. "They're out of their minds. All they do is yell and insult people. Even if they did take you back, I bet they'd still treat you badly."

This time, Emma was honestly angry. Emily was the daughter she'd raised with her own hands. She'd never held it over her, and she'd been willing to step aside so Emily could find her birth parents. But instead of showing any gratitude, the Austins had only rejected Emily and thrown insult after insult.

Emma couldn't stand it. Emily might not be her biological child, but she loved her like her own. Even real parents had no right to treat her like this.

Emily's face relaxed a little. "I'm glad you understand."

She'd come here tonight for exactly this reason: to help Emma let go.

She gave a final warning. "From now on, don't even think about reaching out to Isabella's parents. Got it?"

Emma nodded. "Got it."

Only then did Emily's voice soften. "Alright, let's go home. It's getting late."

Suddenly, Emma looked up at her. "Are you... not going to expose Isabella Austin?"