My own father sold me off, sent me packing to the middle of nowhere, deep in the sticks. I was stuck there for over ten years. Meanwhile, his illegitimate daughter, her, she got brought into the family home like she belonged there all along. When they finally found me and brought me back, my "sister" pointed at the table loaded with food. "Eat up. Bet you never had anything like this, right?" I put on my best pitiful look. "My foster parents... they didn't feed me much. My stomach's shrunk, I think. Thanks, sis, but I'm already full." Mom’s eyes welled up, full of pity. My sister just glared daggers at me. Getting mad already, sis? Just wait till I take back everything that's mine. You'll probably keel over from pure rage. 1. I’d just been whipped, again. I was lying there in the dusty shed, barely breathing, when the cops busted in and hauled my foster parents away. Listening to their useless, angry shouting as they were dragged off, I actually smiled. That sound was music to my ears. Next thing I knew, a cop kicked open the shed door, and paramedics were loading me onto a stretcher. Everything hurt so bad. So bad I couldn’t take it, and I passed out. When I came to, I saw a middle-aged man gently patting the shoulder of a striking woman with tear-streaked eyes. Beside them, a bored-looking teenage girl noticed I was awake. A small smirk played on her lips, but she pretended not to see, turning instead to comfort the crying woman with soft words. Watching this cozy little scene, I sneered inwardly. Great. Just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. When the woman finally looked up, she saw I was awake and immediately called for a doctor. Seeing my confused and panicked expression, she sobbed, "Oh, my baby girl, you've suffered so much." "Those monsters who took you, they'll rot in jail for this." "I'm your real mother. We're your real family!" I feigned shock and helplessness. Under their expectant gazes, I whispered softly, "Mom?" Just as I expected, the woman answered immediately, calling me her precious darling, overcome with emotion. My father, though, looked uncomfortable. He just smiled weakly and said nothing. My eyes shifted past them. The girl left behind, Ashley, rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. Yeah, this family definitely wasn't as perfect as it looked on the surface. After the check-up, the doctor said I was out of immediate danger, but my wounds were still bad and needed time to heal properly. Rest was essential. Mom immediately said, "We're going home! We'll take care of you at home!" Ashley piped up quickly, "But Mom, her injuries are so severe. Moving her around might not be good. Maybe she should stay here in the hospital to recover." Seeing Mom hesitate, I spoke up softly, weakly, "Maybe it's better if I don't go home and disrupt Dad and Mom's lives. I can manage on my own." "Then stay in the hospital. I'll hire a couple of private nurses for you," Dad said, glancing at Ashley with what looked like relief. "You be quiet!" Mom shot Dad a cold glare. He immediately clammed up. "Don't be silly, honey. What disruption?" "We're going home! My darling girl, we're going home right now!" Mom made the final decision. Ashley forced a smile and agreed, but I could see her fidgeting, practically shredding the edge of her clothes. In the car, Mom put her arm around me, gently stroking my hair. I leaned against her shoulder, soaking in the rare moment of peace. Suddenly, Ashley spoke up. "Mom, do you smell something... kind of gross?" Mom's arm around me stiffened. She looked a bit awkward. I lowered my head, acting embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Ashley. The doctor said the dressing for my wounds smells like this. It's supposed to help them heal faster and prevent scarring." "Once we're home, I promise I won't leave my room for a while, so I won't bother you." "Exactly. The doctor said you need rest. Best stay put for now," Dad quickly agreed. Seeing Mom was about to lose her temper again, Dad tried to smooth things over. "Hey, your birthdays are coming up soon, right? What gifts do you two want?" Ashley lit up. "Dad, you promised! I want that pink Cadillac Escalade! I want to take my friends cruising!" "No problem! Anything for my little princess, you know I'll make it happen!" Dad agreed readily. Then Ashley turned to me, a smug look on her face. "I guess you don't need a car yet, sis. You're not even eighteen until next year." "Mom, I want a car too," I said, looking pleadingly at Mom. "Paige, honey, let's not get competitive. You can't even drive yet. Anywhere you need to go, we have drivers to take you," Mom said, still stroking my hair gently, but the warmth in her eyes had cooled noticeably. "Yeah, what would you even do with a car now? Besides showing off or letting it collect dust in the garage? It's pointless," Dad added. Biological parents. Not so different after all. 2 Seeing Ashley's smug "See? Told you so" expression, I reached out and squeezed Mom's hand, my face falling, my voice barely a whisper. "Mom, that's not what I meant." "I don't want an Escalade. I just... I want a shopping cart." As soon as the words left my mouth, Ashley burst out laughing. "Oh, Paige, just say what you mean. You want Dad's credit card with no limit, right? That's a bit greedy, don't you think? People might think you see Mom and Dad as walking ATMs." Dad chimed in, "Paige, don't push it. Ashley's being more reasonable here." Mom's face grew darker and darker with their words. Seeing the time was right, I quickly shook my head. "Ashley, you misunderstood." "Unlike you, I didn't grow up surrounded by Mom and Dad's love." "The shopping cart I'm talking about... it's really just the kind you find at the supermarket." "When I was little, I'd see other kids riding in the carts, whining and cuddling with their parents. But me? I had to push the cart, trailing behind my foster parents." "If I pushed too slow, I got hit. If I pushed too fast and bumped into them, I got hit too." "But those carts... they always wobbled, went crooked. I was so small back then, I really couldn't control it." "So," I paused, looking hopefully at Mom, "I just want a shopping cart. For you guys to push me in." "Even just once." Mom's eyes widened slowly, filling with pain and guilt until tears overflowed, splashing down her cheeks. "My poor baby... what kind of life did you have? You suffered so much." "Here," she pulled out a card. "This is my supplementary card. Use it for whatever you want." I took the card. Might as well. But then, I immediately hugged her, gently patting her back. "Thank you, Mom. But that's all in the past now." "From now on, I have you and Dad to love me." Dad nodded awkwardly, speechless. Mom held me even tighter. I glanced in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, Ashley was staring daggers at me, her eyes red with fury. If looks could kill, I'd be ashes right now. I tilted my head slightly and gave her a small smile. My dear sister, this is just the beginning. If you're looking at me like that now, what's going to happen when I take back everything that belongs to me? Your eyes might just pop right out of your head. 3 At dinner that evening, Mom kept piling food onto my plate. "Paige, Mrs. Davison is a wonderful cook. Eat more." Ashley chimed in with a smile, "Yeah, Paige, you've probably never eaten food this good before. Have as much as you want, there's plenty more." Her tone was exactly like a hostess showing off to a poor relative. I ignored her and looked apologetically at Mom. "Thanks, Mom, but I really can't eat any more." "My foster parents... they often skipped feeding me. My stomach must have shrunk. I'm afraid if I eat too much all at once, I won't be able to handle it." The guilt and remorse deepened in Mom's eyes. Ashley suddenly cut in, interrupting the mother-daughter moment. "You really had it rough, Paige. Couldn't even get enough to eat before. Was it because the place you lived was really poor?" "Yeah, just some backwards town in the middle of nowhere. Didn't have enough food when I was little. When I got older, they just stopped feeding me regularly." "Paige," Ashley suddenly smiled, a knowing glint in her eye, "stop joking around. How could a poor, backwards town have a supermarket with shopping carts?" The table fell silent. "So, you wouldn't happen to be... playing the victim, would you?" I could practically feel Mom's sharp gaze on me. "Huh? Ashley, why would you think that of me?" I said, sounding wounded. "Actually, you know, we have the government to thank for that." "There were programs, rural development initiatives... they helped the area I lived in develop some local industries." "The place I was, they started selling medicinal herbs, things like ginseng, and gradually got better off. The town eventually got a couple of small supermarkets." "When I was really young, the whole family went hungry. Later, they had a bit more money, but then it was just me who didn't get enough to eat. And I had to work constantly. If I did anything wrong, slightest little thing, they'd whip me with the same switch they used for the sheep." "I'm not playing the victim." "They just... they didn't treat me like a human being..." My head drooped, my voice fading. Mom shot Ashley a furious glare, then took a deep breath. "Sweetheart, are you done eating? Let Mom show you to your room." Well, well. Guess she's letting her precious daughter, the one she raised for over a decade, off the hook just like that. Looks like this fire isn't burning hot enough yet. Back in my room, after a shower, I opened the closet. I stared at the clothes packed inside and paused. The Johnsons seemed pretty well-off. But the clothes in here, aside from the underwear, were all hand-me-downs. Old clothes someone else had worn. And whose old clothes they were? Didn't take a genius to figure that out. Hmph. I picked out the rattiest-looking pair of pajamas I could find and put them on. Then I went and knocked on Mom's door. Mom opened it. I heard the shower running in the bathroom – Dad, probably. Good. He wouldn't be in the way. "Mom, sorry to bother you so late." "I can't sleep. I wanted to find some books to read. I'm worried about falling behind when school starts." "But I don't know where the study is." Mom smiled and agreed, but as her eyes fell on my pajamas, the smile froze. I saw her barely contain her anger. She went to the study, grabbed a few books for me, told me to read them there, then turned and walked straight to my room. Less than half a minute later, she marched to Ashley's room. Who could possibly study at a time like this? Obviously, I followed to watch the show. 4 "Ashley Johnson, it's your sister's first day home, and this is how you treat her?" "What's wrong, Mom?" "Don't play dumb with me. Those old clothes in her closet, aren't those the ones you were going to throw out last week?" "I'm sorry, Mom, it's all my fault. Paige came back so suddenly, I didn't have time to get her anything new." Ashley started sniffling, ostensibly taking the blame but subtly shifting it. It's not her fault, it's mine for coming back too soon. My dear, dumb sister. "What do you mean, 'Paige came back too suddenly'?" "I think it's not that she came back too suddenly, it's that her coming back made you suddenly anxious, didn't it?" "She hasn't had a single day of comfort here, and you're already tripping her up at every turn." "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You think having her wear your ill-fitting hand-me-downs makes you look superior? Makes people think you've got her under your thumb?" "Let me tell you, plenty of people are just waiting to laugh at this family!" "They'll wonder if we've gone bankrupt and can't even afford clothes! They'll think Olivia Harrison's daughters are constantly fighting, that this house is chaos!" "They're waiting for a scandal, for our stock to drop, so they can swoop in like vultures and tear me apart!" "I've taught you for so many years, and you haven't learned a thing about family honor! All you care about is your own petty little world!" "You disappoint me. Greatly." So, it wasn't just my imagination. Mom really was the one calling the shots in this house. "Mom, I'm sorry. I'll never do it again." Ashley just stood there crying. "The person you should be apologizing to is your sister." Mom went back to her room. The show was pretty much over. I was about to head back to the study when I heard a knock on Ashley's door again. I immediately ducked back down. "Ashley, it's Dad." After Dad went in, they kept their voices low. I couldn't quite hear, so I crept closer. And what I heard was one hell of a secret. Ashley's previous meekness vanished. Her words were sharp, vicious. "Dad! It's all because of that brat! That crazy woman yelled at me again! Why isn't she dead yet?!" "You said getting rid of that brat would solve everything, so why is she back?!" "We should have broken her legs, or just finished her off back then." "You told me I could take her place, that once you got control of that crazy woman's shares, we'd have a good life!" I clenched my fists, listening to that scumbag comfort his little monster. "Sweetheart, just be patient a little longer. Dad doesn't have enough power yet to openly confront that crazy woman." "Give it some time. Dad will find a chance to get Olivia committed, locked up in a mental hospital, and then everything will be ours." "As for the other brat... she's nothing to worry about." Ashley laughed. "If that little bitch dares to compete with me, I swear I'll slash her face! I'll sell her off somewhere horrible, make her life a living hell!" That was enough. I stopped the recording on my phone and went back to my room. So that's why Ashley always targeted me. That's why Dad only ever defended Ashley. The truth... it was sickening. Absolutely, gut-wrenchingly sickening. 5 The next morning, I pretended to feel unwell and sweetly asked Mom to stay home with me. Ashley and Dad put on a show of concern, asked how I was doing, then left for school and work. Lying in bed, watching Mom tuck me in, I said weakly, "Mom, I didn't sleep well last night." Mom looked worried. "Is the pain really bad? I'll call the family doctor right away." I grabbed her hand, hesitated for a moment, then whispered in her ear, "Mom... there aren't any cameras or listening devices in my room, are there?" Mom's expression changed instantly. She immediately called Mr. Davies, her secretary, and had him come sweep the room. After confirming it was clean, Mom sent him to check the other rooms and gestured for me to speak. I took out my phone and played last night's recording. Mom's expression shifted from confusion to fury, then settled into a cold calm. When the recording finished, Mom was silent for a moment, then said, "I knew Mark was ambitious. And I knew Ashley only nice to me for my money." "That's why I make sure to put them in their place now and then, remind them not to get too greedy." So, last night, Mom was using me to assert her authority. Huh. Just as I thought. No way there was that much deep mother-daughter bonding on day one. "But I never imagined Ashley was his illegitimate daughter. Or that Mark planned to drive me crazy and lock me away in an asylum." As she said this, I could faintly hear the grinding of her teeth. "So, Mom, what's the plan?" "Let's not tip them off yet. Play along. You pretend to keep competing with Ashley for attention. I want to see exactly how Mark plans to 'drive me crazy'." "Okay, Mom." I saw a flicker of hesitation in Mom's eyes. "Is there something else?" I asked, puzzled. "About... your past. Is there anything you want to ask?" I smiled sweetly at her. "As long as I'm your daughter, Mom, nothing else matters to me." Mom suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. After a moment, I felt a warm dampness on my shoulder. I knew, right then, there was no turning back for me. Whether it was genuine affection or just using each other, I had to climb. I had to fight my way up. I would absolutely not go back to that life of being treated like an animal, always hungry, always covered in bruises. "Over the next little while, you need to pay close attention and learn everything I teach you." "Okay, Mom." Thanks to that night, over the next two months, Dad would occasionally ask about my health. I just smiled politely and brushed him off each time. Honestly, spending even a second longer than necessary around him made my skin crawl. Ashley also toned it down quite a bit, even making small talk with me at dinner sometimes, though it was clearly fake. Once my injuries were mostly healed, Mom made an announcement at dinner. "Grandpa's birthday is in a week. Everyone get ready. Don't embarrass me." "No problem," Ashley said, beaming. "And Paige, since you're feeling better, you should come too. Grandpa will be thrilled to see you." "It'll be crowded, so stick close to me, okay? Don't be scared. If anything happens, I'll help you." Help me? Yeah, right. If you manage not to pour gasoline on the fire, I'll call you a saint. Despite my thoughts, I put on a look of pleased surprise. "Thanks, Ashley." Mom smiled at Ashley too. "Ashley, you've really grown up." Ashley's smile widened even more. Stop smiling. I can practically hear the evil schemes bubbling in your stomach from across the table. After dinner, Mom came to my room. She carefully went over things I should say at Grandpa's party and things to watch out for. "I understand, Mom," I nodded. "You're my daughter. I know you can do this," Mom said, gently stroking my head.
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