Chapter 4

Then, Aunt Audrey turned to look at Dad and continued, "Jacob, were you actually cheated on? Otherwise, why would Faye be so unwilling to send Sienna back? Did she have Sienna with another man?"

At her words, Dad's face instantly turned a violent shade of red. Beside him, Mom immediately shrieked in denial.

After a chaotic bout of shouting and screaming, Dad finally made the final decision with a dark expression. "Enough! Since Sienna isn't our daughter, we'll send her back! Everyone will return to where they belong!"

Hearing Dad finally make up his mind, Rosie's and Declan's eyes lit up instantly.

Declan patted his chest and assured him eagerly, "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, leave it to me. I know the way to Sienna's real parents' place. We'll take her back."

By this point, the celebration dinner was completely ruined and couldn't possibly go on.

Jacob announced the end of the event with a scowl and let Declan and Rosie haul me away.

Not a single one of them even mentioned letting me go home first to pack my belongings.

Luckily, that house was dirt-poor anyway. After living there for so many years, I didn't have anything valuable to pack.

Not content with just the two of them, Rosie and Declan even dragged along our classmates who had attended the dinner, all so they could watch me be humiliated.

I walked behind them in complete silence.

From a distance, I spotted the apartment building where Rosie's family lived.

I had come here countless times over the years, but I had only ever dared to watch from afar, observing how happy and loving Rosie and my birth parents were.

The thought of reuniting with them had crossed my mind more than once, but every single time, I ended up backing out.

I didn't want to drag them down into my miserable life.

As we drew closer to Rosie's home, joy flared in my eyes.

This was Rosie's own choice, and Jacob and Faye had already abandoned me of their own accord.

Reconnecting with my birth parents now meant I didn't have to feel guilty toward Rosie, nor did I have to worry about Jacob and Faye leeching off her like parasites.

When we finally reached the bottom of the building, Rosie crossed her arms and tilted her chin up with an arrogant look. "Ms. Lawrence, welcome to your new life in the slums!"

I picked up my pace, eager to head upstairs, but Declan suddenly grabbed my arm with a violent jerk. "Sienna, you've got some nerve. Now that you're leaving, aren't you going to return what belongs to Rosie?"

"What are you talking about?"

Noticing my refusal to admit it, Rosie put on a cold sneer. "Drop the act. Did you really think pretending to be me for a while would make my parents' estate yours?"

Her words left me completely baffled. Jacob and Faye didn't have an estate.

At my reaction, Declan forcefully ripped open my jacket, and a key clattered noisily onto the ground.

"It's right here! Sienna, you really just won't give up, huh? Did you think I didn't know where you rushed off to every single day after school?"

I stared at the key, utterly bewildered. This was the key to our scrapyard.

How did a scrapyard enclosed by a rusted iron fence have anything to do with an estate?

Declan completely missed my bewildered expression.

Having secured the key, he shoved me aside carelessly and strolled off with Rosie.

Along the way, the group excitedly chatted about what kind of designer bags and cars Rosie would buy once she officially reclaimed her status as the true Lawrence heiress.

Rosie even promised to get Declan the computer he had always wanted.

When they arrived at the entrance of the "estate", the classmates gasped in awe.

"Oh my gosh, Rosie! Your house is huge! Sienna really hit the jackpot by leeching off your family for so long!"

"Thank goodness you reclaimed your identity. From now on, you're the one and only heiress of the Lawrence family!"

Rosie was practically bursting with pride. Putting on a modest front, she unlocked the main gate and pushed it open.

She had expected a lush courtyard filled with flowers, maybe even a swimming pool.

Instead, as the heavy gate slowly creaked open, all that lay before them was a massive, foul-smelling mountain of trash.

"Ugh… What the hell… is this?"