Chapter 3

As the woman spoke, she set a tray down in front of me. On it were some stomach medicine and a warm bowl of oatmeal.

I swallowed hard. Even though she looked a little familiar, I still watched her with caution. "Who are you? And why are you bringing me food?"

The woman's eyes widened like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Ms. Summer, don't you remember me?"

I nodded slightly and told her I seemed to have lost my memory.

The look of pity in her eyes only deepened.

If she hadn't told me she was a maid, Melinda Cole, I would've thought she was the only one in this house who actually cared about me. After all, the people who locked me in this little dark room didn't even treat me like a person, much less feel any sympathy for me.

I thanked Melinda, took the stomach medicine, and lifted the bowl of oatmeal, gulping it down in big mouthfuls. It was just plain oatmeal, nothing special, but I had no idea how long I'd gone without eating.

"Slow down. If it's not enough, I'll get you more from the kitchen. I really don't know what Mr. and Mrs. Reid are thinking. How could they treat their own daughter like this?"

She looked at me with pity, feeling indignant for me.

From her, I learned some things about the Reid family. It sounded like something out of a melodrama.

My name was Summer Reid, and I was my parents' biological daughter. When I was born, they mixed me up with Ashley Reid, and we didn't get switched back until we were ten.

At first, my parents, Bobby Reid and Sapphire Loyes, along with my brother, Liam, felt guilty toward me, the child who had grown up outside the family.

But they favored Ashley more. And after she developed depression from feeling insecure and fearing they'd abandon her, my parents and Liam decided I should be the one to make sacrifices.

The big bedroom that was prepared for me was taken back. And even though I was the biological daughter, they told everyone that I was adopted.

They always assumed I bullied Ashley, and to make her happy, they built this room to punish me.

Melinda had only been working here a short time, and she'd already seen me locked in here dozens of times. Every time, I begged them not to do it. But the Reids never listened.

Melinda felt sorry for me, but as a maid, there wasn't much she could do. "Ms. Summer, you've tried everything to make them like you more. You don't deserve to be treated like this!"

She looked like she was about to cry.

Honestly, as I had lost my memory, I didn't care what that family thought of me. Listening to her talk about the past just felt like hearing someone else's story. I didn't feel sad or angry.

I took her hand. It was rough but warm. "Melinda, thank you. You've already helped me so much."

She brushed away her tears with her other hand, her eyes holding emotions I couldn't make sense of. Quietly, she murmured, "It's probably better that you don't remember any of that."

I heard her but didn't think much of it. I just kept eating. I was so hungry I felt like I could've eaten the tray too, but in reality, my appetite was strangely small. It was just a tiny bowl of oatmeal, yet I barely made it halfway before my stomach started to feel uncomfortably full.

I was reluctant to stop, but my stomach just couldn't take more.

I was about to hand the bowl back when a cold, icy voice came from the doorway.

"Melinda, Summer, what are you two doing?"