Alle Kapitel von The Exposé: My Ungrateful Ward: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

"Mom, Dad, Hilda's adoption ceremony next week has to be grand. Make sure the town's big names are there. We can't have her feeling overlooked.""Exactly, honey. I've already ordered a couture gown for her. It cost a million dollars. And I've invited half the society ladies in town. Hilda will be the picture of grace."I blinked awake. At the marble dining table, Mom and Dad were deep in discussion about Hilda Oakley's adoption ceremony.Dad's voice carried the final weight. "We'll need to change your surname, too. From now on, you're a Cooper."Hilda beamed, sweetness pouring from her smile. "I have family now. Thanks, Mom and Dad. "The fork slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor, my chest burning with shock and fury.Dad's head snapped around, the warmth on his face icing over in an instant. "Valerie! What's gotten into you? If you're not going to eat, then leave!"I stared around the table, dazed, unable to take it in.I had been reborn at the very moment Mom and D

Mom and Dad never imagined that Hilda, who'd always seemed gentle, calm, and harmless, could harbor such venom beneath her quiet exterior.The uneasy silence was shattered when Alex strode in from outside.The instant his eyes landed on Hilda's swollen cheek, a blaze of fury lit his face. Without a word, he came at me and drove his foot forward with brutal force."Hilda is your sister! How could you treat her like this?"Had that kick struck true, it might have torn me apart inside. I slipped aside swiftly and swept my leg out, sending Alex crashing to the floor in a graceless sprawl.Scarlet with rage, he scrambled back to his feet. He was ready to lunge again until Mom and Dad's sharp command froze him in place.In the end, we barely touched our food before scattering from the table.I thought back to the way Alex had always treated me, and a knot of suspicion tightened in my chest.He'd kept me at arm's length since childhood. I once thought it was nothing more than his cold

After the hospital checkup, I made my way to school.When the last bell rang, Hilda showed up with her usual entourage and cornered me in the restroom. Her face was still puffy, and her eyes burned with spite."Teach her a lesson!" she hissed.I glanced at the gang that had always made me their target and raised a hand. "Wait a second."And then, just like that, Hilda's inner voice spilled into everyone's ears.'Why isn't that witch Janet doing anything? She never works. She just stands off to the side and watches. Next time, I'll beat her up too!'Ivy actually changed her hair today. Who is she trying to seduce? She's ugly and extra—a total brainless idiot, if I must add.'Weird. Lily's usually the one barking the loudest. Is she mute today? Give her a little money and she'll wag her tail. She doesn't even check if she's worthy of being my lapdog.'Janet Page, Ivy Horton, and Lily Reyes closed in on me, itching for the chance to throw the first punch.However, when Hilda's th

My eyes widened, my fingers curling into fists before I even knew it.Mom flinched too, her voice laced with confusion and a trace of irritation. "Why would we still adopt Hilda?"Dad exhaled, a long, weary sigh. "I spoke with the psychiatrist. He said Valerie's been drugged for years, and there's no coming back from it. Our daughter is shattered. And on top of that, we've wronged her before."She probably despises us. Who knows whether she'll be bitter or conspire against us one day? To me, she's nothing more than an ungrateful wretch."Mom stayed silent for a long moment before she finally agreed, "You're right. Let's adopt Hilda."A sense of chill seeped through me. I never imagined Mom and Dad would see me this way. Then again, they'd been no different in my last life.I was innocent. If they'd only cared to look, the truth would have been plain. However, they'd already branded me ungrateful and a bad seed.Every protest sounded like a lie. They never paused to listen before

Mom's grip tightened, her manicured nails sinking deep enough to break Hilda's skin, leaving angry red crescents that bled in thin streaksHilda screamed, thrashing against Mom's hold, but she couldn't break free. "Mom, what are you doing? Let go of me! You're hurting me! Have you lost your mind?"…Inside the operating room, the doctors who had only just laid down their instruments went still, trading bewildered glances.Dad stirred under the haze of anesthesia. When Hilda's inner voice reached him, a storm of fury and fear lit his eyes."Check me again!" he demanded.Alex quickly stopped him. "Dad, that's not necessary. The surgery worked!"Dad's breath came in ragged bursts. At his relentless insistence, the hospital carried out another round of thorough scans.That was when they uncovered a surgical blade, deliberately hidden in one of his organs. Had it gone unnoticed, he would have collapsed and died within a month.Just then, the DNA results arrived. The report confirme