Semua Bab I Was the "Adopted" Kid They Trained: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The fruit plate I was holding fell to the ground with a sharp clatter.The conversation in the room halted as I bent over to pick up the scattered grapes and oranges, my hands shaking.My mom, Lindsay Sutton's footsteps, grew closer, and she opened the door. When she noticed me squatting on the ground, her expression changed momentarily before returning to normal."Beth, why are you so clumsy? You can eat the ones that fell on the floor. Wash another batch and bring them over." She sounded perfectly calm, like nothing had happened at all.I looked up at her and, for the first time, really studied her features.My almond-shaped eyes and curved brows looked just like hers, but because I was so sure that I was adopted, I never dared to think about it that way.My aunt, Brianna Lane, poked her head out from behind Mom. A flicker of awkwardness appeared on her face when she saw me.I didn't say anything and walked to the living room.When I passed the dining room, Harper Ingram was

A week after the new semester started, the school announced that the dorm and textbook fees would cost 2,800 dollars altogether.The DNA test had already eaten up almost all the money I had, so after hesitating for a while, I finally picked up the courage to call Mom.When I told her what I wanted, there was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds."Why do you need money again? Didn't I just give 300 dollars last month?""That was for my living expenses. This is for tuition.""Ugh, fine. I'll transfer it to you later."I waited a whole week, but nothing came. So I called Mom again. "Mom, the tuition…""Beth, why is it that every time you call, you're asking for money? Harper's dance classes cost 4,000 dollars a semester, and Simon just signed up for driving school. Even though you're our adopted daughter, you're already an adult now. You can't just keep asking us for money."Maybe I stayed quiet for too long, because when Mom finally spoke again, her voice had tu

After moving to Southia, I found a small apartment near the office. My landlady, Cate Moore, was a woman in her 60s. Her son had settled in another city, so she had an old place sitting empty and decided to rent it out.The rent was 1,200 dollars a month, and the place had one bedroom, a living room, and was only four bus stops from work.I didn't think too hard about it and signed a one-year lease right away.The company gave the new hires three days of training. There were four recent graduates in my group, including a local guy named Liam Ziegler.He'd interned at the company during his second year of grad school, so he was more familiar with the process than the rest of us.When Liam took us to the cafeteria for lunch, he mentioned, "Your first month's paycheck will be delayed, so you might only get half a month's pay at first. Once you're officially hired, though, the quarterly bonuses are pretty good. The design department gave out an average of 8,000 dollars per person last

The company held its annual meeting in early April, and I won the Outstanding Newcomer of the Year award, along with a certificate and 5,000 dollars."Man, you've only been here six months. Somehow you've already done a year's worth of work," Liam teased."Well, it's not like I had anything else going on.""Did you work this hard back in Berton too?"I just put the certificate away.At the end of April, I got a call from an unknown number on my old line. I didn't plan to answer it at first, but then I noticed the area code was from Berton.A middle-aged man's voice came through. "Hello, is this Beth Ingram?""Yes.""I'm calling from Berton Hospital. Your father was brought in after having a heart attack this morning. He put you down as his emergency contact, and he's in the ICU now. Your mother wants you to come back as soon as possible."I froze for a few seconds. "Alright."I sat at my desk and thought about it for three minutes before opening the ticket app. The high-speed

I dived back into work after returning to Southia. My schedule was packed with projects, and I worked late every day until 9:00 pm.Liam could tell something was off with me, so he asked about it over lunch. "You went back home?""Yeah.""Oh, did something happen?""My dad had a heart attack and ended up in the hospital.""Then why didn't you stay a few more days?""I stayed long enough."Liam gave me a look but didn't ask further.In the middle of May, Mom called my old number several times, and every call went straight to the voicemail on my new number. Now and then, I'd listen to them.In the first one, she said, "Beth, please. I'm begging you. Just call me back."In another, Mom said, "Your dad's doing much better. He keeps asking about you. Can you come back one more time?"The third was different. "Beth, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated you that way. Please come home. We can sit down and talk."By the fourth call, Mom wasn't crying anymore. She'd switched