جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

I'm Chloe. Twenty-two years old.My father David needed the 'Family of the Year' title. It secured his Senate backing. He adopted Mia through a high-end agency. A perfect PR puppet. I refused their fake happy family game. I became a liability. Mia became their golden goose.Mia. Even her name sounded sweet.She was indeed a master of disguise. Bottom-feeder survival instincts gave her a massive gift. Pleasing rich people.Her arrival year, I was seven, she was six.I stayed quiet. Her mouth dripped with honey.She threw herself at Sarah. Called her "Mommy" in a soft sweet voice. Kissed David's cheek for the media cameras.David and Sarah fell for it completely."Look at Mia. So lovable." Sarah brushed Mia's hair. Glared at me. "Learn from her. Stop giving us your cold, ungrateful face."I stood in the shadows. Said nothing.Over those years.The rules of this rich suburban family turned into suffocating psychological abuse.Not obvious physical abuse. A deep, bone-chilling infiltra

That thug Earl loitered until eleven at night. The bodyguards kicked him out.David shoved him out the gates. Earl kept shouting back from the lawn."Mia baby. Pick up my call tonight!"The heavy oak doors slammed shut. The whole mansion was shaking.I lay in bed. Listening to the chaos downstairs.David roaring. Sarah crying and playing peacemaker. Mia screaming hysterically.Forty full minutes of madness. Then dead silence.I thought the farce was over.The next morning. I went downstairs for ice water.Mia sat at the kitchen island. Eyes swollen like ripe walnuts.She bit her lip upon seeing me. Silent.I couldn't be bothered with her either.Sarah walked over with oatmeal. Lovingly stroked Mia's hair."Stop crying sweetheart. He's just a lunatic. We'll have the lawyers file a Restraining Order today."Mia stirred her oatmeal. Stopped abruptly."Mom. I think this is too weird."Sarah frowned. "What's weird?"Mia looked up. Shot a venomous glare at me. Just for one second.Then insta

Seven-thirty AM. A high-end private club in Beverly Hills. David sat alone in the VIP lounge. His espresso was ice cold.I walked over. Pulled out a chair. Sat down."What exactly did you do to her?" He stared dead at me.I ordered a black coffee from the waitress. Slowly stirred in a Splenda packet. "I don't know your meaning."David slammed his hands hard on the table. The coffee cup jumped."Drop the act. Did you use some dark magic? Mia throws up from just drinking water. Take your anger out on me. Don't use your sister's life to vent!"Holding my black coffee. I laughed coldly. Fifteen years of bottled-up rage found the perfect release."Sister? She stole my things. You never treated her like my sister."David froze. His eyes darted away."My fifteenth birthday. I just wanted a new phone." I stared right into his eyes. Word by word. "You handed me a piece of trash with a cracked screen. That same week. Mia paraded around school with two brand new iPhones. Was that a coincidence to

Listened to the memo. Shoved the phone back in my pocket.Didn't go home immediately. Sat stubbornly in the studio until dark.Eight PM. Pushed open the grand mansion doors.Living room quiet as a grave. Sarah and David probably collapsed from exhaustion.Walked up the solid wood stairs. Pushed open the guest room door.Mia lay paralyzed on the rug like mud.Walked over. Grabbed her pajama collar. Dragged her into my room.Slammed the door locked.She fell on the rug like a broken puppet."Speak." I pulled up a chair. Looked down at her. "What have you known since we were kids?"Mia gasped for air. Bulging eyes terrifyingly bloodshot.Pushed to her absolute physiological limit."I know you're a monster." Her hoarse voice cracked into a hideous, miserable smile. "And I know. You make a wish. I get double."I looked at her coldly. Waiting for her to continue."I figured it out at age six." Mia's fingers clawed the rug. "Your birthday. You wished for an American Girl doll. I got two the n

The fluorescent lights in the hospital lobby were blindingly white.I gripped Sarah's wrist tight. She struggled hard. Couldn't break free.Dragged her all the way to the emergency stairwell at the end of the hall. The heavy fire door shut behind us. Completely sealing off the noise."Let me go!" Sarah screamed. Tears ruined her flawless makeup.Let go. Looked at her coldly: "Stop crying. Mia's heartbeat is back."She froze. Gasped. Then desperately grabbed my trench coat."You stopped? You finally let her go?""I let her go." I brushed her hand off. Voice cold as ice. "Now, your turn to give me an answer."Sarah's eyes darted around. Smoothed her messy hair. Trying to regain her high-and-mighty motherly poise."What else is there to say? You almost killed your sister.""Drop the act." I took a step forward. Glaring right into her eyes. "I already know. That damn protocol never took a single dime from me. It just created double for Mia out of thin air."Sarah jolted. Face went dead pal