The Daughter They Overlooked Novels & Stories

"That girl was supposed to be our ticket out of poverty! A billionaire son fell in love with her. An Ortega! Do you even understand the weight of that name? But no... she chose to be the massive disappointment she has always been." "My daughter is not a disappointment," my dad countered, his voice steadying. "If I failed as a father to provide for this family, that responsibility should never have been hers to take. She is young. We all make mistakes and learn from them. If an Ortega comes and goes, then he simply wasn't meant for her."

She had warned me this would happen, and I had become a little careless. "It's not my fault. I tried to keep her within the walls, but she—" I paused, clenching my fists. "She took her useless little brother with her, thinking he would save her, and that asshole didn't save her. The lover had men waiting for her. They all took advantage of my daughter. She's dying now–please save her." My voice broke at the thought of those men. Some of them were barely older than my daughter, yet there was such monstrosity in them.

Never judge a rich man by his cover. They always have something missing. They can't truly have it all. And then there were the children. The sassy, dismissive nineteen-year-old daughter, Alice, who looked at me like i was something she'd scraped off her shoe. And Stefan, whom I'd never met until today.

None of them were interested in mingling with the crowd, so gossip became their pastime. “It’s the First Branch’s only daughter,” one of them said. “Of course the Roans would give this night top priority. Yvette won a national competition—she’s brought real glory to the Roans. Compared to the welcoming banquet for the missing daughter, that was nothing.” “What do you mean, the First Branch’s only daughter? They have two daughters now,” a young man teased, deliberately bringing up the forbidden topic.

My father’s jaw tightened. “Sofia is not some girl,” he said. “She has been a DeLuca for fifteen years. She is my daughter. Yvette may share my blood, but she was raised somewhere else and brought back every bad habit that comes with it. She has done nothing since arriving but turn this house upside down.” I said nothing. Kane mistook my silence for guilt. He strode to the bed and pointed straight in my face. “What, no act this time? Listen to me. I don’t care what name you carry. Sofia is the only real daughter this family has. You? You’re poison.”

Even the blood still running down my forehead seemed to turn cold. So in her eyes, her eldest daughter was just an unsightly embarrassment, something that couldn’t compare to Suri in the slightest. I struggled to my feet and started toward the door. I didn’t want to stay here for even one more second. I didn’t want to watch Mom and her precious Suri clinging to each other while I stood there like a stranger. However, before I could reach the door, Mom blocked my path. Frowning, she rummaged through a box, pulled out gauze and antiseptic, and shoved them into my hands.

“Whether you like it or not she is not like Rose, she is a great actor to keep playing the sweet daughter with you… So stop acting surprised about what is going on in your life and focus on protecting her” I dropped back into my chair, thinking back to all of the clues I must have missed. She told me she doesn't want to start college immediately, I thought it was to ensure Leah wasn't left behind. I have always thought about not needing many security guards for her because she never gets attacked. Thinking back now, I realized she isn't the delicate baby girl I used to know. She is Don Moreno's granddaughter. What else about my daughter have I missed? “Snap out of it, dim wit” she half-yelle

"Oh, that's right. Mary left this in the bus yesterday. I wanted to return it to her today." I stared at the hair clip. It was the same one that I had clipped into her hair yesterday morning. Why? Why did everyone say that I didn't have a daughter? Why didn't Marilyn's records exist even in the police database? "Are you alright, Mrs. Lopez?" Oliver asked, looking at me worriedly. I shook my head. My mind was a mess. Just then, I recalled something important. "Oliver, your father…" Oliver's eyes dimmed. "He passed away a year ago," he murmured.

She settled onto the couch, her gaze drifting over the remnants of our life together, just the two of us against the world. The clothes I had bought her, her childhood toys, and the awards on the wall she had earned over the years–it all brought fresh tears to her eyes. "Mom, I gave all the money you gave me to Frank, and I fought with you. How can you not be mad at me?" "Because you're my daughter, sweetheart. We all mess up sometimes. The key is being able to turn things around once you realize you've gone wrong." After the cops nabbed Frank, they did not waste any time digging up the dirt on him.

But because she wanted to be with her father so badly, she chose to ignore the call. The memory of what happened to her dad recently was burned into her mind. She had disobeyed him and even fought with him. Before they could truly make up, he had an accident and nearly slipped away from her. Yes, he was back, but he had no memory of her. She didn't want a repeat of that tragedy. She wanted to be a good daughter, even if it meant abandoning Aunt Laureen. Laureen clenched her fist, her grip tightening on her phone. She had been calling Zendaya multiple times now, and the brat was ignoring her!