Chapter 4

Mom wanted to starve me for three days so I could think about what I did.' Alisha complained to herself.

I was miserable... Just how many days had it been?

After holding out as long as she could, Alisha finally broke down and called the police, desperate for them to take me to the hospital.

Of course, my mom found out and confiscated her phone.

While Alisha was caught up in her thoughts, the door burst open.

The room lights snapped on, and the sudden glare made me squeeze my eyes shut.

Any movement made my head buzz painfully.

I heard a blurry voice sneer, "What, you really thought calling the cops would save you? Alisha already sent them away! Do you have any idea what you've done? You almost turned the Avery family into a joke for everyone to laugh at!"

It was Sheldon.

His voice was full of contempt. "Ever since you crawled back here, it's like you poisoned the air in this house. Honestly, you should've just died out there.

"Then you wouldn't be here stealing Mom and Dad's love from Alisha, and you wouldn't have ruined her birthday dinner! Mom says you're going to go hungry for a few more days."

Her lips twitched as I tried to argue back.

But the moment I moved, my dry, cracked lips stung, and I tasted blood, a metallic sweetness on my tongue.

Desperate, I licked my lips, trying to catch even a trace of moisture.

I hadn't had a drop of water in ages.

Once my mouth felt a bit less parched, I shot a look at Sheldon.

I asked, "If you hate me so much, then why did you even come looking for me? You really think I wanted to come back to this family?"

If it wasn't for worrying about Camden being upset and crying, I never would've left.

Even if the Avery family promised Camden that I'd have a bright future, I still wouldn't want it.

I didn't want any of it.

Maybe it was the way I said it, so cold and final, that actually managed to sting Sheldon's pride.

He sneered, "Oh, please. You really think Mom and Dad would've dragged you back here kicking and screaming? You're just greedy for status, so stop pretending you're above it all. Let me make this clear: now that you're back, face the facts.

"Nothing in the Avery family is yours. They gave you ten years of shelter. That's more than anyone else would've done. If you so much as look at anything that belongs to Alisha, I'll make sure you regret ever coming back!"

I let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Sheldon, aren't you the real hypocrite here? Don't pretend you don't know I've never wanted anything of Alisha's. Or is this just the excuse you use to keep tormenting me?"

Sheldon looked absolutely livid.

I clenched my fists, trying to keep myself together and face him head-on.

The rough calluses on my hands dug into my palms.

My hands used to be soft and fair, all thanks to Camden's care.

But ever since I ended up with the Avery family, they had only gotten rougher and more calloused.

Mom and Dad always claimed they were just trying to teach me to be self-sufficient.

But Alisha never had to lift a finger.

I had to work with the housekeeper, and she went out of her way to make things hell for me.

But Mom and Dad just turned a blind eye, even giving her a raise like she was doing something right.

The housekeeper started treating me even worse, but I didn't dare speak up.

Even if I did, no one would take my side.

Things would only get worse for me.

Later, I found out Alisha had bribed the housekeeper with her allowance.

Alisha told her to 'take good care' of me.

So I had to show up at school in damp uniforms all the time.

My laundry was always my own problem.

And the housekeeper would run to Mom and Dad, saying I was ungrateful and refused to let her help with my clothes.

Mom and Dad forced me to kneel in the family shrine and think about what I'd done.

They insisted the Avery family had never treated their staff badly.

I knelt there for a whole day and night, and when I finally got up, I realized they'd moved me into the storage closet.

My old room had been turned into Alisha's art studio.

I just gave in. If I had to live in a storage closet, so be it.

Ever since the day I left Camden, I knew better than to expect anyone to stand up for me.

I knew better than to expect anyone to stand up for me.

Just like now, all I ever got from Sheldon was distrust and pain.

He didn't even deserve to be called my brother.

And those people he calls parents don't deserve to be mine.

So I looked at Sheldon and said, "Please, let me go. I just want to go back to where I belong."

Sheldon's face twisted with rage and contempt.

He stormed over and grabbed me by the collar.

Suddenly, I felt lightheaded and my vision blurred.

Sheldon's icy voice slithered into my ear like a snake's tongue.

"Home? I knew it. You only ever cared about that kidnapper brother of yours! You never once thought of this place as home! Arianna, let me make this clear: even if you die, you'll still rest in the Avery family's ancestral tomb."

I shut my eyes, completely hopeless.

And then everything went black.

Just before I passed out, I heard someone shout, "Arianna, go ahead, keep faking it!"

"Arianna! Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Wasn't it obvious? I was dying…

But I didn't die.

When I finally came to, the world was nothing but blinding white.

The harsh scent of disinfectant burned in my nostrils.