Chapter 3

The room was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop.

I took my time flipping through a couple of pages of the notebook.

Inside were quite a few photos, one of me receiving a scholarship in high school, another of me collecting money at a breakfast stall, and even one of me walking home with a bucket slung over my shoulder.

Beside every picture was a handwritten note.

[This face was never meant for public occasions.]

[Bringing her back will only bring shame on us.]

[I need to make her pack up and leave on her own.]

After I finished reading, I looked up and smiled at Sophia by the door. "You know, Sophia, most fans aren't even this dedicated. Stalkers included."

Her lips quivered as she rushed out, "I can explain this."

"Go ahead," I said. "I'm listening."

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I was just so terrified. I grew up in this family, and then suddenly I found out I'm not even their real daughter. I didn't know what to do. I was scared you would hate me, and that once you came back, the whole family would throw me away."

I nodded slowly. "So, because you were afraid of losing things, your first instinct was to destroy me. That actually makes perfect sense in a twisted kind of way."

Through her sobs, she managed, "I was just writing things down to let off steam. I never really wanted to hurt you."

I closed the notebook, walked to the door, and handed it directly to Mary as she hurried over. "Here, Mom. Take a look. Your precious daughter of eighteen years has already done her research on me, right down to taking photos all the way in the town.

"She keeps saying she was afraid I wouldn't like her, but what she really wanted was for me to disappear from the face of the earth."

Mary's hands trembled as she flipped through a few pages. "Sophia, what is going on here?"

Sophia threw herself at Mary, crying. "Mom, please just listen to me. I was only scared."

I stood to the side, neither crying nor making a scene.

If anything, my voice came out even softer. "So now you understand. That bowl of sweet soup tonight wasn't an accident. She's known exactly who I am for a long time, and she's been guarding against me just as long."

Richard must have heard the noise, because he came upstairs as well.

After he read through the notebook, his face turned dark, but even then, he turned to me first. "Look, even if Sophia was struggling with some feelings about all this, you didn't have to make such a huge scene."

I nearly laughed out loud. "She's been secretly following me for an entire year and filled a whole notebook with her hatred, and you call that 'struggling with some feelings.' But when I simply show you the proof, I'm the one making a scene. Dad, you're not even trying to hide your bias anymore."

Mary opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words died in her throat.

In the end, Victor was the one who took charge. He took the notebook away and sent Sophia off to reflect on what she had done.

*****

The next morning, Victor called me into his study. "You'll be starting at Sophia's school next week."

I hesitated for a moment. "St. Andrews Academy?"

"That's right." He held my gaze. "Now that you're back, you might as well step out into the open with your head held high. Hiding isn't going to help."

I knew exactly what he meant. For a family like the Evanses, the return of their real daughter was never going to stay a secret for long, and sooner or later, I would have to be presented to the world.

If sneaking around wasn't an option, then I might as well meet things head-on.

"Fine," I said.

But the moment I stepped out of the study, I heard Sophia's cloyingly sweet voice drifting up from downstairs.

"Don't worry, everyone. I know my sister grew up in a small town, but she's really trying her best. Once we're at school, I'll make sure to take good care of her." She was on the phone with one of her friends.

Every word sounded like she was standing up for me, but underneath it all, the condescension was dripping through.

I stood at the top of the stairs and listened until she finished, then turned back to my room, pulled out my phone, and went straight into their group chat, something I had found tucked away in the drawer of her vanity table.

The moment I joined, the conversation was already in full swing.

[So the real daughter is finally here? I bet she's incredibly rural.]

[Sophia, you poor thing. Now that the biological one's back, what are you going to do?]

[Your sister isn't going to show up at school and make a fool of herself, is she?]

I typed back without hesitation. [Don't worry. I'll make sure to put on a good show. And I'll start with whoever's got the nastiest mouth.]

The chat went completely silent. Three seconds later, my phone rang. It was Sophia calling.

I picked up, and her voice came through cracked. "How did you even get into that group?"

Leaning back against my headboard, I smiled. "Why are you so nervous? I just wanted to get to know the people I'm going to be shutting down."

She fell silent on the other end, her breath catching in her throat.

Then I added, nice and slow, "Oh, and on the first day of school? You should probably bring all your little friends together. I'd hate to have to go looking for each one individually."

The line went dead quiet.

I hung up and tossed my phone onto the bed.

That evening, the school sent out the class assignments, and as it turned out, Sophia and I would be in the same homeroom, with my seat placed right next to hers.

Apparently, even the universe was worried I wasn't going to lose my mind quickly enough, so it decided to hand me a perfect target.