Chapter 2
I knew Grace would never have a second child.
She and Edward had discussed it before the wedding, and I'd overheard their agreement.
Emily hung up the phone and came back to where I was sitting, but when she looked at me this time, the warmth from before had vanished. She sighed and said, "Juliana, you stay here and play. I need to go change."
I nodded, knowing she was really going to find William.
A few minutes later, the door swung open, and three girls about Emily's age walked in, all wearing pretty, expensive dresses. "Where's Emily? I thought she was supposed to be here," one of them said.
They looked around the room, but instead of finding Emily, they spotted me playing with my toys. "Who's this kid? Hey, do you know where Emily is?"
I sat on the sofa while the three of them walked over and looked down at me.
I pressed my lips together, shook my head, and then pointed in the direction Emily had gone.
"Why aren't you talking? Whose kid are you? Why are you in here all by yourself?" one of the girls asked, her curiosity obvious.
"This is the host family's room. What's your relationship with Emily?"
"Wait, that dress she's wearing looks just like Emily's. It's from the same haute couture collection."
"I heard Emily's stepmother brought a daughter when she married into the family. Is that you?" When they said this, all three of them covered their mouths and started laughing, like it was the funniest joke they'd ever heard.
Their laughter made my stomach twist, so I put down my toy and hopped off the couch, ready to go find Grace.
"Hey, where do you think you're going, little burden?" one of them said, and they grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me backward.
They pulled too hard, and my collar suddenly tightened around my throat. My eyes rolled back, and a strangled whimper escaped before I could stop it.
Emily walked in right at that moment and saw them choking me. She gasped and ran over, snatching me away from them. "Juliana, are you okay?" she asked, her voice shaking.
The three girls jumped back, startled. "We didn't mean to," they said quickly.
I coughed a couple of times and patted Emily's hand to let her know I was fine.
Emily looked at the tears streaming down my face, and her expression hardened. "You come to my house as guests and you make my sister cry? What the hell are you even doing here?" she demanded.
"We already said it was an accident. Why are you yelling at us?" one of the girls shot back.
"Wait, she's actually your sister? How come she doesn't say anything? Is she mute or something?" another girl said with a sneer.
I could tell these three didn't like Emily very much.
"That's none of your business," Emily snapped. "You clearly have no manners. Get out of my room."
After all that commotion, any normal kid would have made some kind of noise. The three girls stared at me with strange expressions and started giggling.
"Emily, you're so pathetic. Your dad married some woman and brought home a disabled sister for you. That's hilarious," one of them said.
"I mean, how many kids in our circle are actually disabled? Like, none," another added.
"You act so high and mighty at school, but let's see you try to be superior now," the third one said.
Emily wrapped her arms around me and took a deep breath. "Is this how you were raised?" she asked, her voice sharp. "I don't care if my sister is disabled or not, but even if she was, who taught you to look down on people with disabilities?"
She continued, her tone firm and unyielding. "This room has cameras. I'm going to have the housekeeper download all the footage and send it to your parents. And when they see it, you'd better come to our house and apologize to my sister in person."