Chapter 2

Belle stood by the shore, looking down at Winton thrashing in the water. Her voice was calm when she said, "If you don't like me, then just die."

She was pure evil.

I got lost when I was three. Three years later, my dad noticed my mom wasn't doing well mentally. He was afraid she'd hurt herself, so he adopted a girl my age to help her feel better.

They raised Belle like their real daughter. They never hurt her. They never even said a harsh word to her.

But Belle still turned out twisted. The only reason could be that she was just born that way.

Winton's cries for help were getting weaker. Belle looked around to make sure no one was watching, then turned and ran.

That was when I stopped recording and rushed in to save him.

When I got lost as a kid, a private orphanage near the ocean took me in. The director there taught us to swim from a young age, so I became a really strong swimmer.

I pulled Winton out and did emergency first aid. After a while, he started breathing again.

He coughed a few times and said thanks, his voice still shaky.

"Don't mention it," I said. "You were in the water a long time. You should probably go to the hospital and get checked out. I've gotta go."

I was in a hurry to get home and video call my parents. I walked fast toward the school gate, not caring that my clothes were soaking wet.

A month ago, when the police took me home, one of the Willis Group's overseas branches ran into serious trouble. My parents had to fly out immediately to deal with it.

The butler handled all the paperwork to get me into Eastview School.

That was why I used to think my parents didn't love me, and I never really got close to them. Not until after I died and saw their hair turn white overnight did I finally realize how wrong I'd been.

But this time, I wasn't gonna let Belle—or that lying butler and the fake servants in our house—get away with anything.

There were a bunch of cars parked at the school gate. Our family's luxury van was the nicest one there.

Belle was standing beside it, laughing and chatting with some girls.

When she spotted me coming, she leaned over and said something to them. They looked back at me, then giggled and whispered.

"Is that Ramona?"

"Yeah, that's her, Belle's dad's secret daughter. They brought her home last month."

"I heard her mom caused a huge scene at Belle's place. That's the only reason Belle's dad agreed to let Ramona live with the Willis family."

"She's so shameless. Poor Belle."

"Belle, look at that secret daughter from your family. She acts like everyone owes her something."

"Belle, you're way too nice to wait for her to go home with you. If it were me, I'd tell the driver to leave her behind and let her walk."

Belle gave them a fake annoyed look, like she was trying to defend me. "Don't say that. She's still my dad's daughter. She's my sister."

Then she turned to me with a sweet but obviously fake smile. "Ramona, there you are. Let's go home. Oh no, why are your clothes all wet?"

I looked at her fake concern and rolled my eyes. "Cut the act. Who do you think you're fooling?"

Belle looked around, then stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Ramona, why are you being so mean to me? Keep this up, and I'll tell the driver not to pick you up anymore.

"You know the servants at home all watched me grow up. Mom and Dad don't care about you—they only listen to me."

She looked me up and down. "Look around. Does anyone even like you? So what if you're prettier than me? Everyone still thinks I'm the prettiest girl in school."

Then, out of nowhere, Belle grabbed my hand and threw herself backwards.

"Ramona! Why did you push me?" she shouted.

She jumped in the car with tears in her eyes, pretending to be scared. She quickly locked the doors. "Ramona, please! Don't hit me!"

In an instant, every student and parent nearby—and even our family's driver—turned to look at me like I'd done something terrible.

I let out a cold laugh. "Come on, stick your head out. Let's see if I dare hit you.

"Listen! I didn't touch you, but even if I did, so what? You've been trash-talking my parents and me behind my back, telling everyone I'm a secret daughter. Don't you think you deserve to be hit?"

Belle shook her head fast. "I didn't! Ramona, you've got it all wrong. Why would I say you're Dad's secret daughter? That'd hurt Mom and Dad if they heard it."

She looked at the driver nearby. "Gary, I really didn't say anything like that."

Gary nodded right away. "Ramona, come on. Belle would never say something like that. You probably just heard some dumb rumor. It's all nonsense."

I let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, really? You're taking her side now, huh? Do you even know who's the real daughter and who's the adopted one?"

The students around us exploded with whispers after I said that.