Chapter 2
The entire family fell into silence following the assistant’s words. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Kyler’s face suddenly turned pale. A few seconds later, he punched the wall and roared, “Dammit! That old man is insane! If he doesn’t want to tell us where she is, fine, but to pull a crazy stunt like this...”
“That’s right. It must be a prank of his,” my mother said, as if trying to convince herself.
“Honey, that wicked girl certainly isn’t our child. Don’t waste your energy,” my father told her. “She has a foul heart and is utterly degenerate. She doesn’t resemble either of us in the slightest.”
“Exactly, she’s so good at fighting and bullying others, how could she possibly be dead?” Jason added.
But that sentence made my mother scream, “Don’t say such cursed things! Quickly, we must go find Natalie. I have to clear this up!”
In her eyes was anger but she couldn't hide her panic. I looked at her with a bit of surprise. Didn't she hate me? In her mind, I was just the orphan who constantly bullied and harmed her precious Jasmine.
Seeing my mother’s resolve to go, Jasmine was startled, but immediately switched to her obedient persona to support her, “Mom, I’ll go with you. Let’s go to the school dormitory to find her.”
The people behind them looked disgusted but followed nonetheless. They quickly drove to the high school dormitory where I had lived after leaving The Orchard.
The distinguished Larson family, dressed in expensive designer clothes and escorted by bodyguards, suddenly appeared at the dilapidated dormitory with peeling paint, drawing curious glances from students in the surrounding rooms.
“Which room is she in?” Kyler asked impatiently, looking with disdain at the pathetic, cramped rooms where ten students were squeezed into each.
Jason stepped forward and knocked on the door of room 203. He used to be my best friend. There was a time when he would come every day to ask me how to solve homework problems and play with me. But after Jasmine moved to our class, he fawned all over her and turned to loathe me.
“The Larsons are here looking for their daughter? Is the rumor true? Is Natalie their lost daughter?” a few students standing nearby observed and whispered.
“Are you crazy? How could she be their daughter? She’s a famous thug. She once shoved Jasmine into a trash can,” one person said.
“Cough, cough, cough...” Jasmine suddenly coughed, clutching her chest weakly.
“What’s wrong, honey? Is it too dusty here?” My father immediately rubbed her back in worry and addressed the group. “Perhaps we should head back. Staying here long isn’t good for her health.”
“I’m okay, Dad,” she smiled obediently. “I can handle it. I also really hope to find my sister.”
Seeing this, a student lamented, “Jasmine really is a good girl. She must be feeling unwell because she’s remembering being bullied by Natalie in the past, yet she still endures it.”
“Exactly, why isn't she the biological child of the Larsons?” someone else added indignantly.
“But why haven't I seen Natalie at school lately? I saw the police come to our school once, looking very grim!” another person noted.
Jason’s fingers knocked harder on the door.
“Stop knocking so hard! You’re going to break our door.” At that moment, the door opened, and several of my former roommates appeared.
Seeing the Larsons standing outside, Mia, my best friend, jeered angrily, “What? You’ve finally decided to acknowledge Natalie?”
Because the school feared shocking the students, the news of my death had been kept quiet. Only a few friends and “family” knew. I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Mia would probably be devastated if she knew that, even now, the Larson family still knew nothing.
“Where is she?” Jason asked bluntly, his eyes scanning the cramped dorm room.
“Who are you asking?” Mia snapped back.
Kyler impatiently took it upon himself to step inside, shouting, “Natalie, come out here now!”
“Hey, who gave you permission to barge in? This is…” Bella, another friend, said indignantly, stepping forward to stop him, but she quickly shrank back in fear when she met his terrifying glare.
Kyler was famous for being a cold and ruthless CEO. Now, he was furious because he couldn't find me.
His eyes, full of fire, quickly swept toward the only empty bed and desk in the room.
“Search! See where the shirt is,” he ordered the bodyguards.
They immediately lunged forward, ransacking my belongings.
“Hey, stop it! Are you people insane?” Mia screamed. “You’ve always treated her terribly before, and now you’re even destroying the last of her things?”
I was angry too. Normally, I would have rushed in to fight them, but now my body was just a transparent ghost. They all walked right through me.
“Then tell her to come out!” Kyler stopped and turned to look at her, the veins in his eyes bulging as he gritted out every word. “Didn’t she claim to be a daughter of the Larson family? Why is she hiding now?”
“She isn’t hiding!” Mia replied, both angry and heartbroken to the point of tears. “She can’t... she can't see you anymore. Kyler, even if she isn't your sister, why do you all hate her so much?”
“Do you even need to ask?” he sneered, gesturing slightly toward the door. “Can’t you hear? Everyone knows she always bullies my sister Jasmine. She was jealous because Jasmine is a child of a wealthy family while she is just a...”
He trailed off, not finishing the sentence as if considering something. But I understood what he meant. Kyler had scolded me many times as a “girl with no parents” and “uneducated trash” because he thought I was the mastermind behind the times Jasmine was bullied. But I myself didn't understand why she was so often beaten until her face was bruised or locked in the restroom.
There was only one time, I...
“Natalie never bullied Jasmine!” Mia shouted. “The only time she shoved Jasmine was because there was a snake nearby. She wanted to save her. She only happened to shove her into the trash can.”
The chattering crowd suddenly went silent. Kyler was momentarily stunned. I looked at Mia, feeling grateful but equally sorry for her. Previously, she had asked why I didn't explain that clearly, but I had no evidence, so I only smiled sadly.
“You’re her friend, you’ll say anything. Stop making excuses!” As expected, Kyler didn't believe Mia and questioned her.
“You—”
“That story is true.” While she was struggling to argue back, a student from the crowd raised a hand. “I saw that snake once. Natalie was almost bitten by it while trying to drive it away.”