I was kidnapped for ten Christmases. When I finally returned home, I discovered my parents had adopted a new child. To avoid conflict between me and their “fake daughter” Janet White, they sent me to a popular reality show. Every day, I had to fight pigs for food, compete for sleeping space, and endure nightly brainwashing sessions where the crew made me chant a hundred times about how wonderful my parents and Janet were. One wrong move, and they would strip me naked, throw me into a well where I could easily drown, or leave me to suffer in some creepy old widower’s cabin. By the end of the show, I had finally become the “good child” and “big sister” my parents wanted. But on the day of the grand premiere, I walked off the edge of the TV station’s rooftop—my parents were completely devastated. ***** I knelt at the doorway, begging my father Richard White and mother Grace White. My voice was flat and mechanical as I recited the vows I had been forced to memorize. “I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. I know I messed up. I swear I’ll be good to Janet from now on. She always comes first. “Janet is the best. Janet is number one. Janet is more important than my life.” As soon as the words left my mouth, director Lucas Wright shouted, “Cut!” The reality show was finally over. Lucas announced we were done, but I remained kneeling, numb and unable to move. Meanwhile, Richard and Grace were all smiles, shaking Lucas’s hand as if he had just given them a miracle. “Thank you for training our Helena so well,” they gushed. “We’ll make sure every relative and friend watches when the show airs!” Lucas grinned and turned to me. “Helena, you need to maintain good relationships with your family now, understand?” He reached out to help me up, but I flinched, my eyes fixed on his extended hand. His arm froze midair as Richard snapped, “What kind of attitude is that?” I didn’t answer. Lucas just chuckled and ruffled my hair. “It’s no big deal. Girls get shy, right? She probably just going to miss us!” He patted my shoulder firmly, his eyes locking with mine. “Don’t forget how good we were to you.” My stomach churned, but I forced myself to nod, swallowing the tremor in my chest. After the crew left, Richard and Grace brought me inside. Just as I stepped through the door, I caught Janet rolling her eyes slightly, quick and secretive. But when Richard and Grace looked at her, she bounced over happily. “Helena! Oh my God, I missed you so much!” she said cheerfully. “You’ve been gone for so long—come on, let me show you your room!” Before I could respond, she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the bedroom. The door clicked shut, and her facade instantly vanished. “You little bitch,” she hissed through gritted teeth, her features twisted with malice. “Why did you have to come back? It would’ve been better if you’d died out there.” I stared at her, unmoved. I’d seen this act before. Years ago, when the police first brought me back from the village where I’d been trafficked, she had cornered me behind Richard and Grace’s backs, telling me to get lost. And I was their biological daughter. Seeing no reaction from me, her lips twisted into a sneer. Then, quick as lightning, she slapped herself across the face and collapsed to the floor. “Dad! Mom! Help!” she cried out. Richard and Grace rushed in. The red mark on Janet’s face was enough. Richard’s face turned purple as he kicked me to the ground. “What the hell did they teach you there?” he roared. “She’s your sister, and this is how you treat her? We shouldn’t have brought you back!” Grace held Janet, her eyes full of disappointment. “Janet has always been so good to you, how could you do this?” Richard pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the crew right now. Maybe they can take you back.” His words made my head buzz. Sending me to that nightmarish reality show had been Janet’s idea in the first place. For weeks, they treated me like an animal. They made me sleep in a pigsty, forced me to compete with pigs for food, claiming it was “character building.” At night, I had to kneel at the crew’s feet, listening to them drone on about how perfect Richard, Grace, and Janet were. If I dared resist, they would strip me naked and throw me into a well, leaving me shivering in the freezing water, one slip away from drowning. Worse still, they would lock me in some creepy old widower’s shack in the village to torment me. As the memories flooded back, I fell to my knees, banging my head against the floor. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” “I shouldn’t have hurt Janet. I’m the worst. I don’t deserve to live!” I kept repeating it, even as blood seeped from my forehead.
Richard and Grace stood there, shocked. Finally, Grace stepped forward, her expression softening, ready to help me up. But Janet let out a dramatic sob. “Please, Mom, Dad, don’t be mad at Helena. It’s my fault she hates me so much that she’d hurt herself.” Richard’s face darkened further. “You didn’t do anything wrong. She started this!” He rushed over and yanked me up by my arm. “Enough. We still need to try on new clothes. Let’s go.” At the mall, I nervously scanned the clothing racks, not daring to touch anything. Richard glanced at my tattered clothes with disgust, then pointed at me and shouted at the clerk: “Find her something decent. For God’s sake, she’s a girl—looking like this, it’s absolutely humiliating!” The clerk brought out a size chart and asked, “What size does your daughter usually wear?” Richard and Grace both turned away, their faces tightening with embarrassment. I had only been home for a short time after being sent to that reality show makeover program, still wearing the same old ragged clothes. They had no idea what size I wore. The clerk approached me with a measuring tape. From the corner of my eye, I caught Janet raising her phone, her gaze filled with malice. Her lips moved silently, saying: “Filthy slut.” In an instant, the world around me distorted. I was no longer in the store—I was back in that hellish village. Those leering staff members, with their disgusting smiles, ropes in hand, slowly closing in on me. “Stay away from me!” I screamed. They couldn’t catch me again—never. I frantically pushed the clerk away, my vision blurring, stumbling like a trapped wild animal. The mannequins around the store flickered in and out of focus, their blank faces transforming into the villagers who had humiliated me, their sticky gazes locked onto me, eager to grab me, pin me down, and tear my clothes apart again. I swung my arms, knocking over mannequins that crashed to the floor. Richard and Grace, startled by my outburst, rushed to grab me, but in my eyes, they were just more monsters trying to drag me back into that nightmare. I had to escape. Clothes flew off the racks and were trampled under my feet as I careened through the store. The manager shouted about calling the police. Finally, they cornered me in a fitting room, and the chaos stopped. Richard slapped me hard across the face. “What the hell is wrong with you?” The slap snapped my head to the side, my cheek burning with pain. I slowly turned back, meeting the naked disgust on Richard and Grace’s faces. Outside, a crowd of onlookers gathered, some whispering: “What kind of lunatic is this?” “God, she’s terrifying. If she’s sick, she should be locked up in a hospital, not scaring people here!” As the crowd’s mockery grew louder, Richard and Grace hurriedly took me out of the mall. Back home, Richard shoved me into my room. “You little brat! You did that on purpose, didn’t you? To humiliate us? To get revenge on us?” “Kneel there and think about what you’ve done!” I knelt down, lowering my head and curling up, a movement that had become instinctive now. They didn’t know that kneeling was the easiest part. I’d rather kneel a thousand times than be violated. Hours passed—I didn’t know how many—when Janet’s voice came through the door crack. “Why give her food? She made us all look like fools. She doesn’t deserve to eat.” “No water either. One night without food won’t kill her.” I curled up tighter, my body aching. I hadn’t eaten in two days since the show ended. Sharp pains twisted in my stomach. I needed something—anything. My gaze swept across the room, landing on a notebook on the bookshelf. Without thinking, I grabbed it, tore out pages, crumpled them into balls, and stuffed them into my mouth. The paper scraped my throat raw, but I was too hungry to care. The next morning, the smell of food wafting through the house pulled me from sleep. Outside my room, Richard and Grace were talking with someone. “Your older daughter is back, right? Why isn’t she out for breakfast?” a voice asked. Grace sighed, her tone full of annoyance. “She’s probably still in bed. Kids these days, lazy and spoiled.” “Well, things were completely different when we were young… I’ll go call her.” The bedroom door was pushed open abruptly. “Helena, breakfast,” Richard called. I stumbled out on shaky legs, dragging my steps into a dining room packed with guests, the table loaded with steaming dishes. I glanced at Grace. “Am I allowed to eat now?” She frowned, confused. “Of course you can eat. What, like we’re starving you or something?” Before she finished speaking, I rushed to the kitchen, grabbed the trash can, and began stuffing its contents into my mouth. It was all food scraps—fish scales, wilted lettuce, eggshells. I didn’t care. The room fell silent. Everyone stared at me with horrified expressions as I shoved garbage into my mouth.
A hand grabbed my hair, yanking me upright. Richard’s face was purple with rage. “Who taught you to eat this garbage?” he roared. His palm cracked across my face. “Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?” I didn’t flinch, just swallowed the food in my mouth, expressionless. Grace walked toward me but stopped when she smelled the fish stench on my clothes, gagging slightly. Her eyes softened with concern. “Helena, what’s wrong with you?” A shocked relative interrupted, “That’s Helena? What happened to her? Eating garbage… those traffickers are monsters!” Richard and Grace froze, their faces tense. They had always avoided the truth about my kidnapping. Many Christmases ago, during one of their heated arguments, they had threatened to “get rid of” a child, leaving me by the neighborhood dumpster. That’s when traffickers took me. Unable to face their mistake, they adopted Janet, pretending nothing had happened. Now, reality hit them hard. Richard’s grip on my hair loosened, and I collapsed to the floor. But I was still starving. I crawled back to the trash can, grabbing the unfinished scraps. Grace rushed over to stop me, but I mistook her for a crew member from the reality show. I bit down on her hand. She screamed, clutching her bleeding palm, her eyes filled with fear. “You bit me?” Janet rushed over, protecting Grace, glaring at me with pure hatred. “How could you do that to Mom?” The relative who had spoken earlier fell silent, staring at me like I was a monster. Richard’s temper exploded. He charged forward, kicking me away from the trash can. “You dare hurt your mother?” he bellowed, pointing at me on the ground. “I don’t have such an ungrateful daughter!” My throat was too dry to speak. I swallowed the apology I’d been trained to blurt out. The gathering dispersed, and to “teach me a lesson,” Richard locked me in the storage room. In the cramped, dark space, I instinctively wanted to curl up in a corner. My foot caught on a box, and I fell, knocking it over. Toys and clothes scattered everywhere. Panic swept over me. If Richard and Grace found out I’d messed up again, they would give up on me completely. I swallowed my fear and slowly moved to the door, turning on the light. The room brightened, and I saw my childhood toys and Christmas clothes scattered on the floor. At the bottom of the box was a photo of the three of us—Grace, Richard, and me—smiling carefree. On the back was Grace’s handwriting: [Forever love my precious daughter, Helena.] Tears slid down my face. I clutched the photo tightly, my knuckles white. I thought they had thrown all this away long ago. Maybe Richard and Grace hadn’t given up on me. Maybe they still loved me. A spark of hope ignited in my chest. If I told them what happened on the reality show, would they understand? Could they comprehend why I became like this? But then, I heard their voices outside the door. Richard’s tone was sharp, filled with frustration. “I just don’t know what to do with her. Why did we end up with such a useless child? I wish she had never come back!” “Don’t say that,” Grace whispered. “She’s still our daughter.” Her words warmed my heart, but only for a moment. Richard’s voice grew louder. “Compared to Janet? Please! Helena is a disaster. Who would want her?” “I wish we only had Janet,” he spat. “She’s sweet, considerate, always puts family first. But Helena? She only embarrasses us and causes trouble with her sister. This house hasn’t known peace for a moment!” Grace sighed heavily. “I’m thinking maybe we should send her away…” “Here’s the plan,” she continued. “Tomorrow, at the premiere event, we’ll talk to the director and see if they can take her back for more training. We’re willing to pay any price.” “And if that doesn’t work?” Richard growled. “We’ll dump her back in some remote garbage heap and be done with it for good.” Richard and Grace’s words completely extinguished what little hope I had left. I collapsed on the floor, staring blankly at the storage room door. I had been fooling myself all along. Richard and Grace had given up on me long ago, just like our family memories, carelessly tossed into boxes in this dust-covered room. The next morning, they let me out. Grace put a clean outfit on me. My eyes were vacant, my body unresponsive. Janet spoke up, her voice filled with fake concern: “Helena’s face is so dirty. Let me take her to wash up.” Her perfect daughter performance put Richard and Grace at ease. They allowed her to take me to the bathroom, but for safety—worried I might go berserk—they tied my wrists with rope. In the bathroom, Janet shoved my head into the toilet. “You piece of trash,” she snarled, “you think you deserve to wear the new clothes Mom and Dad bought?” “No matter how much you wash, you’ll never clean off the marks of all those men who used you.” The suffocation was nothing compared to the freezing well water I’d been forced to endure on the reality show. I didn’t fight back or say a word. Janet, bored with my silence, finally let me go. In the car, Grace hesitated, keeping her distance. “Helena, today is important. Can you behave?” I stared at the rope on my wrists, saying nothing. Richard snorted coldly. “Ungrateful little brat.” The car arrived at the TV station in the city, where director Lucas greeted us with a beaming smile. “Today’s the big premiere! I’m counting on you all to stir up some excitement!” Richard nodded. “Of course. But we still need your help. Our eldest daughter still has some bad habits. She needs more… correction.” Lucas’s smile deepened, his eyes scanning over me. “No problem. As long as you’re willing, we can keep helping her improve.” Before they could say more, Lucas’s assistant Noah rushed over. “It’s starting! Lucas, get the guests inside!” Facing the cameras waiting to film, Richard and Grace untied my wrists. Once inside, the flashing lights hit me, and I recognized familiar faces. The reality show crew—those who had treated me like livestock—sat in the “VIP” section. Richard and Grace, hearing these were people who had “taken care of me,” dragged me over to thank them. “Say it,” Richard hissed, “say thank you.” My stomach churned. When I didn’t move, he roughly pushed my head down. “Speak!” I opened my mouth, but all that came out was vomit, splattering all over the clean clothes they’d put on me. Richard’s face darkened, and he opened his mouth to yell, but the cameras made him hold back his anger. He swallowed his rage. Lucas quickly had someone take me to the bathroom to change clothes. This was just a small incident, and the premiere continued. From backstage, I heard Lucas’s confident, smooth voice: “Our show is dedicated to documenting the transformation of troubled teenagers. Our team works tirelessly to guide each young person toward a better path.” Then, Richard and Grace were invited on stage. “Thank you to Lucas and the entire team,” they said, “you’ve given our daughter a brand new start, a brand new life!” A brand new start? I laughed bitterly, turning toward the stairwell. ***** The host’s voice was loud and enthusiastic. “Now, let’s welcome the successfully transformed young lady—Helena!” Applause erupted, but the stage remained empty. Lucas’s face tightened as he began sending people to find me. Just then, his phone buzzed. He answered, and Noah’s panicked voice screamed through the phone: “Lucas! Helena jumped from the roof of the TV station!”
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