When I was wheeled into the sterile isolation room, my body ravaged by leukemia, my mother was busy begging her adopted daughter, Natasha, not to donate her bone marrow to me. On the surface, Natasha pretended to be the bigger person. But right when the chemo had wiped out most of my immune system, she sent me a text: “I faint at the sight of blood, so I can’t do it. Sorry.” “Why don’t you just die?” Later, I did exactly what they wanted. I died. But my mother went completely insane. “You’re backing out?!” “She is in critical condition right now! We can only keep her stable for another two days. Any further delay is a death sentence!” I forced my eyes open with great effort. Through the glass, I could see my primary physician shouting desperately into his phone. Don’t bother, I wanted to tell him. They won’t come. Because today was Natasha’s period. My mother always said that Natasha had a weak constitution and shouldn’t set foot in a depressing place like a hospital. Especially not for someone as insignificant as me. The oxygen mask felt freezing cold against my face. I couldn’t make a sound. Yet, a pathetic sliver of hope lingered in my chest. I strained my ears, trying to catch my mother’s voice through the receiver. Maybe… just maybe, seeing that I was on the brink of death, she would love me for once. But almost instantly, my mother’s cold, impatient voice shattered my illusion: “Is this about Audrey again? Are you two ever going to stop?” “First, she fakes an illness because she wants to ruin Natasha’s health with a transplant. Now she’s hiring actors to play doctors?” “She only has two phone calls left that I’ll actually answer this year. Tell her to stop wasting them.” She sounded so eager to hang up, not wanting to give me even a second to respond. That was when Natasha spoke up. Her voice had that familiar, sweet, gentle tone, but every word was laced with poison: “Mom, don’t be mad at Audrey. She’s just… immature.” Hearing her “understanding” adoptive daughter speak, my mother’s anger flared even hotter: “She’s an adult, yet she still reeks of that low-class, trailer-park vibe. And she’s proud of it!” Her coldness was dripping with disgust. How could a mother speak about her own biological daughter this way? But then again, this was the same woman who, when I was born, found me too “wrinkly and ugly.” She paid a massive bribe to swap me with a three-month-old baby in the next bassinet. If she could do that, what else was she not capable of? Of course, as a ruthless, highly successful corporate CEO, she had left a backdoor open. If I proved to be exceptional enough upon reaching adulthood, she would acknowledge me as her daughter. If only… I hadn’t gotten sick. “But Audrey is sick, Mom. If her adoptive mother in that run-down town finds out, she’ll accuse us of abuse again,” Natasha said, her voice dropping into a worried, dim tone. This immediately triggered my mother’s protective instincts. “Did that trashy woman harass you again?” Eleanor snapped. “There’s a massive flu outbreak in that trashy town right now anyway. If she actually catches it, she’ll be dead soon. Audrey should just hurry up and die too.” When Natasha heard her biological mother’s dire situation, she actually let out a soft, stifled laugh. Why? Why did a person like her get to be showered with love? My ragged breaths fogged up the oxygen mask, condensing into cold droplets. Drip. It fell right onto my chest, which was trembling in agony.
My adoptive mother, Sophie Miller—who was actually Natasha’s biological mother—had told me the truth ever since I was old enough to understand. I wasn’t her real daughter. She had given away her sick child with a congenital heart defect. “If she stayed with me, she wouldn’t have made it to ten. With a rich family, she had a fighting chance…” Sophie said she owed both of us a lifetime of apologies. But I felt incredibly lucky to have spent those years with her. She was illiterate, but she begged every school kid in our small town to teach me. It wasn’t until I was three that she pointed at a word in a borrowed book and gave me my name. “You’re going to grow up beautiful, learn every word in the world, and make everyone jealous of you.” But did a child like me, discarded by her own flesh and blood, really deserve such a future? I never complained. I was terrified of failing her expectations… terrified that she, too, would abandon me. I clawed my way up from the dirt, desperately trying to grab onto any stable branch on the edge of the cliff. Finally, at eighteen, I succeeded. A fleet of expensive luxury SUVs rolled into our dusty small town. My biological mother, Eleanor Clement, stood among them, though her expensive designer suit couldn’t outshine the sheer awe of the scene. People shook my hand with fake smiles, offering empty congratulations, their eyes already scanning for what they could gain from me. I didn’t care about any of them. I only looked at the woman at the back. Eleanor wore a sharp corporate blazer. She stepped close, slid off her sunglasses, and offered a faint, polite smile. “Audrey, right? I’m here to take you home.” That day, I thought I had finally made it to the top of the cliff. I thought I had finally reached solid ground. I thought I would finally receive love that didn’t require me to perform, to earn, or to beg. A mother’s love. Unconditional. Mine. I looked at her with pure, adoration-filled eyes. But she kept her gaze fixed straight ahead. I forced myself to calm down and followed her gaze to the end of the paved driveway. A beautiful girl was standing there. Her skin was milky white, entirely free of the calluses and roughness I had developed from working under the scorching sun. She spoke in a soft, melodic purr, nothing like my raspy voice, which had grown harsh from shouting at flea markets to make a buck. She had the confidence of someone raised by the most expensive private tutors. With just a fraction of the effort, she could attend the same elite schools as me. She was… better than me in every single way. The moment Eleanor saw her, a genuine smile lit up her face. “Natasha, meet your sister.” I stood frozen, refusing to budge. Almost defiantly, I stared at her. “My name is Audrey!” Natasha offered a sweet smile, but in a split second only I could see, her expression turned into pure contempt. “Nice to meet you. I’m Natasha.” Eleanor smiled and ruffled her hair. “Alright, sweetheart. I only brought you along because you insisted on meeting your sister right away.” “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let you come. This place is filthy, and your health is too delicate.” It felt like a heavy, suffocating net falling over me, leaving me nowhere to run. Instinctively, I looked back at Sophie. Sophie wiped her eyes, waving at me excitedly. “Go on, baby! Go!” “…Mom.” I didn’t even know which mother I was calling out to. I could only wipe away my tears in a rush as Natasha linked her arm through Eleanor’s and climbed into the car. Why was I crying? Sophie must have been wrong. I must be angry at her for lying to me for so many years. The one born for royalty was clearly Natasha. It was never me.
In the eerie silence of the hospital room, the dial tone from the hung-up call buzzed in my ears, making my head throb. The doctor let out a heavy sigh and quietly walked out. Amidst the constant beeping of the heart monitor, I forced myself to sit up. For the little time I had left, I didn’t want to spend it rotting in a hospital bed. That phone call had been so final. The doctor had hesitated several times before saying, “If there’s still hope, I’ll contact you immediately.” This was the first warmth I had felt since moving to the city. It didn’t come from my mother, but from a total stranger. I let out a bitter laugh, wrapped myself in a thick coat, and slipped out of the hospital. It wasn’t actually that cold outside. By the time I reached the art gallery, I was drenched in sweat. The doorknob was covered in dust. Strangely, the door was unlocked. I pushed it open with a gentle nudge. This gallery was my only solace. When I got my acceptance letter from Harvard, it generated a lot of positive PR for Eleanor’s company. She had smiled and asked me what I wanted as a reward. I wanted to go to the amusement park with her—a place I had only ever seen in books. I wanted to go camping with her, just the two of us. But Natasha had stared at me with such intensity that the words died in my throat. I could only clutch the hem of my shirt and whisper, “I don’t know.” The moment the words left my mouth, Natasha laughed. “We’re family now, Audrey. There’s no need to be so calculating, acting like you’re afraid of being shortchanged.” “I get that you just came from a trailer park and still have that petty mindset, but let me tell you, love can’t be bought with money…” Her words made Eleanor’s face darken instantly. “The poverty mindset is practically oozing out of her. How did someone like this even get a Harvard offer?” I opened my mouth to explain, but Eleanor wouldn’t hear a word of it. “You just want money, don’t you?” “I’ll give you a commercial storefront. Do whatever you want with it, but stop trying to guilt-trip me.” That night, I stayed up late, crouching outside Eleanor’s bedroom door, hoping she would give me a chance to explain. I wasn’t trying to guilt-trip her. I wasn’t greedy. I was just… a little jealous. But I promised myself I wouldn’t be anymore. I would get along with Natasha. I would treat her like a real sister. We could go to the amusement park together. But I never got the chance to say those words. Natasha had handed me a box earlier that day, claiming it was a gift from Eleanor and telling me to open it in my room. I had excitedly pulled out a beautiful, glowing crystal specimen. The faint, shifting light was so mesmerizing that it made my nose bleed. I quickly wiped the blood off the crystal and put it back. This was the first gift Eleanor had ever given me. I couldn’t ruin it. But the next second, my vision went black, and I collapsed. When I woke up, the doctors told me I had advanced leukemia. I didn’t have much time left. At the time, Natasha had visited me, clinging to Eleanor’s arm. “You were perfectly healthy back in the country. Now that Mom is pampering you with luxury, you suddenly get cancer?” “Audrey, stop throwing tantrums.” “If my existence pains you so much that you have to stage this dramatic illness to drive me away, I can just leave! I’ll give Mom back to you!” She wept bitterly, her entire body shaking with victimhood, looking as if she might faint from sheer grief. I stared at her coldly. Such a pathetic, obvious lie. Eleanor should have seen right through it. Yet, Eleanor immediately grabbed Natasha to comfort her. She looked at me, her eyes filled with cold disappointment. “Audrey, you utterly disgust me.” “Until you learn to stop bullying Natasha, you are only allowed to call me three times a year.” Now, I only had two calls left. I sighed as I walked deeper into the gallery. This place used to be filled with my paintings, but now, every single one of them had been defaced with red spray paint. Several ruined canvases were lined up to spell out a message: Do you like the gift Natasha gave you? Even if I told Eleanor, she wouldn’t believe me. Holding my breath, I dialed Eleanor’s number for the second time. “Mom, can you spend my birthday with me tomorrow?”
Tomorrow wasn’t actually my birthday. My birthday had passed months ago, unnoticed and uncelebrated by anyone. But let me manipulate her just this once. A long silence stretched over the line before Eleanor finally let out a heavy sigh. “Address.” I gave her the address of the gallery. Then, with agonizing effort, I stood up, cleared away the ruined canvases, and swept the floor. For our final meeting, let’s keep it clean. Let’s leave a decent impression on each other. I must have drifted off to sleep at some point. When I woke up, Eleanor and Natasha were already standing in front of me. Natasha puckered her lips, tears welling in her eyes. “Audrey, are you doing this on purpose to make Mom think I’m abusing you?” “Mom is incredibly busy with the company. I spent so much time convincing her to come, and I even prepared a gift for you…” I leaned heavily against the wall, barely managing to withstand the blinding pain wracking my body. Eleanor stared at my abnormally pale face, a flicker of hesitation crossing her eyes. For the first time, she didn’t immediately flare up at me to defend Natasha. Instead, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking genuinely exhausted. “Let’s sit down first.” I stayed glued to the wall. It hurt too much. Every movement pulled at a deep, bottomless well of despair. If only someone loved me… or if I could just drop dead right here. But nothing happened. Natasha and Eleanor began chatting like a pair of close friends. They talked about how Eleanor’s work had been stressful lately. A highly classified, hazardous radioactive isotope sample had gone missing from her bio-tech research lab. The question I wanted to ask—Did you not bring a cake for me?—was swallowed back into my stomach. It didn’t matter. I had a more important goal today. I pulled out the pages of a journal entry I had found, written in Natasha’s handwriting. “I suddenly found the gift Natasha gave me for my birthday earlier.” The perfect mask on Natasha’s face finally cracked. She bolted upright, knocking her chair backward. Forgetting to maintain her sweet image in front of Eleanor, she lunged forward, snatched the papers from my hands, and ripped them into shreds. “Liar! I never gave you anything like this!” I looked at Eleanor, my expression utterly blank. “So you mean… this was the gift I supposedly sent to Mom…” Only then did Natasha realize she had reacted far too violently. “What is wrong with both of you?!” Eleanor slammed her hand on the table, visibly irritated by the sudden chaos. Before I could speak, Natasha shot me a warning, icy glare. The next second, she beat me to it: “Mom, I think Audrey just wanted some sisterly bonding time, which is why she played this little prank.” Eleanor gave Natasha a suspicious look, but her phone started ringing. “Whatever. I don’t have time for your childish games.” The moment Eleanor stepped out of the room to take the call, Natasha abandoned all pretense. She lunged, wrapping both hands tightly around my neck, pinning me against the wall. “Audrey! I don’t care what you think you know. You will never beat me!” I had never wanted to fight her. I was only terrified that she would do something to hurt Eleanor. But as Natasha squeezed harder, my vision began to darken. I guess I wouldn’t be able to warn Eleanor after all. That was my last thought before I blacked out. “I already showed her the stone! By all accounts… she should have died of cancer long ago!” When my consciousness drifted back in waves, I saw Natasha pacing the room, frantically speaking into her phone. I didn’t know whether to praise my own stubborn body for refusing to die, or to marvel at how I always happened to wake up at the worst possible moments. “I stole it directly from Mom’s lab! Of course it’s real!” “With her pathetic, sentimental personality, she must have kept it close to her every single day. The cancer should have progressed way faster!” Through the haze, it clicked. I recalled seeing news reports about people getting terminal illnesses from being in close proximity to radioactive elements. I never imagined… Natasha was the one behind it all.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “460898”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster
