My life was cursed from the start. Broken leg at three. Deaf in one ear by five. Eye lost by eight. After my rich parents finally took me home, Chloe, the fake heiress, hissed a cruel threat. “Even if you’re back, I’m still the only Hayes daughter! Try anything, and I’ll break your other leg!” I stared, uncomprehending. Then, without a word, I detached both my prosthetic legs. My parents’ faces drained of color as they saw my empty pants legs. My brother Caleb’s expression darkened. He leaned in, his voice a low warning not to upset Chloe. I just pointed to my ear with an innocent look and shouted. “WHAT?! Someone beat me deaf in this ear! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” He staggered back, looking like he’d seen a ghost. At the gala, Chloe tried to frame me, faking a fall down the stairs. In the process, she tore my dress. Just as Caleb led my parents over to confront me, they saw my body covered in scars. The world froze. My father rushed to wrap me in his arms. “What happened?! Tell me!” Seeing their horror, Chloe scrambled to her feet, desperate to distance herself. “I didn’t do it! Don’t you dare blame me!” I nodded. No, she didn’t do it. The traffickers did. I was the only child from my village to ever escape alive. I’d made a promise to the little friends I left behind. I would make the monsters pay.
“It wasn’t me.” Chloe’s voice dissolved into a perfect, trembling sob, her eyes seeking refuge in Caleb’s. Caleb understood immediately. He moved to shield her, his voice hardening into a blade of conviction. “Mom, Dad, listen to me. Aria’s just playing the victim to frame Chloe!” “You know Chloe. She could never do something so cruel. Never.” I wrapped myself in the clothes the butler, Mr. Davies, handed me, hiding the scars that covered my body. Even though I couldn’t stop trembling, I tried to smile at them. “Mom, Dad, Caleb’s right. My injuries really have nothing to do with Chloe.” “I did all of this to myself to play the victim and frame her.” During those years with the traffickers, I’d learned to be compliant to avoid another beating, to suffer a little less. Accepting charges I didn’t commit was always better than resisting and earning a fiercer beating. But to my surprise, as soon as the words left my mouth, my parents’ faces darkened. Smash. Dad slammed the glass he was holding onto the floor. His hand trembled as he pointed accusingly from Chloe to Caleb. “Look! See what you did? Aria’s not making any sense!” Chloe and Caleb stared, their faces paling. Just then, a girl in an evening dress caught Chloe’s look and stepped out. “Who hurt her earlier is one thing,” she declared, then thrust an accusing finger toward me. “But she just kicked Chloe down the stairs! In front of everyone.” Caleb jumped on it instantly. Her left foot! I saw it too!” he shouted, backing her up. All eyes were on me again. I peeked out from behind Mom, my face etched with confusion and helplessness. Under everyone’s gaze, I timidly bent down and slowly pulled up my left pant leg. It was empty. I looked up, my eyes fearful. “Mom, Dad, even though… even though my left prosthetic leg is being serviced today…” “But since Caleb and Tiffany saw me kick Chloe down the stairs, then… then it must have been me.” As I spoke, I tugged at Chloe’s dress, trying to appease her. “I’m sorry, Chloe, it was my fault. I’ll apologize to you right now.” With that, I used my one remaining prosthetic limb to support myself, hopped to the second floor, and without a second thought, leapt over the railing. Silence descended for a moment. Then, a piercing scream erupted from the crowd. “Aria!!” Mom and Dad frantically caught me. Mr. Davies stumbled and crawled to find a doctor. Caleb and Chloe stood frozen, dumbfounded. The other guests’ expressions were like they’d collectively seen a ghost. “Doctor! Get a doctor, now!!!” Excruciating pain shot through my limbs. Amidst the shouts, the light in front of me faded, and I slowly closed my eyes.
That night, Mom and Dad reviewed the surveillance footage from every corner of the house. Chloe’s entire self-orchestrated scheme played out clearly on the screen, leaving nowhere to hide. The evidence was undeniable. Facing their questions, Chloe rubbed her red, tear-stained eyes, her voice full of grievance. “I’m so sorry.I really didn’t mean to frame her.” “I was just so scared. What if she shows up and you just replace me?” Caleb was beside her in an instant. “You heard her! Chloe’s just insecure!” “She’s lived here for over a decade. Someone suddenly comes back to take everything away from her… isn’t it normal for her to be scared?” “She didn’t mean any harm, so stop being so aggressive!” As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, his brow furrowing tightly, his voice now filled with disgust. “But Aria, I think there’s something seriously wrong with her head, isn’t there?” “Who jumps from the second floor just because someone says something?” Mom and Dad shot him a harsh glare, but they still took his words into consideration. The next day, they pulled some strings and brought in a top psychologist. To everyone’s surprise, I was incredibly cooperative with the doctor’s questions. “Aria, can you tell me how you got these scars?” I thought carefully for a moment, then answered softly. “I did them to myself.” A flicker of surprise crossed Dr. Miller’s face. He pressed on, “And why would you hurt yourself?” My answer was utterly natural. “Because that way, before someone gets angry, I’ve already punished myself. When they see I’m sorry, they might calm down and won’t hit me anymore.” I still remembered that whenever I made a mistake, as long as I punished myself before those people got angry, I’d always end up with fewer injuries, fewer beatings. Dr. Miller stared at me, looking like he wanted to say more but held back. After a long pause, he tried to guide me. “But have you ever thought that hurting yourself like this doesn’t solve the problem? It only hurts those who truly love you.” I blinked, asking curiously, “What is love?” “Is it like those traffickers from before, breaking my legs but saying it was for my own good, saying it would let me live by begging for pity and charity?” “Or is it like my parents now…?” “One second they’re hugging me, crying and swearing they’d fight for me, but the next, even after seeing Chloe framing me on the surveillance footage, they just… let it slide? Instead, they thought I was the problem and brought in a therapist for me?” I leaned closer to him, speaking each word distinctly. “Dr. Miller, I used to have many friends who loved me. We got beaten together, starved together, and we promised each other we’d escape…” “But now…” I paused, then continued, “The people who loved me… they’re all dead.” The pen in Dr. Miller’s hand froze mid-air, his face instantly turning ashen. Dr. Miller relayed every word I said, verbatim, to my parents. His final diagnosis was. I had severe psychological trauma. All my compliance, and the way I hurt myself preemptively when feeling threatened, were self-preservation mechanisms forced upon me to survive in such a terrible environment. After Dr. Miller left, Mom and Dad stayed in their room all day. Until Caleb kicked open their bedroom door.
Seeing Mom and Dad’s attention completely fixated on me, Caleb couldn’t help but let out a cold, mocking laugh. “I bet she’s just putting on an act for the doctor, trying to be pathetic and gain sympathy, all to get Chloe kicked out of this family!” “She’s disgusting, so manipulative and calculating!” Chloe, however, stepped forward and linked her arm through Mom and Dad’s, her voice soft and sweet. “Mom, Dad, Caleb’s just saying that in the heat of the moment. Please don’t take it to heart.” “I was wrong before, I promise, I’ll get along with Aria from now on.” “There’s a social event in a couple of days. We’ll definitely take Aria with us, so she can meet some new friends, and it’ll also… help us sisters bond!” Mom and Dad exchanged glances, thinking it might help me integrate into their circle sooner. After a moment of consideration, they agreed. Soon, the evening of the gala arrived. I limped into the grand hall, only to be bumped by a server coming the other way. I fell to the ground, wine spilling all over me. Chloe let out a little giggle, then quickly changed her expression. “Oh my gosh… Quick, I’ll take you to the lounge to clean up!” She grabbed my wet arm without asking, half-dragging, half-pulling me away from the crowd’s view. Halfway there, she leaned in close to my ear, her voice dripping with malice. “Don’t think that just because you make yourself look pathetic, acting crazy and dumb, you’ll get Mom, Dad, and Caleb’s love! Dream on!” “They still love me! Always will!” A cruel smile twisted her lips. “Wanna make a bet? If I prove it, you’ll get out of the Hayes family and never show your face again!” As soon as she finished speaking, a huge push slammed into my back! “Splash!” The icy pool water instantly swallowed me whole. Then came another, louder splash, and a piercing scream. “Caleb! Help me!!! I’m terrified of water!!!” Caleb rushed over at the sound. Without thinking, he plunged into the water, swimming frantically towards Chloe, who was thrashing around. The moment I hit the water, my body’s memory kicked in before my conscious mind, making me choose the “safest” way to cope. Stay still, cause no trouble, just wait for it to be over. I let my body be enveloped by the pool water, slowly sinking to the bottom, bubbles escaping from my mouth and nose. Caleb didn’t pull Chloe to the edge of the pool until he heard the gasps and warnings from the surrounding guests. “There’s another one in the water! The one who isn’t moving!” He whirled around, his face instantly pale. He frantically jumped back into the water, clumsily pulling me out. I lay curled on the freezing floor, spitting out mouthfuls of pool water. Caleb ignored my trembling, grabbing my wrist with a force that felt like it would crush my bones. “Apologize to Chloe! Look how terrified you’ve made her!” I clutched my eyes tightly, my body shaking even more violently. Seeing this, he let out a cold laugh, his tone even more cutting. “Now you’re scared? Now you want to cry? I’m telling you, tears won’t help!” “Don’t even try to say you didn’t push Chloe on purpose!” “Chloe is terrified of water. If you hadn’t pushed her, how could she have…” As he spoke, he forcefully pushed my head towards the ground. My head hit the floor with a heavy thud. My hand, which had been clamped over my eyes, slipped away, revealing my empty left eye socket. When I looked up, the entire room fell silent. In the profound stillness, I cautiously looked up, forced a small smile, and whispered softly, “My… my eye fell out… I was afraid of scaring everyone…” All of Caleb’s accusations and anger froze on his face. “You…” He opened his mouth, but only one word escaped. Just then, a sharp crack echoed overhead. The rope holding the crystal chandelier snapped, sending it plummeting straight down! In a flash, I saw the image of my friend, crushed by a collapsing beam while trying to save me. My body moved faster than my brain. With a strength I didn’t know I had, I slammed into Caleb, who was still stunned. Fragments of glass grazed my cheek, leaving a trail of blood. Caleb stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground. He turned back, his pupils constricted in shock. His face registered disbelief, then, after a long moment, frustration and anger. “Aria, are you insane?! I’m supposed to protect you! I don’t need you to save me!” Though his words were harsh and cutting, he scrambled to his feet with incredible speed. As he neared me, his hand hesitated, but ultimately, he swept me up into his arms, shouting at the surrounding crowd. “What are you standing around for?! Get in the pool and get her… get my sister’s eye out!” He carried me into the lounge, snatched a blanket, and wrapped me up tightly. Then he placed the freshly cleaned prosthetic eye next to me. “The, uh, the doctor’s too slow, I’ll… I’ll go find him myself!” With that, he bolted, his footsteps frantic. Darkness and the cramped space made me feel drowsy. After I don’t know how long, a pungent, choking smell filled the air. Fire.
Chloe’s voice drifted to me, faintly. “Quick! It’s our chance now. Hurry and take her away in the chaos!” “I’ll just tell Mom and Dad there was a fire, she didn’t make it out, and she burned to death!” “Mom and Dad only need one daughter! Who asked her to come back?! She can go back to wherever she came from!” “The money’s already been wired to you, double! Be quick about it, don’t leave any traces!” Several grinning faces moved closer, chillingly familiar. I didn’t struggle or cry for help. Instead, I submissively waited for them to tie my hands. The smell of sedatives spread through my nose and mouth, and I passed out. I was slapped awake. A burning pain erupted on my cheek, and my already deaf ear rang, bleeding again. In front of me were several twisted faces. The human traffickers always disguised themselves as locals, stuffing one stolen child after another into this remote village. They shoved people into dog cages, mutilated them to appear disabled, and forced them to beg on the streets for profit. A scar-faced man fiercely yanked my hair, his eyes leering. “Damn it, you little bitch, you’re hard to kill! Almost got away for good!” “Boss, I say we just make sure she’s a permanent fixture here, no more running!” The prosthetic limbs with their embedded trackers were brutally ripped off. They tore my evening gown. I knew struggling was useless, so I could only try to buy time. I looked up, my gaze calm. “You disguise yourselves as villagers, but behind our backs, you kidnap children, commit arson, murder… Aren’t you afraid of karma for all the evil you’ve done?” As soon as the words left my mouth, they burst into triumphant laughter, as if they’d heard the funniest joke. “Hah, karma?! We are the karma around here!” My lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. “One last question, then. Who got me out of the banquet hall?” Perhaps to savor my even more desperate expression, they erupted in another round of gleeful laughter. “Your sister! The Chloe from the Hayes family!” “Didn’t expect that, did you? You didn’t die with us, but you came home, and someone there was just itching for you to die!” I feigned a look of disbelief, stubbornly shaking my head, my voice trembling. “Impossible. Chloe… she would never do that to me!” They were enraged, as expected. To prove it, they pulled out the transfer records. “Open your damn eyes and look! The sender! Chloe Hayes! See it clearly?!” With that, their last shred of patience ran out, and they reached out to strike me. Just as those disgusting hands were about to touch my body. Bang. The door was violently kicked open from the outside! Along with countless police officers who stormed in with guns drawn. And my parents and Caleb, their faces filled with shock and fury. And… Chloe, her face ashen white.
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