Chapter 1

Three months after I was taken back into my biological family, they went bankrupt.

My parents said they wanted to make it up to me. They went to another city to work and earn money so they could support me. They also took the adopted daughter with them and made her quit school to work, saying they had to pay for their mistakes.

Before they left, they only gave me fifty dollars and told me to stay at home and wait.

They worked day and night without rest. Every time we had a video call, they looked completely exhausted.

My heart ached for them. I didn’t dare ask for money, so I survived by picking up trash and eating leftovers thrown away by restaurants.

Three years later, I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and called my parents.

My mother, Margaret, cried on the phone. “Your father fell from a construction site while earning money for your school fees. He’s still in the ICU. We really don’t have any money left for you.”

I left the hospital in a hurry and bought a cheap ticket for a train ride that lasted more than thirty hours, heading to their city.

I was dying. All the money I had saved over the years… I wanted to give it to my father to save his life.

My last wish was very simple. I just wanted them to spend one birthday with me.

But what I saw was… my parents, wearing gold and jewelry, living in a huge villa, celebrating Audrey’s eighteenth birthday. Her gifts were piled all over the living room.

I heard my mother say, “Althea asked me for money. I told you long ago that bringing her back would only make her greedy. Sooner or later, she’ll fight Audrey for the Sinclair Family inheritance.”

“We put her through hardship for three years and she’s still like this.”

My father, Richard, immediately called the landlord and told him to kick me out, saying I needed to suffer more.

My mother hesitated and said, “Then she’ll have nowhere to go?”

But Mom, this home is full of fake love that trapped me for three years… I don’t want it anymore.

——

So, the so-called bankruptcy, the hard work to support me… It was all just a plan to stop me from competing with Audrey Sinclair for the inheritance.

I squatted down and suddenly vomited blood. The pain in my lower abdomen spread up to my heart.

I turned away in shame, wanting to leave. Then I heard my mother’s shocked voice behind me.

“The landlord said Althea isn’t at home. They said they saw her buy a train ticket here yesterday. She didn’t come to find us, did she?”

They hurriedly changed into cleaner and security uniforms.

Audrey sat to the side with an unhappy face. No matter what, she refused to take off her beautiful dress.

My phone rang. It was my mother calling.

Her voice was unbelievably gentle. “Althea, the landlord just said you came here to see us? Where are you now? Mom and Dad will come pick you up, okay?”

I softly replied, “I’m at the train station.”

Her voice became even gentler. “Good girl. Wait there. Mom and Dad are coming right now.”

After hanging up, her tone changed completely. She said angrily, “See? I told you. If she can’t get money, she won’t give up. Now she’s come all the way here.”

“Why is our real daughter so greedy and selfish?”

My father let out a long sigh. “She was raised badly outside. Looks like we’ll need other ways to teach her.”

“But it’s fine. We still have Audrey. We’ll just focus on raising Audrey well.”

Their words stabbed my heart like a thousand knives.

I slowly wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and turned to walk away.

I walked through several streets and stopped in front of a cake shop. In the display window was an expensive eighteen-layer cake, exactly the same as the one my parents gave Audrey.

The shop assistant greeted me warmly. “This cake was specially ordered by Richard Sinclair, a famous local businessman, for his beloved daughter’s eighteenth birthday.”

“He even added real jewels and diamonds to the cake. It costs hundreds of times more than this one.”

“She is truly lucky. They treasure her like a little princess.”