Chapter 1

The year I turned twelve, I was learning to swim when the lifebuoy was snatched from me by my little sister Mia Lawrence.

By the time they pulled me out, the oxygen deprivation had taken my hearing for good.

The incident made me the new family’s darling, in Mia’s place.

My big brother Josh Lawrence kept the shotgun seat of his car off-limits to all but me. My second brother, Ethan Lawrence, reserved a front-row seat in my name at every single one of his concert. And Samuel Lawrence, the youngest of my brothers, would accept Mia’s gifts only to toss them in the bin the moment she turned her back.

Even Brian Ferguson, betrothed to her since childhood, spent three painstaking years learning sign language so he could communicate with me.

For a decade, I was convinced I was the apple of everyone’s eye.

How foolish of me, as I learned the fateful day the Fergusons came to discuss the pending union.

Mia’s eyes were rimmed red. “I’ve given up all that’s mine for ten years,” she said. “Not this time, not Brian. I can’t give him up too.”

Mom reached for her hand at once, choking back tears as she turned to me. “Elaine, please. Let this one go. Whatever Mia owed you, it’s been more than made up for."

Dad’s voice was low, final. “This union has always been meant for Mia, not you.”

Josh’s jaw tightened. “You’ve taken over a decade of her life. Isn’t that enough?”

Ethan quietly agreed, “She’s been left out in the cold all these years.”

Samuel lifted the ring from where it sat before me and set it down in front of Mia. “Time to put things back in their places.”

And last of all, Brian, who would not meet my eyes, signed the verdict.

“I only stayed close to you to make it up on Mia’s behalf. It was always her I wanted as my wife.”

The truth hit me then. Ten years of being adored, of being first, none of that had been love. All had been but a grand performance, a debt dressed up as devotion.

I shredded the marriage agreement that night. By morning, I’d signed away my old life for a teaching position in a far-flung village.

With me out of the picture, now everyone could shower love over Mia, guilt-free at last.

Chapter 1

“So you all think this union should be hers. I have no objection to that.”

Mom was the first to react, turning quickly to gather Mia into her arms.

“Mia, sweetheart, don’t cry. Mommy’s with you.”

Dad let out a clear sigh of relief. “I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses, Elaine.”

I stood rooted to the spot, a sense of bitter irony washing over me.

Looked like l’d lifted a burden off everyone’s shoulders.

Ethan pulled a vinyl record from his bag and held it out to me. “Come on, stop making a scene. This is a limited-edition press of my new award-winning album. Consider it your compensation.”

I stared at the vinyl, too shocked to move.

Before my twelfth birthday, it was my dream to study music in a conservatory.

But after that life-changing incident, I’d been left to feeling rhythms through vibrations alone.

How was a deaf person supposed to enjoy a vinyl record?

Samuel knit his brows in irritation. “Ethan’s being more than gracious. What more do you expect?”

I cracked a dry, humorless smile. “Oh yeah? So gracious of him.”

With brimming eyes, Mia shrank back behind Brian.

“Elaine, I never meant to take Brian from you. It’s just... He’s the last thing I can give up.”

Mom’s arms tightened around Mia. “Your sister’s been living in your shadow all these years. She’s suffered enough.”

There was nothing more to say, so I turned on my heel and headed back to my room.

“Finally, some sense from her.”

“Never mind her. Make sure Mia’s okay.”

“This union can’t be dragged out any longer.”

I sat at the edge of my bed and signed in a spare Instagram account I rarely used.

Mia hadn’t blocked this one yet.

A post from last month caught my eyes.

Iceland. Northern lights. Hot springs. Snow-capped peaks. A family portrait.

The caption read: “Mom and Dad said they want to make up for every year of missing love.”

The photo showed Dad with his arm around Mia’s shoulders and Mom wrapping a fluffy scarf around her neck. My three brothers surrounded her with doting smiles, while Brian held her close, a steaming cup of hot cocoa in his other hand.

That was after they told me they were heading out of town for a business trip.

My ears were ringing with pain that night. I was left lying in the dark, gritting my teeth through the agony alone.

Another post was at a private riding club.

Ethan and Samuel were riding on her sides.

This one was captioned: “My loving brothers passed on contracts worth millions to spend time with me.”

That day marked the ten-year checkup for my ears. There was a heavy rainstorm raging outside.

I stood drenched at the hospital entrance, unable to hail a cab. My calls went unanswered. In the end, I had to walk all the way home under the pouring torrent.

The latest post was just uploaded yesterday.

Brian was leaning over to fasten a pink diamond necklace around Mia’s neck.

The caption for this one read: “He said I’ve always been his beloved.”

Six months ago, the Fergusons sent their staff over to take my measurements, saying it was for the wedding preparation.

So I waited half a year with starry-eyed anticipation, only to realize it was never meant for me.

I came out to confront them with the photos.

“A family trip, a day out riding, a pink diamond necklace.

“And you say she’s been living in my shadow?

“Aren’t you all tired of your act?”

Josh was the first whose face turned grim. “Have you been stalking Mia’s Instagram?”

Ethan set the record back on the table, his tone ice cold. “Mia has been walking on eggshells for ten years. What’s wrong with us taking her out for a nice time?”

“What’s wrong?” I shot back. “Where were you all on the day of my checkup?”

At that Samuel snapped, his patience threadbare. “Can you stop making a fuss over every little thing? Have we not given you enough these years?”

Then it was Dad’s turn. “You’ve enjoyed the best this family could offer—the house, your tuition, your hearing aids. What was ever denied you? And you’re doing this all for a man? How heartless can you be?”

I turned my gaze toward Brian.

“Do you share their sentiment?”

At that he lifted his eyes, in which something flickered.

Then, he raised his hands and began signing.

“Elaine, you have everyone in your debt.

“I’m all Mia has.

“I’m sorry.”

I watched his gestures as they spelled out the bitter conclusion.

When I was twelve, newly deaf in both ears, I learned to read lips.

When I was thirteen, I finally accepted that I would never hear again and learned sign language.

Brian said then he was afraid my lip reading couldn’t catch up, so he learned it with me.

Turned out none of that was meant for comforting me. It was so he could sign my death sentence with his own hands.

There was no point in arguing further. I walked back to my room and pressed reply to the recruitment email for volunteer teachers in a remote mountain region.

I submitted my application.

Chapter 2

The next day, as I packed my luggage, it finally hit me—their favor had never truly belonged to me.

The limited-edition handbag Josh gifted me had a tiny name embroidered in the corner: “Mia”.

The expensive collectible figure from Samuel had a fine crack along the bottom of the display box.

It came back to me then. Mia had casually complained about it when she unboxed it. Later, it somehow mysteriously found its way into my room.

Ethan’s gift trumped all with its irony: an extraordinarily expensive, high-end sound system. Too bad I couldn’t make out the quality anyway.

Sitting on the cold floor, I let my mind drift down memory’s lane.

Back then, before buying a new car, they always asked Mia for her preference. Pink, white, metallic—whatever caught her fancy.

One time I was running a high fever and told Mom, only to get a dismissive response from her. “Save that for later. We gotta help Mia pick out a car first.”

So I had to press a cold towel against my own forehead, burning up in the middle of the night, too weak to even hold steady a glass of water.

Later, after I nearly drowned and lost my hearing, they suddenly started piling gifts in front of me: designer bags, pretty dresses, fine jewelry.

During those years, I had even foolishly thought to myself that losing my hearing in exchange for everyone’s undivided love wasn't such a terrible trade-off.

What an imbecile I was.

My phone buzzed. It was a reminder from the medical center—I needed to submit a physical health clearance for my volunteer teaching application.

When it was my turn, the physician looked up at me, freezing for a brief second.

“Elaine Lawrence?”

He flipped through my medical file and let out a heavy sigh.

“You poor kid... What a shame. If you had undergone hyperbaric oxygen therapy and nerve repair back then, you might still have your hearing now.”

I froze on the spot. “What nerve repair?”

Frowning, he turned to pull up my archive. Line after line of records jumped onto the glowing screen:

“Patient suffered sensorineural damage in both ears.

“Immediate hyperbaric oxygen and nerve repair therapy recommended.

“Family waived surgery and requested discharge.”

I stared at that final line for what felt like an eternity.

The physician stayed quiet for a moment before starting again. “At the time, your little sister complained of dizziness and shortness of breath outside the emergency room.

“Your parents and brothers were worried sick. They rushed her to a specialist center overnight for tests. You were left here and transferred to a general ward.

“Later, the specialists concluded nothing was wrong with her—she was just in shock.”

The queue ticket in my fist was crushed into a crumpled ball of paper.

Because of a minor complaint of dizziness from Mia, they had thrown away my life.

I had no idea how I made it back home. When I pushed open the door, laughter drifted from the living room.

Mom was holding a bowl yogurt with mixed fruit, feeding Mia spoon by spoon.

“Easy, sweetheart, don’t make a mess on your dress.”

Dressed in her engagement gown, Mia stood in front of the full-length mirror, spinning around with a glowing smile. “Mom, how do I look?”

“Gorgeous. My girl looks stunning in anything.”

Ethan was sitting on the sofa nearby, strumming a melody on his guitar.

“Check out my new song, Mia. It’s my gift to you.”

Samuel chimed in from the side, teasing, “Look at Ethan playing favorites again!”

“Got a problem with that?”

“Well, not that there’s anything I can do. Mia’s the star of the show today.”

Brian was kneeling on the floor, gently smoothing out the hem of Mia’s gown.

She gazed down at him, asking softly, “Brian, does it really look good on me?”

I stood in the hallway, but nobody noticed me.

Mom was the first to glance in my direction, but then she noticed a smudge of yogurt on Mia’s lip and hurried to wipe it with a napkin.

I slipped the copied medical record into my pocket. There was no need for a confrontation.

To them, Mia’s slight discomfort was more pressing than my risk of lifelong disability.

Just then, Brian finally caught sight of me.

He stood up and walked toward me, raising his hands to sign:

“Don’t overthink it.

“Mia’s just trying on her engagement dress.

“We just want to keep her company.”

I threw him a look, then walked right past him to go back to my room, where I purchased a train ticket to the remote mountain village where I signed up to teach.

Outside, the family was laughing and fooling around together. Luckily, I'd never have to watch that scene again.

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, I stepped out of my room to find the living room overwhelmed with betrothal gifts delivered by the Fergusons.

Velvet jewelry cases, heavy chests of wedding gifts, and right at the center sat a bespoke haute couture wedding gown, its immaculate train cascading across the floor like a wave.

I halted at the landing, my footsteps freezing mid-stride.

Back when I was twelve, my classmates had cornered me in the restroom and mocked me because of my difference. They mimicked my dazed, vacant stares, forcing me to write down that I was a "little deaf dummy" before they'd let me go home.

Later, through stifled tears, I pleaded with Mom to get me a discreet, higher-end hearing aid.

She continued leafing through the stack of household bills, dismissing my agony with not much care. “Just make do with the one you have. I’m sure you can hear well enough with that.”

So I endured school wearing that bargain-bin device, struggling to decipher lectures during class, not daring to complain another word.

This single wedding gown tailored for Mia could have purchased years of clarity for me.

Averting my gaze, I turned and headed out, my aimless steps eventually leading me back to the private swimming club from twelve years ago.

The exterior was covered with scaffolding for renovations. A man sat near the entrance, puffing on a cigarette. The instant his eyes met mine, all color drained from his face.

“Elaine? What on earth brings you here?”

I stepped forward and demanded, “How did I almost drown back then?”

His gaze flickered evasively. “Didn’t we talk about this years ago? You had a leg cramp.”

I withdrew a thick stack of cash from my bag and slapped it down between us.

“I’m here shopping for the truth.”

He fixated on the bills, his fingers trembling slightly. After an agonizing silence, he spat out a curse, stood up, and signaled me to follow him into the duty room.

Locking the door behind us, he rummaged through a rusted cabinet and pulled out an obsolete smartphone before loading a grainy video file.

“I never intended to keep this, but my conscience hasn’t granted me a peaceful night’s sleep in over a decade.”

The footage was blurry, capturing Mia and me tumbling into the water together near the edge.

I secured the lifebuoy first.

The very next breath, Mia reached out and ripped it from my grasp.

Before I could process the act, her foot slammed down on my shoulder, shoving me deep into the water.

I thrashed and struggled, trying hopelessly to reach the surface.

Hugging the lifebuoy, she scrambled onto the pool deck. She didn’t call for help. Instead she just stood there, watching me sink into the depths.

The water swallowed me, then the video dissolved into chaos.

I watched the entire thing, a numbing frost slowly seeping into my fingertips.

Mr. Jones, my swim coach back then, kept his head bowed low. “I did hand that clip to your parents. I assumed they’d involve the police. Instead, the very next morning, they handed me half a million.”

“In return they wanted me to stick to their script—to tell the world you almost drowned from a sudden muscle cramp.”

So losing my hearing was never a tragic accident.

It turned out that years of ringing ears, cruel mockery, and agonizing isolation weren’t a twist of bad luck. Someone set their mind to kick me down into the abyss.

Worse, my parents, my brothers, and Brian—they all knew.

They stood by and allowed my perpetrator to trample over my life while continuing her reign as a spoiled little princess.

Mr. Jones murmured in a guilt-ridden whisper, “Elaine, I am so sorry.”

I closed the video, copied the file to my phone and backed it up to my cloud drive.

As I stepped out of the club, the wind lashed against my cheek, but I was too numb to feel pain.

When I got home, the household remained abuzz with activity.

Mom was reviewing the party menus.

Dad was on the phone, chuckling into the receiver, “The engagement party is next month. You must be there!”

Ethan was strumming a melody, composing for the occasion.

And Samuel was revising the guest list.

Mia was in her exquisite gown, twirling around before the mirror.

Brian crouched behind her, carefully gathering the heavy folds of her train.

I glided right past them, but not a single eye glanced my way.

Entering my room, I bolted the door and flipped open my laptop.

I made more copies of the footage, splitting them between a few cloud storages and flash drives.

Any lingering thread of affection for my so-called family was shattered by now.

It was time to burn bridges.

“Elaine, open up, dear. We’re bringing you dinner.” Mom’s gentle voice came from outside.

I glanced at the clock: six in the evening.

Unlocking the door, I found my parents and three brothers lined up outside with trays of food and practiced smiles plastered across their faces.

The table inside was quickly laden with every dish I used to love: glazed baby back ribs, herb-crusted salmon, wild mushroom bisque, and a steaming bowl of creamy clam chowder.

Chapter 4

Dad was the first to sit down. “Elaine, come sit. Let’s talk.”

I didn’t budge.

Mom grabbed my hand, leading me to a chair. “Eat first, darling. You must be hungry.”

Josh tossed a manila folder onto the table. “Take a look at this.”

I pulled out the document. It was a confessional statement for a hit-and-run.

I looked up. “What is this supposed to mean?”

Mom’s eyes turned red instantly. “Mia hit someone while driving a couple of days ago. She was terrified, so she left the scene. Now the victim’s family has posted about it online, and things have spiraled out of control.”

Ethan immediately cut in. “The Fergusons are about maintaining a spotless reputation. If Mia gets a record, her engagement is ruined.”

I stared at them in silence.

Dad spoke in a heavy voice. “Take the fall for her. Say you were the driver.”

I burst out laughing. “Dad, you know that means serving time, right?”

Mom gripped my hand, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Elaine, help Mia out just this once, will you? She can’t have this stain on her—she’s about to get engaged!”

Josh nodded. “I mean look at your current state. Having a record won’t make much of a difference.”

Samuel added, “It’s only a few months. Once you’re out, we will take care of you for life.”

Ethan was not even subtle. “We provided for you for years. What’s wrong with stepping up for your baby sis once?”

I set the statement down on the table.

“Mia did a hit-and-run, and you want me to take the blame. Is that what you’re all saying?”

A shadow fell on Dad’s face. “You’re making it sound so ugly.”

“Am I?” I stared right at him. “Is it not already grotesque the way it is?”

Right then, Brian walked in. He stopped in front of me and started signing.

“A favor for me, please.”

“Help Mia out.

“I’ll pamper you like my own sister from now on.”

I picked up the statement and shredded it to pieces right in front of them.

“No way. She hit someone, she can deal with it herself.”

Just then Dad reached into his pocket, pulled out an old key, and set it on the table.

It caught my breath instantly. It was the key to the camphor chest Grandma had left behind.

Josh spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. “All those letters and photos, the silver bracelet, and that lucky charm from when you were a kid—haven’t you been wanting them all along?”

I stared at the key, my fingers curling tightly into a fist. Those were all I have left of Grandma.

And the only things in this house that were truly mine.

Dad glared at me, his tone icy. “Sign it, and the key is yours.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “If you don’t, you’ll never see that chest again.”

I lifted my head in fury. “Grandma left those to me!”

Samuel nonchalantly spat his line. “We know how much you love her. Be a good girl then.”

Ethan slid a fresh copy of the confession toward me. “Sign it. Stop throwing a fit.”

Brian raised his hands again.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

After a long silence, I reached out and signed my name.

I pushed the paper toward them, taking the key with my other hand.

Once Dad checked the signature, he immediately stashed the confession away. “That’s more like it.”

Samuel was already on the phone. “Have PR release the statement now.”

Ethan stood up. “I’ll get in touch with the lawyers.”

Mom wiped away her tears. “Don’t worry dear, we will give you the very best.”

Would they though?

I had heard that phrase for years.

Except this time, things were different.

None of them noticed the red light on the voice recorder stuffed in my pocket, glowing the entire time.

Nor did they know about the camera footage, the medical records, and all the backups.

At eleven that night, the house finally went quiet.

I grabbed my luggage, went downstairs, closed the doors behind me.

At two in the morning, the train started chugging into motion.

Leaning against the window, I compiled and sent the evidence to the police and the city’s top news outlets.

I hit “Send”, then the screen faded out.

I looked down and gripped the chest key in my hand. Karma was waiting for them all, just round the corner.