Chapter 1

At my birthday party, my parents presented me with the gift they had prepared. It was a DNA test result proving we shared no biological connection.

My mother smiled coldly. "Sophie, since you're not our biological daughter, you have to repay us for the seventeen years we raised you."

My father also let out a cold snort in agreement. "No wonder you don't look like me at all. You've taken advantage of this family for so many years. Starting today, you're a servant in this house. Five hundred dollars a month to pay off the debt, no food or drink included."

I didn't cry or make a scene; I just nodded calmly. After all, last night I had personally overheard them at the door.

At that time, my little sister held our parents' hands and coquettishly said, "Mom, Dad, my birthday wish is to be the only child of the Langford Family so I can have your love all to myself. Just let my sister be a servant for a year, okay?"

Our father beamed with affection. "Of course, anything you want."

Our mother also agreed, smiling. "This year, Mommy and Daddy belong only to our precious Scarlett."

As I leaned against the wall listening, my eyes had burned with a stinging pain. They had seemingly forgotten that my sister and I are twins sharing the exact same birthday.

Yet my birthday wish was nothing like hers. I just wanted to leave this family, not for a year, but for a lifetime.

——

When our birthday arrived, Scarlett—my younger sister—gasped, covering her mouth. "Sophie, no wonder you're so ugly! You don't look like Dad or Mom. You really are a fake!"

She exclaimed loudly and exaggeratedly, as if completely forgetting we were twins who shared a seventy or eighty percent resemblance. "Oh, no, you're not my sister at all. You're just some stray chicken who popped up from who knows where."

My mother's expression remained cold and distant. "Sophie, now that the truth is out and we know you aren't a Langford Family's daughter, you have no right to be here. This party was prepared solely for our precious daughter, Scarlett Langford."

I looked up at the smug Scarlett, who was dressed in a custom princess gown and wearing a crown worth as much as this house. Then, I looked down at myself, wearing a faded shirt and jeans with frayed cuffs.

I forced a bitter smile. The word "right" was something I had never possessed since childhood, so how could I possibly lose it now?

"Starting today." My father suddenly raised his voice. "You'll be moving into the servants' quarters. For the sake of our past relationship, you'll work as a servant until you find your biological parents. I'll pay you five hundred a month, no food or drink included, to pay us back for the seventeen years we raised you."

As the crowd began to whisper, I felt like a pathetic clown under their mocking gazes.

I bent down to pick up my backpack, but Scarlett suddenly rushed over and yanked it out of my hands. The broken zipper, held together only by a safety pin, snapped instantly and my belongings scattered across the floor.

"Aha! I knew it!" Scarlett screamed. "You've been stealing from our family!"

Amidst the scattered books on the floor lay a pink sanitary napkin.

My mother looked slightly uncomfortable and muttered, "Scarlett, forget it, it's just a pad."

But Scarlett immediately protested, "Mom, I'm the only daughter of this family now! Who does she think she is? She's been eating and drinking for free for so many years and she even steals from us. I say she doesn't deserve it and that's final!"

Seeing her anger, my mother immediately softened her voice to coax her. "Fine, fine, don't be angry, sweetheart. You're right. You are my only baby now and you can do whatever you want."

Satisfied, Scarlett stomped her foot onto the pad, grinding it into the floor. "There. I don't want it anymore, so I'm giving it to you."

I stared at the sanitary napkin covered in footprints, my throat feeling heavy and suffocated, as if it were stuffed with damp cotton.