My mom, who had been "bedridden" year-round, was dressed in pearls and glittering jewelry.
She skillfully uncorked a bottle of wine, poured it into an exquisite decanter, and divided it among four stemmed glasses.
On the table sat a huge cake. The message read: Happy 18th Birthday to Serena Abbott & Anna Gilbert
The woman who looked exactly like me lifted her glass with a smile.
"Daddy, Mommy, let's all wish my little sister—whom I've never met—a happy birthday!"
The three of them raised their glasses and drank it all in one go.
The remaining glass was probably left for me.
Anna Gilbert was my name. The ones celebrating my birthday were my parents, and my older sister whom I had never met.
But I had never truly known them.
All at once, I fell into enormous confusion and panic.
Mom sighed. "Ah, if only Anna could come."
Dad's face turned stern. "There's still one last month. Once Anna finishes the college entrance exam and completes the task, we absolutely cannot give up halfway!"
I was stunned.
A task? What task?
Mom dabbed at the tear marks at the corner of her eye. "It's all thanks to the 'raise-poor' plan you designed. That's how we trained our Anna to excel in both character and academics—to endure hardship and work hard."
"To raise her, I've worried myself sick."
"Pretending to be bedridden all day. The figure I worked so hard to maintain with yoga is about to go out of shape."
Dad drained his glass in one gulp. "These past years, I haven't suffered any less."
"When Anna was home, I didn't even dare smoke cigars. Held it in until my whole body felt miserable."
My sister cut cake for them. "Once my little sister gets into college, we can come clean to her."
"By then, the mansion, the luxury cars, the family business—it'll be enough to make up for the suffering she's endured these past years."
"You two can finally rest, and you won't have to go to that damn rundown house anymore to pretend to be poor."
Dad looked smug. "This kid Anna really didn't let down our careful training."
"Just in senior year of high school, she already earned twenty-four thousand dollars. She's got my style from back then."
Serena lifted her glass with a smile.
"I used that money to buy a bottle of 1982 Lafite. Not a cent more, not a cent less—so consider it my little sister showing you two respect ahead of time."
"On my little sister's behalf, I thank you both for your hard work and dedication."
Mom's expression turned doting, with a hint of reproach. "Serena, you've got nerve."
"If it weren't for you only caring about having fun all day, would your dad and I have had to go to such lengths to raise Anna?"
Serena stuck out her tongue playfully, stood up, and clinked glasses with our parents.
"Here's to the 'raise-poor plan' for Anna—a complete success!"
The three of them lifted the crimson wine and, in a cheerful atmosphere, drank it all in one go.
And I finally understood the whole truth.
The illness was fake. The poverty was fake too.
But in these eighteen years, my fear, unease, inferiority, cowardice, and the suffocating guilt more stifling than death itself—those were real.
They had conspired in a vile game, and the price was my life.
The last bit of money I had traded my half-dead body for was being swallowed down by them, mouthful by mouthful.
The intense pain almost devoured my soul.
I wanted to scream at them—why did they treat me like this!
But no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't make even the slightest sound.
At that moment, a servant rushed over clutching a paper bag. His face was deathly pale.
"Sir, I just found a strange letter in the money pouch sent by the second young lady."
Dad took the letter casually. When he saw what was inside, his face went white with fright…
