I was the rightful heiress of the Blackwood family, but when the girl who took my place, Chloe, and I were caught in a storm at sea, my family chose to abandon me.
They chose to save Chloe, letting the crew push me off the wrecked yacht to be swallowed by the waves.
By some miracle, I was saved by a fisherman, but I had lost all hope in them.
Afterward, however, their attitude took a complete one-eighty.
My parents, who’d once despised me, suddenly started catering to my every whim. My brother, who had once framed me, suddenly started sending me luxurious sports cars. Even my fiancé, who looked down on me, began to plan our wedding.
To say I was confused would be a gross understatement.
————————
1
With an old canvas bag slung over my shoulder, I was about to leave the mansion when Eleanor and Chloe strolled in. Servants followed behind them, carrying their shopping bags, while the two of them linked arms as if they were the closest mother and daughter in the world.
When she saw the canvas bag in my hand, Chloe feigned shock and asked, "Sloane, you aren't running away just because Mom forgot to get you a present, are you?"
I set down my bag, my gaze turning to ice. "No, I've already received your birthday gift, remember? On my eighteenth birthday, you chose to let me fend for myself in the freezing ocean. Honestly, what more could I ask for?"
Hearing my sarcasm, Eleanor’s face twisted with familiar annoyance as she scoffed. "That was an accident in the chaos, Sloane. The storm hit, we had to choose, and you can't expect us to watch Chloe die. Besides, you didn't die anyway."
I was rescued by a fishing boat, but I still had to spend a full week in the hospital before I could walk again. And during that time, not a single one of them came to visit me.
This was my family.
I was their biological daughter, but I had been switched at birth by Chloe's real parents. For fifteen years, I endured neglect in a blue-collar home, never knowing a single moment of warmth or peace.
Still, the Blackwoods doted on Chloe, the girl who had lived my life for fifteen years. They blamed me for the most trivial things, accusing me of having ulterior motives.
At first, it broke my heart, but now, I had become completely numb to their cruelty.
I had already found a place to rent and had saved up enough money to leave for good.
I was determined to live life on my own terms and build a good future for myself.
I adjusted the strap of my canvas bag, reached for my luggage, and faced the two of them. "You couldn't let Chloe die, but I wanted to live. Since you chose her, from now on, just consider me dead. I won't be your problem anymore."
Hearing my words, a flicker of glee crossed Chloe's face, and she was about to put on a show when Eleanor cut her off with a cold snort. "Fine, have it your way. Don't even think about setting foot in this house again, not even if you come back kneeling and begging!"
I nodded, her words sliding right off me. "Don't worry. I'd rather die out there than ever come back."
"How can you say that, Sloane? Have you thought about how sad Dad and Blake will be?" Chloe stood close to Eleanor, playing the part of the perfect, obedient daughter. "Everyone was caught off guard by what happened, that's all. Besides, hasn't the Blackwood family been supporting you all these years?"
She pretended to be comforting me, but every word was a reminder that I was an outsider. Of course, this was a well-practiced trick of hers.
In the past, I would have exploded, demanding to know why I, the real daughter, couldn't receive a single shred of their love or concern.
Chloe lived in a luxurious, spacious room, waited on hand and foot.
I, on the other hand, was confined to a cramped storage room in the attic, a space so small that I couldn't even fit a desk. Only when the sun was at its peak would a few slivers of light filter through the small window onto my bed.
I was their biological daughter, yet I was forced to struggle for survival like a rat in a sewer.
This time, however, I had no expectations left.
"You call that supporting me?" I asked, staring straight at Eleanor and Chloe. "I lived in a dark, cramped attic and ate the leftovers the chef was about to throw away. You never bought me a single piece of clothing. I worked to pay for my own tuition and living expenses; you haven't spent a single cent on me in three years, and you made me tend the garden like a servant... God, now that I think about it, shouldn't you be paying me a salary?"
"That's enough!" a stern voice called from outside.
