Chapter 2
They’ve never met me and don’t know who I am, yet they hurl cruel attacks based solely on those defamatory words.
Maybe they don’t care–their self–righteous justice stands on my suffering.
Kyle narrowed his eyes slightly. After carefully assessing his surroundings, he pulled out a compass.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind flung open the already ajar window, causing the curtain and a grimy bedsheet to dance in the air.
The cameraman accidentally bumped into something, and with a “snap,” a diary tumbled to the floor.
Kyle opened the first page and began to read.
“July 12, 2016. Someone who claimed to be my brother brought me home. He apologized, saying it was his fault I was kidnapped. I’m so happy. I have a brother now. Adam…”
When I got home, my parents greeted me with apathy.
My brother assured me that it was just their nature and that they actually cared about me.
I depended on him a lot–he was the first family member to genuinely care about me in my 18 years as an orphan.
He often teased me by calling me his “shadow sister,” but he always included me in everything he did.
At school, when classmates called me a country bumpkin, my brother got so upset that he confronted them.
When our parents reprimanded him, I willingly took the blame.
They punished me by denying me dinner, but my brother sneaked in some bread for me.
“Why did you take the fall? Mom and Dad wouldn’t actually punish me,”
he said.
“With me around, you don’t have to handle everything by yourself.”
As I faced his smiling expression, I nodded quietly, appreciating the joy of having a brother.
In this world, at least, I wasn’t alone.
My brother was the most amazing person ever.
Reading the first page, Kyle could almost visualize the shy girl slowly coming out of her tough exterior with her brother’s support.
Having begun his career as a radio host, he read the words impeccably.
Kyle signaled the cameraman to focus closely on the diary.
But my heart was heavy.
Back then, I had been Adam’s cherished little sister, not a despised
outcast.
At that time, I believed I had finally begun to lead a good life, no longer needing to compete with others for a notebook or a piece of candy.
Adam remained silent for a long while, seemingly lost in memories of the day he brought me back, recalling every detail of our life together before.
At that moment, he was overwhelmed with guilt–how had the sister he vowed to protect ended up like this?
Kellie’s face twisted with distress.
She clutched Adam’s arm tightly, tears brimming in her eyes once more.
“Adam, it’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, Amy would still be alive.
“Your sibling bond was so strong, and I destroyed it all…
“I’m the one responsible for Amy’s death. It’s all my fault.”
Upon hearing the sobbing next to him, Adam’s face immediately turned cold and severe.
The nostalgia he had felt just moments before shifted suddenly into disgust
Gently, he drew Kellie into his embrace.
“Kellie, how could any of this be your fault?” he said.
“If it weren’t for Amy, you wouldn’t have been injured, and we wouldn’t have lost… our child. It’s all due to her greed\”
As he spoke, the veins in Adam’s tightly clenched fists became pronounced.
The pain kept him grounded, and he kissed Kellie’s forehead softly. “She took the life of our own flesh and blood. She doesn’t deserve to be called my sister.”
My parents, who had never paid much attention to me, now offered comfort to Kellie too.
“Kellie,” my father said, “I was against bringing that monster back into
11
our home from the beginning. It’s cruel that she left you unable to have children until now. Don’t keep blaming yourself for this. It’s time for you and Adam to have your wedding.”
My parents watched the TV with clenched jaws.
“You’ve always been the child we raised, and even if you’re not our biological daughter, you’re still perfect to be our daughter–in–law. As for that little troublemaker, hmph!”
“All her attention–seeking behavior will only draw powerful spiritual practitioners her way. She’s digging her own grave.”
“We didn’t have to do anything against her, and now she’s practically asking to be erased. We might as well fulfill her wish.”
They were a content and united family, while I was always the outsider disrupting their harmony.
Kyle turned to the second page of the diary.
The crew members set aside their previous disdain.
