My Family Left Me for Dead

10 years ago, my family had been driving through the desert when our car broke down, leaving us stranded in the middle of nowhere. There had only been one bottle of water left. I had been severely dehydrated, barely clinging to life. Yet, my younger sister, Serena, had cried and said that the desert rose she had planted in a flowerpot was about to wilt. However, my parents didn't even hesitate at her unreasonable demand. They poured every last drop of my water into the pot. "You've got a strong will. You can hold on a little longer!" "This flower is delicate. It might die if we don't water it now!" "We'll take it with us out of the desert. We'll come back to save you once we get help!" Vultures had circled overhead as they scurried off, clutching the pot, completely forgetting about me lying unconscious beneath the dune. Fortunately for me, I was rescued by a geological survey team out of sheer dumb luck. Later, I saw the bestselling book my 'darling' family had written. 'We lost our brave daughter. She left us the last bottle of water so we could get help.' The next time we met was at an auction. They wanted to worm their way into high society, hoping for a lucky break. I linked my arm through the host's arm and looked my biological parents straight in the eye. "We've got very important guests coming today. It would be better to have these beggars thrown out." Chapter 1 Name Your Price "I want the necklace that woman's wearing!" A sharp shriek cut through the room. I followed the source of the screeching and saw my younger sister, Serena Carter, pointing at the sapphire necklace around my neck. She clung to our parents, whining, "Dad, didn't you say you'd get it for me as a birthday present?" My father, Derek Carter, beamed at her indulgently. "Easy there, Serena. I'll get it for you." My mother, Heidi Langford, gazed at her with doting affection. "You wear the necklace far better than she ever could." The three of them stood there in ill-fitting formalwear, completely out of place among the elite gathered at the event. Serena stomped to me in her heels. "Hey, I want that necklace on your neck! Name your price." I ignored her, gently swirling the champagne in my glass. Her face flushed red, her voice turning shrill. "Are you deaf? I'm talking to you! My dad already promised me that necklace. How dare you not give it to me, you thief!" I finally looked up at her, a cold smile tugging at my lips. "Thief? Did you personally see me steal it?" Serena faltered for a moment before growing even more arrogant. "Based on how you look, the only way you can afford the necklace is by stealing it! Do you know how much that necklace costs? There’s no way you’d be able to afford it even if you sell yourself on the black market! "If you're smart, you'll take it off and give it to me now—or else!" At that moment, my parents walked over as well. Derek handed me a business card. "Miss, I'm Derek Carter, author of the bestselling book "Desert Tears." My daughter likes this necklace very much. Name your price. We'll buy it off your hands." Heidi chimed in from the side, her tone laced with condescension. "That's right, we're not short on money. A young girl like you shouldn't be wearing something so valuable—it's not safe. Why not sell it to us and use the money to buy something else?" I looked at their rehearsed performance, the way they played off each other, and felt nothing but ridicule. Ten years ago, I had been severely dehydrated, my lips cracked and bleeding, too weak even to cry. I had begged them for a sip of water—just one sip—but right in front of me, they poured that last life-saving bottle into Serena's pot of desert rose. "You've got a strong will. You can hold on a little longer!" "This flower is delicate. Without water, it will really die!" They had carried that pot away without looking back, leaving me alone on the scorching sand dune to die. And now, standing here, basking in the fame and fortune bought with my death, they wanted to use money to take everything that belonged to me. Seeing that I didn't respond, Serena reached out to grab it. "Talking to you is a waste of time! Give it to me!" My gaze turned cold as I stepped aside. Her hand missed, and she stumbled forward, nearly falling. Chapter 2 They're Doing Just Fine "How dare you dodge!" Serena's face flushed crimson as her voice rose sharply. "Do you know who I am? Do you have any idea who my parents are? I'm telling you, that necklace will be mine today!" She lunged at me in a frenzy. The bodyguards behind me immediately stepped forward and blocked her path. Alas, their obstruction only made Serena more hysterical. "Let me go! Do you know who I am? Try laying a hand on me, I dare you! Mom, Dad, they're bullying me!" Derek and Heidi rushed over as well, pointing at the bodyguards and shouting. "What do you people think you're doing? Let go of my daughter!" "Do you know who we are? We're specially invited guests! How dare you offend us!" The commotion quickly drew the attention of the event organizers. A well-dressed middle-aged man strode over. He just so happened to be my adoptive father's assistant, Wesley Zeller. When he saw me, he bowed respectfully. "Ms. Sherwood, are you alright?" Then, he turned to the Carters, his expression instantly turning cold. "And who are you? How can you raise such a disturbance here?" Once Derek noticed that someone in charge of the event had arrived, he immediately pulled out his business card and handed it over with an air of arrogance. "I'm Derek Carter, and this is my wife, Heidi. We're the authors of the bestselling book "Desert Tears." "We were invited by Mr. Sherwood to attend this auction. Your people are bullying my daughter. How do you plan to handle this?" Wesley didn't even spare the card a glance. "I don't care who you are. Apologize to Ms. Sherwood now, or I'll have to ask you to leave." Derek flipped out at once. "What did you just say? Apologize? Do you even understand the situation? We're Mr. Sherwood's guests! Do you have any idea who he is? He's the host of this auction!" Heidi shrieked as well, "Exactly! You're just a staff! How dare you use that tone on us! We want to see Mr. Sherwood now! I want to ask him personally how he manages his staff!" Emboldened by their actions, Serena crowed, "Hear that? Run along and get Mr. Sherwood like the dog you are!" Then, she pointed at me, "And you! Just wait, bitch! You'll regret this soon enough!" I watched their performance, saying nothing. Wesley expressionlessly took out his walkie-talkie. "Security, disturbance in Hall A. Please respond immediately." The color drained from Derek and Heidi's faces. Derek barked, trying to sound fierce despite the tremor in his voice, "You… You wouldn't dare!" Several tall security guards arrived within moments. Wesley gestured toward them. "Escort these three 'distinguished' guests out." The guards stepped forward, each grabbing hold of Derek and Heidi. Serena's face went pale with fright as she shrieked, scrambling behind them. "What are you doing? Let go of my parents! We're authors! We're public figures! You can't treat us like this!" Heidi immediately dropped to the floor, slapping her thigh as she wailed, "This is outrageous! You're bullies! We came here out of kindness to do charity, and this is how we're treated! "My poor Natalie! If you can see this from heaven, you'll weep at how your parents are being mistreated!" She started using me again as a prop, putting on that same fake display of maternal love. Listening to it made me feel sick. Meanwhile, guests around us began to gather, pointing and whispering at the idiot trio. "Isn't that the family who wrote 'Desert Tears?' Why are they rolling on the floor?" "I heard their daughter died in the desert trying to save them. How tragic." "Tragic? It looks to me like they're doing just fine. They aren't exactly behaving like someone who had lost a daughter at all." "Exactly. Look at the dress their only surviving daughter is wearing. That right there is a limited edition piece worth hundreds of thousands." Chapter 3 Do You Have Any Evidence? The murmurs around them made Derek and Heidi visibly uncomfortable, their expressions shifting between pale and flushed. However, Derek wasn't about to let this stand, so he shouted at the crowd, "Everyone, don't misunderstand! We've been wronged! It's her!" He suddenly pointed at me. "She stole my daughter's necklace! We were just trying to take it back!" Heidi immediately followed his lead, bursting into tears. "That's right! That necklace was my daughter's favorite! We promised we'd get it for her! Lo and behold, this woman stole it from us! "When we tried to reason with her, she even had people beat us! Oh, my poor Natalie… you died so tragically…" They were twisting the truth, trying to win sympathy. Serena caught on quickly and began to cry as well, her face tear-streaked and pitiful. "Natalie… I miss you so much… That necklace you loved so much… Did you forget you buried it under the desert rose? "You said that you would wear it when you marry your beloved once we get home…" She acted with convincing emotion, but I remembered very clearly that there was a distinct lack of love from them when I was young. Hell, I didn't even have a "beloved," let alone a necklace. To them, I had been worth less than a single rose. Their performance was effective. Some of the guests, unaware of the truth, began to waver. "Could that necklace really be their daughter's keepsake?" "They look so heartbroken… It doesn't seem fake." "If that's true, then the girl's really unreasonable. How could she steal someone else's keepsake?" Serena cried even louder upon hearing their hushed whisper, a trace of satisfaction flashing through her eyes. Just then, a commotion came from the entrance. My adoptive father, Ivan Sherwood, and my adoptive mother, Maria Schneider, walked in, surrounded by a group of executives. I had called them here myself. The moment Ivan and Maria appeared, the entire atmosphere of the venue shifted. Guests stepped forward one after another to greet them respectfully. "Mr. Sherwood, Mrs. Sherwood, good evening." Derek and Heidi, still being held by the security guards near the entrance, froze when they saw the scene unfold. Maria spotted me in the crowd at a glance. Her brows furrowed slightly as she immediately walked over. "Eliana, what happened?" Ivan followed, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room before settling on Derek and Heidi, who were being restrained. A sliver of unease crept into their hearts under his piercing stare. Still, they were trying to play off as victims, so they promptly straightened. Heidi struck first, breaking free from the guards and rushing toward Maria as she cried out, "Ma'am, you've come at just the right time! You have to stand up for us!" She pointed at me, tears streaming down her face. "Look at her! She stole my late daughter's necklace! When we asked her to return it, she even had people beat us!" Derek added to the act, putting on a pitiful tone. "Yes, we're just writers, with no power or influence. All we can do is watch as our daughter's keepsake is taken from us while we're humiliated in public…" Serena, too, shouted at me with open arrogance, "So what if you have powerful backers? It won't help you! Once they find out you're a thief, no one can protect you!" She clung to Heidi's arm, looking at me with open provocation. Maria didn't get angry after listening to their twisted version of the truth. Instead, she smiled. She reached out and gently brushed a loose strand of hair from beside my face. "Eliana, they're saying you took the necklace?" I nodded. "Mm." Maria's smile deepened as she turned to Heidi, her tone gentle yet edged with coldness. "Ma'am, you said my daughter stole your daughter's necklace. Do you have any evidence?" Heidi froze for a moment before saying with complete confidence… Chapter 4 A Daughter's Wish "Of course, we do! My daughter wore that necklace every day! We could never mistake it for another one! If you don't believe me, you can ask around. We even mentioned it in our book! In fact, we dedicated an entire chapter to it!" Maria smiled, but the warmth never reached her eyes. "Is that so? Did you mention the name of the necklace in your book then?" "Of course, we did! It's called… It's called 'A Daughter's Wish!'" Heidi blurted. She had made up the name on the spot and even shot Derek a smug look at her quick thinking. Derek bobbed his head repeatedly. "That's right, 'A Daughter's Wish!' My daughter came up with the name herself!" A few guests nearby couldn't hold back their derisive laughter. The smile on Maria's face vanished completely. "A Daughter's Wish? That's a lovely name. Unfortunately, that's not what this necklace is called." She paused before enunciating each word clearly, addressing the hall, "Its real name is 'Heart of the Deep.' It was designed five years ago by the renowned Gaulish jewelry designer Pierre Petain as his final masterpiece. "Three years ago, it was sold at an auction in Montelune for 30 million dollars. All of this information can be verified with a simple search." Her voice wasn't loud, but each word landed like a resounding slap across the Carters' faces. "And yet you claim this is a keepsake from your daughter who died 10 years ago? What's this? Was your late daughter some sort of seer?" The entire venue erupted. "So they're frauds? Yet, they call themselves bestselling authors! What a joke!" "Using their late daughter to scam money? How loathsome!" "A Daughter's Wish? Please! Why not call it 'Our Daydream' instead?" Mockery and contempt rained down on them. The color drained instantly from Derek and Heidi's faces. Serena, unable to accept reality, screamed, "That's impossible! You're lying! You're all in this together! She stole it! She's a thief!" She then broke free from the bodyguards and lunged at me like someone possessed, her sharp nails aiming straight for my face. "I'll tear your face apart!" Ivan's expression darkened. He stepped forward and shielded me behind him. He didn't even spare Serena a glance. Instead, he looked coldly at Derek and Heidi, his voice low but carrying an overwhelming force. "Stole it? I was the one who purchased the Heart of the Deep three years ago in Montelune. I gave this necklace to my daughter as her 15th birthday gift. "Yet, you're saying my daughter stole her own property? Is she really a thief, or are you lot trying to rob her in broad daylight?" His words shattered the last of the Carters' composure. Derek's legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed to his knees. Heidi trembled uncontrollably, her lips quivering as she failed to form a single word. Even Serena was stunned into silence by Ivan's presence, standing frozen in place. I felt not a trace of pity as I watched them fall apart. Just as everyone thought the farce was about to end, Heidi, who had been staring blankly, suddenly fixed her gaze on my face. Her expression shifted from fear to confusion, and then to utter disbelief. She slowly raised a trembling hand and pointed at me, a strange sound rasping in her throat. "You… You…" Her lips moved several times before she finally forced out a shriek with all her strength. "Natalie! You're Natalie Carter! You're still alive!"