Blinded by Favoritism for My Wicked Twin, My Parents Lost Me Forever

After the party ended, Aunt Zelda took me into the storage room. The place was only about five square meters. There was nothing inside except a wooden bed piled with clutter and a rusty iron window. Aunt Zelda stood at the door, appearing as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. "Miss ... I mean, Sophie. Mr. and Mrs. Langford indeed remember your kindness. Once they've thought it through, you will still be the eldest daughter of the Langford Family ... " Before she could finish, two cockroaches darted out from the corner and quickly scurried away. I pretended not to see the embarrassment on her face and simply replied, "Thank you, I understand." Aunt Zelda shook her head as she left, whispering under her breath, "They look so much alike, how could she not be theirs? Sigh … " I sat on the wooden bed, staring blankly at the dark night outside the window. I said inwardly, "It's okay, just wait another year and I can leave forever." That night, my lower abdomen hurt terribly. With no sanitary pads, I could only use tissues instead. Once I stepped out of the bathroom, I overheard my parents' hushed voices. "Honey, do you think Sophie will hate us for treating her like this? She's still our biological daughter," said my mother. However, my father just scoffed, "It's all because she always bullies Scarlett. As the older sister, she never gives in to her younger sister. Making her suffer is all for her own good." He then continued, "A year later, when Scarlett's had her fun, we'll find an excuse and say the paternity test was wrong. Once she's back to being the eldest daughter of the Langford Family, she'll be overjoyed." My fingertips went cold. I found it both absurd and laughable. What made them think that after trampling me to pieces, I'd still stand there obediently waiting for them? The next day, I went out to buy sanitary pads. However, when I went to check out, I was told there were insufficient funds. This was impossible, as I clearly had $200 saved on my card. When I returned home and pushed open the door, I saw the three of them chatting and laughing at the dining table. A gift bag sat on the table and my mother lovingly stroked the silk scarf in her hand. "Our Scarlett is such a sweet little angel! She even gives me a gift now! Mommy is so happy!" At the same time, my father was spinning a plastic cup in his hand, unable to stop smiling. "I love mine too. You truly are my precious daughter." Scarlett pouted and leaned against my mother's shoulder. "But these two gifts only cost two hundred dollars. You won't blame me for buying something so cheap, will you?" My mother immediately shook her head. "Of course not! As long as it's a gift from my baby, even something worth two dollars would be my treasure." My father didn't miss the chance to belittle me while comforting her. "Exactly! Not like your sister, who only knows how to spend the family's money and has never bought us a single gift. She's an ungrateful wretch. How could she compare to my Scarlett … " Noticing my return, they abruptly fell silent. Scarlett tilted her head to look at me, a malicious smile spreading across her face. That two hundred dollars was the living allowance I had saved for two months. It was all the money I had. My whole body went cold and something in my mind snapped instantaneously. Before I realized what was happening, I had already grabbed Scarlett and raised my hand. But before the slap could land, my father kicked me away. The back of my spine slammed into the sharp corner of the coffee table and the pain made my vision go dark. Scarlett held up her arm, which showed only a small red mark and wailed as if the sky were falling. "Mom, Dad, it hurts so much! Is my arm broken?" My mother cried out in a panic, "Quick, call an ambulance!" "There's no time for an ambulance," my father said hurriedly. "I'll drive Scarlett to the hospital myself." Unexpectedly, Scarlett pointed at me lying on the ground. "I don't want to ride in a car! This bastard hurt me! I want her to carry me to the hospital!"

The nearest hospital was in the city center, still twenty kilometers from our house. My mother's eyes turned icy as she stared at me. "You orphan, we've raised you for over ten years, feeding and caring for you. And you dare lay a hand on my own daughter? Do as Scarlett says." Seeing I couldn't get up, my father grabbed me and pulled me to my feet. "Stop pretending! It was just a light bump. Hurry up and carry Scarlett to the hospital. If you delay my daughter's treatment, believe me, I'll throw you out of the Langford residence." I did believe him, but I couldn't leave yet, not now. So, I had no choice but to carry Scarlett on my back and stumble along the path to the hospital. My father drove the car slowly, following me closely. He kept shouting, "Sophie, you'd better carry her steadily! If you dare drop my precious daughter, I'll skin you alive." My mother also frowned and complained, "Walk faster! Did you not eat? Don't you dare delay my baby's treatment." Scarlett leaned against my back and grinned smugly. "See? Nobody in this family loves you! You're a worthless, unwanted dog." In the past, words like these would have stabbed straight into my heart. But now, maybe after bearing too much pain, I had gone numb and felt nothing at all. Seeing that I didn't react, Scarlett fell silent as well. However, just as we were about to reach the hospital, she took a safety pin hidden in her pocket and stabbed it hard into my back. I stumbled from the sharp pain and collapsed onto the ground. My parents immediately pulled the car over to the roadside, rushed out, lifted Scarlett, who had fallen on top of me and ran toward the hospital. My mother, following behind, glanced back at me as I turned deathly pale. She impatiently threw back a sentence. "We're already at the hospital, so find a doctor yourself. We don't have time to deal with you." Ultimately, I didn't go into the hospital because I had no money. Since I didn't have the strength to walk back, I sat on the hospital steps until dark, then returned to the villa. They had already been there and standing inside the villa were a timid, dishevelled middle-aged couple. "You're back just in time," my father said, pointing to the couple. "They are your biological parents. Go with them now." The air fell deathly silent. My mother came over and took my hand, but her eyes avoided mine. "Sophie, we've been mother and daughter for a while and I'm heartbroken too. Now that your biological parents have been found, you have no reason to stay in the Langford residence anymore." I originally thought I wouldn't cry, but tears still uncontrollably soaked my face. These were the parents I had kept in my heart and cherished for over ten years. Yet, they weren't even willing to let me stay in a corner of this house. My mother felt guilty at the sight of my tears and reached out to wipe them away, but Scarlett grabbed her arm instead. "Sophie, congratulations! You're finally not an orphan anymore!" Once they saw me, the middle-aged woman standing to the side hurried over and grabbed my hand. Her dark fingernails dug into my flesh as she began to wail dramatically, "My daughter, Mom has finally found you! Come home with Mom!" The man claiming to be my biological father dragged me out. "Yes, yes, hurry home. We've already troubled Mr. Langford and his wife for so many years, don't be shameless anymore." "Wait a minute." Scarlett rolled her eyes and said with a grin, "Sophie, finding your biological parents is such a big deal. It wouldn't be right not to hug to acknowledge them, would it? Or do you look down on your parents because they're poor?" I froze, turning to my parents, "Do you guys also think I should hug them and acknowledge them as my family?"

My parents subconsciously avoided my gaze, while Scarlett kept urging me, "Hurry up and hug them. We're all watching." I laughed and something inside me shattered completely in that moment. I walked toward that couple, but I hugged my parents tightly instead. "The bond between us as parents and child ends here. From now on, I have nothing to do with the Langford Family." My parents exchanged a look, both seeing a flicker of unease in each other's eyes. However, I had already stood up to leave with my "biological parents." My mother immediately chased after me, shouting in a bluff, "This doesn't make us even! Not unless ... unless you pay back every cent we spent on you over the last decade!" I stopped in my tracks, yet I didn't turn around. I simply gave a soft reply, "Fine." They believed they had spent a fortune on me over the years, but they had forgotten that the daughter who was truly pampered and raised with a lot of money was Scarlett. As for me, I only received $300 a month for living expenses. Yet I was still exploited by Scarlett, who had $30,000 a month. If I refused to give her money, she would go home and cry, saying that I had teamed up with classmates at school to isolate her and bully her. As a result, I was locked up countless times, forbidden to eat. Even on a night when the rain was pouring down, just because Scarlett said I was driving her to the brink of life, I was left to be drenched in the rain all night. I ended up burned with a forty-degree fever, yet no one cared about me. It had always been this way since childhood. A single word from Scarlett could determine my right or wrong, my happiness, my life and even my dignity. Meanwhile, my explanations, my tears and my grievances in that house were worthless. Just like me, they were cheap. That night, I moved into the rented room in my 'biological parents' slum. Because there were no extra rooms or blankets, I had to spend the night in the only bathroom. The window, patched with newspapers, was badly broken and cold wind kept pouring in. By the next day, I was already burning with a high fever and felt dizzy. In my hazy consciousness, I heard a woman making an anxious phone call. "Sir, Ma'am, Miss … Miss Sophie has a high fever, already forty degrees." "What are we waiting for? Get her to the hospital right away!" my mother urged. The phone was on speaker and Scarlett's voice came through clearly. "Dad, Mom, my sister only left last night and today she suddenly has a high fever. How could it be such a coincidence? She must be putting on an act to test you on purpose. If you believe her, you'll be fooled." After a long silence, my father's cold voice sounded. "Don't worry about her. She said it herself that she has nothing to do with us anymore. Let this ungrateful wretch learn her lesson." My mother's voice was full of impatience as she added, "She's your daughter now. Please don't call us for no reason. We have to accompany our precious daughter on her world tour. I'm hanging up." No one cared about me after that and I was abandoned in a deserted rented room. With the last of my strength, I pried open the front door. But the moment I crawled into the hallway, I could no longer hold on and blacked out. When I opened my eyes again, there was only a nurse by the bedside. "Little girl, you're finally awake! Your fever was 42 degrees Celsius. If it weren't for a kind passerby bringing you to the hospital, you would have been in danger if you had arrived ten minutes later. Alright, hurry up and contact your family to come over and settle the bill." I remained silent for a long while before whispering, "I have no money and I have no family." The nurse froze in shock. Staring at the IV tube in the back of my hand, I pursed my dry lips and added, "But, I have blood." When the new semester started, I entered my third year of high school. To earn money, I began running errands for my classmates, such as buying meals and delivering packages. I earned one dollar per trip, which allowed me to save more than twenty dollars a day.

That day, just after I had gotten my meal, I ran into Scarlett halfway out of the cafeteria. She simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, then her little gang snatched my lunchbox and smashed it on the ground. The food mixed with muddy water was scattered everywhere. "Sis, you look so pitiful. Let me treat you to this meal," Scarlett sneered. Later, her followers forced my head down, trying to make me eat the food they had just stepped on. Fortunately, my homeroom teacher, Ms Diana Shepherd, happened to pass by and sternly rebuked them. She immediately pulled me up and wiped my face clean. Having heard rumours about what happened at the birthday party, she knew I was short on money. Without prying for details, she kindly recommended a tutoring job to me. However, she insisted it would only take up half a day on weekends so as not to affect my grades. I thanked Ms Shepherd again and again, never imagining that her one act of kindness would lead to her being reported and dismissed for allegedly taking bribes from parents. At the same time, I was publicly shamed on the school's bulletin board. With just one picture of me being picked up by my tutoring student's parent, I was labelled a "kept woman." When my fake mother, Giselle Shaffer, rushed to the school, she slapped me twice without saying a word. She viciously grabbed my hair, twisting and pinching me while screaming, "You little slut! You're so young, yet you're already opening your legs for men? You might not have any shame, but I do!" My face was slapped to the side and in my sideways glance, I happened to see my real parents standing with the school administrators, looking at me as if I were trash. Behind them was Scarlett, her face nearly split from grinning. My hair fell loose, blocking my vision and the tears I hadn't managed to hold back. I lowered my head and said calmly, "I'm sorry, I know I was wrong." That night, after I got home and showered, I was violently dragged into my room by a pair of large hands. My fake father, Declan Lawrence, stood there shirtless, his eyes bloodshot as he pounced at me. "If you're going to give it away for cheap to men outside, you might as well give it to me." In response, I pulled a utility knife I had hidden in my sleeve and slashed it across his face. The sudden pain finally registered and he staggered back two steps, panting like a starving beast. I warned him, "I am still a student. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life in prison, get out!" Life in the slums had taught me never to be completely unprepared. Declan spat, wiped the blood from his face and grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "Just wait and see, you bitch. Your parents have already sold you to me. Sooner or later, I'll get what I want." When the door closed, I collapsed weakly onto the floor, my whole body trembling uncontrollably. Tears flowed freely and I bit down hard on the back of my hand to keep my sobs from escaping. Suddenly, my phone chimed with a notification from the family group chat. My real mother sent me a message. [Sophie, you have fallen so low at such a young age. Being mother and daughter with someone as filthy and shameless as you for over ten years is disgusting.] A second later, my father removed me from the family group chat. Staring at the group that now had only three people left, my mother suddenly felt uneasy. "Hubby, did we go too far? Didn't the investigation show that Sophie was just tutoring?" Still, my father replied angrily, "If she hadn't forced Scarlett to eat food off the ground, Scarlett wouldn't have cried until her eyes were swollen. Scarlett only asked that she be kicked out of the group—that's already being kind to her." After a moment, his tone softened. "Anyway, it's only for a year. I've already sent enough money to Declan to ensure Sophie isn't mistreated. Once the year is up, we will go pick her up immediately." One year later, on the day of my and Scarlett's birthdays, my parents headed out early. My father drove the car at high speed, asking, "Did you bring the real DNA test results?" My mother nodded repeatedly. "I have them. I haven't seen Sophie for a whole year. When she comes back, we must make it up to her." My father smiled and said, "Of course. I've already finalized the distribution of the company shares. Scarlett is too playful to shoulder such a heavy responsibility, but after this ordeal, Sophie has surely matured and won't bully her sister anymore. I'll announce her as the heir at this birthday party." The two hurriedly got out of the car and, bypassing the dirty and messy stairwell, headed straight for Declan's apartment. However, after knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered. Only then did a woman from next door poke her head out. "Stop knocking. Decal Lawrence has been sent to prison for raping a girl he brought home a year ago."