The Wrong Address Chapter 2

To their surprise, I got out of bed, supporting my arm which was still in a sling. "I'm ready."

If their love wasn't unconditional, then I would use their guilt to fill the gap.

We arrived at the Zhou house around lunchtime.

I used my key to open the door and went in first. The three of them were stuffing their faces with meat and fish. They froze when they saw me, then went right back to eating as if nothing happened.

"Good, you're back. Go wash the clothes in the bathroom."

"Mom, I told you she had a secret stash of money. Look, we didn't give her a dime for the hospital, and she got out just fine."

"Damn girl, always out of the house. Who knows what dirty ways she earned that money."

I stood there, putting a look of pure terror on my face, shrinking back as if afraid.

My adoptive father’s face darkened when he saw me not moving.

"What are you standing there for? Didn't you hear your mother tell you to wash clothes?"

I whimpered, lifting my injured arm slightly.

"I... I just got out of the hospital. My arm isn't healed. I can't hand-wash them. Can I use the machine?"

My adoptive mother’s shrill voice cut in immediately.

"Does the machine run for free? Don't you have another hand?"

"I..."

Seeing me about to argue, my adoptive father’s temper flared. He slammed his empty bowl onto the table and walked toward me, while my adoptive mother and brother, Tyler Zhou, watched with glee.

He raised his hand to strike.

I immediately dropped to a crouch, covering my head with my good arm, babbling.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I shouldn't have talked back."

"I won't do it again, Dad, don't hit me, please don't hit me. I’ll go wash the clothes right now. By hand."

As expected, the slap never landed.

My new brother, Liam, rushed in and grabbed my adoptive father’s arm, shoving him aside.

My new parents carefully helped me up, their eyes full of pain and guilt.

Seeing the intruders, my adoptive mother jumped up to support her husband.

She screeched, "Who are you people?"

Then she saw them comforting me and realized what was happening. She turned her venom on me.

"You little bitch! Bringing outsiders home to bully your parents, huh?"

"Raising you was useless. Should've drowned you in the river when you were born."

She continued with a stream of vile insults: money pit, slut, uneducated trash.

I always wondered why they treated their son like a prince and their daughter like garbage, even before they knew I wasn't theirs.

Especially my mother. She was a woman, too.

How could she become the executioner of a younger version of herself?

I used to think she was just trapped by old-fashioned thinking. Later, I realized she was just mean-spirited and narrow-minded. She wanted her daughter to suffer the same hardships she had endured.

In fact, she wanted me to suffer double.

When I was little, I would bring home good grades and awards, craving her love and praise. All I got was being ignored or mocked.

Growing up, the nastiest things I ever heard came from her mouth first.

I was immune to it now. I could ignore the abuse and just do what I needed to do.

But my biological parents looked horrified. Liam’s fists were clenched in rage.

Perfect. The effect was even better than I anticipated.

I didn't need to do anything else. I just had to act scared. It felt nice to have family protecting me.

I used to crave this feeling. Now? It was take it or leave it. It wasn't a necessity for my survival anymore.

Besides, this "love" was calculated. I knew it wouldn't belong solely to me in the future.

There was still a Sarah Thorne, the daughter they’d cherished for eighteen years.

When they announced I wasn't their biological daughter, my adoptive mother started making a scene. My adoptive father, however, sized up my new parents and immediately started negotiating a price.

Liam rubbed my head gently. "Go with Mom and pack your things."

"Leave this to me and Dad."

I nodded timidly and went to my room, my new mother looking at me with pity.