But I grew up in an orphanage and my desire for family affection seemed to have become an instinct.

I finally returned to my parents and I thought that as long as I was well behaved and studied hard, they would definitely like me.

After all, that was what the director's mother told me.

I tried my best to please my parents and not let them worry. 

I tried my best to keep the house clean, even though Martina laughed at me more than once, saying that this was a job only for servants.

But when I got first place in my grade in the exam, my parents only gave me a few words of praise in private.

I thought I was not good enough, so I joined a competition class and took part in various competitions.

Good news came one after another and my name was on the list.

During that period, my family frequently received calls from the admissions teachers.

However, my parents were not happy and the house was filled with a gloomy and depressing atmosphere.

Especially Martina, she burst into tears every time she saw me.

The looks my parents gave me became increasingly gloomy.

I did not understand it at that time, but then I understood that they felt my excellence made their precious daughter lose face.

So, my biological parents, for Martina's happiness, hired someone to kidnap me, ruining my college entrance examination and my life.

When I woke up again, my mother was wiping my hands and my father put away his phone.

My mother looked at me cautiously, her face full of heartache as she asked, “Lindsey, you're awake, are you feeling unwell?”

This is what I once longed for, but seeing it that moment made me feel suffocated.

“Is the college entrance examination over?” I asked in a hoarse voice.

There was a trace of guilt in my mother's eyes and my father comforted me, “Let's take care of your health first. Even if you don't take the college entrance examination, we can still give you a better future. Don't be sad.”

A better future?

“I begged him.”

My parents were stunned for a moment, then they realized who ‘him’ I was talking about.

I turned my head and looked at the pale ceiling of the hospital with empty eyes.

“I told him my parents were very rich, that they would definitely come to rescue me, so I begged him to let me go. But the more I pleaded, the more excited he became. 

“And the more excited he became, the more he wanted to hurt me.”

As I said this, I seemed to be back to that time again, with the smell of decay in my nose and torn cloth around me.

I could not stop shaking as I explained more, “I tried to run away, but he broke my leg. I did not dare to cry, so he used an iron rod as thick as his arm to….”

“Stop talking, stop talking!"

My mother did not dare to listen any more. She hugged me tightly and cried inconsolably.

My father's brows were furrowed and his face looked a little ugly.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“No, it's not your fault. It's all my fault. I should have picked you up earlier that day, otherwise you would not have met that devil.”

If she had not mentioned it, I would have forgotten it.

The day before the college entrance examination, Martina did not go to school because of a cold. 

When I went out to school, my mother specifically told me that she would pick me up after school in person and asked me to wait for her at the intersection outside the school.

This was the first time my mother has shown her unique concern for me since I returned to this home.

I was filled with joy and anticipation, but what I waited for was the road to hell that they personally prepared for me.

Who was the devil here actually?

“Don't be afraid, Lindsey. It's all over. I promise you that we will use all the connections in the Mitchell Family to find that beast and make him pay the price!”

I closed my eyes, no longer watching this false show of love and let the tears fall.

“Family members, please make way. We need to change the patient's medicine.”

The nurse came in, lifted the quilt and exposed my most painful wound directly to everyone.

There was a sound of gasps in the ward.

“How?”

My mother could not believe this. Even though the doctor told her that my condition was serious, she still could not imagine it.

At that time, she saw clearly.

My legs were fixed by a bracket under the quilt and could not move. The wound on my lower body, which had been treated and sutured, ran across my abdomen, but it was still turned outward and bloody in several places. A bag filled with yellow liquid was still fixed on my waist.

My father had left the ward long before the nurse changed the dressing. My mother could not help crying and left quickly at this moment.

“What kind of heartless scum could be so cruel to a little girl?!” 

The nurse could not help but feel angry, but her hand became lighter when changing the bandage.

The pain of changing the dressing made my whole body tremble, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

The sound of my parents' quarrel came from the door of the ward.

“Hubby, Lindsey is already in this state, should we still let the reporters publish the photos of her injuries? This will have a huge impact on the company.”

“Don’t forget, before Lindsey’s college entrance exam, the teachers approached us, offering her a spot at the university. But if this scandal grows even bigger, those people will give up on her. In her current state, how can she possibly continue school like normal?”

I worked hard to gain admission into colleges, but my success was easily ruined by my biological parents.

He told me this when I was taken home at the age of fifteen.

“My company is on the rise and we cannot allow any bad news to appear, so we can only recognize you as an adopted child. You and Martina are both my daughters and I will give you nothing less.”

He spoke about favoritism with such righteous pretense, yet he didn’t even dare to acknowledge his own daughter openly.

But that time, for Martina’s sake and to prevent my comeback, they tossed aside the company’s precious reputation without hesitation.

 Feeling the pain in my body, I asked the nurse, “Sister, can I borrow your cell phone to make a call?”

I typed the mobile number, pressed the call button and the call was quickly connected.

“I agree to be your heir. But I have a request.”

The doctor was still preparing the surgical plan and all I needed to do was rest well.

Then, wait for the right opportunity.

My parents asked reporters to post the photos of me being tortured online, which immediately caused an uproar on the Internet.

I considered browsing my phone as rehabilitation.

I saw various news about me on the Internet.

[I know this person. She is a top student in our school, but she has a bad character. It is said that she is an orphan and was sponsored by a kind-hearted person to transfer to another school. She also excluded other people's daughters in school, causing the daughter to become depressed.]

[I know this too. She shamelessly moved into someone else's house and tried to steal their parents!]

[I know this too. She shamelessly moved into someone's house and wanted to steal their parents!]

[Yes, I heard about it too. Moreover, she is so young, but she is already dating rich men. My classmates saw her get into a luxury car with a man.]

[Didn't you notice? When she wears a school skirt, she never wears tights and pants. It's obvious that she is trying to seduce others. Otherwise, why would that person choose her when he could have kidnapped someone else?]

The sharp knives hidden behind the Internet stabbed at me one by one. Although I was prepared, my fingers still trembled in front of the screen.

They accused me of trying to steal Martina’s parents, but they were actually my real parents.

Classmates who once treated me kindly became targets for Martina’s supporters, enduring relentless bullying.

In the end, I was completely isolated by the entire class.

At school, my socks would always be torn by someone, just because Martina wanted to see me make a fool of myself.

The Internet had memory, I tried to control my hands, screenshot all the malicious messages flying around and keep their malicious messages.

Some people also tried to speak for me as a victim, but the message was deleted after a while after it was sent out.

This was a premeditated encirclement and suppression, not to make everyone sympathize with me, but to destroy me.

But I would not do as they wish.

Suddenly, my mother happily pushed open the door of the ward and came in. "Lindsey, look who is here to see you!"

I saw Martina holding a bouquet of flowers, smiling, sitting in front of my bed with a very familiar look.

It was this person in front of me who made me what I was at that moment.

“My parents were really trying to help me focus on my college entrance exam. That’s why they only told me about your hospitalization now.

“Sister, you don’t blame me for coming to see you this late, do you?”

Martina seemed to be complaining, but her eyes were full of boasting, showing off who was the most important person in the hearts of my parents.

"Why are you talking like that? We were only thinking about you, but you complained about us."

Mom pretended to be angry, but actually doted on Martina's forehead.

"No way, I know mom loves me the most. Right, sister?"

Compared to me, their biological daughter, they really looked more like mother and daughter.

Seeing that I had not said anything, there was a sudden silence in the ward.

"Mom, my sister must be in a bad mood, I want to tell her something in private. You can go downstairs to pick up Dad."

My mother still had a hint of blame on her face when she left.

As soon as the door closed, Martina's delicate cheeks were instantly covered with a ferocious smile and she looked at me with a smug look.

"Lindsey, you look so disgusting now.”

“You won't have to carry a poop bag with you in the future, will you? Haha.

"Even if you are your parents' biological daughter, so what? They love me the most!

"Dad said a long time ago that he would reward me with 10% of the company's shares after the college entrance examination. It was just transferred to my name today. Dad even said that I will inherit the company in the future."

Martina seemed dissatisfied with my lack of reaction after listening to me and frowned.

“To be honest, I don’t care about the college entrance examination at all. When you didn’t come back, Dad had already arranged for me to study abroad. But that doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to outshine me!

“Oh, you probably don’t know yet, do you? The people who took you away at the school gate were sent by your own parents and even those photos of you covered in bruises were posted online by them.

“Whoever dares to upset me, they’ll make sure to eliminate the obstacle for my sake.”

I still had no expression on my face and my heart was numb.

When I decided to leave, I had already sentenced this relationship to death.

Martina stood up suddenly, grabbed the clothes on my chest and her eyes were as vicious as poison as she cursed, “Lindsey, I truly wish you were dead. But if you were gone, life would be far too dull.

“Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. Dad only instructed that man to tie you up and keep you from taking the exam. I was the one who paid him to torture you.

“I want you to be nothing but a useless, broken shell for the rest of your life, not even worthy of being my stepping stone.”

I raised my head suddenly, with only one thought in my mind, ‘I will kill her!’

But before I could react, Martina's mouth curled up into a mysterious smile. She quickly picked up the kettle at the bedside and smashed it at her feet.

"Ah! Don't hit me!"

"Martina, are you okay?"

The door of the ward was pushed open vigorously and my parents rushed in and hugged Martina into their arms.

The broken pieces of the kettle splashed onto Martina's feet, leaving several bloody marks.

The wound was not serious and there was no hot water in the kettle.

But the look in my father's eyes when he looked at me was still very angry.

“Lindsey! Martina came to see you out of kindness, why did you hit her? You cannot take your misfortune out on her.

“If anything happens to her, don't blame me for not recognizing you as our daughter anymore!”

My mother looked at Martina, who seemed to be frightened, nervously as she scolded me, “Lindsey, how can you be so narrow-minded? I am so disappointed!”

Both of them quickly took Martina away and went to find a doctor to treat her wounds.

They did not look back at me again.

If they had taken a closer look, they would have known that with my body fixed in a brace and not yet fully recovered, there was no way I had the strength to pick up a kettle.

Those words of treating everyone equally were what they said to themselves, to deceive themselves and make their conscience feel better.

But, none of this really mattered anymore.

I picked up my phone and said, “Hey, I'm all ready.”

I looked towards the hidden corner of the ward, where a light was flickering.

Everything that happened there would be seen by everyone in the form of a live broadcast.

“It's time to leave.”

It was time for them to suffer the consequences of their actions.