My Only Sister

1 On the night the real heiress came back to the Gould family, my own brother drove me to an orphanage and abandoned me. My once comfortable life was torn apart in a day. At the orphanage, bullies made me their target — sometimes nearly drowning me in a drain, other times whipping my back until I couldn’t get up. I begged the warden for help, but he just sneered, “If you weren’t so vicious, your family wouldn’t have thrown you out. You deserved it.” His silence encouraged them. On Christmas Eve, they stripped me and threw me into the snow. I was found stiff and rushed to the hospital. Through the haze, I heard the warden’s cynical laugh: “The Goulds tossed out their own daughter to protect their adopted one — they’re even paying extra to ‘break her.’” He added, “They treat that new girl, Lila, like a queen. I doubt Mr. Gould will even come to see her.” So it was all a game — orchestrated by my brother, Adrian, for Lila. Clutching my bone cancer diagnosis, I laughed through my tears. Soon, Lila really would be his only sister. … The doctor stood before me, his expression grave, sighing repeatedly. “It’s highly unusual for someone your age to develop this, but it was likely aggravated by the repeated, untreated fractures in your leg…” He sat down, patiently explaining the treatment options. But my hearing had been damaged from the constant beatings, a recurring deafness that muffled his voice into a dull drone. I only caught the last sentence. “If we start treatment immediately, we can extend your life by a few years. You should discuss the options with your family.” Family? After six years as an orphan, the word still felt foreign, jarring. I shook my head, a tearful smile on my lips. “I don’t have a family.” The doctor’s pen froze mid-sentence. His eyes scanned the map of scars and bruises covering my body, his voice softening with concern. “Listen, kid, fights with family are one thing, but running away is another. The world out there is a cruel place. It’ll eat you alive.” He offered a reassuring look. “Your brother will be here soon. Just talk it out with him.” I lowered my head, silent. My home was once my sanctuary, the warmest place in the world. But the moment Adrian cast me aside for Lila, that home vanished. He wasn’t coming to save me. He wouldn’t care. I stared blankly at the ceiling tiles, and as I tried to shift my weight, the door flew open. “Aria? Are you serious right now? Your phone goes unanswered, so you pull a stunt like this just to get my attention?” The familiar sound of Adrian’s voice sent a jolt through me. So all those times I’d been tortured to the brink of death, when I’d desperately called him, begging for a way out… he knew it was me. He just chose not to answer. A hopeless laugh escaped my lips. I looked up, my bloodshot eyes meeting his. My voice was raw as I bit out the words. “So you’ve just been ignoring me? Is that how much you despise me? How much you can’t stand having me as your sister?” Adrian’s pupils contracted. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, the rims of his eyes turning red. The unspoken truth hung heavy in the air between us. Finally, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He looked down, his voice low. “I did it to give Lila a happy childhood. You had everything. Her mother died protecting our parents.” His voice grew firmer, defensive. “Taking care of her was a promise I made. You were always so aggressive, always bullying her. I had no other choice.” I nodded, a bitter smile spreading across my face as a million tiny needles of pain pierced my heart. Give her a happy childhood? And what about me? Did I deserve to be abandoned in an orphanage? To be tormented until I wished for death? To get bone cancer? I fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. “And Mom and Dad?” His expression was cool, unreadable. “It was a family decision. We were planning to bring you home, once Lila felt more settled.” I thought I was prepared for it, but hearing the words from his own mouth was like a sledgehammer to the chest. The whole family knew. All of them. They had calmly and deliberately sacrificed me for the sake of their housekeeper’s daughter. The dam broke. Tears streamed down my face. I would rather have been the fake heiress. I would rather have frozen to death in the snow that night. Anything would have been less painful than this. Seeing my tears, a flicker of pity crossed Adrian’s face. He sighed, offering a concession. “If you promise to control your temper, to stop being so aggressive and leave Lila alone, I’ll bring you home tomorrow.” He paused. “Not tonight. Tonight is Christmas Eve, and it’s her birthday. Mom, Dad, and I promised we’d spend it alone with her.” My throat was dry. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. A self-mocking smirk twisted my lips. “I’m sick,” I said, my voice flat. “Bone cancer. I need to stay here for treatment. Just pay the bills. I won’t go home. I won’t bother your precious Lila.” The words had barely left my mouth when his voice exploded in a furious, restrained roar. “What is wrong with you, Aria? What’s with the attitude?” “You find out you’re the real daughter and suddenly you think you can pull whatever manipulative crap you want? You’d even lie about having cancer just to guilt me into taking you home?” I stared at him in disbelief, pointing a trembling finger at the doctor. “I’m not lying! Ask him!” The doctor stepped forward, ready to explain, but Adrian cut him off, his patience shattered. He kicked the side of my bed with a loud thud. “Enough! You haven’t changed a bit after all these years! Now you’re even getting doctors to lie for you!” He turned to leave, his voice filled with disgust. “I never should have wasted my time coming here.” The door slammed shut, plunging the room into a deafening silence. My heart plummeted, my gaze fixed on the empty doorway. The doctor was stunned. “But… isn’t he Adrian Gould? The man who’s famous for doting on his sister? Is he really your brother?” I nodded, then slowly shook my head. He was famous for doting on his sister. But that sister was no longer me. It was Lila. She was our housekeeper’s daughter, and we grew up together. I shared everything I had with her, treating her like she was my own blood. But as we got older, it was never enough for her. She started telling lies to our parents. She claimed I led a group of bullies to torment her at school, calling her a country bumpkin. She said I stripped her clothes off in front of everyone, shouting that poor people didn’t deserve to wear nice things. My parents, who had always seen me as their perfect daughter, began to look at me with growing disappointment. My brother’s frustration turned to rage, and his hand often found my cheek. My own family started to look at me like I was a monster. Then, our housekeeper died in a car crash while shielding my parents. Shortly after, Adrian found an audio recording. That night, he took nine-year-old me to the orphanage. “There was a switch at birth,” he’d told me, his voice cold. “Lila is their real daughter. My real sister. You stole her life!” My world crumbled in that instant, but I had no choice but to accept it. That’s why, even when I was suffering in the orphanage, I never hated them for sending me away. They had loved me once, treasured me. I thought they were just getting justice for their real daughter. But now, knowing the truth… it was all a pathetic joke. As I recounted the story, tears began to fall again. The doctor’s brow was furrowed with pity, unsure of how to comfort me. I forced a smile. Just as I was about to say, “It’s okay,” the door burst open. A group of security guards stormed in. Two of them grabbed me, binding my arms, and dragged me out of the hospital. “Mr. Gould’s orders!” one of them announced. “You’re wasting resources faking an illness. Any doctor who conspires with you will have their career terminated!” The kind doctor tried to intervene, pleading my case, but Adrian’s influence was absolute. The guards were just doing their job. They threw me onto the cold pavement of the street. The impact sent a searing, grinding pain through every bone in my body. I lay on the ground, convulsing. The doctor, his heart aching for me, took off his own winter coat and draped it over my thin hospital gown. “I have a family to support, kid. I can’t lose my job. I’m sorry I can’t do more, but this might help with the pain.” He shoved a bottle of painkillers into my hand before the guards shooed him away. I fumbled with the bottle, dry-swallowing a handful of pills. After a few minutes, the shaking subsided. I staggered to my feet, looking around at the bustling street. Dusk was falling. People were rushing home for Christmas Eve, their faces glowing with happiness. And then there was me. A ghost wandering the streets with nowhere to go. I sniffled, pulling the coat tighter, but the wind still bit through to my bones. I found a sheltered alcove by a building and huddled down, trying to conserve warmth. As I crouched there, my eyes fell on a high-end restaurant across the street. And in the window, a familiar family of four. A three-tiered cake sat on their table. Lila, wearing a birthday crown, sat in the middle, her eyes closed as she made a wish. My father leaned over and fastened a necklace with a large pink gemstone around her neck. My mother was busy snapping photos. And Adrian stood ready with a confetti cannon. The moment she blew out the candles, they all cheered, wishing her a happy birthday. Surrounded by their love, Lila looked like a true princess. For a second, I thought I saw her glance my way, a triumphant, mocking smile on her face. But I dismissed it. My stomach was cramping from two days without food. The hunger was unbearable. I closed my eyes, trying to will myself to sleep. Maybe if I slept, the pain would go away. Just as I was drifting off, a splash of ice-cold water shocked me awake. I gasped, shivering violently. Lila stood over me, a cruel smirk on her face. “It really is you,” she sneered. “I had them make your life a living hell, and you’re still not dead? You’re tougher than a cockroach.” My heart seized. So it was true. She was behind everything at the orphanage. She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m the Gould heiress now. And you? You’re nothing but trash on the street.” She was right. What could I do? No one would believe me. No one would take my side. The pain in my bones was a deep, insistent throb. I had no energy left to fight. It didn’t matter anymore. I could be dead at any moment. If I just stayed quiet, maybe she would leave me alone to get through the night. But seeing me so passive, so unlike the fighter I used to be, seemed to bother her. She knelt in front of me, her brow furrowed. “What’s this? Trying to look pathetic? Hoping Mom and Dad will see you and feel sorry enough to take you home?” A cold laugh escaped her lips, the dimples in her cheeks deepening as her voice turned venomous. “Let’s just see who they feel sorry for.” Before I could react, her hand shot out. There was a glint of metal. She plunged the knife deep into my thigh. A scream tore from my throat as a blinding, all-consuming pain nearly made me pass out. My body’s instinct was to push her away, but before my hands even reached her, she threw herself backward, tumbling down the short flight of steps behind her. “Ahh! Dad! Mom! Adrian, it hurts!” she shrieked, her delicate cries easily overpowering my pained gasps. Through a blur of agony, I saw the three of them in the restaurant window turn their heads in an instant. They scrambled from their table and ran across the street. Adrian reached her first, scooping her into his arms, his face a mask of panic as he asked what happened. My parents were right behind, fussing over her, checking for injuries while dialing for an ambulance. Cradled in Adrian’s arms, Lila’s face was streaked with tears. She pointed a trembling finger at me. “I… I thought I saw someone who looked like Aria, so I came out… I wanted her to celebrate with me, but then…” Following her gaze, the three of them finally looked up and saw me, a crumpled heap in the darkness. My parents froze, their eyes filled with a storm of unreadable emotions. Adrian’s gaze, which had been full of adoration for Lila, turned on me, sharp and filled with visceral hatred. I stared back at the three people who once cherished me more than anything, who now looked at me as if I were their mortal enemy. The physical agony ignited years of buried grief. I held up a hand, trying to explain, a desperate sliver of hope still flickering within me. “I didn’t do anything to her. She’s the one who hurt me! Please… just believe me this once…” My words were cut short by the sharp crack of Adrian’s hand across my face. “Aria! You followed us here, lured Lila out, and attacked her on her birthday, and now you have the gall to blame her for it?” My father’s face was dark with rage, his eyes holding nothing but profound disappointment. “Will you not stop until Lila is dead? After all these years, lying is still the only thing you’ve learned!” My hand trembled as I touched my stinging cheek. The pain was excruciating. But all I could do was laugh, a wild, broken sound. It was always like this. My own parents. My own brother. They couldn’t see my emaciated frame. They couldn’t see the blood soaking through my pants. All they saw was Lila, their perfect, blameless angel. I should have known better than to hope. I dropped my head, my voice numb as I spoke to Adrian. “If I don’t make it through the night, will you come get my body?” He let out a short, contemptuous laugh, his eyes filled with scorn. “That would be for the best. Then we’d never have to worry about you hurting Lila again.” His absolute indifference hollowed out the last part of my soul. Suddenly, death didn’t seem so terrifying. “Promise me you will,” I whispered. So I don’t scare anyone else. He didn’t spare me another glance. The ambulance had arrived, and he was busy helping place a weeping Lila onto the stretcher. As she was being loaded in, my mother cast a worried look in my direction. “Adrian, something’s wrong with Aria. Don’t you think… don’t you think we’ve been too hard on her?” My brother snorted. “It’s all an act. How could we be too hard on her? A lesson like this is too light for what she deserves.” The ambulance pulled away, leaving me alone on the street like a piece of garbage. My head grew heavy. As fireworks celebrating the new year painted the sky, the world went dark… The news broke early the next morning. [At dawn on New Year’s Day, sanitation workers on Prosperity Avenue discovered the frozen body of a young woman. The deceased has been identified as a resident from the local orphanage, Aria Gould!]