u/One-Ad-8037

I was still in the kitchen preparing tomorrow's breakfast when I heard the commotion from the main hall. The cream hadn't been whipped yet when my mother rushed in, grabbing my hands so tightly they hurt.
"Amber didn't mean it! She's terrified, crying her eyes out," she said, tears streaming down her face.
"Violet, you're Amber's big sister. You need to take her punishment at the Blackwood estate."
The bowl of cream slipped from my hands, splattering across our expensive kitchen tiles.
I noticed the housekeepers exchanging glances, barely hiding their smirks. Drama in the Parker household was better than anything on Netflix, and I was always the punching bag.
Everyone in Boston's high society knew the Blackwoods were a recently returned business powerhouse with connections to Wall Street and Washington. Amber had actually pushed Olivia Blackwood—their only daughter—down a three-story staircase in front of dozens of witnesses at the charity gala. If Amber were taken to the Blackwood mansion for punishment, she'd be lucky to make it out alive.
My twin brother Ethan stormed into the kitchen looking panicked.
He was literally the person I shared the closest blood relation with—identical twins except for gender—yet the words coming out of his mouth couldn't have been more heartless:
"It's true. The Blackwoods are savage. Dad and I practically got on our knees begging them, but they wouldn't budge. They only gave us five days to decide. If Amber goes there..." He lowered his voice dramatically. "God knows what they'll do to her—she'd break within hours!"
The mixing bowl I was clutching crashed to the floor, porcelain shards scattering everywhere.
So Amber couldn't handle it, but somehow I was supposed to? If the Blackwoods discovered they'd been sent a substitute, they might actually kill me in their rage.
Did my mother and brother not care about that at all?
I was their flesh and blood, for God's sake!
I clearly remembered how my mother used to hold me when I was little, stroking my dark hair: "Mommy loves Violet the most. You're Mommy's precious baby forever."
That was until her second pregnancy ended in tragedy.
The stillbirth shattered something in my mother.
Her personality changed completely. She no longer smiled at me but instead spent days clutching the tiny pink clothes she had prepared for the baby, weeping uncontrollably.
Later, my father brought home a little blonde girl from Hope Children's Center.
Everyone commented how this little girl looked remarkably like what their lost baby might have become.
My mother latched onto this idea desperately.
And so, Amber Sullivan officially became the Parker family's adopted daughter.
My mother treated Amber like a priceless treasure—spoiling her, indulging her every whim, acting like she might break if someone looked at her wrong.
Amber successfully "healed" my mother's fragile mental state but also systematically stole all the love and attention that once belonged to me.
Originally, I accepted this. As long as my mother recovered, that was what mattered most.
But one day after school when I was ten, Amber suddenly disappeared.
The family sent out search parties. My mother was hysterical. Around eight that evening, Amber finally returned home, limping dramatically with tear-stained cheeks.
The moment she crossed the threshold, she threw herself into my mother's arms, sobbing: "Did I do something wrong, Mommy?"
"Why did Violet leave me all alone in the woods behind the school?"
"I was so scared! I thought no one would find me!"
That was when I realized those malicious, calculating looks Amber had been giving me weren't my imagination after all.
Before I could defend myself, my mother slapped me so hard that my head snapped sideways, my ear slamming into the corner of the marble countertop.
Blood immediately gushed down my neck while my father shouted abuse at me. My mother simply cradled Amber, not even checking if I was seriously hurt.
It was Maria, one of the housekeepers, who took pity on me and drove me to Mass General Hospital, but we missed the critical treatment window. My right ear lost its hearing permanently.
My father sent me to live with distant relatives in rural Vermont the very next day.
Before I left, only Ethan held my hand: "Don't worry, Vi. In a few months, I'll convince Mom and Dad to bring you home."
At first, Ethan did call me every week.
But eventually, the calls came once a month, then once every six months. Our conversations mostly revolved around Amber:
"Amber just won first place in her art show at Phillips Academy!"
"If only you were as gifted as Amber."
"Amber says she's forgiven you, but I think you still need to work on yourself."
And so, I was exiled in Vermont for ten years, until I was finally summoned back to Boston at twenty.
I believed my parents must still love me somewhere deep down.
For that desperate hope of family connection, I kept my head down, trying different ways to please them, cooking their favorite foods, doing whatever they asked, hoping for the smallest scraps of affection in return.
But only now did I finally understand—no matter how hard I tried, people who didn't love me would never love me.
And if that was the case, I was done with all of them.

Chapter 2

Seeing that I hadn't responded, Ethan grew irritated:
"What are you, mute now? Hello?"
"It's just taking Amber's punishment, not dying. What's there to think about?"
"You haven't done anything for Mom in years, and now you won't even listen to her?"
Ethan was about to grab me when a housekeeper burst into the kitchen:
"Miss Amber is threatening to jump from her window!"
My mother's face went chalk-white. She dropped everything and ran out.
Ethan still maintained some composure, but his expression was dark:
"If anything happens to Amber, I swear to God, it's on you!"
He seized my wrist and dragged me along.
By the time we reached Amber's room, my wrist was red and bruised from his grip.
I was about to rub it when I spotted a familiar face—Drake Sullivan, my childhood sweetheart and fiancé.
The Sullivan and Parker families had been friends for generations. Our engagement had been arranged since we were kids.
Drake and I had grown up together.
During those terrible years in Vermont, Drake was the only one who regularly visited and took care of me. Without him, I might not have survived.
He always told me:
"You're the most important person in my life, Vi. No one compares to you."
"Your parents dumping you in this place, your brother not even visiting—they'll regret treating you like this one day!"
"Don't be sad, Violet. When you marry me, I'll make you the happiest princess in the world!"
By then, I'd already developed a deep fear that Amber would eventually steal everyone I loved. I clung to Drake like a lifeline:
"Promise me you'll never even meet Amber!"
Drake had stroked my hair affectionately:
"I promise. You're the only one I see."
"This Amber girl couldn't compare to your little finger!"
I'd finally smiled then.
I thought at least one person would always choose me.
But all that vanished after I returned to the Parker house.
Drake met Amber.
Within six months, Amber had successfully stolen the person I treasured most.
Drake even brought up postponing our engagement:
"Amber's become pretty dependent on me. If I marry you now, I'm worried she won't handle it well."
My memories were interrupted by my mother's desperate cries:
"Amber, come down! Let's talk about this! What are you doing by the window? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Amber was sitting on the second-floor windowsill. Her feet hadn't even crossed the railing, but her eyes were swollen like walnuts:
"Didn't you hear what the Blackwoods said? They want to push me down a staircase just like what happened to Olivia!"
"If I go to their mansion, they'll torture me to death! I'd rather die here at home—at least it won't be as painful."
Ethan was so angry he slapped me across the face:
"This is all your fault! If you'd just agreed to take Amber's punishment, would she be thinking about killing herself?"
"She's your sister! How can you be so cruel? Do you want her to die?"
That slap held nothing back. A red handprint instantly appeared on my cheek. My mother just glared at me hatefully, her eyes full of disappointment:
"If anything happens to Amber, I won't want to live either."
"Violet, if you still refuse to take Amber's punishment at the Blackwood estate, then don't call yourself a Parker anymore, and don't consider me your mother!"
If Ethan's words were angry shouts, my mother's were naked threats.
Anger, fear, despair, grief... countless emotions mixed inside me. I couldn't stop my body from trembling, feeling like my heart was being stomped on.
That's when Drake stepped forward.