“The milk is mostly breast milk, but it contains a small amount of formula. The problem seems to be with the formula.”
“We’ve analyzed it carefully. There’s lead in the formula. The dosage is small, so it wouldn’t cause any noticeable effects in the
short term. But long–term consumption would inevitably lead to cognitive and intellectual impairment in an infant.”
I knew there was something wrong with the formula, but I never imagined she would be so ruthless. A little bit of favor from Mrs.
Torrence was enough to make her try to poison me. If she ever found out I was the true Torrence heiress, she’d probably try to kill
- me.
Mrs. Torrence, of course, came to the same conclusion.
She made a single, cold phone call.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
16:00
Less than half an hour later, Celeste’s mother was moved to another room. I heard her face was ashen, just like the day she had
her difficult birth.
After she left, I didn’t relax. In fact, I worked even harder, practically curling my toes with effort. Mrs. Torrence still came to see me
every day, but we weren’t related. Once my mother left the care center, no matter how much she liked me, she wouldn’t have a
reason to visit.
I had to establish another connection to the Torrence family before my mother’s postpartum recovery period was over.
I considered revealing my true identity, but quickly dismissed the idea. Celeste’s mother was still alive. In my past life, she had
been instrumental in Celeste’s smooth entry into the Torrence family and her subsequent rise to beloved status. From her willing-
ness to endure a torturous birth to this poisoning attempt, it was clear she was an ambitious and ruthless woman.
I was just a baby. My mother was a fool who would
t just fail to thrive; we’d be lucky to survive.
Time was running out.
a snake for a friend. If we entered the Torrence family now, we wouldn‘
I looked at my mother, who was happily scrolling through her phone, and sighed. “Piano. I grunted, putting all my strength into the
word.
કેવી વિથ કે
My mother: “Hmm? Baby wants a kiss?” She then planted two lipstick–stained kisses on my
Me: “…Want! Pi–a–no!”
I swear, I enunciated every syllable perfectly.
My mother: “Oh? You want more kisses? Okay, okay, Mommy will give you more.”
A nearby nurse finally took pity on me and brought over a toy electronic keyboard.
Award || રણ તેમની બધી
ભલે એનું પોસ્ટ
I clutched the keyboard tightly, spending the entire day practicing the melodies I had heard in my bassinet. The next day, just befo- re Mrs. Torrence was due to arrive, I pretended to randomly press a few keys.
A moment later, Mrs. Torrence’s delighted voice filled the room. “Was that Nina playing? I can’t believe she’s a little musical prodi-
gy!”
My mother was baffled. “She just pressed a few random keys. How is that a prodigy?”
Mrs. Torrence rolled her eyes at her.
“What do you know? That was Stravinsky’s Petrushka, one of the most difficult pieces in the piano repertoire! I know… she must
have heard it when my daughter called me the other day!”
To test her theory, Mrs. Torrence played another piece of music on her phone.
“Sweetheart, can you play the song Nana just played for me?”
I wasn’t a musical prodigy, but I was a grinder.
Mrs. Torrence’s youngest daughter–my biological aunt–had always loved the piano, but lacked the talent. She’d opened a piano school, her greatest wish to nurture gifted children. In my past life, to curry favor with her, I had practiced so much that I memoriz- ed scores in my sleep. I wasn’t untalented. With practice, I could have become a respectable pianist.
But then, Celeste’s protagonist halo had kicked in.
Before I joined the Torrence family, Celeste had never even been in a piano room. But because I was learning, the author, in a lazy attempt to have Celeste show me up, wrote a ridiculous scene where she sat down at a piano for the first time and perfectly play-
16:03
Chapter 2
ed Petrushka.
