for eighteen years. When I finally found them, I
cherished the family bond I’d missed. When
Mom needed a kidney, I didn’t hesitate to give
her one of mine. When Dad was set up and got
into a car accident, I threw myself in front of
shattered glass to save him. When my brother
got caught leaking company secrets, I took the blame and did three years in prison for him.
I thought that was enough to earn their acceptance. But the moment I got out, Janie accused me of pushing her down the stairs. Now she was stuck in a wheelchair, and doctors said she’d never walk again. She went up on
the roof, threatening to jump. Instead, she
tripped and actually fell. Mom, Dad, and my brother broke my legs, screaming for me to pay for what happened to her.
“Why couldn’t it have been you?! The minute you came back, Mom got sick, Dad got into an accident, and you sold out the family business for a few bucks! You’re a curse! A plague!”
く
In the chaos, my brother knocked over a candle at the memorial service. As flames engulfed
everything, I closed my eyes. The family I’d tried
so hard to protect… this was how they truly
saw me. Then I woke up here.
The Harrisons piled into their SUV, leaving me
in the trash. They passed right by me, all that I
could do was take in a lung full of exhaust. I lay
in the stinking garbage, with barely enough
strength to whimper. Rain started to fall, a cold,
drizzling rain. Just like the first eighteen years
of my life, I was at the mercy of a cruel fate.
Powerless.
Just when I resigned myself to death, a woman
in a nurse’s uniform spotted me. “Dr. Lewis!
Quick, there’s a baby here!”
She carefully scooped me up, brushing the
trash off my tiny body. “Who would be so
heartless to dump a baby at a hospital?” The
woman, Dr. Lewis, dabbed the rain off my face
<
with a tissue. “Let’s get her checked out.”
Dr. Lewis found formula and fresh blankets,
cradling me in her arms. “Look how precious she is. Not a peep. Such a good girl.” Suddenly,
I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. I’d
worked so hard, learning to be good, trying to please everyone, just to get a shred of
approval. But my efforts were worthless in their
eyes. I fought back sobs, but tears still
escaped. “Oh, sweetie, what’s wrong? Are you hungry?”
I trembled and buried my face in her chest. As dusk settled, Dr. Lewis’s husband arrived to take her home. “Honey? Where did this little one come from?”
I gasped, staring at the man’s face. I’d seen him
on TV before. This was Commander Lucas
Carter, a high–ranking military officer. “Luke, I want to adopt her.”
