Cast aside and forgotten by the family who should have celebrated them, a young person disappears without a trace for three years. When they finally return, they are no longer the overlooked child everyone dismissed—and those who wronged them must face the consequences.
She never does. Right. She never does. Because I cared about them.
I never dared to truly get angry. No matter how much they hurt me. Not when they forgot my birthday. day, not when I was forced to give up my room, not even when doing well in school somehow became my
fault because it put pressure on Sophia. I had thought Marco would be different. That was why I treasured him even more. But in the end, they lied to me about changing their college They chose the same university while leaving me to go to Chicago alone. I looked down at my acceptance letter and drifted into memory during senior year. My advisor had handed me information
about an independent special training program jointly run by the family and an international national partner. The first phase involved closed training at a designated facility. After that, participants would take part in assignments. The training location and records would only be disclosed to program staff and authorized contacts. I hadn't planned to join.
Marco had said he wanted to attend the same college as me, so I had willingly given up the opportunity. But I didn't have to, and more. When I returned to my room, Sophia was crouched in front of my closet, organizing clothes. She had hung her dresses in the section I used most. Her Manhattan University acceptance letter sat on my desk beside a checklist Marco had made for her.
She glanced at me. Elena, you're back. Mother said you're leaving for Chicago soon, so the room will be empty anyway. Manhattan is close to home, and I thought it'd be easier to come back and study on weekends, so I brought a few things