Heard It, But Too Late

"Betty's right. We can't feed that bad habit," Laura agreed at once. "So, what do you think we should get her?"

"Doesn't she like bunnies? How about a bunny hair clip?" Betty replied. "I saw some in that lifestyle store we passed."

"Sounds good. We'll go with that." Laura nodded, but then her phone rang.

It was my aunt, Olivia Walton. Her voice was thick with emotion, making me freeze. She trembled, trying to hold it together. "Laura, where are you?"

Unable to hold back anymore, I wailed in agony, though no one could hear me.

In the two years since I had returned, only Olivia had always stood by me, trusting and loving me unconditionally. I hadn't wanted to die at all. I had wanted to grow up, earn money, and pay her back.

Life had been hard on her, but she was tough, never asking her wealthy sister for a cent, yet she often secretly slipped me money to buy things I liked.

Betty and I were both their daughters. Yet she got 100,000 dollars a month just in allowance, while I only got 500 dollars.

That had been Betty's idea too. "It's easy to get spoiled going from rags to riches. We can't let her develop bad habits."

Back then, I already felt inferior. Standing next to her, I looked like a scrawny, ugly duckling. Kids at school said all kinds of crap, calling me an illegitimate kid, the nanny's daughter, or an adopted orphan.

Betty would always look troubled and say, "Don't talk nonsense. Blood-related or not, she is my sister."

Though years of malnutrition had stunted my growth, there were similarities in our faces. Yet no one believed we were twins.

...

"Poor Catherine... She is still so young!" Olivia let out a piercing wail. "If you don't want her, give her to me! I will raise her! Why did you kill her? Hurry back! Come see her!"

My spirit touched the ground for the first time. I knelt, clutching my chest.

Ralph snatched the phone. "Aunt Olivia, can you stop playing along with her act? How many times has this happened? You're always on her side. Aren't Betty and I family too? She made Betty have an allergic reaction. What's wrong with locking her up for a couple of days?"

"Ralph!" Olivia shouted. "How can you say that? She is your sister! She died! Her whole body turned blue from suffocation. She bit through her tongue, her mouth full of blood. How could you be so heartless?"

A flicker of panic crossed Ralph's face, but it vanished quickly. "Since she is my sister, maybe you should stop interfering in our family affairs. I'm disciplining her for her own good."

He hung up and stared at the phone for a moment. "We've shopped enough. Time to go home."

Betty suddenly stumbled, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Laura rushed over. "Betty, what's wrong?"

She shook her head weakly. "Nothing. Maybe low blood sugar from shopping for so long."

Ralph grabbed her arm, steadying her. "Let's get you something to eat. Then we'll go home."