Posting How Cruel My Biological Parents Were Online

Trix's POV

Watching those three put on their little show of fake warmth, I turned away and headed upstairs. Figured I’d settle right into the master bedroom.

“Thanks, Mom and Dad, for setting up this room for me,” I said, stepping inside.

“That’s Lauren’s room,” Velma replied, marching in with a scowl. “Yours is the guest room next door.”

Right then, Lauren and Leroy walked in behind her. Lauren gave Leroy a pitiful look and started tearing up on cue. “I'll just move out,” she sobbed. “She's your real daughter, so she's the rightful one to occupy the master bedroom.” She let the tears roll, casting glances at Leroy and Velma like she was waiting for someone to rush in and save her.

But I wasn’t about to give them that chance. I just smiled, cool as a spring morning. “Thanks so much, sister. Truly.”

Before they could say a word, I shut the door in their faces. Whatever family drama they were cooking up outside was none of my concern. I started tidying the room, tossing anything I didn’t like onto the floor.

Just then, my agent Iris called, and I answered right away.

“Trix, what’s going on over there? The show’s still recording; you can’t hold things up too long.”

“Iris,” I said, getting an idea, “scrap the street vendor role. Let me just play as the long-lost heiress making her grand return home. That’s bound to get folks talking.”

We hashed out the details, and soon enough, Iris had the company rewriting the program’s script. I’d been wearing hidden cameras since the Hurst family “found” me on the street, so this twist would roll smoothly right into the story.

No sooner had I finished the call than there came a loud knocking at the door. I opened it to see the whole family practically falling over themselves outside.

Leroy got up, dusted himself off, and glared at me. “Alexia, the master bedroom’s always been Lauren’s. You don’t get to just claim it.”

“Yes, Alexia,” Velma cut in. “Your sister simply humbled herself, how can't you know how to read the room?”

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lauren, who looked like she’d been wronged. “Well, she offered it to me. So I thought it was okay to take it. I didn't know it was just for show.”

Lauren’s face went bright red, caught in her own act. “Mom, Dad,” she sniffled, “I'll... I'll just leave. I can't possibly compete with your true daughter. I'm just an adopted, after all.”

Leroy pulled her close, glaring at me like I’d hurt his favorite pet. “What are you doing just standing there? Do I need to kick you out?”

I stared right back. “And why is that? You abandoned me for twenty years; can’t I at least choose my own room now?”

His face hardened, and in a flash, he slapped me across the cheek. “Ungrateful brat! You're in my house, so what I say goes—not you!”

Holding my cheek, I felt my heart grow colder. “So, that’s why you brought me back? Just to quiet the rumors? That’s all I am to you?”

Leroy clenched his jaw and looked away, saying nothing. Meanwhile, Velma sighed, her tone indifferent. “Alexia, you may be our daughter by blood, but we haven’t seen each other in two decades. You can’t expect that to give you the same standing as Lauren. She’s been my daughter for twenty years, so our bond with her is deeper than with yours.”

Leroy just cast me one last icy look, his mouth curling into a disdainful sneer.