Chapter 3

3 "True. The kid's alright, but she's way too hung up on money. She makes a big deal out of giving us her ten grand. I wish she could be more like Harper."

Mom sighed, "She didn't grow up with us, that's all."

"Yeah. Harper's not blood-related, but she feels like she has more LeBlanc than Jessica ever will.

"I just hope she doesn't embarrass us when the test is over."

Their voices faded, like they were drifting off.

My eyes were still closed, but tears streamed down my face.

They were really going all-in on this, pretending to be poor while secretly living the high life.

Why?

Just because they were rich, they got to play with my life like this?

Did they really think I wanted to live like this, be so obsessed with money? If I had grown up like that Harper girl, with all the opportunities in the world, I wouldn't be this way!

I was raised in foster care, and my whole life people have given me the side-eye. I've been working to get where I am.

Before they showed up, I had accepted I was alone.

But they brought those secret hopes back to life.

I could finally have a family, even if we had to start from the bottom.

But my fate had other plans. I got cancer, then I found out my parents were lying to me since the very beginning.

I picked up the cupcake from the table. It looked perfect.

But it was more than that.

It was trash that someone else rejected.

That's all I'll ever be to them, the trash they throw away.

That night was the longest of my life.

I laid awake with a churning stomach.

As I went to grab some medicine, someone was pounding on the door.

"Who is it so early?" My mom asked.

I sighed and walked over with swollen eyes.

The people standing in the doorway were police officers.

"Are you Jessica Johnson? Do you remember where you were last night?" One officer asked.

I didn't like their tone.

"Yeah, I delivered some food."

My parents stood in front of me, ready to protect me.

They always act like this, like they care.

But why would they lie?

"Officer, did something happen to our daughter?"

I was snapped back to reality.

"Ma'am, we suspect your daughter with theft," he said.

My parents looked at me in disbelief.

The way they looked at me cut like a knife.

"I didn't steal anything, why would you accuse me of this?"

"We reviewed surveillance footage, the only person we saw was Jessica," the officer said.

"Ms. Johnson, the necklace is valuable, you should turn it in."