Chapter 25
The entire family panicked and shot to their feet.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Without looking back, Adora replied, “Since I’m not allowed to stay in the maid’s quarters anymore, I’ll just move back into my
old bedroorn.”
“Mom! Look at her!” Ruby stomped her foot in frustration.
“She cannot go to my room!”
Lilián rushed forward. “Adora, stop right there!”
Adora ignored her completely.
“Theodore, do something!” Lilian turned desperately to her husband.
Theodore’s patience snapped. “Peter! Go up there and drag her down!”
But Peter stiffened, standing his ground. “Why me? Why don’t you go?”
“You-!”
By now, Adora had nearly reached the second floor.
Seeing no other choice, Lilian caved. “Mary, open the maid’s
quarters!”
Then, lifting her head, she called out, “Adora, come down. You can have your old room back.
“Mom!” Peter protested, his frustration clear.
“We agreed she was leaving today! Why are you-”
Before he could finish, Lilian turned and shot him a sharp look, subtly motioning with her eyes.
The message was obvious, “Just get her down first. We’ll deal with the rest later.”
Peter swallowed his frustration and sat down angrily, his temper barely in check.
Upstairs, Adora stood on the landing, looking down at them with a calm expression.
“I don’t have the energy to move all this myself. Either one of you comes up and helps me, or I’m staying in one of the second-
floor bedrooms.”
Ruby clenched her teeth in fury. “In your dreams!”
Adora chuckled, then, without another word, sat down right there at the top of the stairs, casually watching them from above.
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“Ruby, you were the one pushing Mom and Dad to throw me out, weren’t you?”
Her gaze locked onto her sister as she finally decided that since the whole family was here, it was time to talk about what really happened the year she was taken.
For a split second, guilt flickered across Ruby’s face, but she quickly masked it with indignation.
“You scared off Peter’s fiancée, and now he hates you. This isn’t about me kicking you out!”
Adora turned to Peter, her voice steady. “Is that true, Peter? Do you want me gone?”
Peter pressed his lips together, unable to meet her eyes.
Instead, he snapped impatiently, “You’re the one who keeps provoking everyone since you came back! You push all of us to our limits every single day!”
“Have you ever thought about why I act this way?”
Lilian let out an exasperated sigh, her voice thick with disappointment.
“You were abused for three years! You came back mentally unstable, infected with HIV, and now you have severe psychological issues! You’re not the same anymore!”
Adora let out a soft laugh–empty and lifeless.
“I heard you all gave up searching for me a long time ago. What was it? You were afraid I’d embarrass you? That people would laugh at you if I came back?”
There was silence.
Guilt flashed across their faces, but not one of them dared to speak.
“There are families out there who never stop looking for their missing children. Some spend their entire lives searching, willing to sacrifice everything. And then there’s you.”
Her voice was steady, but the bitterness in her eyes was unmistakable.
“I survived. I fought my way out of hell and came back. And how did you welcome me? With disgust. With rejection. Like I’m the burden, like I’m the one who ruined your lives. And you wonder why I don’t treat you kindly?”
Lilian sighed again, but this time, her tone was almost condescending.
“We had no choice. You have HIV, Adora. It’s incurable. We took you in, gave you a place to eat and sleep. You should be grateful.
But instead, look at how you’ve acted!”
Adora let out a sharp, cold laugh.
“I should be grateful?”
Adora found it laughable.
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Her mother’s reply was so ridiculous that she couldn’t help but murmur again, “I should be grateful…”
Lilian acted as if she didn’t see the heartbreak and disappointment in her eldest daughter’s eyes.
Instead, she kept pressing on, her voice filled with reproach.
“Ever since you came back, you’ve been hostile toward Ruby, taking jabs at her every chance you get! “Do you have any idea how much she suffered these past three years? How much guilt she carried?
“She had to see a psychologist for two years before she could finally start to recover!”
