LILY

"Where the fuck is my necklace, Lily? Give it back to me, you bitch!" Mia White, my foster sister, shouted as she slapped my cheeks.

Touching my swollen face, I replied, stuttering, "I don't know what you're talking about, Mia! I didn't steal anything."

"I saw you have it, you thief! I knew from the start that you were jealous of me!" Mia sneered. "You want everything that's mine!"

"But I swear, I haven't touched your necklace. Maybe you misplaced it, or someone else took it. I understand you're upset, but accusing me won't solve anything," I replied, trying to calm her anger.

"Since your arrival, Lily, you've been nothing but a parasitic curse on my life," Mia continued, her voice dripping with venom. "You've taken everything from me before, and I won't let you get away with it again!" Her voice was a raw snarl as she brandished an empty jewelry box.

"I did not touch your necklace! You know Mother and Father would allow me to enter your room, Mia."

However, my plea was a weak cry, easily swept away by the storm of her fury.

"Liar! Thief! Give it back to me, you freak!" Mia grabbed my hair, pulling it roughly until I could feel the scalding in my scalp.

"Ahh! No! It hurts!" I pleaded desperately, tears streaming down my face.

"Where is it? Tell me!" Her accusations hung heavy in the air, threatening to shatter the trust we had built over the years.

Bearing the pain from Mia's slaps and blows, I replied, "I don't have it, Mia! I swear!"

However, Mia's eyes turned into poisonous slits and shot darts of hatred at my heart. "I don't believe you! You're lying!" She tugged at my hair more, dragging me out of my room and tossing me into the hallway.

"Mia, I'm telling the truth! I would never take something that belongs to you." The desperation in my voice only seemed to fuel her anger further.

Mia slapped me again, hitting my shoulders and kicking my knees. " You're just trying to cover up your theft!"

Right then, a door creaked open from the main bedroom. My foster mother, Rebecca White, came to us, greeting me with an abominable glare.

"What is happening here? Why is there a noise?"

As soon as Mia saw her mother, she dashed toward her and cried, trying to look pitiful. Sniffing, she turned to me and smirked slyly. "Lily stole the necklace Dad gave me, Mom! Do something!"

"What did you do again, Lily?" Rebecca's eyes narrowed at me, her voice dripping with disdain. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from Mia's things? This is unacceptable behavior!"

I stammered, frustrated and confused, "Mother! I didn't! I don't have her necklace!"

"And you think I'll believe you after everything you've done?" Mother screamed as her hand lashed out without warning, striking my face with a force that resonated throughout the room.

"Where did you hide the necklace?" She then tugged at my chin and forced me to look at her. "Answer me!"

"I didn't take it, Mother. I have no idea where it is." I whispered, my voice trembling.

But her eyes remained filled with anger and suspicion, refusing to believe me. "How could you do this to your sister after all we've given you?"

"I'm innocent, Mother! I swear I'm not lying!" But my pleas crashed against the unyielding rock of their prejudice.

Just then, My father, Oliver, came before us. He turned to Mia, who was crying, and back to me with his ominous glare. "What's the commotion here? Why is Mia crying?"

With an accusing finger pointed toward me, Mother barked, "That scum is a thief! I told you, Oliver, we shouldn't let that trash live in our house! Look at what she did to our daughter! She hurt Mia! That girl is nothing but bad luck to us!"

Father's eyes, hardened by Mother's words, bore into me. "What did you do this time, Lily? Did you hit my daughter? I've already warned you to keep your distance from her!"

Like it was on cue, Mia cried as she clung to Mother. She pointed her shaky finger at me and shouted, "That bitch stole my necklace, Dad!"

Quickly, I rebutted, "No! That's not true! I didn't, Father! Please believe me!" As the words of rejection rang in my ears, the front door swung open to reveal the stern face of my foster father.

"I have proof, Father!" I cried out, my voice a shaky whisper. My hands trembled as I reached into my pocket, pulling out a disk. "I have the CCTV footage. It will show that I didn't take Mia's necklace!"

"You think the video would even help you?" Mia said as she pulled herself away from Mother and strode toward my bedroom.

After waiting a couple of seconds, Mia returned to us with the ruby necklace in her hand. "Then what is this? Why did I find this in your closet, you bitch?"

My eyes widened at the sight of the necklace. "What? How..."

Father's cold and dismissive look was enough to extinguish his ounce of patience with me. "How audacious of you to even save a video? You expect me to believe you over my daughter?"

With a swift, harsh movement, he snatched the disk from my trembling hands and snapped the disk in half.

"No! No! Why won't you believe?" I pleaded, tears streaming down my face.

But Father's eyes remained cold and unyielding, his silence crushing my hope. At that moment, I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could never convince him of the truth. The lies of my foster sister fueled their prejudice against me and prevented them from seeing the truth.

Then Mother strode toward me, her arm raising as she hit my cheeks. "And you're still lying even if Mia has already found you hiding it in your closet? How dare you, scum!"

As I was about to answer, my father came up behind me and yelled, "How dare you say that when the proof is right there in front of us?"

Father hit me on the cheeks, and his quick blow brought me back to hellish reality. My bones shook when my father's rough and hard fist hit me in the jaw. I fell backward, and the force of his blow broke the silence.

"You're a disgrace to this family!" he growled, his every word seeping with raw contempt.

A cry choked in my throat as I clawed at the floor, struggling to find a balance in the face of the dual onslaught. My vision blurred with the sting of unshed tears, but I forcefully held them back, aware that any display of vulnerability would stoke their ire further.

"What a pathetic thief!" Mia sneered, her voice oozing a toxic mixture of satisfaction and scorn.

"You bring nothing but trouble and disappointment. You are only an adopted child and cannot be compared to Mia!" Mother advanced with predatory precision, her hand arcing through the air to land another blow across my swollen cheek, sending me crashing into the unforgiving wooden floor.

Blood filled my mouth, the metallic tang a brutal testament to my violent reality. Each vibration of my cheek echoed her rage, and my body writhed in protest under the onslaught.

"Please, Mother! Father! I—I didn't!" I cried out, begging for their mercy.

"Enough! Stop lying to us! We heard enough of your explanations!" Father kicked my sides, eliciting a gasp of pain that ripped through the charged silence. "Apologize to your sister! Now! You will remain here until you beg for her forgiveness!"

I pleaded to my parents, "Please, I didn't do anything wrong! I can't apologize for something I didn't do!"

Mother's face hardened as she tightened her grip on my arms, and her voice filled with fury. "Don't you dare lie to us! We saw it with you, and your sister deserves an apology!"

Lowering my pride, I kneel before Mia, planting my face on the floor. With hands shaking, I sobbed, "I-I'm sorry, Mia. I won't do it again."

"I don't accept your apology! You need to be punished! You need to learn the consequences of your actions," Mia declared, her voice laced with determination. "Until then, I won't forgive you."

Knowing what would happen, I quickly shook as I turned to Father and Mother. With all the strength left in me, I begged, "Please! No! Please don't lock me in the basement! I swear, I'll be good again! I won't steal, and I'll obey you!" Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded, my voice trembling with fear. "Give me another chance!"

"You'll pay for everything, whore!" she spat, her eyes ablaze with unrelenting fury. Mother's hand had barely left my hair when she lunged again. I felt my bones crack when she threw me on the floor and kicked my legs and feet.

"Mother! It hurts!" Tears of pain and despair streamed down my face as I curled instinctively into a ball, trying to shield my body from further blows.

Joining Mother, Mia pulled my hair. "What? You thought we'd let you off easy, didn't you? Thought you could steal from us and walk away?"

I could barely muster a response; my voice was a strangled whimper lost in the swirling vortex of my pain. "I didn't..."

But Father cut my words off and crouched next to me. He reached out, his fingers digging into the tender flesh of my bruised arm, extracting a sharp cry from my lips.

"You didn't what? Didn't think we'd find out? Didn't think there would be consequences?" Father's voice was laced with venom as he tightened his grip on my arm.

"Ahh! Father, it hurts! No!" The pain intensified, and I could feel my body weakening under his relentless grip. Desperation consumed me as I realized no one could save me from this torment.

"You'll regret crossing us! You owe us everything and every single thing we paid for you!" Father's voice boomed.

"I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" Tears streamed down my face as I asked for mercy.

As if their physical torment wasn't enough, Mother even announced, "You've come of age and already graduated, Lily. We're not obligated to let you live in our house anymore. Get out of the house, and don't come back!"

"Get out? Tonight?" I stammered, my heart sinking as I realized the severity of their words.