Two Sisters Against the World

1: 1

On the true daughter's first day home, the whole family stood behind me, the fake one.

There was guilt on my adoptive mother's face when she looked at her, but every word she spoke was for me.

You were taken when you were three. All these years, it was Ursula Summers who stayed by our side.

My adoptive father, who never smiled, sat down beside her, on the same side.

"Ursula isn't related to us by blood, but she's still your sister. The two of you need to get along."

My brother, three years older than me, pulled me behind him and squared off against the true daughter, brows drawn tight. What he said was worse.

"Don't think I'll take your side just because you're my sister! Let me tell you, in my heart, I have only one sister, and that's Ursula!"

The true daughter didn't dare say much. She shrank in the middle of the living room, tears rolling down in fat drops.

Seeing her cry only made my brother more impatient, his tone uglier.

"I've seen this true-daughter-fake-daughter act more times than I can count. Drop the innocent little flower routine. Don't stand in front of me playing pitiful, it makes me sick!"

I darted out from behind my brother and smacked him hard on the back of the head.

"She hasn't said a word. What's wrong with you? Putting on a whole show all by yourself!"

"Shut that filthy mouth of yours! Did you eat garbage today? How are you talking so foul?"

My brother didn't hold back at all, and Yolanda, already timid, only grew more flustered.

The short-sleeved shirt on her was washed pale, her jeans were far too short, and the canvas shoes on her feet had long since come unglued.

Yolanda bit down hard on her lip, as if terrified she might sob out loud.

Seeing her like that, my brother Leslie Summers only got angrier.

"Ursula, look at her. She's doing it on purpose, putting on that wronged little face so we'll all rush to help her."

"Yolanda Butler, quit the act. We Summers don't fall for that."

I shot Leslie a withering glare.

"Shut that filthy mouth of yours. One more word and you can get out of this house right now."

"And another thing. Her name isn't Yolanda Butler. She's back now. She's Mom and Dad's daughter, your sister."

"Her name is Yolanda Summers."

With that, I didn't spare Leslie another glance. I turned and walked over to Yolanda.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Ursula, the Summers family's adopted daughter. I'm three months younger than you."

"After you went missing, Mom and Dad adopted me from an orphanage."

I held out my hand to her.

She glanced at me, a little afraid, then looked down at her own dirt-streaked hands.

"I'm... I'm sorry, my hands are kind of dirty."

I was adopted into the Summers family at three, and I'm eighteen now.

Fifteen years under this roof, and I'm hardly some selfless saint.

But for reasons I couldn't explain, from the very first moment I saw Yolanda, I felt it.

She wasn't pretending. She really was that fragile, guileless girl. Her panic and her fear weren't an act.

At Yolanda's words, Leslie, who'd been quiet for all of a minute, blew up again.

He yanked me back behind him and warned me again, viciously.

"You trust people too easily. Look at her. She's nothing but calculation, top to bottom."

"Dirty hands, my foot. She's playing pitiful so Mom will feel sorry for her. Don't you go getting fooled."

I gave Leslie a cold, sidelong look.

I have eyes of my own. Do I not know whether someone's fooling me?

Seeing the mood turn stiff, Mom couldn't sit still any longer. She stepped up in front of the three of us.

"All right, all right, we're all family. Today's Yolanda's first day home. Stop arguing."

"Yolanda, don't read too much into it. Leslie and Ursula grew up together, so of course they're closer."

"You're Leslie's real sister, and Ursula's older sister. Give it time and you'll grow close too."

Yolanda gave a small, cowering nod and didn't say another word.

I stepped forward and took her hand.

"Mom and Dad live in the main house up front. This side house is where my brother and I stay. The rooms are all on the second floor."

"Your room's on the second floor too. Want to go up and take a look together?"

Yolanda said nothing, only followed my steps up the stairs.

When I pushed open the door to my room, she couldn't help letting out a gasp.

"Ur... Ursula? Is this your room?"

"It's so beautiful. I've never seen a room this big or this pretty. It's bigger than my whole house back in the village."

Before I could say anything, Leslie sneered again.

"See? See? Told you I called it. She's got plenty going on in that head."

"She's saying it on purpose so Mom and Dad feel guilty, so they'll pressure you into giving this room up to her."

2: 2

Yolanda rushed to explain, her eyes flooding with panic as she looked at me.

"No, Ursula, that's not what I meant, you have to believe me."

Mom and Dad stepped in just in time to smooth things over.

"We've got plenty of rooms in this house. Why fight over just one?"

"Yolanda, come next door. We've already gotten your room ready. It's right next to Ursula's."

Yolanda nodded and followed them into the room next door.

I had to admit that, well decorated as it was, Yolanda's room was a size smaller than mine.

Mine was the largest in the wing. Even Leslie's was smaller than mine.

The moment the door swung open, Yolanda went quiet. Her feet stopped where they were, and all that was left was the tears rolling down her face in big drops.

Mom and Dad stood there awkwardly, not knowing for a moment what to say.

Leslie let out a cold snort.

"See? Told you I called it. One look at Ursula's room and she's green with envy, one look at her own and now she's crying."

"She just thinks we play favorites, doesn't she? Butl Yolanda, what exactly are you after?"

"What's next, you want to swap rooms with Ursula?"

Yolanda shook her head quickly, tears falling hard with the motion.

"No, no, it's not that. I just never thought I'd get to live in a room this nice. How could I ever deserve it?"

"Forget a room this nice. Back in Brook Hollow, I didn't even have a room. I just slept in the woodshed next to the pigpen..."

Her voice dropped lower and lower toward the end, until I couldn't hear her at all.

At those words, even Leslie, brimming with hostility toward her, fell silent along with Mom and Dad.

I ignored all of them, walked over and took Yolanda's hand, and led her to the window to look down at the big courtyard on the ground floor.

Right then the gardener was watering the flowers, the head chef in the kitchen was counting out the ingredients he'd need for the day, and the butler was checking on the koi in the artificial pond.

"See that, Yolanda? This is your home. Everything here belongs to Mom and Dad. Your real parents."

"So it's not just this room. Every good thing in this world, you deserve all of it."

"As long as you want it, every good thing in this world should be yours."

When she turned to look at me, her eyes were still wet with tears.

But the next second she gave a firm nod, as if something had just taken root inside her and begun to grow.

"Mm!"

I may only be eighteen, but in this circle I'd seen more than my share of scheming, and every kind of person there was.

Somehow I felt Yolanda wasn't like those manipulators who played weak on purpose.

I didn't know whether I'd misjudged her.

But at least for now, I wanted to protect her.

As it happened, it was the weekend, so there was no school those two days.

Early the next morning, the tutors arrived one after another, right on schedule.

Starting at seven, they came in wave after wave: etiquette, flower arranging, tea ceremony, foreign language, business management.

Except for lunch, I didn't get a single minute of rest.

It wasn't until the last lesson ended that I noticed Yolanda standing behind the entryway of the living room, watching me.

"Is this the kind of life you and Leslie have had since you were little?"

I rolled my stiff neck loose.

"Pretty much since I was four. Almost every day off for Leslie and me has been like this."

Yolanda's eyes went red in an instant.

"So you've had it this hard since you were small. None of this should ever have fallen on you."

"I grew up in the countryside. I had to cut pig feed every day, but at least I could slack off now and then and run wild with the other kids up on the hillside."

"During the busy harvest I'd work till my back wouldn't straighten, but at least in the off-season I could catch my breath. You..."

Before she could finish, Leslie cut her off impatiently.

"Cut the divide-and-conquer act. You're hinting again that you suffered out in the country while Ursula stole the good life that was yours, aren't you?"

"Yolanda, drop the little games. It's honestly sickening."

Yolanda's mouth snapped shut, and she shot me an uneasy glance.

There was pure panic in it, as if she was terrified I'd misunderstand.

If anyone else had said all that, I'd have thought exactly what Leslie did.

But those clear eyes of hers told me she truly ached for me.

I smacked Leslie hard on the back of the head.

"Shut your mouth!"

I wanted to say more, but a burst of noise from outside the courtyard caught my attention.

"Is this the Summers house? Is our Yolanda in here?"

"You tell Yolanda to open the door. We're her parents and her grandmother. We came all this way to find her!"

"Who do you think you are, blocking us? Our Yolanda is a young lady of the house now! You'll pay for this soon enough!"

3: 3

I raised an eyebrow, quickly piecing together what was happening.

I turned to look at Yolanda.

The moment she heard those voices, the color drained from her face, and she started shaking uncontrollably.

I called for the butler.

"Let them in."

"My parents aren't home right now. Whatever they've got to say, they can say it to me."

The ones who came through the door were an old woman who looked to be somewhere in her seventies or eighties, and a middle-aged couple in their fifties.

The second they stepped inside, all three of them kept sweeping their eyes around the living room.

"Oh my Lord, they're rich, aren't they? Everything's gold-plated. Is this a palace or something?"

"So the TV wasn't lying. Rich folks in the city really are different from us country people. Probably eat lobster and abalone every single day."

"That little money-drain, that cheap thing. Looks like she really did turn into a golden goose and land herself the good life."

When she spotted Yolanda, the old woman leading them lit up inside.

"Oh, Yolanda, Grandma finally found you. You have no idea how much your mom and dad and I have suffered getting here."

"Grandma's missed you to death these past few days. Come here, let Grandma get a good look at you."

Without any change in my expression, I stepped in front of Yolanda.

"Say what you came to say. Keep your hands to yourself."

Maybe she decided I wasn't worth the trouble, because the old woman sullenly pulled her hand back.

"Fine, since you want me to say it, I will."

"Yolanda's back with you now, but the Butler family raised her for fifteen years, and that's a real fact. You just take her away like that? Doesn't seem right, does it?"

"All these years she ate our food, drank at our expense. You ought to give us some compensation for that, don't you think?"

"Here's the deal. I won't ask for much. You give us three million and we'll call it even. A family this rich, surely you wouldn't grudge that?"

I looked at the middle-aged couple behind her.

"And you two? Is that what you think as well?"

Probably thinking I was about to agree, the couple's faces brightened.

"Yes, yes, yes. In our family, Ma makes the decisions. Whatever she says goes. We do as she tells us."

"But three million isn't enough. You've got to add to it. Five million!"

Hearing that, Yolanda, who had been too frightened to make a sound, panicked at once.

"I... I'm not worth that much money. Ursula, don't agree to it."

The old woman's face shifted, terrified the duck in her mouth was about to fly off.

"You little wretch! An ungrateful animal we could never tame. You're deliberately trying to make life hard for the Butler family, aren't you?"

"You enjoyed fifteen years of good living in the Butler house. What gives you the right to not pay us a cent!"

"Everybody in the whole village knows you're a Butler child. If we don't get money today, you're coming back to Brook Hollow with me!"

Yolanda's voice trembled with fear, but she still worked up her courage.

"All right. I'll go back with you."

"Ursula is my sister. She's young. Don't give her a hard time."

Yolanda was about to walk toward the three Butlers when Leslie grabbed her by the arm.

"Can you not play the fragile little flower right now? Can you not read the room?"

"Your sister is standing up for you. If you can't help, then at least don't drag her down, all right?"

When Leslie grabbed her arm, I didn't miss the pain she was fighting so hard to hold back in her eyes.

I narrowed my eyes, walked over to Yolanda, and pushed up her sleeve.

At the sight of the scars piled layer upon layer on Yolanda's arm, not just me, but even Leslie sucked in a sharp breath.

Holding Yolanda's arm, I turned to the three Butlers.

"So this is what you meant."

"Fifteen years of good living?"

4: 4

Something uneasy flickered across the three Butlers' faces, but they pulled themselves together fast enough.

"Go look around our village. Which family doesn't hit their kids?"

"This little tramp wouldn't listen, so I taught her some sense. What's wrong with that? Isn't she standing here just fine?"

I didn't answer them. I eased Yolanda's sleeve back down, took her hand, and drew her to sit beside me on the sofa.

Her eyes were red, and her voice cracked as she leaned close to my ear.

"Ursula, Pearl is a master at twisting everything around. She won't listen to reason. Don't get tangled up with her."

"I don't want to cause you trouble. I can go back with them. Please don't get into a fight over me."

She was clearly terrified out of her mind, and still she was afraid I'd be the one to suffer for it.

Something in me went soft all at once, hard and aching.

I pushed the feeling down out of my eyes and patted the back of her hand to steady her, then turned to the butler standing off to one side.

"Leigh, call the police."

The moment I said it, the three Butlers came completely undone.

"The police? What police? You little tramp, what do you think you're doing?"

"We didn't break any law. What could the police do to me anyway?"

I toyed with my beads, not even bothering to glance at them.

"I was actually going to come find you. And here you are, showing up at my door yourselves."

"Fifteen years ago, how did my sister end up at your house? You know exactly, don't you?"

All these years, my parents had never given up looking for Yolanda.

The police leads had only ever confirmed she'd been abducted. Who she'd been sold to, that they could never trace.

A family like the Butlers would never take in a little girl out of kindness.

The most likely answer was simple. They were the buyers.

Sure enough, the words wiped the composure right off the middle-aged couple's faces. They grabbed the old woman and made to leave.

But the old woman refused to believe it, still shrieking at me.

"Don't you try to scare me! I've lived eighty years. What haven't I seen?"

"This useless little burden cost me two thousand dollars, bought to be a wife for my grandson!"

"Now I've finally raised her to eighteen, and you people say you'll take her and just take her? Is there no justice in this world!"

I gripped Yolanda's hand tight.

I could feel the thin sheen of nervous sweat in her palm.

"Her grandson. Her grandson is a simpleton, twelve years older than me. When I was brought to their house, he was already fifteen."

"She wanted me to marry him. To be his wife."

Not just me. Even Leslie's fists clenched hard.

"Animals. They're nothing but animals."

The middle-aged couple tugged at the old woman, trying to leave.

"Ma, let's go."

"If the police get here, we'll never be able to explain our way out."

But the old woman flung their hands off and stepped forward, reaching out to grab Yolanda.

"If we're going, we're taking this useless girl with us! She's the wife I raised for my grandson!"

"Fifteen years I fed her for nothing. There's no way I'm letting her walk off to some good life so easy!"

Leslie moved fast to block her.

Terrified the old woman would get the worst of it, the middle-aged couple rushed forward to shield her too.

In the scramble, the vase on the display stand beside the sofa was knocked hard to the floor.

Porcelain burst apart in an instant, and the living room went dead silent.

I looked at the pile of shattered pieces.

"You want five million, is that right? Fine. I agree."

Delight flashed across the three Butlers' faces.

But their joy didn't last a single second before my next words were already out.

"That vase was a masterwork from the Ming dynasty. My father brought it home from an auction five years ago. Worth thirty million."

"Deduct the five million I owe you."

"You still owe me. Twenty-five million in damages."

At that, all three of them went white as sheets.

Even the old woman, the loudest and most vicious of them, didn't dare say another word.

After a long moment, the three of them traded a look and turned to bolt for the door.

Their little move actually made me laugh.

"Leigh, have someone stop them."

Just then, several officers walked in through the door.

"Who called the police?"