Chapter 1
“Where are we going. Marian?” Three–and–a–half–year–old Yvonne asked, her little legs struggling to keep up with Marian’s long strides.
It was six in the morning, and the orphanage was quiet, like everyone was still asleep.
But not these two–already dressed and heading straight for the farthest corner of the orphanage.
A few minutes later, Yvonne came to a stop. glancing back at the orphanage with uncertainty written all over her face. “Marian, I wanna go back. Mrs. Harrison said Mr. Yates is coming today to take me home.”
Marian, who’d been walking ahead, slowed and turned to look at Yvonne. She gently grabbed the little girl’s hand, her eyes soft as she gazed at Yvonne’s innocent, worried expression.
But there was something darker in her gaze–something far beyond her years. “Didn’t you say you lost your necklace? It’s in that little shed up ahead. I’ll help you find it.”
Yvonne hesitated, but Marian wasn’t having it. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Yvonne’s hand and tugged her forward.
She urged, “Come on, that necklace… it was from your real parents, right? And Mr. Yates loves you. He’ll wait. He’s not going anywhere.”
Before Yvonne could protest, she was being practically dragged toward the shed.
The shed was pitch black. When the door creaked open, a cloud of dust exploded into the air, making it almost impossible to see.
Yvonne wrinkled her nose at the musty smell, clearly uncomfortable. She looked over her shoulder, still unsure. “Marian, are you sure my necklace is in here?”
Marian didn’t answer. Instead, she shoved Yvonne into the shed without warning, making her stumble forward.
“Marian!” Yvonne hit the ground hard, her big eyes wide with disbelief as she watched the door slam shut in front of her.
Scrambling to her feet, Yvonne pounded on the door and screamed, “Marian, please, let me out! Mr. Yates is coming to take me home today!”
Outside, Marian expressionlessly locked the door, ignoring the frantic cries, and walked away without a second thought.
A little while later, Marian checked her pocket. She felt something hard in there.
When she pulled it out, it was a purple necklace. The gems were perfectly cut, sparkling like stars in the night sky.
Even Marian, who wasn’t the sentimental type, could tell this thing was way more than just a random piece of jewelry.
She shoved it back into her pocket and, by the time she made it to the playground, the sky was fully lit up.
A couple of volunteers were hanging out in the corner, gossiping and whispering.
“Yvonne’s so damn lucky, huh? The Yates family isn’t just rich–they actually seem like decent people.”
“Yeah, she’s gonna be a Yates princess now.”
“Hey, go grab Yvonne. She needs to get ready.”
Marian clenched her teeth as she listened to their chatter.
Her gaze locked onto the man standing next to the headmistress, all polished and sharp in his suit. That was Robert Yates, the richest guy in Blorence City.
“This time? It’s my turn to be the Yates family’s princess, Marian thought bitterly.
Meanwhile, locked in the shed, Yvonne cried for what felt like hours, shouting for help, but the place was too isolated, no one could hear her.
Eventually, she noticed a small window–old and cracked, covered in cobwebs, and way too high up.
Yvonne climbed up a pile of firewood, slipping and falling so many times it was like the universe was messing with her. But after what felt like forever, she finally made it to the window.
The spiders in the shed were hanging out like they owned the place–big, bulky, green things, surrounded by the remains of bugs they’d caught
Yvonne’s eyes were puffy from crying, her little hand covered in dust as she clung to the window frame. Her other hand kept wiping at her face.
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Chapter 1
making it worse as the dirt smeared everywhere.
One of the spiders, as if it actually had a soul, moved aside, giving her a clear path.
Through her sniffles, Yvonne hiccupped and whispered to the spider, “You’re a good bug… thanks…”
She finally made it to the window, but when she looked down at the dizzying drop below, her heart stopped. The ground seemed so far away.
Then, her cry broke out even louder. ‘Waaaaah! It’s so high! Am I gonna die if I climb back down?!”
Yvonne had a messy spiderweb in her hair, her face streaked with a mix of black and white marks.
Her big eyes were bloodshot, making her look extra pitiful. She stared at the orphanage building from a distance, her lips pressed tightly together.
Today, Robert Yates was supposed to come and take her home, just like the headmistress Dani Harrison had told her yesterday.
Thinking about it, the little one wiped her tears away roughly, covered her face, and bravely jumped down.
Sure enough, a sharp pain shot through her hands and knees as soon as she hit the ground. Once she was able to move again, Yvonne gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.
“The sun’s already high in the sky. Mr. Yeats’s gotta be here by now. I can’t waste any more time. I need to get back, she silently told herself, pumping herself up.
The cuts on her soft, pale palms were glaringly obvious, and blood ran down her legs, dripping onto the ground.
Yvonne, focused on walking, didn’t notice the grass turning greener beneath her. The blades that touched her blood seemed to grow faster, almost like they were on fast–forward.
After a long walk, one of the volunteers finally spotted her.
The volunteer dropped what she was holding, eyes wide, and rushed over. “Oh my god! Yvonne, what happened to you?!”
Yvonne looked up, her swollen eyes looking scary. When she saw the familiar volunteer, her nose tingled, and she almost cried but held it back.
She whispered, “Miss, where’s Mr. Yeats? Is he waiting for me?”
The volunteer froze for a second, staring at Yvonne’s red eyes in disbelief. “Yvonne, didn’t you say you didn’t wanna go to the Yates family?”
At those words, Yvonne burst into tears, wiping her face with her little hand, only to smear blood all over it, making her look even more pitiful. “I didn’t! I never said that!”
“But Marian said you didn’t wanna go to the new family, so you hid, hoping your real parents would come get you.”
Hearing that, Yvonne stopped crying suddenly. She looked up, her big red eyes filled with confusion and hurt, shaking her head wildly. “I didn’t! I
didn’t…”
She was actually pretty willing to go to the Yates family.
Yvonne stepped around the volunteer and headed toward the director’s office. “I need to talk to Mr. Yeats and tell him I’m ready to go…”
She barely took two steps before a pair of strong arms scooped her up off the ground.
The volunteer hesitated for a moment, clearly struggling, before she finally sighed and said, “Yvonne, don’t go. Mr. Yates already adopted Marian. They left a while ago.”
Yvonne froze, slowly turning her head. Her lips trembled, but the tears stopped falling.
After that, everything went blank. The only thing she remembered was hearing the volunteer’s panicked voice right before everything went dark. “Oh no! Yvonne!”
Later, in the evening, Yvonne slowly blinked her eyes open, rubbing them out of instinct.
A weird sensation spread through her, and when she looked down, she saw her hands wrapped up like a little burrito. She froze, totally confused.
Just then, the door opened, and a bunch of kids burst in, all chattering at once.
“Okay, okay, go play outside. Don’t bother Yvonne while she’s resting.” The director’s voice cut through the noise, and the kids reluctantly filed out
The room went quiet again as Dani shut the door and sat down beside the bed.
Her face was full of worry. “Yvonne, what happened this morning? Where did you go? You promised me last night you were going to the Yates
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Chapter 1
family. What happened? Why’d you change your mind?”
At those words, Yvonne’s eyes welled up again. Her voice was shaky and hoarse, “I didn’t… I didn’t not want to go!”
She felt completely crushed. As she spoke, she threw herself into Dani’s arms, crying. “It was Marian! Marian locked me up! Mrs. Harrison, it was
Marian!”
She was so upset she soaked Dani’s shirt with her tears.
“She’s so mean!” The poor little thing was desperate to spill everything she knew, but at only three years old, her words were jumbled and unclear.
Dani could barely make out a few words: morning, woodshed, locked door, big spider….
Gently patting Yvonne’s back, she felt a surge of conflicting emotions.
But Marian was just three too. Dani couldn’t believe that she really had done something like that. The whole thing seemed way too complicated for a little kid.
Earlier this morning, Marian had said it was Yvonne who secretly told her she didn’t want to be adopted by the Yates family, so Marian had hidden away to keep her from going.
They were just three–year–olds. Dani was completely torn, not knowing who to believe.
She quietly listened to Yvonne’s sobs, wiped her tears with a tissue, and whispered, “Sweetie, don’t talk about this for now. Let me figure things out, okay?”
Yvonne looked up, her face flushed from crying, shocked and hurt. “You… you don’t believe me?!”
“I do believe you,” Dani said softly. “I know you’re a good girl, Yvonne. You don’t lie.”
Dani tried to wipe her tears, but Yvonne stubbornly turned away. Tears fell like a broken string of pearls, and her voice cracked with emotion. “You’re lying! You don’t believe me!”
Dani shook her head. “Marian’s strong–willed, sure, but I don’t think she would hurt anyone. You two have both been with me since you were babies. I need to figure this out before I make a decision.”
At those words, Yvonne snapped. She suddenly pulled away from the director, wrapped herself in a blanket, and curled up on the bed, leaving only an angry little back facing her.
“You re so biased! You always pick Marian!” she shouted.
“Hey, be careful with your injury, Dani warned, her voice laced with concern.
Yvonne, still fuming, clenched her hurt hand into a fist. It hurt so much her face turned pale, but she stubbornly snapped, “I don’t care! You just care about Marian!”
“No, I just-
Just then, there was a knock at the door. A volunteer came in, looking anxious. “Mrs. Harrison, there’s a call for you. Someone wants to discuss adopting a child.
