The Forgotten Twin Chapter 08
“Clara… your illness was fake?”
Clara shook her head frantically. “No! Mom! Madeline is framing me!”
She rushed over and grabbed Mom’s hand.
“That recording was edited! She hates me! That’s why she faked it. Mom, you have to believe me.”
“Then let’s verify it,” I said calmly. “Call a pack doctor right now. If they confirm you really have this illness, I’ll repeat a year with you.”
“I won’t go.”
William frowned, “Why not? If they prove you’re sick, Madeline will have to stay back with you.”
Thomas looked at her, hesitation creeping into his voice.
“Clara… you don’t want to be examined because…”
He paused before finishing, “…because you made all of this up?”
Clara opened her mouth, her eyes sweeping across Mom’s pale face, William’s clenched jaw, and Thomas’s conflicted expression.
Someone in the crowd let out a mocking laugh.
“What else is there to say? It’s obviously fake. She fooled her whole family for years. The Alpha and Luna were actually stupid enough to let her play them.”
“The older daughter got sacrificed for eight years, and the mother stayed blind to it for eight years.”
—
Mom stared at Clara, her voice finally turning cold, “Clara… why would you do this?”
Clara suddenly looked up, tears pouring down her face, “Why? Because Madeline was too good.”
“She got top grades without trying. She became an SSS-Rank Golden Wolf without trying. Everyone liked her without trying.”
“You all kept saying I was the one you loved most, but the way you looked at her was never the way you looked at me.”
She pointed at me, “When you praised her, your eyes lit up. When you praised me, all I ever got was, ‘Keep trying.'”
“Why?”
Her voice grew louder with every word.
“Why did she get to be loved? I just wanted all of you to care about me! Was that so wrong?”
Her chest rose and fell violently as tears streamed down her face.
Mom took half a step back, her knuckles turning white, “When did we ever favor Madeline? Everything she achieved came from her own hard work. We never hired private tutors for her or arranged special training.”
“But you…”
“You had one-on-one tutoring, counseling, nutritional supplements, new clothes, and brand-new training shoes. Every resource was given to you first.”
—
Clara laughed bitterly, “But you still liked the smart child more.”
“And now…”
“It looks like the smart child doesn’t like you anymore, either.”
The moment Mom heard those words, she turned to me at once.
“Madeline… I didn’t know. I really didn’t know.”
I looked at her coldly.
“You never once thought about checking whether her illness was real.”
“And you never once stopped to wonder whether I was hurting.”
“Mom… This is the last time I’ll ever call you that.”
“I stopped wanting this family a long time ago.”