It was the second year since the Sterling family had formally acknowledged me as their biological daughter, yet I still hadn't been allowed to move into their house. On New Year's Eve, I told my brother I wanted to leave. He looked completely bewildered. "Just because Chloe is in the family portrait and you aren't?" "You could say that." He was silent for a long time before saying, "Chloe is used to being spoiled by this family. If she wasn't in the family portrait, she wouldn't be able to handle it." I finally realized that in his eyes, the fake heiress was his only true sister. That was fine. I didn't really want to go back to the Sterling house anyway. My group chat with my three adoptive brothers was blowing up. They were planning to pick me up and take me home as soon as the youngest finished recording his New Year's Eve broadcast. I sent a short reply: [Okay.] ... It was snowing heavily in Chicago on New Year's Eve. In the private dining room of the restaurant, Chloe Sterling had prepared festive red scarves for every single relative. Except me. Someone suggested that since the whole family was gathered together, we should take a family portrait. Chloe smoothly pushed me forward, telling me to take the picture. The frame was set. Right in the dead center of the photograph, Chloe clung to Arthur Sterling's arm, smiling brightly. No one cared that I wasn't in the family portrait. When I told Arthur I wanted to leave, he affectionately ruffled my hair. "It was my oversight. I should have paid more attention to those little details." "It won't happen again, Maya. Don't make a fuss and talk about leaving over something so trivial, okay?" I shook my head. I wasn't angry, but I really just wanted to go home. Arthur frowned. "If you leave the Sterlings, where else can you go? Back to Seattle to pick through the garbage?" My head snapped up, and I met his gaze. For a split second, a look of pure disgust flashed through his eyes. He sighed, and his tone softened. "Alright, Maya, stop being mad. Next year—next year, I'll make sure you're in the family portrait, okay?" Chloe suddenly popped a segment of a mandarin orange into Arthur's mouth, giggling as she linked her arm through his. "What's wrong? Why are we talking about next year's family portrait?" Seeing that neither of us spoke, she immediately sensed the tension. She dropped her smile and said softly: "Maya, don't blame Arthur. I was just too careless. There were so many people, I accidentally mistook you for a waitress." "I'm the only outsider here. I should have been the one taking the picture." As she spoke, a sorrowful expression washed over her face. Arthur instinctively reached out to comfort her, but halfway there, his hand froze and pulled back. He spoke in a low, stern voice: "It's just a photograph. It's not a big deal." "But Chloe, you need to understand. No matter how bad Maya's past was, she is a daughter of the Sterling family." "You should know better." Chloe bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. Arthur kept a cold face and didn't look at her again. But his heartache was impossible to hide. Back at the Vance house, my oldest brother once fished my failing test paper out of the trash. He punished me by making me copy the wrong answers, but he was worried I would get too tired. So he just sat next to me with a cold face, keeping me company the entire time. Arthur's phone rang. He answered it, said a few words, and frowned. I faintly heard the words "formaldehyde test." I had been back in Chicago for two years, but I had never actually stepped foot inside the Sterling house. For the first six months, they said they were remodeling my room. Then they said it needed to air out. They originally promised that once the formaldehyde test passed, I could move out of the hotel. But another year passed, and I was still living alone in a hotel room. Chloe asked, "Was that the testing company?" "How were the formaldehyde results this time?" Arthur froze for a second and didn't answer. Chloe looked down and said, "I understand." "The test passed, right? Maya is going to move back in." "After the holidays, I'll have the maid clean the room again and make Maya's bed." Arthur sighed softly. His warm hand grabbed my wrist. "The formaldehyde levels are still a bit high. You won't be able to move in this month." "After the holidays, I'll hire a professional remediation company to do a deep clean. It will definitely pass after that." I pulled my hand back and said calmly, "Don't bother." A few hours ago, the testing company had accidentally sent the results to me. Even though they quickly unsent the message. I still saw it. The room had passed the formaldehyde test six months ago. Arthur simply didn't want me to come home. 2 If he didn't want me to come home, why did he even bring me back to Chicago? I couldn't understand it. At the New Year's Eve dinner, Arthur specifically saved the seat next to him for me. Chloe pouted and found a seat as far away from him as possible. During the meal, Arthur placed a distinctly folded dumpling onto my plate. I took a bite and tasted something sweet. He looked at me gently. "Did Maya get the lucky dumpling? You're so lucky!" "What's your New Year's wish?" I suddenly remembered a New Year's Eve years ago, when my third brother intentionally smeared flour on my nose. My oldest and second brothers pinned him down on the couch, waiting for me to retaliate. I answered instinctively, "I just want to go home and have a loud, lively dinner with my family." Arthur coughed uncomfortably. "Next year. Next year, when you move back into the house, we'll celebrate the New Year together at home." I realized then that he thought I was complaining. Seeing the tension, my aunt quickly served Chloe a bowl of soup. "What's wrong, Chloe? You haven't touched your food all night." Chloe's eyes turned red, her voice dripping with grievance. "Nothing, I just don't have an appetite." Someone nudged Arthur. "What's wrong with Chloe? Go comfort her. Why isn't she eating on New Year's Eve?" His tone was cold. "If she doesn't want to eat, let her go hungry. She's an adult." Chloe stiffened, and massive tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned and ran out of the room, not even grabbing her coat. Arthur didn't chase after her. He just let out a soft sigh. "Maya is your biological sister, but Chloe has been with the Sterlings since she was five. Arthur, you can't be biased and only treat Maya well while ignoring Chloe's feelings." He gave a cold "Mm," and the relatives didn't push the issue further. They went back to drinking and chatting, quickly forgetting the minor drama. I didn't even notice when Arthur slipped away from the table. A mischievous little boy pointed a finger gun at me and muttered, "Pew, pew, shooting the garbage picker." No one disciplined him, and no one paid any attention to me. I looked down and checked my phone. My second brother texted to ask if it was snowing heavily in Chicago. I looked out the window, stood up, and went downstairs to take a picture of the snow for him. As soon as I reached the ground floor, I heard the sound of sobbing. Under a streetlamp, Arthur was wrapping his own overcoat around Chloe. Snow fell heavily around them. He gently wiped the tears from her face with his thumb. "Arthur, do you not want me anymore?" Arthur's voice was tender. "Silly, how could I not want you?" "Maya's situation is actually quite pitiful. When I found her in Seattle, she was digging through the trash." "If I treat her a little better, she won't be jealous of you or target you, and your life in the Sterling house will be much easier." Chloe looked up at him. "Really? But when she moves into the house, will you still feel that way?" He tapped her nose affectionately. "I already bought her a small condo on the South Side. As long as she has a place to live, she'll be perfectly satisfied." "Don't worry, I won't let her move into the main house." The wind-driven snow hit my face like a stinging slap. I couldn't help but shiver. I stood frozen for a long time before remembering to snap a picture of the snow and send it to my second brother. Then I dialed a number I hadn't called in a long time. "Mom, I miss you so much." On the other end of the line, Mrs. Vance paused, her voice choking up. "Maya, Mom misses you too." "Are they treating you badly? Do you want to come back to Seattle this year?" "The Sterlings are just a small, ordinary family. Are you getting used to life there?" Mrs. Vance asked question after question, and I didn't even know which one to answer first. I laughed, but my nose stung with unshed tears. "I'm coming home today. My brothers said they're coming to pick me up." "Good, good, that's wonderful. Which of those three brats is going to get you?" My heart swelled with warmth. "All of them." 3 When I returned to the private dining room, the relatives were getting ready to watch the New Year's Gala. Chloe was leaning against Arthur, occasionally showing him something on her phone, the two of them laughing uproariously. I thought to myself, if I hadn't come back inside, I doubt anyone would have even noticed I was gone. The younger kids in the family started screaming at the TV, "Leo! It's Leo!" Festive music flooded the room. I stared blankly at the person on the screen, my eyes growing moist. He looked much thinner than the last time I saw him, but he was still a presence that made it impossible to look away. The five-minute opening act finished, and the camera froze on that impossibly handsome face. The sound of camera shutters clicked. Chloe was taking pictures of the TV screen. "Arthur, didn't you say you have a friend who knows Leo's manager?" "Can you ask him to get me VIP tickets to his concert?" "I absolutely HAVE to go to his concert!" Arthur agreed indulgently, "Alright, alright, I'll definitely get you tickets this year." My phone buzzed. A new message popped up in the group chat. [Phew, finally done. I'm rushing to the airport right now!] [@Maya, did your third brother look handsome?] [Where's the oldest? Did he not watch my performance?!] My second brother replied to him: [Your oldest brother is on a business trip in Berlin. He's on a flight to Chicago right now. He said he'll watch the replay.] I quickly typed a reply: [Leo, you lost weight, but you still looked super handsome!] "Who are you texting?" Arthur's cold voice came from right above me. I instinctively shoved my phone into my pocket. He stared at me intensely. "Why are you calling random, shady guys 'brother'? I am your only brother." I froze for a few seconds, suddenly realizing it had been a very long time since I had called him "brother." When I first returned to Chicago, I genuinely saw him as my only family. Back then, he took meticulous care of me. When the hotel AC made the air too dry, he immediately bought a humidifier and brought it over. No matter how busy he was with work, he would make time every week to take me shopping or to the movies. Once, he got drunk at a business dinner and stumbled into my hotel room. That was the first time I heard him say how guilty he felt. If it wasn't for him, I never would have been abducted. That was the first time I saw him cry uncontrollably, promising to protect me and never let anyone hurt me again. Perhaps even he didn't realize whether his feelings for me were rooted in guilt or genuine affection. Chloe's gasp pulled me out of my thoughts. "Wow, is this Leo when he was a kid?!" "He was so cute!" "I didn't know he had two older brothers and a younger sister!" Leo had just posted a family portrait on Twitter. I was only six in the photo. It was the year the Vance family adopted me. My second aunt glanced at the photo and said softly, "That little girl looks really familiar." A moment later, she muttered to herself, "She looks a lot like Maya when she was little." I was about to speak when I heard Arthur laugh. "When Maya was little, she was just a dark, skinny little monkey. She didn't inherit any of our mother's beauty." "How could she look like a kid from the Vance family?" "You guys don't understand. Leo isn't just some ordinary celebrity. The Vance family's power in Seattle is beyond anything you could ever imagine." My second aunt chuckled. "I'm getting old. I guess I can't even remember what you guys looked like as kids anymore." I closed my mouth and stayed silent. So Arthur had completely forgotten what I looked like as a child too. 4 Everyone went back to casually chatting and scrolling through their phones. The younger kids were already whining about wanting to go home. I wanted to leave too, but Arthur insisted I stay to count down to midnight. Chloe let out a yawn. "Arthur, when are we going home?" "Be good. We'll keep Maya company until midnight, and then we'll leave." Chloe checked the time, looking completely exhausted. "But we have an early flight to catch tomorrow." "I haven't even finished packing. I don't even know if it's cold in Switzerland right now." She suddenly covered her mouth, looking at Arthur in a panic. Arthur said calmly, "Maya, I promised Chloe a while ago that after her grad school entrance exams, I'd take her to Switzerland to ski." "I'm busy with work, and the New Year holiday is the only time I have off. You've never been out of the country, and getting a passport takes time, so I can only take Chloe." The relatives chimed in to agree. "Chloe worked really hard studying for those exams. She deserves a good break." "Exactly. Maya, the Sterling family has always been broad-minded. You wouldn't get upset over something so trivial, right?" Everyone's words boxed me into a corner. If I said a single word of complaint now, I would be the unreasonable one. But I didn't understand. Since Arthur was taking Chloe out of the country for the holidays. Why did he insist on keeping me in Chicago? I could have had a loud, joyous New Year. "Maya, don't be mad. When I get back, I'll take you to the movies, okay?" I laughed until tears came to my eyes. I just wanted to leave. As I turned around, something slipped out of my pocket and fell to the floor. Before I could get a good look at it, Chloe picked it up. "What's this?" She immediately slipped the bracelet made of ceramic beads onto her own wrist. "Is this for Arthur? It's a bit big, looks kind of clunky." I looked closely. It was the bracelet I had made for my brothers. Last month, I went to a pottery town. I tried to buy tea sets for my brothers, but they refused. They said they only wanted something I made with my own two hands. So I had to learn how to make ceramic beads, and I strung a bracelet for each of them. I reached out to snatch it back, but Chloe intentionally dropped it onto the floor. A navy blue ceramic bead shattered into two pieces. I stood frozen for a few seconds, my chest incredibly tight. I raised my hand and slapped Chloe across the face. The sharp crack was followed by Arthur's explosive rage. "Maya, are you insane?!" "It's just a trashy bracelet! Is this really necessary?!" "If I had known you were this ill-mannered and couldn't tolerate Chloe, I never would have brought you back." "Whether you're digging through the trash or starving to death, I wouldn't have cared!" I glared at him furiously, my eyes burning. "Why did you come looking for me? Why did you bring me back?" "I was doing just fine. I was happy." "You brought me back, but you refuse to accept me. You forcibly turned me into an orphan." Scalding tears rolled down my cheeks. I was done playing along with his act. A flicker of guilt and panic appeared in his eyes: "I was just being impulsive. Chloe just dropped it by accident. You shouldn't have hit her." A crisp knock came from the door. Arthur's assistant stood there. "Mr. Sterling, the CEO of Vance Enterprises—the one you've been trying to contact for six months—just suddenly showed up in Chicago. Should we arrange to pay him a visit?" Arthur paused and asked, "Why is he suddenly in Chicago?" Before he could get an answer, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. A familiar voice rang out: "Maya, I'm not late, am I?" I looked up at the man, and the tears I'd been holding back finally fell. 5 The door to the private room was wide open. A chilling gust of cold air swept in. The man standing in the doorway was tall and imposing. The heavy, oppressive aura around him belonged to someone used to wielding absolute power. But when his eyes landed on me, they softened considerably. "Maya, what's wrong?" Arthur's tone was incredibly hostile. "Who are you?" "Do you not know this is a private family dinner?" His assistant sprinted over, his face pale as a ghost. He whispered frantically into Arthur's ear: "That is Alexander Vance, the mysterious CEO of Vance Enterprises!" "We've been trying to set up a meeting with them for six months and couldn't even get past his secretary!" Arthur's pupils contracted sharply. A stiff, aggressively sycophantic smile spread across his face. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "So it's Mr. Vance! What an honor!" "Why didn't you let us know you were coming to Chicago? I would have arranged a proper reception for you!" Alexander ignored him completely, walking straight toward me. He bent down. And picked up the ceramic bead that had shattered into two pieces. He examined it in the palm of his hand. "Are you Maya's brother, Arthur Sterling?" Arthur looked confused. He thought about it for a moment, then his face hardened. He suddenly turned to me and barked sternly: "Maya! Did you do something to offend Mr. Vance?!" Alexander let out a barely audible, icy scoff. He took a step forward. His overwhelming presence forced Arthur to instinctively take a step back. "Did you break my bracelet?" Arthur's mind went completely blank. "Your bracelet?" At that exact moment, another figure appeared in the doorway. The newcomer wore gold-rimmed glasses, exuding a gentle, scholarly elegance. Snowflakes still clung to his coat. The moment he walked in, he furrowed his brow and looked at me. "Why are you dressed so lightly again?" "How many times have I told you? Chicago winters are damp and cold. You'll get sick." Only after scolding me did he turn to Alexander. His tone carried the authority of an older brother. "Alexander, what is wrong with you?" "I reminded you this morning to make sure you brought Maya a down jacket, and you forgot again?" That brief exchange instantly erected an invisible wall around us. All the petty drama of the Sterling family seemed utterly laughable in their presence. Chloe stared at the newcomer, her face draining of color. She whispered: "Professor Julian Vance? The advisor for the grad program I applied to... what is he doing here?" Arthur followed her gaze. He also recognized the man, a prominent figure in both the financial and academic worlds. A friend in the investment circle had once mentioned that whoever managed to hire Julian Vance as a consultant essentially held the golden key to the future. Hearing his name, Julian glanced at Chloe. Half a second later, he looked away. He took off his own scarf and wrapped it securely around me, leaving only my eyes visible. "Let's go. Let's go home." Julian casually grasped my wrist. Alexander stood guard on my other side. They led me away, walking out under the dumbfounded stares of everyone in the Sterling family. Arthur suddenly snapped out of his daze. He chased after us, blocking my path. His voice was hoarse. "Maya, where are you going?" "We agreed to spend New Year's Eve together as a family." Julian stopped and looked at him. His tone was flat. "Mr. Sterling, you might be confused." "Maya Vance is my sister." "As far as any of us are concerned, the Vance family is Maya's only family." He seemed to remember something and turned to ask Alexander. "I almost forgot about Leo. Where is he? He's ten minutes late."
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