"Mr. Fox is so accomplished for his age! Old Mr. Fox, you and your wife are truly blessed to have raised such an outstanding son!"
"Absolutely! Unlike that ungrateful daughter of yours, stealing the family's money and disappearing. What a disgrace!"
I stood in the corner, listening to every word of their lies, and a cold smile crept across my face.
Ten years ago.
For $230,000 in blood money, they had crushed sleeping pills into my birthday cake with their own hands.
When I woke up, I was locked in the bottom hold of a smuggling vessel. Around me were dozens of other girls, all just like me.
If that ship hadn't hit a reef during a storm.
If I hadn't clung to a piece of driftwood with the last breath in my body, floating on the open ocean for a day and a night, I wouldn't have survived.
So what right did they have to live like this?
I drew a deep breath and stepped into the light.
No one noticed me.
Not until I walked up to the head table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"Waiter. A glass of water, please."
I rapped my knuckles on the table.
The laughter and conversation at the head table died instantly.
My mother recognized me first.
Red wine sloshed from her glass and splattered across the tablecloth. She stared at me like she was looking at a ghost.
"You... you..."
Her lips trembled.
My father froze too, the smile on his face locking into a rigid mask.
"Dad. Mom. It's been a while."
"Barret's company going public is such a big occasion. Why didn't anyone think to invite his big sister?"
I leaned back in the chair, a half-smile on my face, watching them.
Ten years of hardship had changed me. I was no longer the helpless girl they could do with as they pleased.
"Sharon Fox?!"
My father lurched to his feet, knocking his chair over with the force of it.
Only then did Barret Fox, still standing on the stage, realize what was happening.
He stepped down from the stage with a frown, his flashy fiancée trailing close behind.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on?"
He didn't even glance at me, just kept muttering under his breath. "What are we paying security for? How did they let some beggar waltz in here?"
But then, in the very next second, his eyes found my face.
The irritation on his features froze solid.
"Sharon? You're not dead?!"
The words flew out before he could stop them.
Barret realized his mistake immediately and scrambled to rearrange his expression.
"Sis, you've finally decided to come back?"