They had aged. Their hair had gone gray in patches.

Their whole bearing had changed beyond recognition.

But as I looked at them, I felt nothing. Not a ripple. Not a stir.

They stared at me, frozen in place for a long time, murmuring under their breath.

"She really does look like... the resemblance is uncanny..."

Maureen walked over and looped her arm through her mother's, making introductions.

"Mom, Dad, this is the classmate I told you about. Doesn't she look just like her?"

Savannah Simmons snapped out of her daze and hurried toward me.

She took my hands, her voice warm with enthusiasm.

"Come in, come in. It's chilly out here."

I stepped inside the mansion. The lavish decor hit me all at once—vaulted ceilings, polished marble, crystal fixtures.

A far cry from the drafty shack we'd lived in all those years ago.

Savannah brought over an elegant gift box and held it out to me, smiling, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, it's our first time meeting, and I didn't know what to get you."

"Just a little welcome gift. I hope you'll like it."

I took the box and opened it right there.

Inside sat a solid gold ring. By its weight alone, it had to be worth several thousand dollars.

Were they really trying this again?

The same trick. The same script. All over again.

I handed the box back to her, smiling politely.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Simmons. I'm allergic to gold."

Savannah froze in place, her hand still hovering in midair. The anticipation on her face crumbled into bewilderment.

I glanced sideways at Maureen. The expression on her face was stiff, unnatural.

Amos stepped in quickly to smooth things over. "No problem at all. If gold doesn't work, we'll pick something else."

"Whatever you like, just say the word."

I shook my head.

"That won't be necessary. I'm just here for dinner. Once we've eaten, I'll be on my way."

Savannah opened her mouth, then closed it again, the words dying on her lips.

Maureen, however, muttered something under her breath.

"What an act."

It was barely a whisper, but every syllable reached me.

Once we sat down, the table was covered with dishes.

Savannah fussed over me immediately. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made a bit of everything. Does any of this look good to you?"

I scanned the spread. Braised pork belly. Sweet and sour fish. All the things I'd loved as a child.

Back then, we'd been too poor to afford them except during the holidays. And even then, I only got to pick at whatever scraps they left behind.

"Thank you, Mrs. Simmons, but I actually prefer spicy food."

Savannah acted as if she hadn't heard me and placed a thick cut of braised pork in my bowl herself.

"Eat up. You're too thin. You need to put some meat on those bones."

I stared at the best piece of pork sitting in my bowl. I didn't touch my chopsticks.

Savannah noticed and tilted her head, curious.

"Why aren't you eating? Is it not good?"

She picked up a piece for herself and tasted it.

"It's fine. Tastes just like it always did."

I set down my chopsticks and cut straight to the point.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. You didn't invite me here just for dinner, did you?"

The couple exchanged a glance, something complicated passing between them.

Amos spoke first. "You're overthinking it. There's no hidden agenda. We just wanted to have a meal with you."

I wasn't stupid. I could see what they were after.

But twelve years had passed. Some things couldn't be undone.

"I know you've figured out who I am. And I won't deny it. I was your daughter once."

"But I truly don't want you disrupting my life again."

"Consider this our last supper."

Savannah grabbed my hand, her grip desperate.

"Sunny, we—"

I pulled my hand free and cut her off.

"My name is Regina Fox. Not Sunny."

The name Sunny.

It had been buried the same day they sent me away.

Amos's expression turned cold, his patience finally snapping. "Is that how you talk to your parents?"

"Your mother got up at the crack of dawn to shop and cook for you, couldn't stop talking about you the whole time. Is this how you repay her?"

I laughed. A hollow, disbelieving laugh.

I swallowed the grievance churning inside me and looked at them both.

"And how have you repaid me?"

The two of them went silent. Neither had a word to say.

Maureen piped up from the side, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You pulled every string you could to transfer back here. We all know what you're really after."

"Playing the high-and-mighty victim now. Who's this performance for?"

Savannah hissed under her breath, "Maureen, that's enough!"

Maureen pouted, defiant. "Am I wrong? That's exactly what she's like!"

I couldn't be bothered to argue with them anymore. I stood up to leave.

"Stop right there!"

Amos called after me. He pulled a bank card from his wallet and tossed it onto the table in front of me.

"There's fifty thousand dollars on that card. Living expenses for your college years."

I didn't pick it up. I walked out of the mansion without looking back.

Everything behind me no longer had anything to do with me.

Savannah tried to follow, but Maureen held her back.

"Mom, can't you see what's going on?"

"She thinks it's not enough. What she wants is way more than that!"

Amos's face darkened. He let out a cold scoff.

"Sending her away was the best decision I ever made."

I heard every word.

I told myself not to care anymore. Not to let it hurt.

But the pain still twisted through my chest, sharp and raw, like something was clawing at me from the inside.

Was that really all I was to them? Something cheap and disposable?

All I wanted was to live my life in peace. Was that so wrong?

I went back to my apartment and collapsed onto the couch.

I just needed a moment. A moment to let the exhaustion and the hurt settle.

Then three masked men burst out of my bedroom.

They moved fast. The first one clamped his hand over my mouth before I could make a sound. The others grabbed my arms, rough and brutal, and started tearing at my clothes.

The third one held up a phone, grinning as he snapped photos.

The things coming out of his mouth were filthy.

When they were done taking pictures, they tried to force themselves on me.

My vision went red. I fought with everything I had.

Then I remembered the paring knife I kept hidden under the couch cushion.

I ripped it out and slashed wildly at them.

"Get out! Get the hell away from me!"

"I swear to God, I'll kill every last one of you!"

At first they laughed, amused, trying to grab the knife out of my hand.

But I was stronger than they expected. They couldn't get close. One of them caught a gash across his arm, and they finally scrambled out, cursing as they went.

I ran to the door and threw the deadbolt. Then I checked every corner of the apartment, every closet, every shadow.

Only when I was sure I was alone did I sink to the floor, half-dressed, shaking.

The tears came then. I couldn't hold them back anymore.

I called the police that same night. I thought it was over.

Until I opened my phone the next morning.

The campus forum was flooded with explicit photos of me. They were everywhere.

Half of them were real. The other half had been deliberately edited.

The comments section had hundreds of posts, every single one mocking me, tearing me apart.

One comment in particular had leaked all of my personal information. Name, age, major. Every detail, letter-perfect.

And tacked on at the end, casual as anything:

She's always been like this. Total slut.

I didn't even need to think about it. That comment had Maureen written all over it.

No one else hated me that much.

I'd never come back with any intention of returning to that so-called family. I'd never once thought about taking anything from her.

So why? Why couldn't she just leave me alone?

Tears fell onto the screen before I could stop them, blurring those disgusting photos into smears of color.

The comments kept piling up. Some called me shameless. Others said I was doing it for attention. A few even tagged the university administration, demanding I be expelled.

My heart grew colder with every word.

I didn't want to run. I couldn't afford to.

I got up, changed my clothes, and headed for the door, determined to explain everything to the dean.

The moment I opened it, I found Amos and Savannah standing in the hallway.

Disappointment was etched deep into both their faces. Amos looked especially furious, the kind of anger that came from believing someone had failed you beyond repair.

Before I could say a word, he started in on me.

"Explain. Those photos online. What the hell is going on?"

"What's it to you?" I shot back.

That set him off. He planted himself in the corridor and raised his voice so the entire floor could hear.

"You are our daughter!"

"Everything you do reflects on us. Do you understand that?"

I stared at him, unblinking.

Savannah tugged at her husband's arm. "That's enough. Don't yell. I'm sure she didn't want this to happen either."

She pulled me back inside the apartment as she spoke, her tone shifting between tenderness and suspicion like a needle on a broken compass.

"Sweetheart, nobody wants something like this to happen. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"You're an adult now. Having a boyfriend is perfectly normal. We can't control your personal life."

"But... but you have to respect yourself!"

"Just because your adoptive parents aren't around to guide you anymore doesn't mean you can let yourself go and do something this humiliating..."

I cut her off, each word deliberate and sharp.

"You don't get to mention my adoptive parents. And you sure as hell don't get to lecture me."

Savannah froze. She clearly hadn't expected that.

Amos jabbed a finger at me and erupted.

"We don't get to? Look at yourself! You've thrown away every shred of dignity you had, and you still care about that?"

My gaze was steady when I answered.

"What makes you so sure those photos were taken with my consent?"

"And what makes you so sure I don't respect myself?"

Amos let out a laugh that held no humor at all. "Weren't you the one who transferred back here on your own?"

"Why else would you suddenly show up the moment our family has money?"

"Something like this happening to you? You brought it on yourself!"

Brought it on myself.

Those words drove into my chest like a blade.

Twelve years of buried grief, twelve years of swallowed resentment, detonated all at once.

I shot to my feet and screamed at them.

"Twelve years!"

"You could've just lived your lives and left me out of it. Why did you have to come find me?"

"Just pretend I don't exist. Is that so hard?"

"Your family? I never wanted to go back. Not once. I don't want any part of it!"

The color drained from Amos's face, then flooded back an ugly, mottled red.

"You... what did you just say?"

I looked at them both, my expression cold as stone.

"Stop coming to see me. Please."

"If you're here because you feel some flicker of guilt about the past, let me save you the trouble. Don't bother."

"The moment you gave me away all those years ago..."

"My parents died."

The slap came before the last syllable left my mouth.

The side of my face burned white-hot. My ears rang, a high-pitched whine drowning out everything else.

Amos stood over me, finger trembling with rage.

"How did I ever bring something like you into this world? An ungrateful little wretch!"