The Family of the Court of Justice
Chapter 1
I was found by my parents less than a year
ago, and then my adopted sister, Lily Carter,
slashed her wrists seven times.
The blood–soaked note she left was filled
with frantic, disturbing scribbles.
It just repeated one sentence.
“Sister, please let me go!”
After Lily was stabilized, my family, fed up,
filed a lawsuit against me.
They all believed that I, leveraging my
newfound status, had bullied Lily to the brink
of death.
It was my eighteenth birthday.
Instead of cake and celebration, I faced a
cold, harsh judgment in court.
But nobody knew that I was the one who had
been bullied all along!
1
L
I’d just left the junkyard when I got a call
from my dad, John Carter.
“Rachel Carter, get home now!”
His voice was icy, devoid of any warmth,
unlike anything a father would say to his
daughter.
But I was used to it.
I took three buses home. As soon as I
stepped inside the mansion, I was slapped
hard across the face.
My head spun, half my face instantly swelling.
“Rachel Carter, look what you’ve done!”
My older brother, Mark Carter, glared at me.
My mom, Sarah Carter, stood beside him, her
face grim, tears in her eyes.
I didn’t understand, but I guessed it was Lily
acting up again.
John walked over, fury burning in his eyes, a
tempest of anger enveloping me.
“Rachel Carter, why?”
“Why do you keep bullying Lily?”
“Is it just because she doesn’t share our
blood?”
“You’ve barely been home a year and you’ve
driven her to cutting herself seven times!”
“This time was the worst. The doctor said if
she’d arrived later, she might not have made.
it!”
“Tell me, what do you want? To leave her for
dead?”
Holding my burning cheek, I explained I hadn’t
bullied Lily.
I begged them not to believe her, to
understand it was all an act.
My father exploded, kicking me hard in the
stomach.
“Lily’s still in the hospital, and you say she’s
acting?”
“Who would joke about their own life?”
“Rachel Carter, you’re a liar!”
“A leopard can’t change its spots. You’re an
uncouth savage!”
“I regret bringing you back from that
backwater!”
I cried out, falling heavily to the floor,
shattering a nearby vase.
Sarah finally spoke, “Rachel, since you’re so
stubborn, we have no choice. We’re pressing
charges.”
My body trembled, I stared at her in disbelief.
Pressing charges against your own daughter?
Could a real mother say such a thing?
“You…you’re going to sue me?”
Mark sneered, “You forced our hand. We
tolerated it before, gave you chances to
change.”
“But you just got worse.‘
دو
“For Lily, this is the only option.”
“As her family, we can’t watch her die!”
My face was etched with bitterness, my lips
pressed thin, my jaw trembling.
They say a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs. I had
their blood, while Lily was an outsider.
Yet, in their eyes, the outsider was far more
important.
They’d rather send me to prison than see Lily
suffer any more “abuse.”
They were enraged; no explanation would
work.
Worse, they only believed Lily, not me.
John said coldly, “Rachel Carter, from today, I
disown you.”
“”
“You’re not a Carter anymore. Don’t expect a
dime from this family. Get out, and wait for
the court summons!”
I was kicked out, left on the street.
The sky was overcast, a light rain falling,
mirroring the day I went missing.
I huddled, shivering.
My body was cold; my heart even colder.
<
I didn’t want to return to that backward,
impoverished village. To survive, I found a
diner job.
The owner, a kind woman, offered me a
$3000 monthly salary, plus room and board.
The kindness was a balm to my wounded
soul.
