"Are you Sophia?"
In the Richmond household, on a stately-colored sofa, the elderly Eleanor Richmond gazed sternly at Sophia, her expression solemn.
In contrast to her severe demeanor, Eleanor was gently stroking the hair of a young girl, who was nestled against her lap. The girl glanced at Sophia only once before turning her tear-filled eyes away.
"You look quite a bit like your father, tall and lanky," Eleanor remarked casually, nodding to the side. "This is your mother."
Sophia had already noticed her.
Seated beside Eleanor was a woman who exuded grace and gentleness. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the woman, and she was just about to say "Mom" when a sudden, sorrowful cry interrupted her.
"Mom!"
The girl on Eleanor's lap suddenly turned and threw herself into the woman's arms.
The woman immediately embraced her, and Eleanor quickly asked, "Bella, what's wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden? No one's taking your mom away from you, right, Sophia?"
Sophia swallowed the words back down her throat. Standing in the middle of the room, she met Eleanor's slightly oppressive gaze and noticed the woman's apologetic yet evasive expression.
The room was filled with guests, all of whom were watching her with strange, curious looks.
For a moment, Sophia Richmond began to doubt whether she had made a mistake.
A week ago, someone claiming to be the Richmond Family's lifestyle assistant found her in a small southern town. Without much explanation, they took her to do a DNA test. When the results came back, she was informed that she was the long-lost third daughter of the Richmond Family.
Over the next few days, the assistant spent an entire week introducing her to the rules of the Richmond Family and the various relatives she would need to know. Only today did the "lessons" end, and she was finally brought to the Richmond estate.
She had expected this to be an awkward but happy reunion.
But the scene before her-
Sophia slowly shifted her gaze to the girl still clinging to **Margaret Richmond**. Somehow, she felt like she was the one who didn't belong.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you too tired?"
Eleanor frowned, her expression stern and disapproving. Without waiting for an answer, she said, "Then go upstairs and rest. Your room has been ready for a while. Later, when the evening banquet begins, you'll have to meet everyone. It's going to be exhausting."
And just like that, Sophia was dismissed.
Before she left, Eleanor gave her a gentle warning: "You've just returned, so you're not familiar with many of the rules here. You should learn them well from your sister-Oh, I'll introduce her to you properly tonight. Isabella, your sister, has been filling your role, showing respect to the elders in your place before you came back."
Eleanor stroked the back of the girl in Margaret Richmond's arms, her aged eyes fixed on Sophia.
"Be sure to thank her properly."
Sophia lowered her eyes, the sunlight highlighting the small mole on her left cheek, making her look pale and delicate, with a cool, translucent beauty.
Without glancing at anyone else, she followed the butler out of the room.
·
It was said that this was the best-lit and largest room in the Richmond estate, personally decorated by Margaret Richmond.
But as Sophia looked at the blazing sunlight flooding the room, she couldn't help but wonder if this was a room no one wanted. Sure, the lighting was great-especially in the height of summer, when even with the air conditioning on full blast, you could still feel the scorching heat.
She drew the curtains tightly shut, retrieved her suitcase, and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.
Ten minutes later, she was awakened by a rhythmic, yet loud, knock on the door.
"It's me." A lively, cheerful voice sounded from outside. "Sister, Mom asked me to bring you some fruit!"
Sophia couldn't help but feel surprised. Just a moment ago, this girl had acted like she was about to be robbed of her mother, and now she was sweetly calling her "sister"?
Puzzled, she opened the door, only to be met by a beaming face.
Isabella walked in with a fruit platter, but as soon as the door closed, her smile vanished like magic, revealing an entirely different expression-one of hostility.
Sophia: ...
"Well, how is it?" Isabella set the platter down on the table and began to pace around the spacious, elegantly decorated room with a natural air of ownership and pride. "Never stayed in a place this nice before, have you?"
Sophia thought for a moment, then hesitantly nodded.
Isabella let out a cold laugh. "This is all you'll ever get."
As she walked closer, her expression grew darker and more twisted, to the point where it became almost frightening.
"Let me tell you something," Isabella hissed, her voice full of hatred and resentment. "Everything in this house is mine."
"Grandpa and Grandma are mine, Mom and Dad are mine, even the brothers and sisters are mine-everything I've had for the past twenty years, don't think you can take it away just because of a little blood."
Sophia could hear Isabella's teeth grinding in anger, her voice seething with pain and bitterness. "Sophia, right?"
"Do you know why you were brought back? It's not because Mom and Dad love you or missed you. It's because they needed you for the marriage alliance with the Carrington Family. I would rather die than marry a cripple! And because they care about me and wouldn't force me, they had no choice but to bring you back!"
"So, do you get it now? You were only able to return to the Richmond Family and go from a penniless orphan to a wealthy heiress because of me!"
"But don't worry," she whispered in Sophia's ear, "I don't need you to thank me."
"Because however proudly you walked into the Richmond Family today, I'll make sure you crawl out in disgrace!"
"Not even a speck of dust in the Richmond Family will ever be yours!"
·
The midsummer sun streamed through the windows.
Sophia stood straight, her eyes slightly lowered as she looked at the girl who was shorter than her.
She opened her lips slightly, just about to speak, when her mind was suddenly filled with the orphanage director's stern warning.
[Sophia, remember this! If you truly want a normal family and real kinship, the most important thing when you get to the Richmond Family is to speak as little as possible!]
[Promise me, if you don't want to be kicked out on your first day, you must absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely speak as little as possible! Even if they think you're mute or autistic, it doesn't matter!]
--"Why aren't you saying anything? You don't believe me?"
Isabella stepped closer, her face twisted into a smile as she gritted her teeth. "Don't believe me if you want. Soon enough, you'll understand what it means to know your place, what it means to understand the gap between classes, and what it means that a crow will never become a phoenix!"
"I can't wait to see how you embarrass yourself at tonight's banquet!"
The door slammed shut.
Sophia stood there, her gaze empty as she tilted her head slightly.
After a moment, she pulled out a palm-sized sketchbook from her bag.
Her pencil moved swiftly across the paper, and before she knew it, two hideous, grotesque witches had come to life on the page.
Once she finished, she casually scanned the sketch with her phone and uploaded it online using an alternate account-