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Sophia’s throat swelling had lessened after the IV, but her voice was still raspy.
"If you’re no longer satisfied with us, you’re free to return to your bio-parents at any time!"
"Today is one of the most important days of Lily’s life!"
"We’re all looking for you to take a family photo, and you’re off dating your boyfriend?"
"How could you become like this? You’ve let me down!"
Mr Thompson spat out the words furiously and hung up.
Boyfriend? Sophia herself never knew she’d gotten a boyfriend.
Then she received a message from Lily.
"I know you’re upset and don’t want to see me, so I made up a boyfriend for you."
"From now on, whenever you don’t want to be home, I’ll tell them you go see your boyfriend, okay?"
After two seconds, Lily withdrew it to eliminate the record.
This was her pattern with Sophia.
Lily had used this tactic countless times to provoke her, to force her out of the Thompson house.
Sophia, unable to let go of the Thompsons, had silently endured Lily’s taunts.
Now, she’d decided to leave. There was no reason to endure anymore.
She hit the video call button.
Lily took a while to answer. She found a quiet spot on the balcony.
Seeing Sophia alone in the ER getting an IV, Lily burst into laughter.
"How pathetic you are!"
"It’s a madhouse here, full of life, and you’re stuck alone in a hospital?"
Lily dropped her mask completely. Sophia discreetly recorded the screen.
"Your victory celebration was bought with my stolen painting."
"Next time, you won’t be so lucky."
A year ago, Sophia would have been furious. Now, she wasn’t angry anymore.
She was curious instead: what would the Thompsons’ reaction be when they finally saw Lily’s true colors?
"As long as you’re here, Sophia, whatever you paint, I’ll take it." Lily smirked.
"So you admit you stole my painting?"
"So what if I stole it? Everyone believes me."
"Sophia, just give up. As long as I have this face, the whole Thompson family will drown me in guilt."
Lily, though scheming and vicious, really excelled at reading people. Sophia was no match for her in that arena.
"Their real daughter is dead. However, I luckily have an eighty percent resemblance to her. LOL!"
"To compensate for their lost daughter, they’ll shower me with unconditional love and care. The living can never compete with the dead!"
"Your act is impressive. But no matter how good it is, a fake is still a fake!" Sophia retorted in a cold voice, "One day, they’ll see through you!"
Sophia’s endurance over the year stemmed from hope.
She hoped that the Thompsons would see Lily’s true nature. She believed that day would come.
"The breeze is chilly tonight. Why are you alone on the balcony?"
"We have more surprises for you. Go open your gifts…"
Ethan’s gentle voice suddenly broke the tension as he pushed open the balcony door.
Lily instantly wiped the malice from her face.
She flipped her phone screen down, switching to a look of concern for Sophia,
"Ethan, Sophia seems sick! She’s in the hospital getting an IV. Should we go get her?"
"She’s always been healthy. What could be wrong? She’s probably just trying to get our attention."
"Didn’t she secretly get a boyfriend? Let him deal with it!"
Sophia, unable to see anything on the screen, could still hear Ethan’s voice clearly.
Until Lily secretly ended the video call.
Sophia froze for a long time at the sight of the disconnected screen.
Her heart felt icy — Ethan was no longer her second brother!
By the time Sophia returned to the Thompson house, it was 4 AM.
To her surprise, Lucian was waiting in the living room, hidden in the shadows.
