"Don't you think you went too far? Ethan wouldn't even talk to me today. He was shaking the whole time, and his head's bleeding."

Mom's eyebrow arched. I flinched.

I knew that look. Whenever she made that face, I was the one who ended up paying for it.

She tossed the spatula down, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, so now I don't know how to raise kids? Being a stepmother is so hard. Haven't I been good to your son? That cut on his forehead? He did that to himself—banged his head on purpose. I didn't lay a finger on him!"

Then came Dad's endless apologies.

But Mom only grew more aggrieved.

"We agreed from the start to treat each other's children the same. Tell me—have I ever skimped on feeding him or clothing him?"

Dad sighed. In a family like theirs, keeping things fair was nearly impossible.

"You're good to my son, and I'm good to your daughter, aren't I? That five-thousand-dollar summer camp—I paid it without blinking."

I crouched nearby, listening to them list all the ways they'd been good to my brother and sister.

Jealousy gnawed at me. Why couldn't I be them? Wasn't I their child too? Why did they only care about each other's kids?

They'd never treated me that way.

"I keep feeling like we've let Lily down. Have we been too hard on her? She's not being mistreated at Rita's, is she?"

I looked up at Dad.

Dad, I was hurt. They cut open my stomach. It hurts so much.

Whenever Ethan or Chloe were wronged, Mom and Dad stood up for them. Maybe this time, they'd stand up for me?

Mom scoffed.

"What's she lacking? Food? Clothes? I just asked her to stay somewhere else for a few nights, and she threw a fit like I was abandoning her forever."

But Mom, I really was cut to pieces and thrown away.

She pulled out her phone to call Rita. It rang for a long time before anyone picked up.

"Hello? Rita? What's all that noise? The kid wants to eat out? Rita, you spoil her too much."

"You're taking her back to your hometown for a few days? Sure, I'll leave her in your hands. I'll come pick her up soon and thank you properly!"

I paced in frantic circles.

"Mom, that woman's lying! She went to play mahjong. She's not watching me at all. Why would I be out eating with anyone?"

Mom believed every word.

She hung up and slammed the spatula against the wok.