It wasn't that I couldn't earn my parents' approval. They weren't my parents at all.
I was kidnapped as a child. The people I called Mom and Dad were the ones who took me.
The investigators I hired are still gathering evidence. After the new year, I'll personally see them sent to prison.
"With genes like theirs, they could never have raised someone like me."
I lifted my face to the dazzling fireworks, and tears slipped down.
I missed my real mom and dad—two people I had no memory of at all.
They must have been frantic too, right?
I'm searching for them. I just don't know if I'll ever be lucky enough to find them.
"Look, that's her, isn't it?"
Someone raised their phone and pointed at me. A crowd gathered fast.
The influencer who'd been livestreaming the fireworks nearby rushed over, camera aimed straight at my face.
"Everyone, you seeing this? This is that ungrateful wretch, Grace Dickerson."
"Her mom's in the hospital waiting for money to save her life, and she's out here on vacation. Shameless."
"She scammed her brother out of his money and his company, and she doesn't care if her own mother lives or dies. How does trash like this even exist?"
The insults around me grew louder.
"Look at her—acting all innocent. Disgusting."
"Give the company back to your brother!"
"Bitch, give it back!"
The crowd pressed closer. When someone looked ready to grab me, I called the police.
Only after the cops arrived did I piece together what had happened.
The Dickersons had exposed me online, and they were still livestreaming.
My so-called parents had testified personally, claiming I'd schemed my way into stealing my brother's company and now refused to help them.
The old lady wore heavy makeup and lay in bed looking frail, telling the world she had cancer.
She needed money to survive, she said. Not only had I taken my brother's company—I wouldn't pay a single cent.
The cop showed me the livestream. Mom and Dad were crying, voices breaking.
"Gracie, it wasn't easy for Mom and Dad to raise you. It wasn't easy for your brother to build that company."
"The family's never treated you badly. You can't abandon us just because you found a man."
"Gracie, your brother said he won't make you return the company. But can you at least give back the money he invested to start it?"
"Your mom needs this money to live. Gracie, I'm begging you as your father."