The Silent Daughter

I was the real daughter who had just been found and brought back to my wealthy family.

But the moment I stepped through the door, the fake daughter Barbara threw herself into my parents' arms, sobbing.

Dad, Mom, forgive meI really can't accept her.

She's that transfer student who spread rumors about me at school and gave me depression!

Mom Lucy held the fake daughter close, comforting her with heartache in her voice.

Dad Patterson's face was full of anger, his eyes looking at me with utter disappointment.

"I never imagined that just a few years of being lost would make you pick up so many bad habits!"

"Butler, throw her out! We don't have a daughter who bullies others at school!"

I looked confused and quickly signed:

"I spread rumors about her? But I'm mute!"

I stood at the doorway, my fingertips still cold from the chill outside.

Barbara was in my parents' arms, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

She buried her face in Lucy's neck, her shoulders shaking violently. When she lifted her head, the corners of her eyes were bright red.

"Dad, Mom, you don't know."

"Last monthly exam, I came in second in our grade, and she went around telling everyone I cheated, that my dad bribed the teachers with money, and that I did things with the grade director in his office to secure my recommendation spot..."

With each sentence she spoke, Lucy's hand patting her back grew heavier, and Patterson's brow furrowed tighter.

I opened my mouth but could only produce fragmented breath sounds.

I hadn't been able to speak since I could remember. The doctors said it was damaged vocal cords.

Over the years, I'd grown used to communicating with people through sign language and pen and paper.

I raised my hand, my fingers just about to form the sign for "it wasn't me," when my brother Pierre suddenly jumped up from the sofa.

He strode over to me in a few steps, looking down at me from above, the contempt in his eyes almost overflowing.

"Alice, how long are you going to keep up this act? Barbara's been driven to depression because of you, and you still want to make excuses?"

I froze for a moment, my fingertips suspended in midair.

Pierre was Patterson's only son. From the moment I entered the house, he'd been protecting Barbara, his gaze full of tenderness toward her.

But when he looked at me, it was like he was looking at something filthy.

"Pierre, don't say that about Alice..."

Barbara tugged at Pierre's sleeve, her voice as soft as water, yet every word stabbed into my heart.

"Maybe Alice just wants to fit into this family so badly that she's trying to get attention this way. I don't blame her, I really don't..."

"You're just too kind!"

Lucy immediately held her tighter, then turned to look at me with eyes as cold as ice.

"Alice, we brought you back to feel the warmth of family, not to bully people! Can you stop with those underhanded tactics you learned out there?"

Patterson let out a heavy snort, his knuckles rapping on the coffee table with dull thuds.

"My daughter, even if she was lost outside, should still carry herself like a proper young lady. But look at youthe moment you walk through the door, you're spreading rumors and bullying Barbara. You've completely disgraced our family!"

The servants nearby huddled together whispering, their eyes full of undisguised contempt.

"I heard she was just a wild girl from the countryside. Never thought she'd be so malicious."

"Barbara's so gentlehow could anyone bear to bully her?"

"Look at her doing sign language. She's acting like it's real. Maybe she's just faking it to get sympathy."

Those words were like fine needles piercing my eardrums.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, and reached for the side pocket of my backpack.

Inside was the notebook I'd brought back from school. I could write down what had really happened.

But the moment my hand touched the zipper, Pierre pressed down on my wrist.

His grip was strong, his knuckles almost digging into my flesh.

"What else are you trying to pull out to deceive people?"

I struggled briefly, using my other hand to reach into my bag, finally pulling out that stack of white paper.

But before I could unfold it, Pierre snatched it away and tore it in half with both hands. The stack of paper instantly became confetti dancing through the air.

The pieces landed in my hair. I stared at him blankly, the last bit of warmth in my heart freezing over.

Barbara let out a timely sob, burying her head even deeper.

"Pierre, don't be like this. Alice is just..."

Pierre cut her off, the fury in his eyes almost catching fire.

"She's driven you to this state, and you're still defending her? This kind of malicious person doesn't deserve to stay in our home!"

Patterson's expression darkened completely. He waved at the butler by the door, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Butler, throw her out. We don't have a daughter like this!"

I curled up on the hard dorm bed at school all night.

The morning study session hadn't started yet. I'd just opened my textbook when the homeroom teacher called me to the office.

When I pushed open the door, Barbara was sitting in the chair across from the teacher.

Her shoulders were heaving, a tissue clutched in her hand, her eyes swollen like walnuts.

When she saw me enter, she immediately looked up, her eyes showing just the right amount of grievance and fear as she shrank behind the teacher.

"Alice, you're here."

The teacher's voice was cold as ice.

"Come here and tell me what you did to Barbara yesterday."

I stood at the door without moving.

Barbara began sobbing at just the right moment:

"Please don't force Alice. Yesterday she cornered me in the hallway and said I was a cuckoo in the nest, a bastard. She said she'd make sure I couldn't stay at this school. I... I was so scared."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, like small knives stabbing into me with precision.

The teacher's expression darkened further. He picked up his phone from the desk and made a call.

"I've already called your parents. They'll be here soon."

Before long, the office door was pushed open.

My parents walked in.

My dad's face was ashen. My mom was holding Barbara's hand, her eyes full of heartache.

Patterson's voice was filled with suppressed fury.

"What happened? Did Alice bully Barbara again?"

The teacher pushed up his glasses, his tone serious.

"According to Barbara's statement, Alice has repeatedly verbally abused and spread rumors about her on campus, even threatening to make her drop out."

"This kind of school bullying is absolutely intolerable at our school."

Patterson whipped his head toward me, the disappointment in his eyes almost drowning me.

"How could I have a daughter like you! Are you only satisfied when you've completely disgraced our family?"

I opened my mouth but could only produce fragmented breath sounds.

I raised my hand, my fingertips just about to form the gesture for "it wasn't me," when Patterson slapped me across the face.

The sharp crack echoed loudly.

My head jerked to the side, my ears ringing, my cheek burning with pain.

I stared at him in a daze, tears finally spilling over.

"You dare to cry?"

Patterson's voice was full of undisguised disgust.

"You did something wrong and you have the nerve to cry? I think you're deliberately acting pitiful to gain sympathy!"

Barbara beside him let out another sob, burying her head in Lucy's arms.

"Don't scold Alice anymore. I don't blame her."

Lucy shot me a cold glance.

"Born lowly, all you know is how to bully Barbara!"

The office door had been pushed open a crack at some point, with several classmates poking their heads in to look.

Whispered conversations came through clearly.

"So she really did bully Barbara..."

"She seems so quiet, never thought she'd be so vicious."

"I heard even her parents don't want her. No wonder she's so cruel."

Those words were like fine needles piercing my eardrums.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

I raised my hands again, signing "I didn't" in sign language.

But I'd only gotten halfway through the motion when the teacher interrupted me.

He frowned, his tone full of impatience.

"Alice, can you stop using these tricks to get attention? If you have something to say, say it. Stop playing these games!"

I froze, my fingertips suspended in midair.

So even my silent defense was just seen as a ploy for attention in their eyes.

Just then, the office door was gently pushed open.

A girl stood in the doorway, her voice weak as she spoke:

"She's not playing games... That's sign language."

Everyone turned to look at the girl in the doorway.

She kept her head down, her fingers clutching tightly at her clothes, but she still gathered her courage and added softly:

"I... I learned a little sign language. What she just said was 'I didn't.' And... she seems to be mute."

The air seemed frozen.

The girl who understood sign language stood in the doorway, her face flushed red, but she still repeated word by word:

"I'm not making this up. My little brother is congenitally deaf and mute. I've learned some sign language since I was little. What she just signed really was 'I didn't.'"

The teacher pushed up his glasses, his tone clearly skeptical:

"Are you sure? This isn't something to joke about."

The girl lifted her head, her eyes firm.

"The hand gestures in sign language are fixed. I wouldn't mistake them. And... Alice has never spoken at school. Everyone knows that."

The office fell silent instantly. My parents' expressions changed.

Lucy looked at me, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, a barely noticeable guilt flashing in her eyes.

But just then, Barbara suddenly sobbed a few times.

While wiping her tears, she spoke softly.

"Alice, even if you don't dare admit it, you can't get someone to act with you and pretend to be mute."

Her crying was like a sharp knife, instantly puncturing Lucy's fragile guilt.

Patterson's expression immediately darkened. He whipped his head toward me, the fury in his eyes almost burning me alive.

"Alice, you're something else! To avoid punishment, you'd even make up this kind of lie! You even found an accomplice to help you actyour heart is rotten to the core!"

With trembling hands, I pulled out the neatly folded disability certificate from my school uniform pocket, wanting to show it to them.

But the moment my hand touched that paper, Patterson snatched it away.

Without even looking at it, he tore it in half. That thin piece of paper instantly became fragments.

I stared at him blankly, tears finally spilling over.

"Keep acting! Keep it up!"

Patterson's voice was full of undisguised disgust.

"I think you need to be taught a lesson! Since you love acting so much, I'll have someone send you to juvenile detention. Let's see if you still dare to keep pretending to be mute after you see how tough the people there are!"

Lucy's expression changed immediately too. Holding Barbara, her eyes were full of contempt:

"Alice, we really misjudged you. We never thought you'd use such lowdown tactics to avoid responsibility. You've disappointed us so much!"

Barbara leaned in Lucy's arms, the corner of her mouth curling into a barely noticeable smile, yet she still cried like a pear blossom in the rain:

"Dad, Mom, don't treat Alice like this. Maybe Alice just had a momentary lapse in judgment. She didn't mean it..."

"A momentary lapse?"

Patterson laughed coldly.

"This is her true nature! This kind of malicious person will only bring disaster to our family if she stays! I'm calling John from the reform school right now to have him come take her away!"

The teacher stood to the side, his expression shifting uncertainly.

He looked at me, then at my parents, and finally sighed, waving at the girl in the doorway:

"You can go back now. We'll handle this."

The girl opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something more, but the teacher's gaze stopped her.

She looked at me deeply, her eyes full of sympathy and helplessness, but finally turned and left the office.

I stood there, looking at those torn paper fragments on the floor, and suddenly laughed.

So the innocence I'd tried so hard to prove was nothing more than a ridiculous performance in their eyes.

So I had never had any place in this family.

I slowly crouched down, picking up those paper fragments one by one.

My fingertips were cut by the sharp paper edges, but I couldn't feel the pain.

Compared to the pain in my heart, what did this little injury matter?

When the reform school van stopped under the academic building, the air on the entire floor of offices seemed to freeze.

Two men in uniforms pushed through the door, their faces showing the indifference that came from years of dealing with problem teenagers.

Patterson immediately went up to them, his tone familiar.

"John, sorry to trouble you to make the trip. This girl is malicious. Keeping her around would only bring disaster. I'm leaving her to you for proper discipline."

The man called John glanced at me, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold, hard smile.

"Mr. Patterson, rest assured. No matter how bad a kid is, once they get to our place, they'll learn to behave."

Barbara leaned in Lucy's arms, the smugness in her eyes almost overflowing.

She gently tugged at Lucy's sleeve, her voice as soft as cotton, yet every word stabbed into my heart:

"Dad, Mom, don't be too harsh. Alice just had a momentary lapse. Maybe once she gets to the reform school, she'll realize her mistake."

Patterson laughed coldly.

"This is her true nature! People like her need to be taught a lesson!"

John walked up to me, looking down from above:

"Is it you? Pretending to be mute and bullying people?"

I didn't speak, just clutched at my clothes, my fingertips ice cold.

John's eyes showed clear impatience.

"Why aren't you talking? Still pretending?"

He suddenly lifted his foot and kicked hard at the back of my knee.

Caught off guard, I fell to my knees with a thud, my kneecaps hitting the cold tile floor. The pain made my vision go black.

"Still being stubborn?"

John grabbed a handful of my hair and forced my head up.

"I'll teach you to pretend!"

His palm slapped hard across my face, the force so great that my head whipped to the side, my ears ringing, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth.

I was trembling all over from the pain, but could only bite my lip hard to keep from making a sound.

But the intense pain still made me unable to suppress some fragmented breath soundsa few unclear syllables leaked from my throat.

"She spoke! She's definitely faking it!"

Barbara's voice suddenly rang out shrilly, filled with undisguised delight.

"I knew she was pretending to be mute to deceive us! She's a liar!"

My parents' expressions instantly grew even uglier. Patterson pointed at me, so angry his whole body was shaking:

"You liar! How could our family produce a daughter like you! You've completely disgraced us!"

The teacher also shook his head, his tone full of disappointment:

"Alice, I really misjudged you. I never thought you'd resort to such methods to avoid punishment."

The classmates around also joined in, their whispered conversations like invisible slaps striking my face painfully.

"So she really was faking it!"

"She seems so quiet, never thought she'd be so calculating."

"People like this should be locked up!"

John slapped me again and grabbed my arm to drag me away.

"Come on! Come back with me and see how I'll deal with you!"

I closed my eyes in despair, tears finally spilling over.

Just then, the office door was kicked open violently. Everyone froze.

A man in a black suit stood in the doorway, tall and upright, his bearing cold and severe, his whole presence radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.

His gaze swept over everyone in the office, finally landing on me, the heartache in his eyes almost overflowing.

His voice was low and icy, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"My daughter simply can't speak, and you humiliate her like this?"