They Sent Me to Prison for My Sister

Chapter 1

To save my bipolar sister, my parents personally sent me to prison.

Five years later, my sentence was finally over.

On the day of my release, they didnt come to welcome me home.

Instead, they were accompanying my sister as she registered for her new job as a correctional officer at the very same prison.

When they saw me, my parents froze in awkward silence.

After a long pause, Eleanor spoke first, her voice trembling.

"Luna... back then, making you take the fall for Chloe was our only choice."

"We never expected you to legally cut ties with us on the spot. You didnt even call us once from inside..."

I avoided her reaching hand, packed my last shirt into my bag, and turned to leave.

As I brushed past them, Arthur grabbed my sleeve, his eyes red with anger.

"Luna! Its been five years! Are you seriously going to hold onto the past forever? Is this how you treat your parents and your sister?"

"Come home with us so we can talk. You have nowhere else to go anyway..."

Talk? What was there to talk about? I was no longer that little girl who begged for her parents' love.

Besides...

I looked at the car parked not far away and pulled my arm back with force.

"I do have a place to go. My family is already here to pick me up."

...

Seeing me dodge his touch, Arthurs temper flared instantly.

"Luna Vance! Did prison rot your brain? You dont even recognize your own parents?!"

"Five years, and youre still this stubborn. Youre not even half as lovable as Chloe!"

His voice was so loud that several guards looked over, making the air freeze with awkwardness.

Eleanor quickly patted his arm, whispering to him to calm down.

"Keep it down, Arthur. Don't ruin Chloes first day."

Then she turned to me, forcing a weak, apologetic smile.

"Luna, you know how your father is. Don't take it to heart."

"You haven't contacted us all these years. Did you really think we wanted you in prison?"

"Silly girl, youre our daughter too. If you hadn't refused to take our calls back then, we would have hired the best lawyers to keep you out."

Her eyes welled with tears, looking exactly like a heartbroken, helpless mother.

But she seemed to have forgotten one thing. I had done nothing wrong. The crime was entirely forced on me just to protect Chloe.

I took a step back, my voice dead calm.

"Save it. Since the day you made me take the blame for Chloe, we stopped being a family."

My words made Arthurs face darken instantly.

"Look at her! Look at her attitude! How did we raise such an ungrateful brat!"

He raised his hand to slap me, but the sudden ringing of his phone cut him off.

He answered it quickly.

Chloes lazy voice echoed from the speaker.

"Dad, Im done with the paperwork. Drive the car to the West Gate to pick me up. The main gate is too far, and Im too lazy to walk."

"Sure, sweetheart. We're on our way."

Eleanor quickly chimed in, trying to break the tension.

"See, Luna? Chloe is still as lazy as ever..."

"Why don't you come with us to pick up your sister? She got the job today. She's thrilled."

"Were family, Luna. Theres no grudge that cant be settled. Come home with us..."

"Enough!" I didn't want to watch their family drama anymore. I turned to walk away.

But Eleanor grabbed my arm.

She pulled too hard. I was so thin and frail that I lost my balance and slammed onto the concrete ground.

Eleanor stared at me for a long time, her lips trembling, but she couldn't say a word.

Even Arthur was stunned when he saw how skeletal I looked. "Did you refuse to eat in prison? Why are you so skin and bones..."

Refusing to eat?

What a joke.

In their eyes, Chloe, with her manic episodes, was a delicate porcelain doll they had to protect. But me? The healthy daughter was supposed to be made of steel.

So, every time Chloe messed up, I was the one who took the blame and the punishment.

When Chloe put bugs in the principal's coffee, they were terrified she would have a breakdown if punished. So, I took the fall and was publicly suspended.

When Chloes bullying almost cost a girl her life, I confessed to being the mastermind. From that day on, I didn't have a single friend left at school.

Until that final time, when Chloe committed the ultimate crime...

That was the first time I refused to take the fall. In return, my father gave me a brutal slap.

That slap ruptured my right eardrum. To this day, I cant hear a single thing on that side.

Five years had passed. Chloe had smoothly graduated and got her job.

She had a bright future ahead of her. How wonderful.

I looked at them coldly and asked:

"Go back with you? And then what? Are you really going to claim me as your daughter?"

"If people find out that Chloes sister is a convicted felon, your precious daughter's career will be ruined instantly, won't it?"

Their faces turned pale as sheet.

The phone rang again. Chloes voice on the other end was getting extremely impatient.

Ultimately, after a brief struggle on their faces, they turned and got into their car.

Chapter 2

After picking her up, the familiar black SUV drove past the main gate again.

As the car rolled by, bursts of happy laughter floated out of the half-open window.

The guard who knew me well couldn't help but sigh.

"Your new colleague's family seems so close."

"Her parents came by last week, buying us lunch and sending gifts, just asking us to look out for her."

"By the way, I saw you talking to them earlier. Do you know them?"

I couldn't help but smile faintly. "I do."

"I used to be their daughter, too."

The guards eyes widened in shock.

He probably couldn't comprehend how two children from the same family could end up so differentlyone a felon, the other a correctional officer.

A long, long time ago, I was also the darling of that family.

The first thing Arthur did after work every day was to drive all the way across town to wait in line at my favorite bakery.

He would tuck the warm cake inside his coat, terrified it would get cold on his way home.

Every night, Eleanor would sit by my bed, softly reading me bedtime stories until I drifted off to sleep.

If you scrolled through Eleanors phone gallery back then, it was filled with pictures of melaughing, crying, playing.

The three of us always squeezed tight in photos, with me in the middle, as they whispered:

"Luna will always be our favorite little girl!"

Even after Chloe was born, they didnt love me any less.

But Chloe was a troublemaker from day one. She was either hitting other kids or getting hit by them.

My parents were always busy cleaning up her messes, but they were also terrified I would feel left out.

To keep things "fair," every time they neglected me because of Chloe, they bought me an expensive gift.

Until Chloe turned seven, when she jumped off the school's second-floor balcony without any warning.

That was the first day my parents forgot to pick her up from school because they were attending my parent-teacher conference.

With red eyes, Eleanor had hugged me and said:

"Chloe is sick, Luna. We have to spend more time watching her from now on."

"Otherwise, shes going to hurt herself."

"Youre the older sister. Can you understand mommy and daddy?"

Arthur also spoke with a raspy voice:

"Luna, youre the older sister. You need to help us look after Chloe."

Wanting to ease their burden, I nodded without a second thought. "I will definitely take good care of her!"

I was too young then. I didn't know what bipolar disorder meant, and I didn't understand the heavy weight of the words "taking care of her."

I had no idea that those simple words would completely ruin my life.

Chapter 3

In the beginning, "taking care of her" just meant giving up my toys to Chloe when she threw tantrums, and then apologizing to others on her behalf.

But gradually, she learned to weaponize her illness.

Whenever she wanted something, she would throw things, hit people, or even threaten to jump off buildings.

And my job went from apologizing for her to taking the blame for her actions.

Compared to her life, my sacrifices became taken for granted.

My parents' eyes barely lingered on me anymore; they poured every ounce of their energy into Chloe.

It happened on my nineteenth birthday.

I had bought a small cake with the money I earned from my college part-time job, and I had carefully prepared gifts for them.

I lit the candles, waiting for them to come home.

The candles burned down to the bottom. Midnight came and went. My phone remained silent.

I couldn't stay awake and fell asleep on the couch.

I was startled awake by the sound of the front door slamming open.

I forced a smile and stood up, trying to present my gifts.

But before I could even speak, Arthur, looking extremely frustrated, snapped at me:

"What time do you think it is?! Your sister is in deep trouble, and youre here enjoying cake?!"

With a swing of his arm, he knocked my cake onto the floor.

Looking at the ruined cake, Eleanor suddenly broke down in tears.

"What are we going to do? Chloe is sick. Shell commit suicide if shes taken away! Shes still so young..."

Suddenly, Eleanor locked her eyes on me.

"Luna, I beg you. Please help your sister one last time."

"What happened?" I felt a chill run down my spine, my voice trembling.

"Take the blame for her..." Eleanor looked behind Arthur.

Chloe peeked out from behind their backs, crying hysterically, her body shaking like a leaf.

My head buzzed. I stared at them blankly.

"What... what did she do?"

"Her... her professor gave her a bad grade, so Chloe pushed her down the stairs," Eleanors voice shook violently.

"And?"

Arthur closed his eyes, his throat tightening. "The professor was eight months pregnant... neither survived."

My mind went completely blank. I stumbled back, barely finding my voice.

"So... how do you want me to help?"

Eleanor grabbed my arms with a death grip.

"Luna, take the fall for her, please!"

"We asked around. At worst, youll go to a youth detention center for a few years. But Chloe is too sick. She will die in there!"

"Her life has just begun!"

"Well handle your college withdrawal later. Don't worry, we will spend every penny we have to hire the best lawyers to get you out early."

I stared at her in utter disbelief, my legs turning to jelly. "What about me? I worked so hard to get into my dream university! Youre just going to ruin my life?!"

"How can you say that?" Eleanor looked deeply hurt.

"Your sister is sick! Youre the older sister, it's your job to protect her! College doesnt matter. We will support you for the rest of your life!"

"Once this blows over, it wont affect your future at all!"

I stared at her, my eyes burning with tears, and screamed at the top of my lungs, "No! I won't do it!"

Chloe immediately wailed. Arthur lunged forward and slapped me across the face.

The force of the blow knocked me straight to the floor.

My right ear felt hot and wet. I touched it, and my hand came back covered in blood.

Seeing my resistance, Chloes eyes darted around, and she ran toward the balcony, screaming:

"Even Luna hates me! I don't want to live anymore! My life is over anyway!"

Terrified that she was having an episode, my parents rushed to grab her, sobbing and pleading:

"Don't worry, Chloe! We won't let anything happen to you! We'll fix this!"

I watched them desperately comforting Chloe. I murmured:

"Is suicide a golden ticket in this house? What if I kill myself too? What would you do?"

In response, a glass cup flew through the air, followed by Arthur's furious roar:

"Your sister is sick! How dare you compare yourself to her?!"

"She got sick because we spent too much time on you when you were kids and ignored her!"

The glass shattered against my head. Water mixed with blood dripped down my face. The last bit of hope I had for them died right there.

They locked me inside my bedroom and took my phone.

Through the door, I could hear them whispering sweet comfort to Chloe.

My head throbbed with excruciating pain, and my face was smeared with blood from my head and my ear.

I banged on the door, crying for help, but my voice was quickly drowned out by Chloes dramatic sobbing.

I could only watch the light under the door frame turn off. Everything fell into complete silence, and I drifted into darkness.