Chapter 2

Bang!

A loud crash, and I stumbled, hitting a wooden crate in the dusty storage room.

The dust choked me, making me cough until my chest ached.

"Reflect on your actions in here!" Richard glared at me, pointing a finger at my nose. "You can come out when you understand where you went wrong!"

"I didn't do anything wrong! The diagnosis is real! I'm really sick! Richard, believe me!"

I braced myself against the wall, trying to argue.

"Believe you?" He scoffed. "Eleanor is right. We've spoiled you rotten! You'd even make up such lies just to get attention!"

"Do you know how much Seraphina has sacrificed for her competition today? The whole family wants her to be happy, and you just have to jump out now and put on a show!"

"I'm not putting on a show!" I cried, trying to grab his sleeve.

He recoiled in disgust. "Enough! You only ever use this act to gain sympathy!"

Seraphina scoffed from outside the door. "Richard, don't waste your breath on her. The guests are waiting for you downstairs. If we don't go down soon, they'll think something scandalous happened in our family."

She paused, her voice dripping with schadenfreude. "Chloe, just stay in there and be your tragic heroine. Whatever you do, don't come out. You'll scare the guests with your ghastly appearance."

"Seraphina!" I trembled with rage.

"Why are you yelling? Did I say anything wrong?" She chuckled. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Eleanor already tore up your diagnosis. That kind of trash paper would only dirty our floor."

Seraphina scattered the torn pieces of paper over my head.

My heart clenched, the pain making me almost lose my footing. "How could you..."

"How could we not?" Eleanor's voice also rang out. "Chloe Miller, I'm warning you, tonight is Seraphina's most important day. If you dare make another sound or ruin the atmosphere, you'll see what I do to you! Stay in there until you learn how to be a daughter who doesn't embarrass the family!"

I looked at Richard desperately.

He didn't look at me, turning instead to Eleanor and Seraphina with a placating smile. "Alright, alright, let's go downstairs. Don't let this ruin your mood."

The click of the lock sealed me off from the world.

I threw myself against the door, pounding on the wood. "Open up! Let me out! I'm really sick! I'm going to die!"

"Richard! Eleanor! Please!"

But the only response was the sound of piano music drifting up from downstairs.

I slowly slid to the floor, leaning my back against the door.

I could hear the guests' laughter downstairs, Richard's toast, Eleanor proudly introducing her genius daughter to everyone.

"My daughter, Seraphina, she's been talented since she was little..."

"This gold medal is just the beginning, her future is limitless!"

No one remembered that there was another me upstairs, a daughter slowly fading away.

Waves of pain washed over me, and my consciousness began to blur.

I curled up in the corner, hugging myself tightly.

The storage room was filled with old family items, each one discarded, just like me.

I don't know how much time passed, but footsteps sounded outside the door. It was my younger brother, Ethan.

"Hey, Chloe, are you still alive?" he asked in a childish voice, laced with malice. "Eleanor says you're a big liar, and you deserve to be locked up."

He kicked the door hard. "Stop making so much noise! Your voice is awful! If you dare to die in there, don't come haunting me as a ghost!"

With that, he skipped away.

I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face. The piano music continued.

The sound seemed to tell me that this family had nothing to do with me.

I was just trash... something that could be thrown away at any moment.