The Son They Wanted, the Daughter They Betrayed

The day my biological parents brought me back to the Hawthorne family, I had just turned down the campus beauty’s ninety-ninth confession of love. Rose petals still covered my shoulders. My biological mother looked me up and down with disgust. “Now that you’re back where you belong, put an end to your womanizing and learn to behave.” The fake heir, who had been playing the victim since I walked through the door, suddenly leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You’d better behave yourself. Don’t even dream of fighting me for the Hawthorne inheritance.” “Just because you’re a guy doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you.” I froze. Wait. Who told you people I was a guy? I was the best female cadet at the police academy! “You’ve got this wrong!” I pushed Ethan Hawthorne away and was about to explain that I was a woman, but he dropped to the floor and refused to get up. Seeing Ethan fall, Mrs. Hawthorne rushed over to help him. His eyes filled with tears as he looked at me timidly. “Avery, I know you hate me for taking your place all these years. If this makes you feel better, I don’t mind.” “That’s not—” Before I could finish, Mrs. Hawthorne slapped me across the face. Her face was flushed, but her eyes were ice-cold. “Ethan will always be my favorite son. Don’t get any ideas. Consider this your first warning.” My cheek burned. No one had ever hit me before. My adoptive parents had always treated me well. They had never laid a hand on me. Besides, I was tall and quick on my feet. When someone picked on me, I was usually the one doing the hitting. Stunned, I stood there and watched Ethan sob in Mrs. Hawthorne’s arms. “I’m not Ethan’s brother…” After thinking it over, I decided I should clear things up. I did look androgynous. Even my voice could pass for a man’s or a woman’s. My lack of obvious feminine features had caused plenty of misunderstandings over the years. I didn’t want another one. But before I could finish, Mrs. Hawthorne interrupted me again. She gave me a disdainful glance and said flatly, “I wish you weren’t my child either. But what can we do now? What a curse.” Seeing how little she cared about me, I gave a small smile. Fine. We might as well end this farce right here. I hadn’t wanted to leave my adoptive parents anyway. I had only agreed to come because my adoptive mother encouraged me to face my past. Who knew so much would happen the moment I arrived? I had barely turned around when Ethan sprang out of Mrs. Hawthorne’s arms and ran toward me. He clung to my left arm, his eyes brimming with tears. “Don’t go, Avery. I’m the one who should leave.” His whining was getting on my nerves. I swung my arm and shook him off again. Ethan landed hard on the floor, somehow bruising his forehead in the process. Mrs. Hawthorne ordered the bodyguards to hold me down, then stood beside me with a sneer. “Do you think you can come and go from the Hawthorne house whenever you please?” “You’re part of this family now. I’ll teach you some discipline before you embarrass me in public.” Several servants marched me all the way to the cleaning supply room. Mrs. Hawthorne stood behind me and sneered. “You can sleep here. You don’t deserve anything better.” Then she left with Ethan. The supply room was cold and damp. It was no place to sleep. And I wasn’t the type to put up with that. Without another word, I picked up my luggage and headed upstairs. If she wouldn’t give me a decent room, I’d choose one myself. The first bedroom I passed was spacious. I set down my suitcase and nodded in satisfaction. This would do for tonight. But before I could finish unpacking, someone kicked the door open.A tall young man stood in the doorway. When he saw me lying on the bed, he stormed over, grabbed my collar, and hauled me up. “You bastard! How dare you bully Ethan!” Seeing Ethan smirking behind him, I finally realized who this was. Ethan’s best friend, Lucas Grant. But as one of the police academy’s top cadets, I wasn’t exactly weak. I pried his hand off me with ease and asked coolly, “Barging into someone else’s room? Are you trying to commit a home invasion?” But Lucas said, “This is Ethan’s room. You’re the thief here.” So that was it. Now I understood why he was angry. Still, it wasn’t as if the room had a name on it. I looked at Ethan behind him. “Sorry. I’ll find another room.” Lucas clearly didn’t like how calm I was. He opened his mouth, but Ethan caught his arm and shook his head. “Avery, if you like this room, you can have it.” I shook my head. I wasn’t interested in taking other people’s things. When he saw that I was still packing, Ethan suddenly started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets. “Oh no! The antique cross Dad gave me is missing! I was going to give it to Avery.” He grew more frantic as he searched, then started crying again. Soon the room was a mess. Lucas put an arm around him and tried to soothe him. Then he turned to me with a vicious glare. “Hand it over.” I had no idea what he was talking about. Was he seriously trying to pin this on me? When I didn’t move, Lucas pointed at me and shouted, “You’re the only outsider who’s been in Ethan’s room! Who else could have taken it?” His baseless accusation made my blood boil. My voice hardened. “I told you, I didn’t take it.” Ethan’s sobs grew louder. Lucas lunged forward and snatched my suitcase. I reached to take it back, but he sneered. “What are you afraid of? A quick search will tell us whether you took it.” He roughly flung my suitcase open, scattering its contents across the floor. After searching through everything without finding the cross, Lucas looked even angrier. Then Ethan pointed at a clear bag on the floor and shrieked, “Avery Bennett, you’re a pervert!” He was pointing at the bag where I kept my underwear. I stayed calm and was about to clear up the misunderstanding. But Lucas charged at me and threw a punch. “You sick freak. I’ll teach you a lesson!” We started fighting. I didn’t have a chance to explain. Meanwhile, Ethan kept taking pictures of my belongings. The commotion upstairs brought Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne running. Ethan pointed at the clothes on the floor and indignantly told them what had happened. Mr. Hawthorne glanced at me and said sternly, “Apologize to Ethan and Lucas. Collecting things like that at your age? Have you no shame?” I actually laughed. Looking at their solemn faces, I no longer felt like explaining. I might as well let them believe it. I was curious to see what else they would do to me. Mrs. Hawthorne gave me a disgusted look and said to her husband, “We raised Ethan ourselves. He’d make a perfectly good heir. Why did we have to find our biological child?” Mr. Hawthorne fell silent for a moment, then glanced at me. “It’s a family rule. The estate must go to a biological son of our bloodline. We can’t let it fall into an outsider’s hands.” Wow. I couldn’t help mocking him silently. What century were we living in? They were still obsessed with bloodlines? How pathetic. What would the Hawthornes do when they found out I was a woman? Would they be willing to leave the whole fortune to a girl? Ethan had heard every word. His face was deathly pale, and he looked as though he wanted to tear me apart. Mr. Hawthorne gave me a long look before saying flatly, “You’ll start school tomorrow.”Just like that, I ended up in Ethan’s class. But life at school was anything but easy. On my first day, a group of boys cornered me in a grove of trees. Lucas slowly stepped out of the crowd. He kicked me hard and said arrogantly, “Listen up, Avery Bennett. If you dare bully Ethan, I’ll make you regret it.” Before he had even finished speaking, fists and clubs rained down on me. If a security guard hadn’t happened to pass by, my injuries would have been much worse. I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and staggered toward the restroom. Just as I was about to enter the women’s room, a group of girls surrounded me. “Ethan! Help us stop this creep! He’s trying to get into the girls’ bathroom!” Ethan blocked my path and shoved me hard. “Avery Bennett, you really are a pervert! Yesterday you were collecting women’s underwear, and today you’re sneaking into their bathroom!” The girls watching whispered among themselves. “Oh my God. He’s obviously done this before. We need to tell a teacher and get him expelled!” I braced myself against the wall, fighting the pain, and managed to say, “Let me explain…” But before I could finish, Ethan and the girls dragged me into the women’s restroom. They locked me in a tiny supply closet and poured bucket after bucket of cold water over me. When I began drifting in and out of consciousness, they took turns slapping me. Ethan planted his shoe on my face and grinned viciously. “You love the girls’ bathroom so much? Now you can stay as long as you want.” Between my injuries from the grove and the freezing water, I was struggling to stay conscious. Seeing that, Ethan pulled out several documents and held them out to me. “Why should you be first in line for the inheritance? I won’t accept it.” “Sign these papers giving up your inheritance rights, and I’ll let you go.” I gave him a cold look and shook my head. I had no interest in the Hawthorne fortune, but I wasn’t going to submit to something this humiliating. When I refused to obey, Ethan gripped my face and slapped me again and again. Once he got tired, he let the girls take over. “Come on! Hit him hard! Teach him a lesson!” After hundreds of slaps, my cheeks felt as if they were on fire. My whole body went limp, and I crumpled to my knees. “Still won’t sign?” Ethan demanded. I lowered my head without answering. Everything they did to me today would become evidence against Ethan and Lucas tomorrow. I could endure it. Ethan smiled. He took out a photo and flashed it in front of my face. “These are your adoptive parents, right? I’ve already asked Lucas to keep a close eye on them.” “If I get upset… well, you understand.” “Ethan Hawthorne!” I clenched my fists and screamed. He was actually threatening my adoptive parents over an inheritance. I struggled to stand, but Ethan tripped me effortlessly. “The choice is yours.” His smile was sinister. I took the pen and signed my name with a trembling hand. Ethan accepted the papers, looking thoroughly satisfied. Then he swaggered away, leaving me locked in the tiny restroom closet to fend for myself. Luckily, a custodian passed by and let me out. But the story had already spread through the entire school. I was expelled for misconduct on my very first day. Ethan, meanwhile, earned the teachers’ praise for bravely coming forward to expose me. When I got home that evening, Mr. Hawthorne was standing outside the dining room with a wooden switch. He fixed me with a fierce stare. “You disgraceful brat. On your knees.”Of course I refused to kneel. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should I? When I didn’t obey, Mr. Hawthorne walked over and struck the backs of my knees with the switch. My injuries from earlier hadn’t healed. My legs gave out, and I collapsed. He whipped me with the switch, each blow sending tearing pain through my wounds. “Do you admit you were wrong?” I knelt on the floor without speaking. That only made him angrier. He struck me even harder. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. Eventually, Mrs. Hawthorne seemed unable to watch any longer. She caught his arm. “Don’t waste your energy on this disappointment. Luckily, we still have Ethan. We can leave Hawthorne Group to him.” But Mr. Hawthorne only gave her a meaningful look and said nothing. He strode away, leaving me on my knees. Ethan had watched the whole thing. His fists were clenched, and his gaze was colder than ever. I put a hand against the wall and tried to get up, but Ethan suddenly stepped on my other hand and shouted, “Why? I’m the son they raised for eighteen years! Does none of that matter compared to some rich family’s precious bloodline?” I smiled. To these people, gender mattered just as much as blood. But soon, I would crush Mr. Hawthorne’s last little hope myself. Mrs. Hawthorne gently wrapped her arms around Ethan and comforted him. “Sweetheart, your birthday is the day after tomorrow. Let’s get everything ready. We’ll find a way to change your father’s mind.” Ethan’s birthday party arrived soon enough. The Hawthornes belonged to the city’s elite. Along with friends and family, plenty of reporters attended. Ethan stood in the center of the stage in a tailcoat, looking like a prince from a fairy tale. I sat in a corner wearing a suit that hadn’t been altered in time. The story of my first-day expulsion had caused a sensation, and I quickly became the center of the gossip. Several reporters secretly snapped pictures of me. “That’s him. The one who steals girls’ underwear. So young, and already rotten. What a shame.” “So what if he’s their biological son? If you ask me, Ethan’s the one who deserves to inherit.” The rumors kept buzzing around me. I grew irritated and went upstairs alone to find somewhere to rest. Suddenly, someone clamped an ether-soaked towel over my mouth. I couldn’t move my limbs. All I could do was fight to stay conscious. Through the haze, I saw Lucas throw me onto a bed. A little later, Ethan came in, fresh from the spotlight downstairs. He took off his custom suit jacket as he walked toward me, smiling maliciously. “I don’t have a choice. If I want Mom and Dad to give up on you for good, I’ll have to make a little sacrifice.” As he spoke, Lucas slipped out. Ethan stripped naked, then scratched bloody marks across his own neck and chest. When he was finished, he stared down at me, helpless on the bed, and grinned. “After all, you’re the one who forced yourself on me. Don’t blame me for what happens next!” Then he ripped my pants open, tearing my skin in the process. When he saw what I was wearing underneath, his eyes widened, and he screamed. At that moment, a group of reporters burst through the door with cameras and microphones. Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne hurried in behind them, pushing through the crowd. But when they saw the scene on the bed, everyone froze.