Adopted to Biological? Keep Your Golden Child Scapegoat Out novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I ran into my parents at a wedding shoot-ten years since we’d last spoken.

They were mid-laugh with someone when their eyes landed on me.

Their smiles froze.

After the ceremony, they stormed into the dressing room backstage. No hello. No “how’ve you been.”

Just-

“Ten years. Not one goddamn word. We thought you were dead, you ungrateful brat!”

Mom’s eyes were bloodshot, boring into me like I owed her my life.

I didn’t look up. Just kept wiping down my camera lens.

Then she lunged forward, her hand clamping around my wrist so tight I felt her nails dig in.

“Scarlett!” Her voice cracked, raw and desperate. “We’re still your parents! We raised you for eighteen years! How can you be

this cold?!”

I frowned, finally meeting her eyes.

I didn’t understand why she was so worked up.

They were the ones who told me to get out. To never show my face again.

I did exactly what they asked.

So what the hell were they so upset about now?

Besides-didn’t they always call me their “adopted daughter” anyway?

…

Dad stood behind Mom, his eyes darting between my face and the camera, like he was trying to find an opening.

Finally, he cleared his throat.

“Scarlett… that camera must’ve cost a fortune, huh?”

“A young woman, doing this kind of work on her own… it’s gotta be rough, right?”

His voice had this careful, tentative edge to it.

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I didn’t answer. Just kept screwing the lens cap back on.

When I still didn’t respond, Mom’s grip on my wrist tightened, her voice climbing higher.

“Scarlett! Are you even listening to us?!”

“Ten years! Ten years you’ve been gone! Is your heart made of stone?!”

“Even after raising you for ten years, you can’t show a bit of gratitude?”

I stared at her twisted, desperate face. My wrist throbbed where her nails dug in.

Ten years later, and they still loved throwing accusations at me.

I finally looked up, meeting her eyes with a flat, steady gaze.

“Mrs. Jones, please let go. I have work to do.”

“Mrs. Jones?”

She flinched like I’d slapped her. Her hand flew off my wrist as she stumbled back a step, her face draining of color.

“You called me Mrs. Jones?! I’m your MOM!”

“Enough!”

Dad stepped forward, catching her trembling shoulders. His eyes found mine, heavy with exhaustion and reproach.

“Scarlett, how can you talk to your mother like that?”

“We know that back then… maybe there were some misunderstandings. But your mother-she’s thought about you every single day for ten years. She-”

“There’s no misunderstanding.”

I cut him off quietly, crouching down to pack my camera into its case.

“I just followed your instructions. You told me to get out. To never show my face again.”

“I did what you asked.”

I met their gazes, completely unshaken.

“Ten years of staying out of your way, just like you wished. And now… what exactly are you trying to do?”

Both of them froze, their faces shifting between pale and flushed.

Mom’s lips trembled, like she wanted to say something, but Dad pressed down on her shoulder.

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He took a deep breath, forcing his expression into something softer.

“Scarlett… what happened back then-that was our fault. We… we’re still family.”

“Your sister’s getting married next month. You should… come see her. Even if it’s just as the photographer?”

That last part came out strained, almost pleading.

I stared at them, and it all just felt so goddamn ridiculous.

“Sorry. I’m fully booked.”

“And as for the wedding, I won’t intrude. Tell her congrats.”

I turned and pushed open the door.

Behind me, Mom’s voice cracked into sobs. Dad murmured something useless and comforting.

I walked straight to the elevator without looking back.

It wasn’t until the doors slid shut that I finally let out a breath.

I leaned against the cold metal wall. The back of my head throbbed faintly.

A leftover symptom from the high fever I’d had all those years ago. It always flared up when it rained.

Back at my temporary apartment, I finally felt my pulse slow down.

My phone buzzed. Vivian, my business partner.

“Scarlett, the final payment for today’s wedding just came through.”

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