TWRO 9

Chapter 9

Whatever my brother told Father, it caused Father to unleash a fury I had never seen before in my life. He yelled so loudly and harshly, pouring out all his rage on me.

As punishment, I was confined to my room for two weeks and given only one meal a day.

 

I felt so wronged I thought I might cry, but more than that, I was deeply hurt.

 

The crushing sadness of realizing my own family didn’t trust me gnawed away at my heart without rest.

 

That day was the final day of my house arrest.

 

 

“Miss! You must hurry to the Count’s study!”

 

Rosie’s face had gone pale with fear.

 

My chest tightened. What had happened now? An overwhelming sense of anxiety about the unknown began to rise.

 

 

“I heard you called for me.”

 

My father and brother were waiting for me in the study, and both looked unusually tense.

 

In the sharp, strained atmosphere, my brother’s face was flushed red, and he was grinding his teeth, while my father was clearly struggling to steady his breathing.

 

 

“Sit down.”

 

“Yes. But… who is this?”

 

Across from me sat a rural woman dressed in shabby, outdated clothes.

 

 

“She is a close friend of the woman who raised Sienna.”

 

“You’ve already found her.”

 

Father let out a rough breath and moved toward the window. My brother, now seated, spoke in Father’s place.

 

 

“Confirm it.”

 

“Y-Yes.”

 

The woman trembled as she looked straight at me. Despite her tanned skin, I could see she had turned pale from nervousness.

 

 

“I-I’m sure. It’s her.”

 

“Check again! Are you absolutely certain?”

 

“Yes, yes! I-I’m positive… it’s her.”

 

Perplexed, I looked back and forth between Father and my brother. But both remained silent, breathing heavily, offering no explanation. Then Father asked:

 

 

“Selena. Are you really saying you don’t remember anything?”

 

“…What are you trying to say?”

 

“She is Julia’s daughter.”

 

“You’re not mistaking her for Sienna?”

 

“No. They may look similar, but there are subtle differences. The shape of her eyes, the bridge of her nose — she resembles Julia greatly.”

 

“……”

 

My brother remained silent. I struggled to grasp the situation.

 

They were saying I resembled Julia — the woman who raised Sienna.

 

But what did that mean? And what was this suffocating atmosphere?

 

 

“Peter! Take this woman out!”

 

At my brother’s shout, Father’s attendant came and escorted the woman out.

 

Disappointment and hatred surged in my brother’s green eyes, so much like Father’s.

 

My mouth went dry. Father, who had been standing rigidly by the window, returned to his seat. Deep, dark wrinkles had formed on his brow.

 

 

“While tracing the kidnappers based on Sienna’s testimony, we discovered one truth.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“The kidnappers separated the child to confuse the investigation. They entrusted the child to a woman living in the countryside.”

 

“So that woman raised Sienna?”

 

“Yes. Sienna denied it, but the truth cannot be hidden so easily.”

 

My heart pounded with dread. Father continued.

 

 

“That woman just said one day her own daughter disappeared, and instead, a strange child resembling her was brought to her. She was given her daughter’s name and raised as such.”

 

No… no, it can’t be…

 

That ominous feeling became a dagger stabbing into my heart.

 

 

“The real daughter had a shrimp allergy.”

 

I couldn’t eat shrimp. Even without memories, my body instinctively rejected it — I’d vomit everything out.

 

My fingertips tingled. I wanted to say it wasn’t true, but I had no memories — I couldn’t deny it with certainty. There was no proof.

 

 

“Are you… saying I’m that daughter?”

 

“Selena! You’d better speak clearly.”

 

My brother, agitated, stepped in, but Father raised a hand to stop him.

 

 

“What exactly do you want me to say?”

 

I held back the tears that were threatening to spill. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew it was bad — very bad.

 

 

“The woman who raised Sienna was an accomplice of the kidnappers.”

 

“So you’re saying she planned from the start to switch the children? But how would a country woman know Sienna and I looked alike?”

 

“The kidnappers must have realized how much the girl they brought resembled their daughter and concocted this wicked scheme!”

 

My brother shouted furiously while Father let out a deep sigh.

 

 

“…Selena. Are you truly saying you have no memory?”

 

“What you’re imagining… it’s not like that.”

 

My voice trembled. My eyes filled with tears, and I squeezed them shut to hold it back.

 

I always tried to stay composed, but today I just couldn’t.

 

 

“Did your birth mother tell you to do this? Did she whisper that pretending to have no memory could change your life? Tell the truth.”

 

“I really don’t remember anything. Please believe me. Why do you trust her words but not mine?”

 

“Selena. If you’re lying, stop now.”

 

“I swear I’m not. I’ve never lied. What must I do for you to believe me?”

 

I truly had no memory. That made it all the harder.

 

Couldn’t they try to trust me? Investigate the issue a little further?

 

I wiped my tears away and dropped to my knees.

 

 

“Please believe me. If I had memories and pretended otherwise, then I must’ve been acting for over ten years. Do I seem like I’ve been lying all that time?”

 

But my words didn’t reach Father — nor my brother.

 

 

“I raised the cunning, wicked child of a devil with my own hands! I believed you to be honest!”

 

Father screamed and hurled an ashtray at me.

 

 

“Kyaa!”

 

Startled, I crouched and shielded my head. The ashtray shattered beside me.

 

Sharp shards flew onto my skin, stinging sharply.

 

 

“Take Selena to her room and lock her in! Do not let her out until I say so!”

 

“Father! Father!”

 

Servants Simon and Jerome grabbed me from both sides and dragged me away.

 

More than the shame of being dragged like a dog, it was the fact that I wasn’t trusted that drove me insane.

 

Thrown into my room, I immediately jumped up and banged on the door.

 

“Open up! Please open this door!”

 

“I’m sorry, Miss.”

 

Simon’s voice came from outside. I leaned my forehead against the door. Tears dripped down onto the carpeted floor.

 

The very people I wanted to understand me most refused to hear my words.

 

I broke into sobs. I slumped down and buried my face in my knees. The injustice was suffocating.

 

 

“You called me Selena. And now you say I tried to deceive you? That makes no sense…”

 

‘No. It can’t be. That woman’s real daughter must be someone else. It’s not me…’

 

Without my memories, I couldn’t even properly defend myself — I couldn’t even be sure I wasn’t who they said I was.

 

I wanted to strangle myself for not being able to remember anything.

 

 

“Remember. Please, remember.”

 

I pounded my head with my fists. I hated myself for recalling nothing. I banged the back of my head on the door, but no memories surfaced.

 

Then I heard footsteps outside. Sienna whispered through the crack.

 

 

“Selena, it’s me. Are you okay?”

 

“Sienna? Is that really you?”

 

“Yes, it’s me. Father’s being so unfair. How could he believe a stranger over you…”

 

“…I-I’m okay. Sienna, please tell Father. Ask him to believe me.”

 

“Selena. Just wait a few days. I’ll plead with Father and Brother. I’ll ask them to clear up the misunderstanding.”

 

I didn’t know whether to believe her, or if it would even change anything.

 

But in that desperate moment, her words felt like a single ray of light in the darkness.

 

 

“T-To Father?”

 

“Of course. It breaks my heart to see you locked up like this.”

 

“Sienna. Please, speak for me. I swear I never lied. Not to Father or Brother.”

 

Tears welled up again. My breath quivered. My sleeves were too soaked to wipe my face anymore.

 

 

“Selena, calm down. Everything will be okay. I’ll convince them.”

 

“Thank you. I’m counting on you.”

 

My hands were shaking uncontrollably. I’d cried so much my head felt like it would burst.

 

I didn’t doubt Sienna. Not in this moment.

 

She stayed outside the door, comforting me for a while.

 

I ran out of breath from crying. My head and eyes throbbed so painfully it felt like I would die.

 

After Sienna left, I fell asleep on the floor, exhausted.

 

 

How long had I slept?

 

I awoke to the sound of someone approaching the door. As soon as I tried to get up, the door opened.

 

 

“Father!”

 

Father stood in the doorway. His face was dark, his eyes cold, and his lips tightly pressed.

 

I knew instantly — something terrible was about to happen. Dread swept over me.

 

 

“Father. I… I—”

 

I’m innocent. Before I could finish, Father spoke.

 

 

“I’ve decided your fate.”

 

“You called me Selena. You said that. How can I be accused of deceiving you? Father, please believe me!”

 

Father’s tightly shut mouth and piercing gaze said it all.

 

I could feel the heavy fury radiating off him.

 

“…You don’t believe me.”

 

My head drooped. I didn’t know what he would say, but somehow, I already knew.

 

Stay calm. I just need to prove my innocence.

 

I squared my trembling shoulders, trying to stay composed. I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts.

 

I was just about to explain I had never lied, never deceived him, and that I would find proof myself—

 

“Leave.”

 

“…What?”

 

“You are no longer my daughter. You are no longer of House Estarion.”

 

“…F-Father?”

 

“Selena. You are hereby excommunicated from this family.”

 

My heart dropped like a stone.

 

The ground beneath me collapsed, and the world flipped upside down.

 

If all this was happening because of my lost memories… then I could never forgive myself for forgetting.

 

It was the moment I hated myself more than ever.