"Stop right there," an angry voice rang out from behind.
Josephine Sterling’s father, Howard Sterling, strode over. "Have you finally figured it out? Are you going to give Stella her acupuncture?"
Howard’s imposing, stern face filled Josephine with hatred.
In her previous life, it was on this exact day that she was completely abandoned by the Sterlings for refusing to give Stella White her acupuncture treatment. Her father had put her under house arrest, forbidding her from leaving, while her mother and brothers berated her, calling her selfish, cold-blooded, and vicious. After a full day and night without a drop of water, she was finally forced to go to the White family’s villa when her father threatened to sever their ties completely.
Howard knew full well that she viewed him as a role model. She respected and loved him, desperately wanting his approval. How could she possibly bear to break ties with them?
But in the end, even though she saved Stella, her parents and brothers still hated her to the core. They not only put Stella’s name on her research findings but also locked her in the basement. Day after day, they forced her to conduct research, leaving her covered in wounds until she bled dry, only to attribute all those research results to Stella. They let Stella reap the honors and glory that rightfully belonged to her.
She couldn’t understand. She was clearly a Sterling, so why did her parents and brothers treat her this way? It wasn’t until she had been tortured by them for five years, right before her death, that she learned she wasn’t a daughter of the Sterling family at all.
Stella was!
She would never give anyone the chance to bully her again. Everyone who had hurt her had to pay the price.
"I told you, if you refuse to do acupuncture for Stella, then don’t ever come out," Howard said, looking at her coldly without a shred of emotion. "Since you’re out, hurry up and come with me to the White family’s home."
He naturally assumed that Josephine had compromised once again. After all, she had always been incredibly respectful and obedient to him as her father.
Josephine’s lips curled into a mocking smile. "Who said I was going to give Stella acupuncture?"
"Then how dare you come downstairs? Get back to your room!" Howard flew into a rage out of humiliation, never expecting Josephine to dare speak to him like this. In his fury, he raised his hand and swung a slap toward her.
He had never had much patience for her. Since she was little, he had either beaten or scolded her, his words full of nothing but belittlement and suppression. She used to think his harshness came from a place of tough love. Through his endless verbal abuse and physical punishments, she had grown up desperately trying to earn just one sincere word of praise from him.
That was until the day she saw with her own eyes how he patted Stella’s head, smiling with a face full of fatherly affection. In the lab, he would patiently, gently, and meticulously explain every experimental step to her. He had guided Stella through her research methods step-by-step. Only then did she realize that the so-called tough love and scolding were simply because he didn’t like her.
Josephine stepped back, dodging his slap.
"What, are you trying to put me under house arrest, Dad?" She stared at him coldly.
The hostility all over her face made Howard freeze slightly. Josephine had always been weak and cowardly. When had she ever disobeyed him? And when had she ever shown such an expression?
"I am your daughter, yet you are putting me under house arrest for a student you have no relation to. If word gets out, people might think she is your real daughter."
Howard’s heart skipped a beat. He wondered if this girl had found out about something.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You said it yourself, she is my student. Caring for her is my duty as a teacher," Howard said with a dark face, assuming his authoritative patriarchal posture. "You are my daughter. You should stand in my shoes, consider my position, and share my burdens."
He was always like this, throwing his weight around in front of Josephine. It was precisely because of this that she had always been deceived by his dignified facade, maintaining her utmost respect for him. She was always mindful of his status, always wanting to do more for him to uphold his prestige as a professor, hoping to earn his praise and make him happy.
But what was the result?
"I really didn’t expect you to be so unreasonable this time. Stella’s migraines acted up because she stayed up all night monitoring the experiment. You can clearly help her, yet you turn a blind eye.
"Josephine, you have truly disappointed me!"
Here it comes again. Belittling her, blaming her, gaslighting her to make her feel guilty so she would do whatever he commanded! But this time, she wouldn’t be swayed by his words anymore. He could forget about controlling her.
"Well, I’ve disappointed you countless times since I was little anyway, so one more time won’t make a difference," Josephine said with a sarcastic smile.
She turned around and walked out the door. The sunlight outside was warm and bright; as it shone on her, it seemed to wash away all her unhappiness and gloom.
Howard never imagined that his normally obedient daughter would say such resolute things. For a moment, he was so furious that his blood boiled. His vision went dark, and before he could grab her, she had already left.
Furious, he slammed his palm onto the coffee table. "Stop her!"
Caleb Sterling, her third oldest brother, happened to be coming in from outside. He reached out and blocked her path. "Why are you making Dad angry again? You’re becoming more and more unreasonable.
"Can’t you learn from Stella? When has she ever made him mad?"
Caleb gave Josephine a somewhat reproachful look, a hint of coaxing in his tone as he added, "Hurry up, apologize to Dad, and come with me to the White family’s villa. Stella’s headache is becoming unbearable."
Like her, Caleb had joined The Sterling Family Research Lab, making him a colleague of Stella’s. Even though Josephine was clearly his actual sister, ever since he found out Stella was the eldest daughter of the White family, this brother of hers began to disdain his own sister and suck up to Stella.
"What does her headache have to do with me? You’re looking for the wrong person, Caleb!"
A trace of cold ruthlessness flashed across Caleb’s usually gentle face, and his tone grew harsher. "You know perfectly well that only your acupuncture can cure Stella’s headaches. Why must you throw a tantrum over such a trivial matter and make her suffer all night? You are truly heartless."
Josephine’s eyes turned bloodshot as she stared at Caleb with a look of pure mockery. If murder weren’t illegal, she would absolutely stab this bastard to death.
In her previous life, it was him who told Howard to lock her in the basement, and it was also him who suggested giving her research to Stella. On the surface, he was a refined scholar, but in reality, his mind was darker and more vicious than anyone else’s.
He felt sorry for Stella? What an idiot. He was still dreaming of becoming the White family’s son-in-law, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl surnamed White was his actual biological sister.
"Stella wants to steal my research for herself, yet you say it’s just a trivial matter, Caleb. In that case, why don’t you change the author of the medical paper you just submitted to my name instead?"
"How is that the same?" Caleb glared at her, somewhat exasperated. "My paper is going to be used for my title evaluation. You graduated from a third-rate university; even if your research goes public, no one will believe it. Putting Stella’s name on it is for the sake of The Sterling Group’s reputation."
Josephine looked at him as if he were an absolute idiot. "Partners choose based on research results, not academic degrees. Since you think so highly of Stella’s education, then let her do the research herself. Why steal mine?"
Caleb was infuriated. He roared, "Josephine, can you stop being so selfish? Must you be so obsessed with a simple byline?"