The Day I Walked Out and Never Came Back

On Christmas, my parents added my sister Chloe to the family trust. The lawyer asked about me. My mother waved. "She's just a foster child." Since Chloe came home, I—their real daughter—became the outsider. Chloe claimed she was the only daughter. Any mention of my blood relation triggered her PTSD. Everyone accepted it: "The Harpers have one real daughter. The other's a foster kid." I tried to correct them, but they snapped: "Chloe is insecure. Must you push her?" When I got into Stanford, a background investigator came. "Ms. Kent, what is Kate to you?" My mother said breezily, "Just a foster child." I froze. After he left, I filed for independence and booked a one-way ticket to California. In seven days, I'd stop being the extra person in their house.