Chapter 13 Esmeralda's Pov

• “I…I didn't do it! Tyla fell into the pool all by herself.” I had denied it tearfully, trying my best to get them to believe me to no avail. I had been pinned to the couch by the throat, my father's face scrunching up in disgust as he looked down at me.
• Who would believe the words of an adopted nobody? Tyla was their biological daughter, and I was nothing but an outsider.
• I had been grateful that I had been adopted by a nice stranger who had deemed it fit to pick me off of the streets where I hustled for food from the trash. He had brought me to his home and wife, smelling like literal trash.