I always believed that family was unshakable.

No matter what happened, blood was blood, and at the end of the day, we would always stand by each other. Isn’t that what family is supposed to be?

But after my mother’s passing, my sister, Emma, came in like a storm, shaking everything I thought I knew to the core.

And when the truth finally came to light?

Emma was the one pleading for forgiveness.

Our mother raised two daughters: me, Alice, and my older sister, Emma.

Naturally, Emma was always the one who shone brightest. She was the one who received all the love and attention.

If Emma wanted a roast chicken? My mother had it roasting the moment the words left her mouth. If Emma needed her dry cleaning done? My mother would jump in her car and go pick it up.

Emma was also beautiful. Unbelievably so. She had this magnetic presence, turning heads wherever she went. With her blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, she looked just like our mother.

Meanwhile, I was the one who didn’t quite fit. Dark hair, dark eyes, and honestly, I never really resembled either of them.

But I never questioned it. Why would I? I adored my mother.

No, I loved her with everything I had. She was my world.

When she became sick, I was the one who dropped everything to care for her. I never complained—not when the bruises appeared on my arms from holding her when we went to the bathroom together, not when she threw her food across the room in frustration, not even when she cried for hours.

Emma, on the other hand?

She was too focused on her dreams of becoming an actress.

“I can’t take care of Mom, Alice,” she said. “I have auditions, meetings with producers, I need to stay relevant and visible at events. You understand, right? Right, Al?”

And I did understand.

Because I always did. I was always the understanding one while Emma lived her life however she wanted. I tried not to focus on how I could have used some help.

Instead, I let Emma float in and out of the house, her new clothes always catching the light, her photos with famous actors and actresses always being shown off.

“Mom, look at this glamorous life!” she said one day when Mom was too weak to even sit up and eat her soup. “And you really should take better care of your look, Al. You’ve got horrible posture. Sitting like that at your computer is doing you no favors.”

“It’s my job, Emma,” I replied simply.

That was how things went for months. And then, finally, Mom passed. But that's when Emma returned.

And she wasn’t grieving. No, not at all. She was hungry. Hungry for something much more than food.

She was after our mother’s inheritance.

After the funeral, we sat down with Martin, my mother’s lawyer. Emma walked in, looking like she owned the place, dressed in black but wearing diamond earrings I’d never seen before.

I should have sensed something was off the moment she sat down with a smug smile.

Martin pulled out the official will, but before he could even speak, Emma pulled her first stunt. She reached into her designer bag and pulled out a yellowed, folded piece of paper.

“Before you read that,” she said with sugary sweetness, “I found something interesting.”

She slid the paper across the table to me.

“Look what I found when I was searching through Mom’s drawer for her jewelry.”

I unfolded the paper, and as soon as I read the heading, my stomach dropped.

ADOPTION DECREE.

Emma leaned back, clearly enjoying the show.

“Well, well, well,” she drawled. “Looks like I finally figured out why you always looked so different from us.”

My hands trembled as I read the document again.

Once. Twice. Three times.

“You’re lying!” I gasped. “You made this up! You had one of your strange friends fake it!”

She let out a fake gasp, tapping her long nails against the desk.

“Oh, Alice,” she said, “don’t be so dramatic. My friends have lives. And it’s all there in black and white. You’re adopted. You’re not even Mom’s real daughter. I always knew that brown hair and those brown eyes didn’t belong in our family.”

I felt nauseous. The bile rose in my throat.

Had Mom hidden this from me all these years? But why? Why would she keep this secret?

Would it have changed anything?

Not for me. I would’ve loved her even more.

Emma crossed her arms, looking smug.

“So, despite the will stating we split everything 50-50, Mom always made it clear, I’ll be the one ensuring you get nothing. You don’t even belong in this family. Why should you get anything?”

“Ladies, please, let’s just stay calm,” Martin said, trying to ease the tension.

But I was too stunned to speak. Emma’s words had sliced into me.

And that’s when I saw it. There was one detail she overlooked. The name on the adoption decree had been deliberately erased.

That? That made me suspicious.

“Martin,” Emma said, “I’ll let you handle the paperwork. But when it’s all said and done, I want everything. I’ll wait.”

Martin sighed, looking between us.

“Before we go further, I think both of you should have a little heart-to-heart before we proceed,” he suggested.

Emma scoffed.

“That’s not necessary.”

She was so sure she’d won. But I wasn’t ready to let her have everything without proof. Not after all the sacrifices I’d made caring for Mom, missing out on two promotions at work.

I needed the security of knowing I had something—anything—to fall back on.

I decided to ask for a DNA test.

“What’s the point, Alice?” she sneered. “You know what the results will say. You’re not family. Maybe your real mother misses you. But not us.”

I couldn’t even focus on what she was saying. All I could think about was how our mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew how Emma was acting.

“Just do it,” I demanded. “Think about it this way. If I’m really adopted, you’ll have more of a claim to everything.”

That did the trick. Emma stared at me, weighing her options. Then, slowly, she placed her martini down, stood up, and looked at me.

“Fine,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “Let’s do it.”

But when the results came in?

They shocked everyone.

Because Emma?

She wasn’t our mother’s biological daughter.

After the results, I went to my Aunt Caroline, Mom’s younger sister. She’d been silent on everything for years, but after I showed her the DNA test, she finally broke down.

“Your mother never wanted either of you to know, Alice,” Aunt Caroline said, wiping away her tears. “She knew it would hurt you both.”

“Know what?” I asked, heart pounding, already suspecting the answer.

“Aunt Caroline,” I pressed, “what aren’t you telling me?”

“Emma wasn’t Mom’s biological daughter, sweetheart,” Aunt Caroline whispered.

“But how?” I asked, feeling a lump form in my throat.

Aunt Caroline sighed deeply.

“Your mother found Emma at a train station when she was just two years old, abandoned. She took her in, raised her as her own. And she never wanted Emma to feel anything but loved. The fact that she had blonde hair and blue eyes helped, of course.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to piece it all together. “But why did Emma have an adoption decree? If she was abandoned?”

Aunt Caroline looked out the window, gathering her thoughts.

“Because your mother made it official, darling. She went through the court system and legally adopted Emma. She wanted to make sure no one could ever take her away.”

My world spun. “So, Mom never told her?”

Aunt Caroline shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

“She never told either of you, Alice,” she said softly. “In her heart, Emma was her daughter, just like you were. It didn’t matter who was biological. She loved you both the same, and nothing would ever change that.”

But Emma had never seen it that way.

She had spent her life thinking she was the one who truly belonged.

And now?

Emma had tried to erase me from our mother’s life.

But in the end, Emma was the adopted one. I was our mother’s biological daughter.

The real daughter.

When I told Emma the truth, she initially laughed. We were standing in the kitchen, and I couldn’t hold it back any longer. She needed to hear the truth.

“You’re lying, Alice,” she said, her voice cold. “You must have forged those results. Maybe you hacked into the system. You’re the tech genius…”

But when I showed her the DNA results and explained everything Aunt Caroline had told me?

Her face drained of color.

“No. No, this can’t be right. Mom loved me... She wouldn't just take in some abandoned child!”

“But she did,” I said softly. “And she loved you. The fact that you were adopted doesn’t change that. Mom was incredible. She saw a lost child and wanted to love her.”

Emma stood there, looking blank.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. I didn’t understand.

As for Mom? She had given Emma everything. She’d seen an abandoned child and decided to love her as her own.

And what had Emma done in return?

She tried to steal my inheritance.

Tried to erase me from my own mother’s legacy.

And now?

She had lost it all.

We went back to Martin, this time as adversaries. Emma couldn’t even look at me.

The lawyer confirmed the will was valid. Despite Emma’s cruel attempts to exclude me, I was entitled to half of everything.

“But wait!” Emma protested, her nails digging into her thighs. “I don’t want to share…”

“Emma,” Martin said, “it’s clear. Your mother wanted you both to share equally. If you want to dispute that, I’m afraid Alice could take everything.”

Emma had tried to rewrite history, but the law didn’t care about her feelings.

The will was clear. It was a 50-50 split.

But after her cruel actions? Emma lost more than just her pride.

“Let’s go to court,” she said, eyes blazing.

“I really don’t recommend that,” Martin said, his voice stern.

“And what?” Emma shouted. “You want us to pretend we’re a family again? I want my money and my house. Then, I never want to see Alice again!”

I had enough.

So I hired Martin to represent me.

“Let’s do it,” I said. “Let’s go to court.”

Months later, Emma’s attempts in court failed.

In the end, the judge ruled in my favor.

And I walked away with everything.

Emma had tried to destroy me—and in doing so, destroyed herself.

And you know what?

I think she deserved it.