My adopted daughter spent years trying to erase my biological daughter from our family
Chapter 12: No More Celebrations
The sun came up, and neither of us had slept. Haley came downstairs and asked what time we were leaving for her graduation brunch.
My husband looked at her for a long moment. He said, “There wasn’t going to be a brunch.”
Haley’s face changed. She said, “We were being unfair.” She said, “We were ruining her graduation over Kloe’s lies.”
My husband’s voice went quiet. He said these weren’t lies and that she needed to stop calling Kloe a liar.
That’s when Haley started screaming that we were taking Kloe’s side because she was our biological daughter. She threw her phone across the kitchen and it hit the wall and cracked.
My husband told her to go to her room. She screamed that she was eighteen and he couldn’t tell her what to do.
He replied that as long as she lived in our house, she’d follow our rules. She slammed every door on the way up.
I realized then that Haley genuinely didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. She saw herself as the victim, and that scared me more than anything else.
Chapter 13: The Breathless Fear
I went upstairs to check on Kloe, but there was no answer to my knock. Then I heard movement and a sound that made my stomach drop.
She was breathing fast and harsh. I tried the door, but it wouldn’t open.
My husband got a screwdriver and popped the lock. Kloe was on her bed hyperventilating so badly her lips were turning blue.
I sat next to her and tried to make my breathing slow and loud so she could hear it. It took forever, but gradually her breathing started to match mine.
When she could talk, she said she was scared. She said Haley had promised that once she turned eighteen, she’d convince us we only needed one daughter.
She asked, “Are you going to send me to boarding school now?”
My husband started crying again. He told her we would never send her away and that she was our daughter and this was her home.
It took an hour before she calmed down enough to believe we weren’t going to abandon her. Haley had spent three years making her believe she was disposable.
Chapter 14: Seeking the Road Back
My husband called Mrs. Kim, who advised us to take Kloe to her doctor right away. We got an appointment that afternoon.
Kloe started talking to the doctor, and three years came pouring out. She told the doctor about the threats, the isolation, and the constant fear.
She said she’d stopped sleeping well two years ago because she was afraid she’d wake up and we’d be driving her to boarding school. The doctor listened to everything.
The doctor told us Kloe had severe anxiety disorder. She explained that prolonged psychological abuse could have lasting effects on her mental health.
She wrote a prescription and said Kloe needed to start therapy immediately. She said the damage from this kind of abuse doesn’t heal quickly or easily.
We left the office with the weight of knowing we’d let our daughter suffer for three years. I spent the next three days fielding calls from relatives who’d seen the photos.
Some relatives were supportive, but others suggested we were overreacting. My husband’s brother kept saying that Haley was just trying to fit in and it was just teenage drama.
By the end of the week, the family was split. Half thought we were ruining Haley’s life over nothing.
Chapter 15: The College Crisis
Haley got an email from her college four days after the party. The admissions office wanted her to call them.
She came down twenty minutes later with tears streaming down her face. Someone from the graduation party had contacted the college about what happened.
The admissions office told her they’d received concerning information about her character. She begged us to fix it, saying one mistake shouldn’t ruin her whole future.
My husband said she needed to face the consequences of her choices. She screamed that we didn’t understand and ran back upstairs.
We scheduled a family meeting that evening. Haley insisted that Kloe was lying and making everything worse on purpose.
That is when Kloe played a voice recording she’d secretly made six months ago. Haley’s voice came through clear and cold, telling Kloe that she would convince us to send her to boarding school.
Kloe said she had dozens of them saved in a hidden folder. Haley just sat there staring at the floor.
I asked her if she had anything to say, and she whispered that she was sorry. But she couldn’t explain specifically what she was apologizing for.
Chapter 16: The Cracked Foundation
My husband and I completely disagreed about how to handle the situation. He wanted her to defer college and stay home to work on herself.
I was worried about damaging her future and wondered if space might help us heal. He got angry and said I was prioritizing Haley’s comfort over Kloe’s safety again.
We went back and forth, getting louder and more frustrated. We ended up arguing about our work schedules and how we’d both failed as parents.
By the time we went to bed, we were barely speaking. I realized this situation had damaged our marriage too.
The next morning, I took Kloe to her first therapy appointment. After about twenty minutes, Kloe started talking freely about the constant fear and feeling invisible.
The therapist told me privately that Kloe showed classic signs of long-term emotional abuse. She said it would take a lot of work to help her rebuild her sense of safety.
Two days later, Ashley showed up at our house. They went out to the front yard and were yelling within minutes.
Ashley told Haley she felt betrayed and used. She told Haley not to contact her anymore and walked away.
Chapter 17: Academic Sabotage
Haley stood in the yard crying while neighbors watched. My husband brought her inside, and she slammed her door.
The school counselor, Thiago Garcia, called the next afternoon. He explained that Kloe’s grades had dropped significantly over the past three years.
He showed us attendance records where Kloe was marked absent for fifteen different events she’d registered for. We realized Haley had been the one signing the sheets and marking her absent.
Mr. Garcia said he’d suspected something was wrong. He recommended accommodations for Kloe’s anxiety and summer school to help her get back on track.
That evening, Haley’s college called again. They were putting her enrollment on hold pending a character review.
We spent two hours drafting an email to the college. We explained that there had been serious family conflict and that we were addressing it through therapy.
My mother called two days later and started criticizing our parenting. She said we must have favored Kloe because she was our biological child.
She suggested we were being too hard on Haley. I finally snapped and told her she didn’t know what she was talking about, then I hung up.
Chapter 18: A Refuse of Safety
My husband’s brother called with similar opinions, leading to another heated argument. Our extended family was splitting into camps, leaving us feeling isolated.
Three weeks after the party, Kloe asked if she could stay with my sister for a while. She said she didn’t feel safe in the house with Haley.
Those words broke my heart. We agreed to let her go, even though it killed us.
Kloe packed a bag while Haley watched with a blank expression. My sister arrived and helped Kloe load the car.
My sister’s expression said she blamed us for letting this happen and failing to protect Kloe. I wanted to defend myself, but I couldn’t because she was right.
With Kloe gone, the house felt different. Haley came downstairs the next morning and ate cereal like nothing had happened.
My husband pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. I told Haley that what she’d done to her sister was abuse.
Haley said we were being dramatic. My husband said, “No, we weren’t being dramatic at all.”
