“Mum, Dad, I miss Mum and Dad,” Lizzy always cried. Elizabeth was the daughter of Mark and Rosalie. At ten, after her parents died in an accident, she was sent to live with her distant aunt, Tracy. Tracy’s house was cold and unwelcoming, and her three children—Amanda, Malone, and the youngest, Luke—didn’t want her there.

The first day was the hardest. Amanda's voice echoed in the hallway as she led Lizzy to the guest room. “This is where you’ll sleep,” Amanda muttered, showing no care. Lizzy clutched her worn-out teddy bear, the only thing left of her parents. Alone in the room, she cried, the weight of her new life pressing down on her.

“Come downstairs and spend time with us,” Mr. Anderson, Tracy’s husband, had said that evening, but Lizzy declined. It was easier to stay in her room than face the coldness of her new reality.

As the months went by, things only got worse. Tracy’s cruelty intensified. When her husband went away, Lizzy became the household maid. Tracy’s children did nothing. Every task was dumped on Lizzy. She worked day and night, cleaning up after them, with no end in sight.

But Lizzy was starting to change. No longer the weeping child she once was, she became quiet, calculating. One night, after scrubbing yet another set of dishes, a thought flashed through her mind: If Tracy can make money, so can I.

That night, Lizzy stayed up late, researching small online businesses. She could sell handmade soaps and candles, using the little money she earned to buy supplies. She’d turn the suffocating silence of Tracy’s house into her opportunity.

The next morning, Lizzy set to work. Slowly, her online business grew. She reinvested the small profits into better materials and more products. What had started as a way to escape the monotony soon became a thriving business.

Tracy noticed when Lizzy used her earnings to buy small luxuries—something Tracy would never think to spend on herself. Tracy’s envy simmered, but Lizzy remained unfazed. She wasn’t just surviving anymore. She was thriving.

One evening, as Tracy snapped at Lizzy for something trivial, Lizzy calmly replied, “I’m not cleaning your house forever. I’m building something.” Tracy stared at her in disbelief. Lizzy didn’t wait for a response. She was done with being invisible.

As Lizzy sat at her desk, working on her business, she smiled. This was just the beginning. Tracy had underestimated her, and Lizzy was about to prove that the quiet girl in the corner had a future bigger than anything Tracy could imagine.