I sprinted after them as fast as I could, but just as I reached the men’s restroom, someone stepped in my way.

“Miss, this is the men’s restroom. The ladies’ is over there!”

I looked up at the sign and felt a wave of panic surge through me. I prayed desperately, ‘Oh god. Please. Please don’t let Dad see Killian.’

But the heavens didn’t give a damn.

The second Dad stepped out of the restroom and saw me standing outside, everything unraveled exactly like it had in my past life. He stormed straight toward me and slammed his hand around my throat, nearly lifting me off the ground.

He cursed, “You ungrateful little brat! Who the hell gave you permission to divorce Killian?!”

I gasped, clawing at his arm, kicking and struggling to break free. But the harder I fought, the deeper his fingers dug into my skin like he wanted to snap my neck.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, Mom rushed over.

She kicked him off me and yanked me into her arms like a human shield. She was so furious her voice echoed off the walls.

“Brody! Are you fucking insane?! Zadie is your own daughter! How can you treat her like this? You’re worse than a beast! If you ever lay a hand on her again, I swear to god, I’ll divorce you right here, right now!”

Grandpa and Grandma rushed over next, standing in front of me like guard dogs. Grandpa lifted his cane and whacked Dad right in the knee with a loud crack, scolding him furiously.

“That’s right! You lay another finger on my granddaughter and I’ll break your goddamn legs! I don’t care if you’re my son or not!”

But instead of showing remorse, Dad glared at me like I was some filth.

“That little slut deserves it! A woman like her deserves no sympathy!”

Then he barked at me, ordering, “You’d better go link that TrustPay account to Killian’s new partner now! If you don’t, I’ll forget you’re my daughter! From this moment on, you’ll be dead to me!”

Halvard’s eyes got agitated when he heard that.

“Dad, are you insane?! Killian cheated on her! He’s a piece of shit, and you’re siding with him? Have you been fooled by his lies? I just don’t get why you’re treating my sister this way! Why the hell should she hand over her hard-earned money to that homewrecker?”

Hearing that, Killian gave a devilish grin.

“You think I’m lying? Then why not hear the truth for yourself? If I’m lying, I’ll sign the divorce papers right now and leave without a penny!” he taunted.

“Fine! Just for saying that you’re willing to leave empty-handed, I’ll hear what you have to say!” Halvard retorted. “I’m not gonna let my sister’s money go to you and your mistress!”

When he started marching toward Killian, panic shot through me.

I ignored the pain in my neck and grabbed onto my brother’s shirt with all the strength I had left.

“Brody, please. I’m begging you. Don’t listen to him. Just listen to me, okay?”

He wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and smiled so gently it hurt.

“Zadie. What are you so worried about? We grew up together. You’ve always treated me better than Mom and Dad ever did. It’s just words, alright? You just wait and watch me make that crap leave with nothing.”

As he reassured me, he gently pried my fingers off. He went on walking toward Killian.

Watching his retreating figure, I clenched my teeth hard.

‘No. Killian’s words… They’re too powerful. I’m going to lose my brother all over again!’

Seeing how distressed I looked, my grandparents and Mom tried to comfort me. But when they saw the look that slowly overtook my brother’s face, they fell silent.

Memories from my past life surged back—Halvard’s hands pinning me down mercilessly.

On instinct, I bolted toward the lobby’s exit, only to be struck at the back of my head by a thrown bottle of body wash.

I lost my balance and crashed to the floor, blood began trickling down my face from my forehead.

Halvard rushed over, but instead of helping, he grabbed both my wrists tightly.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he jabbed his finger into the wound on my head.

“Run? You actually dared to run? Do that one more time and I’ll break your damn legs, Zadie!” he threatened.

I gritted my teeth through the pain and asked bitterly, “Brody… I’m your sister. We grew up together! Why? Why would you believe Killian over me? Why?!”

“You’re not my sister!” he shouted in my face. “I don’t have a selfish, spiteful sister like you! My brother-in-law just wanted to learn some French—he was close to his tutor, so what? How could you accuse him of infidelity? You’ve ruined his reputation! You’re nothing but an evil woman!”

“His French tutor’s gonna get dragged into this mess too because of you. What if she loses her job and reputation because of this? Hurry up, and open your private payments and compensate her!”

Before I could even react, he yanked the phone straight out of my hands.

Pain shot through my wrist, but I raised my voice to defend myself.

“It’s not like that, Brody! You have to believe me! I didn’t misunderstand anything! I caught him and Valeraine in bed, in my own damn room! I saw it with my own eyes! I even recorded it! The video’s on my phone! I—”

“Shut up! Shut up! You wicked woman!” he roared. “How dare you slander two innocent people! I’ll kill you!”

He raised his leg, aiming a kick straight at my face. I shut my eyes and braced for despair.

But the blow I expected didn’t come. Instead, I heard a scuffle—Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma had rushed in and shoved him back with everything they had.

At this point, Grandpa, the head of the family, realized something was wrong.

His eyes narrowed as he turned toward Killian.

“What the hell did you say to them?” he demanded. “How’d you manage to turn a father against his own daughter? A brother against his own sister?!”

Dad immediately jumped in to argue.

“Dad, Killian’s doing this for our own good. If you heard what he said, you’d understand what he meant.”

“Yeah, Grandpa!” Brody chimed in. “Just listen to what Killian has to say. He’s doing good things for our family—you’ll see how disgusting that slut really is!”

He pointed a finger in my direction, his voice seething with hatred.

“I knew she was trouble. If it weren’t for what my brother-in-law told me, I would’ve been fooled by this whore!”

“Enough! Shut your damn mouths—all of you!” Grandpa bellowed, warning Dad and Brody with a firm and final voice.

“I don’t need to hear the damn thing Killian said. I may be old, but I’m not blind. You think I’d trust him over my own granddaughter? The two of you must’ve been kicked in the head by a donkey!”

He turned to Mom and Grandma. “Help her up. Get her out of here.”

I tried to get to my feet, stretching my hand out to Brody. “Give me back my phone!”

Brody hesitated, clearly itching to come at me again, but one look at Grandpa’s face shut him down. With a bitter scowl, he shoved the phone into my hand.

Feeling the cold surface of the screen in my palm, I finally breathed a little easier.

As long as that video of Killian’s affair was still there, I had evidence. I had leverage to divorce him.

I glanced at my grandparents and my mother. Their worried faces gave me a shred of comfort.

At least, in this life, they hadn’t been completely turned against me.

But just as we reached the front door, I heard footsteps behind us.

On high alert, I turned around—and met my brother’s mocking eyes.

The next moment, he leaned over and whispered something into Grandma’s ear. Whatever he said, it changed her completely. Just seconds ago, she was worried about me. But now, she spat in my face.

Startled and terrified, I reached out, trying to pull Grandpa and Mom away with me.

But Halvard raised his foot and kicked me hard before I could move. I stumbled backward, tumbling down the concrete steps outside the door—one step after another.

Grandpa and Mom tried to rush over to help me, but then Brody and Grandma whispered something into their ears too. Within seconds, they pulled back their outstretched hands.

At that moment, the memory of my tendons being cut in my past life—the pain of my limbs being crippled—came crashing back. I gritted my teeth against the agony spreading through my body and ignoring the fresh blood seeping from my forehead, I limped toward the car parked by the roadside.

I had to escape! No matter what!

But just as I moved, Grandpa pointed at me and shouted, “Quick! All of you—go get her!”

Hearing that, I panicked, screaming at the top of my lungs, “Help! Somebody help me! They’re kidnapping me! Please, somebody help me!”

It was a weekday, and the lobby was nearly empty, but my cries drew attention from outside. A crowd quickly formed around me.

Under their watchful eyes, I finally bought myself a few precious seconds.

I unlocked my phone and tried to dial 911, but my fingers slipped from sweat and panic, jabbing random numbers across the smudgy screen.

Just as I was about to delete the random numbers and press 911 again, a hand yanked my long hair and dragged me out of the crowd.

I lifted my foot, instinctively kicking backward in the direction of the person behind me.

“Let go of me! This is assault! Help! He’s attacking me in broad daylight!”

Before I could finish, a few young women rushed over. One of them slapped the hand tangled in my hair while the others pulled me behind them like a shield.

“What the hell is wrong with you, old man?! Just because you’re older doesn’t give you the right to hurt someone younger! You lay a hand on her again, and you’ll be going to jail!”

“She’s right! We’re all witnesses here. If any of you dare to lay another finger on her, don’t blame us bystanders for stepping in—”

But they didn’t even get to finish. My family shoved through the crowd and started beating me right there in front of everyone.

“You whore! Don’t you know what you’ve done? How dare you turn the tables and play the victim? We’ll beat you to death!”

“How could we raise a daughter like you? Falsely accusing your partner of cheating just to satisfy your selfish desires—you’re a disgrace to society! We should’ve strangled you when you were born!”

I curled up in a ball, but I still screamed with everything I had left.

“What did I ever do to deserve this?! Why are you doing this to me?! We’ve been together for over twenty years—does that mean nothing compared to just one word from Killian?”

By now, the people watching finally started to connect the dots—this wasn’t just some random attack. This was my family. Outraged, they shoved my family aside.

One woman stepped forward, eyes wide as she looked at my bloodied face. Her voice trembled with rage.

“She’s your family? Are you even human? How could you do something like this to her?!”

But Dad just sneered and replied, “Family? Someone like her doesn’t deserve to be one of us. Miss, if you knew the kind of things she’s done, you’d treat her the same way we do!”

The woman stood firm, shielding me with determination and saying resolutely, “I don’t believe you! No way!”

Someone else echoed her, “Yeah! We’d never do something this heartless to our own family! Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs. You think we’re as heartless as you?”

But then Dad leaned in and whispered something into her ear.

Her righteous expression instantly twisted into fury. She glared at me with disgust and snapped, “You deserve to die for what you did! How could you do something so insane? No wonder your family treats you like this! You should give access to that TrustPay account and properly compensate your husband!”

She turned to the others who had tried to defend me, saying, “Guys, if you trust me, stay out of this. Think about it—if she hadn’t done something horrible, why would every member of her family be against her?”

Some people nodded. Others just stared at me like they didn’t know what to think anymore. Those who still wanted to help me… She pushed them away.

One by one, they started backing away. I felt the panic rise in my throat

I whimpered and begged them, “I didn’t do anything! Please! Don’t leave me! Please, help me! They’re going to kill me! They just want my money! They want to ruin me!”

But they went on walking away.

In the end, I was all alone.

Covered in blood, I was dragged into a car and thrown into the back seat.

Dad and Mom cast a disgusted glance at me before casually discussing my fate.

“Let’s just lock her up at home for a while,” Dad began. “Keep a close eye on her. She’s got company shares and dividends—tens of millions every year.”

“Good idea,” Mom agreed. “Once we get home, let’s use her phone to open that account for Valeraine. Since it’s a voluntary transfer, that slut won’t be able to take it back later, and there’s no way she can go after Valeraine for it.”

“Come after? It’s not like she’d even dare,” Dad added with a chuckle. “She steps outta line again, we’ll make damn sure she remembers her place.”

I was already numb. I didn’t dare say anything reckless anymore. I just tried to focus on saving whatever strength was left in me.

The car finally pulled up in front of the villa—the one I bought. With my mouth still covered, they dragged me out and shoved me inside.

Valeraine was lounging on the couch, happily popping grapes into her mouth while watching TV.

The moment I was thrown in, my so-called family left me behind and rushed to greet the mistress, showering her with warmth and affection.

Killian even wrapped an arm around her waist and rested a hand on her belly.

Looking at his in-laws, he proudly announced, “Valeraine is carrying my child. From now on, you’re all family to her!”

Valeraine burst into laughter, then shot me a smug, taunting smile like she was looking at a complete failure.

“So gross!” she sneered.

And just like that, they locked me in the damp, pitch-black attic.

That night, when someone finally opened the door to bring food, I practically threw myself at it.

Valeraine stood at the top of the stairs like a queen feeding scraps to a zoo animal. She tossed down three cold, hard pieces of toast.

“Zadie,” she said, “aren’t you even a little curious what your husband said to turn your whole family against you?”

Shoving a piece of dry toast into my mouth, I gave her a bitter smile.

“Even if I said I wanted to know, would you even tell me?”

“Of course I would!”

Then she leaned in close and whispered something in my ear.

My face instantly went pale.