That night, I deliberately simmered a large pot of soup. I carefully took out the powdered sleeping pills and was about to pour them in when a voice spoke beside me.

"Mom?" Noah appeared out of nowhere, standing at my side. "What are you doing?"

Startled, I quickly pulled him close, pressing my cold fingers against his lips. "This is a sleeping medicine. Once your grandma, dad, and aunt drink it, they'll fall asleep.

"When they're asleep, we'll run away. I'll take you back to the city, and we'll live a good life."

He tilted his head and nodded obediently, though a flicker of malice passed through his eyes.

At the dinner table, I served soup to Ruth and the other two. Noah cradled his bowl and said to Ruth, "Mom put medicine in the soup. She said once you all are fast asleep, she'll take me and run away."

Liam's face instantly turned livid. He shot to his feet, and his broad palm came down hard across my face with a sharp crack.

"You filthy bitch. I knew you were still plotting!"

I was slammed to the ground like a rag doll. My cheek burned with pain, my ears rang, and a rusty, metallic taste flooded my mouth.

"Liam, where could I possibly run?" I gasped. "My life is tied to this family. I'm not going anywhere, not now, not ever."

Seeing as I stubbornly refused to confess, Ruth spat on the ground. "Still pretending? There's something in this soup.

"You ungrateful bitch! Even if you were beaten to death, you'd deserve it."

I struggled to my feet, tears streaming down my face as I said, "So, this is how you trample on my heart? Fine, I'll drink it! I'll drink it right in front of you."

I lifted the bowl and gulped down several mouthfuls. The three of them stared at one another, momentarily speechless.

More than ten minutes passed in suffocating silence. I was still standing there, unharmed, neither dead nor unconscious. Clearly, there was nothing wrong with the soup.

Ruth had already stumbled more than once because of Noah's words, and now her rage finally exploded. She grabbed Noah by the arm.

"You little leech! You dared play tricks on me! Get out, and stand against the wall. Don't come in without my permission!"

Noah was dragged outside roughly. The three members of the Barrett family cursed under their breath and sat back down to eat. I took a small stool and sat with them, deliberately picking at every dish on the table right in front of their eyes.

Before long, Ruth, Liam, and Emma collapsed over the table, unconscious, sleeping like dead pigs.

The drug had indeed been used. It simply was not in the soup but smeared earlier along the inner rims of their bowls. Noah, who was standing outside, escaped this round.

He looked at me in shock, cautiously tugged at my sleeve, and put on an innocent expression. "Mom, are you leaving? Don't leave me behind. Take me with you."

His performance was flawless, yet his vicious thoughts rang clearly in my ears.

"So, I'll pretend to go with her first. Once we're outside, I'll shout and let Grandma and Dad catch her again.

"Let's see if she dares to think only about running away by herself. A disobedient Mom deserves punishment."

The last trace of maternal love vanished completely in that instant.

"You ungrateful brat! Stay here with your vile father and your venomous grandma. Rot in this miserable valley for the rest of your life!"

I slapped Noah hard across the face and grabbed the hoe beside me, murderous intent coiling through my chest like poisonous veins. He stared at me with tear-filled eyes, so stunned that even his crying fell silent.

My hand trembled. In the end, I could not bring myself to strike. I stuffed a rag into Noah's mouth, tied him up in the woodshed, and rushed outside.

There was only one thought in my mind: to run. I must run while I still had the chance.

I avoided every familiar path and chose a narrow trail almost swallowed by weeds. The road was brutal terrain, but it was well hidden.

I ran with all my strength. My skin was torn and scraped, yet I felt no pain. As long as I crossed the small grove ahead, I would reach the highway, where buses ran to the county town.

I braced myself against a tree, just about to catch my breath, when a young voice called out to me from not far behind me.

"Mom."