He took me away from home for a while, traveling with me to help me relax.

Later, on my birthday, Heidi threw a huge tantrum, refusing to let me celebrate.

My brother came to pick me up himself, he ordered a cake and even spent his own salary on a white dress for me.

He said, “Tomorrow’s your birthday. I’ll take you to Disneyland, so stop thinking about those things.”

Then he patted my head and smiled. “Your brother will always believe you and stay by your side.”

But everything stopped the next day.

That morning, I left work early, planning to surprise my brother, but I was stopped at the entrance of the alley by my recently released adoptive father.

It was a dark, damp alley, with peeling paint and the smell of mold everywhere.

He dragged me into a corner, shouting, “You little brat, you dared to call the police on me, let’s see if I don’t teach you a lesson!”

I struggled, but he kicked me to the ground.

He snatched the cake from my hands and crushed it under his feet, the cream mixing with dirt until it looked like a pool of filthy blood.

He beat me until my head spun, tearing my dress into shreds, and in that moment, it felt like I had fallen back into the same hell I once lived through.

When I woke up, clutching my wounds, I ran to find my brother. He was sitting outside a hospital room.

I rushed toward him, crying, “Brother, help me…”

Before I could finish, his hand came down hard across my face. It was the first time he had ever hit me.

He grabbed me and dragged me into the hospital room, forcing me to kneel beside Heidi’s bed.

Clenching his teeth, he shouted, “I didn’t think you could pretend this well! You even bribed that old man to hurt Heidi!”

Tears ran down my face as I cried and shook my head. “It wasn’t me… really, it wasn’t me…”

But he didn’t believe me. He only looked at me with disappointment and said coldly, “I didn’t think those people could raise you to become like this.”

“Now Heidi has lost her mind because of you! Sienna, you should carry that guilt for the rest of your life and spend it making it up to her.”

Mom stood nearby, watching me without any emotion. Even Atlas looked at me with cold eyes and said, “You’ve really disappointed me.”

After that, he stayed by Heidi’s side almost every day, saying it was his way of making up for me.

At that time, I thought my adoptive father had lied just to get back at me.

Then one day, Tessa overheard Heidi talking to a friend on the phone. She was laughing proudly.

“I’m perfectly fine. I just pretended for a while, and she’s completely ruined. That old man, he’d do anything for some money.”

“I told you, what is she anyway? She thinks she can fight me for my family? As long as I cry a few times, they all believe me.”

When I heard about this, I felt completely numb.

……

My thoughts came back to me as I leaned against the wall, trying to stand. I turned to walk toward the hotel, but before I could take two steps, my brother rushed over and grabbed my arm.

He shouted angrily, “You called Heidi here on purpose and made her sick again! She almost got hit by a car and fainted from the shock!”

“You have to come with us to the hospital and kneel by her bedside to apologize!”

“When she wakes up, we’ll decide if we’ll let you go!”

I struggled as my brother dragged me into the car. In my earpiece, the police’s voice came through, “The suspect’s trail has disappeared. Stay where you are, you don’t need to go into the hotel.”

I took a deep breath, replied “Okay,” and turned off the earpiece.

They took me to the hospital’s emergency room. I stumbled as they pushed me toward it, and just as the door was about to close, I said softly, “Brother, I never told anyone that I was wearing a wedding dress to go to the hotel.”

“Brother, I didn’t call anyone, and I swear I didn’t bring Heidi here on purpose.”

“This time, do you believe me?”

Scott frowned and pushed me away, his voice cold. “Enough. Talking won’t change anything. Just admit you were wrong. As long as Heidi forgives you, Mom and I will let it go.”

I gave a faint, bitter smile, feeling the last bit of hope in my heart fade completely. Turning around, I walked into the emergency room.

The door had barely closed when a sharp pain hit the back of my neck. My vision blurred, and my body collapsed onto the cold floor.

When I opened my eyes again, I was tied up in a damp, moldy warehouse. The air was thick and stale, and the dim light above flickered weakly.

Next to me lay Heidi. She opened her eyes and immediately started cursing.

“Stephen, you old fool, are you crazy? I told you to drug her, not knock me out too!”

She tried to sit up but soon realized she couldn’t move, her tone turning even harsher.

“I said, just act a little! Tie her up, that’s all! Why did you tie me too? I just had my nails done, three thousand per finger! If they’re ruined, can you even afford that, old man?”

Just as she was yelling and scolding, something was suddenly thrown inside.

Heidi looked closer and screamed like she had lost her mind. It was a mutilated body, my adoptive father, her real father, Stephen.

A hunched figure stepped out from the corner, smiling darkly.

The system’s cold voice spoke in my head: This man is the Butcher.

As Heidi cried and begged for mercy, a group of armed police officers burst through the door, shouting loudly, “Release the hostages, or we’ll open fire!”

My brother, eyes red, rushed to the front and roared, “Let my sister go! I’ll make sure you die with a whole body!”

Hearing Heidi’s cries, Atlas shouted into the room, “I’ll give you three billion, just let Heidi go!”

The Butcher laughed, his voice cold and full of hate.

“I didn’t plan to kill anyone at first. But someone killed and blamed me for it, and I wasn’t convinced. Since that’s how it is, I’ll kill one more. This time, you’d better watch closely, this one’s mine.”

He spoke slowly. “I caught two people this time. You can choose. Whichever one you pick, that one lives. One is the girl whose name you just called, and the other is….”

Before he could finish, my brother and Atlas shouted at the same time, “We choose Heidi!”

“I choose Heidi!”

I gave a small, bitter smile and closed my eyes.

The Butcher laughed loudly and threw Heidi toward them. She stumbled into their arms, crying and begging them to take her away.

Before my brother and Atlas could even catch their breath, the Butcher pulled a round object from his pocket, grinning wildly as he got ready to throw it toward the police and the crowd.

“Anyway, I can’t escape this time. Might as well take a few more down with me before I die!”

My brother’s pupils went small, and he shouted right away, “Evacuate! He’s got a bomb!”

Screams, cries, and sobs mixed with the Butcher’s loud laughter.

“Die, all of you.”

The next second, everyone watched in terror as a frail figure staggered out from the corner.

I ran forward, threw myself onto the bomb, and pressed it hard against the Butcher’s chest.

The bomb buzzed between us, the sound cutting through my heart. Then there was a deafening explosion.

Darkness, heat, pain.

Glass shattered, wood splintered, and my ears felt as if they were being torn. Through the burning pain, a pair of gentle hands held me close.

It was Tessa. Her voice was soft like the wind, yet it sounded clear in my ear.

“Sienna, don’t be afraid, we’re going home.”

I choked up and tried to hold her hand. “Tessa…”

“I’ve missed you so much.”

The warehouse after the explosion was covered in flames.

The officers who had joined the raid tried to rush forward but were pushed back by the thick smoke.

Someone shouted, “Captain! Sienna is still inside!”

“It was Sienna who saved us!”