“Have you forgotten how you clawed your way into my bed and became Mrs. Foster?”

I stared at him in fear, praying he wouldn’t say more.

Sure enough, when I looked up, Mom’s face was pale as death.

No—it wasn’t true.

Grandma once told me the truth.

Richard had been drunk that night and mistook Mom for his old flame.

She hadn’t resisted.

That night, I was conceived.

Richard agreed to marry her, to “take responsibility,” but in his heart, he never forgot another woman.

So whenever they fought, he dredged up the past—claiming Mom had seduced him and deliberately kept me.

That was why he hated her, and by extension, hated me too.

In recent years, he traveled abroad frequently.

Because overseas, there was always Olivia waiting in his thoughts.

Last month, Olivia divorced her foreign husband and came back with Emily. Richard smiled like I’d never seen before.

But now, watching Mom resist, his expression turned dark, his tone threatening.

“I’ll ask you one last time—are you making that snack or not?”

“No.”

Mom lifted her chin, clinging to her pride.

“Fine. Very well.”

Richard gave a thin smile and ordered the security guards to lock her in the basement.

“If you’re of no use in this house, then you can rot down there like a sewer rat. When you’ve learned your lesson, I’ll let you out.”

That night, I cried and begged, nearly on my knees.

“Mom knows she was wrong, please don’t lock her away…”

But Richard kicked me aside.

I collapsed on the floor, clutching Mom’s leg, sobbing for her not to go.

As she was dragged away, she knelt down and gently handed me an empty box.

“Don’t cry, Sophie. You know how to fold paper stars, right?”

“When you fill this box, I’ll come back to get you. I’ll take you to Grandma’s.”

I clutched the box tightly and nodded.

“Mom, you promised. I’ll wait for you to come.”

But after that night, I never saw her again.

Olivia and her daughter became the new mistresses of the mansion.

Whenever Richard wasn’t home, Olivia dropped her act and openly tormented me.

The doll I loved—if Emily wanted it, it was hers.

The pretty dresses Mom had carefully picked out for me—because Emily didn’t like them, the housekeeper cut them to shreds.

Emily sneered down at me. “Trash like you should dress like a beggar.”

I endured it all silently.

I held onto the half-filled box of paper stars, counting the days until Mom came back.

But this time, Emily burned them on purpose.

Then she struck me hard.

A liquor bottle smashed across my body. I barely felt the pain anymore—my only instinct was to shield what little remained of those paper stars.

They were the last gift Mom had left me.

She had promised: once the box was full, she would come take me home.

But then I felt warm liquid running down my face—my head had been split open.

As I fell unconscious, I saw Richard’s polished shoes stop in front of me.

I forced a weak smile. “Daddy, I wasn’t bad…”

And Emily burst into loud sobs.

Olivia Grant put on a look of panic, saying my messy, bloodied appearance had frightened her daughter.

“Sophie Foster!”

Richard grew furious.

He said I was pretending to be pitiful, hurting myself on purpose just to win sympathy.

He said I was just like my mom—disgusting and unbearable.

Emily Grant pointed at my bleeding, pathetic state and burst out laughing.

“Daddy, doesn’t Sophie look just like a dog?”

“Daddy, I want to hear her bark like one!”

Those cruel words—I thought Richard would at least frown and refuse.

But instead, he crouched down indulgently and scooped Emily into his arms.

“Now that you mention it, Emily, she does kind of look like one.”

“Then let her bark like a dog.”

The stabbing pain sank deep into my chest. At last, I understood Mom’s humiliation and grief.

I stiffened my neck and refused with all my strength.

Richard exploded with rage and ordered the security guards to throw me into the safari park.

I begged him, “Daddy, I know I was wrong. I’ll bark like a dog. Please don’t send me to that place!”

But Richard’s face stayed cold.

“I gave you a chance earlier. Now it’s too late.”

He spoke with icy detachment:

“You’ve been pampered since childhood. As my daughter, it’s time you toughened up.”

Because of those words, the guards tossed me into the wildlife park.

It was pitch-dark, no one around, only the cries of birds and cicadas, and the low growls of beasts in the distance.

Shivering all over, I clutched my smart watch, begging him to save me.

“Daddy, I know I was wrong. I’ll never disobey again…”

But when I turned around, a snake slithered toward me, tongue flicking in the night.

I was bitten. By the time the ambulance took me to the hospital, they had already called Richard.

“Hello, are you Sophie Foster’s father?”

“Your daughter was bitten by a venomous snake in the wildlife park. She’s in the ER now—you need to come quickly.”

“What?”

Richard shot up, hesitation and a flicker of concern in his eyes.

“I’m on my way.”

But just as he picked up his coat, a piercing scream came from the master bedroom, followed by Emily’s loud sobs.

“Richard, something’s wrong—Emily’s having an episode!”

Olivia cried in a panic.

“She needs to be taken to the hospital right now!”

Richard froze at the doorway, then turned back and rushed to scoop Emily into his arms.

“What’s happening to her?”

With tears streaming, Olivia clung to his arm.

“Richard, I didn’t want to worry you, so I never told you—Emily was diagnosed abroad with a rare condition. Every time it flares up, she needs a blood transfusion, or her life will be in danger…”

Richard’s face drained of color. He bolted for the door.

“Quick—take Emily to the hospital!”

When I opened my eyes again, I was being wheeled out of the ER.

A nurse sighed in relief. “Sweetheart, you’re lucky. A little later and you wouldn’t have made it.”

At the park, I had collapsed after the snake bite.

Thankfully, staff had found me and called the ambulance just in time.

But I stared blankly at the ceiling. “Did my dad come?”

The nurse gave me a sympathetic look. “Maybe he’s busy with something.”

I nodded faintly.

“Mm. I understand.”

I wanted so badly to get up and find Mom. But my throat was dry, and thirst overwhelmed me. The nurse who had been caring for me had gone off to handle something else.