It was already dark. He dragged me into the house in a sack and knelt down immediately, saying in a trembling voice, "Dad, Mom, I’ve killed someone."

My mom was so scared that she fell to the ground and cried. She scolded him for being useless and only knowing how to cause trouble for the family.

My dad slapped my brother in the face and shouted angrily, "It's okay to gamble, but you, a beast, actually dared to kill someone?!"

My mom rushed over to stop him, "Why did you hit him? Think about what to do now!"

"What else can I do!"

My father, shaking with anger, said, "Call the police! Have him turn himself in!"

My mother, wide-eyed and shouting, retorted, "Are you trying to kill us? Mason is still so young. Are you trying to ruin his life?"

My brother, kneeling on the ground, cried bitterly, "Dad, Mom, I don't want to go to prison. I don't want to die."

He continued, "Zora is just a girl; she’ll get married eventually. She won’t even sell her house to help us. She’s ungrateful! Now I'm in this situation and she doesn't care. What will you do when you're old and can’t work anymore? Can you rely on her then?"

I was shaking with anger at his words. Since I started working, I had been sending money home every month. From big things like furniture and appliances to small things like sending and receiving packages, I was almost always the one taking care of it. Later, because he frequently asked for money due to gambling, my dad stopped accepting my money and told me to save it for myself.

How did it turn into me not caring about the family in his words? My mom went up to pull him away, crying uncontrollably and repeatedly saying, "Mason is my son. No one can take him away from me. If you make him turn himself in, you’re pushing him into a fire pit!"

My dad was furious, shouting, "It’s all because you spoiled him! He’s committed murder!"

"Don’t you know what kind of child he is?" My mom cried out in despair, "If we don’t take responsibility as parents, his whole life is ruined!"

My dad fell silent. In the quiet, the only sound was my mom’s sobs. After a long time, my dad finally spoke, his voice trembling. "Stop crying. Drag the body into the workroom."

I was stunned, feeling like I had fallen into an ice cave. The workroom in the slaughterhouse was where animal carcasses were processed. Was my dad planning to handle me in the same way?

My parents had always been hardworking and honest, never trying to take advantage of others and even returned extra change from vendors. Yet these tw upright people, to cover up their murderous son's crime, heartlessly destroyed the evidence.

I screamed desperately for my parents, pleading for them to seek justice for me, saying that the person killed by my brother was me. But it was all in vain. They worked together to drag me into the workroom. As soon as they opened the sack, my mother covered her nose and ran away, vomiting uncontrollably.

My father angrily shouted, "Who is this person! What kind of grudge makes you commit such a terrible act!"

My brother, avoiding eye contact, replied vaguely, "It's a creditor."

I coldly laughed with anger. My assets after death were to be inherited by my parents, so ultimately, he was after my house. For the sake of the house, he could go so far as to kill me and even coerce my parents into helping him cover up the crime.

As they pulled me out of the sack, my father frowned and said, "It's a girl?"

"Dad, don't ask any more questions. Just get rid of her."

My brother urged, "If you delay any longer, someone will find out."

They brutally dismembered me and threw me into the crusher bit by bit.

I have a birthmark on my calf. My dad saw it, wiped it with his hand and murmured, "Your sister has such a birthmark too."

My brother was shocked and my mom scolded him, "Don't say such unlucky words! Today is your daughter's birthday!"

They actually remembered my birthday.

I felt a deep sorrow as I watched myself mixed in with the bones and flesh of cattle and sheep, being treated as garbage.

The blood on the ground was washed away by water and my clothes were burned. They wiped out my traces one by one as if they were finishing their work, leaving nothing behind.

If they knew that the body they were destroying so cruelly was the body of their own daughter, I wondered what they would think.

After doing all this, my mother was still in shock and hurriedly knelt in front of the Jesus statue and kowtowed continuously.

My dad sat slumped to the side, his hand trembling as he lit a cigarette. After a long pause, he sighed, "We've sinned... half a lifetime of doing no wrong and now the three of us will go to hell when we die."

My mom, crying, shouted back, "Hell it is then! That's still better than watching Mason walk to his death!"

"Now, I can only hope the heavens won't hold it against Zora. She didn’t know, she’s innocent."

My dad stood up and knelt before the cross, bowing his head in prayer. "Lord, please forgive us. It’s all our fault. Don’t let my daughter suffer for our sins."

He had never been religious, but now, in desperation, he prayed fervently, terrified that I might face divine punishment because of what they'd done.

But, Dad, the one you so cruelly dismembered and destroyed—was me.

Growing up, I had always felt fortunate for my parents' open-mindedness and I had a good relationship with my brother. It wasn't until my brother started gambling that I realized, deep down, they had always favored sons over daughters.

Even a criminal adopted son mattered more than their responsible biological daughter.

Daughters were like spilled water—no matter how successful, they are never truly reliable in their eyes.

When I was a child and made mistakes, my dad would strictly teach me about right and wrong. But in moments like this, he was able to make such a decision without hesitation.

In their hearts, I never measured up to my brother—never.

My mom kept complaining, saying that if it weren’t for my refusal to sell the house, my brother wouldn’t have been driven to this. She called me selfish and claimed I never considered the family.

In this matter, although they never outright forced me, my mom had hinted several times, saying that my brother had it tough, that he was impatient and, even if he went down the wrong path, it was understandable. She kept implying that I should help him if I could.

That's exactly why my brother believed the house I bought was also part of his property.

My dad, irritated, told her to shut up, looking anxious. "I can't shake this uneasy feeling. Do you think something's going to happen?"

"What's going to happen? You're overthinking it," my mom replied, trying to sound calm. "There are no cameras around here and there's nothing left of her. I’d like to see who could trace it back to us."

My dad stayed silent for a while before suddenly picking up his phone to make a call. My mom, panicking, snatched it away and relaxed only when she saw he had dialed my number. She then scolded him, "You should also persuade her. What's the big deal about the house? We're family—why can't she just give it up to help us out? After raising her all these years, is she really going to watch her brother be driven to despair?"

My dad didn't respond. He kept redialing my number again and again, but it never went through.

Of course it didn’t. My phone, along with anything that could identify me, had been smashed and thrown into the trash. My brother must have been planning this for a while.

When the calls wouldn’t go through, my dad finally started to worry and called my boyfriend, Colin, asking if he had heard from me.

Colin's voice was filled with panic, "Mr. Wail, I’ve been trying to reach Zora since she landed, but her phone’s been off and she hasn’t come home!"

"This is huge! Why are you just telling me now?" My dad, alarmed, jumped to his feet and rushed outside, shouting to my mom, "Zora is missing!"

"Can’t she even have a quiet birthday? She’s no help at all, just causing more trouble for this family!" My mom cursed a few times before following him out.

I followed along and saw that the house was decorated in a very warm and romantic way, with flowers, balloons and streamers. There were many of my friends present and the table was filled with an array of delicious dishes. There was also a cake and beside it, a sparkling ring was placed.

I was stunned for a moment and then realized that Colin was planning to propose to me.