###Chapter 6

"Miss... wake up..."

I was shaken awake, a wrinkled face etched with worry before my eyes. It was my mother's old maid, Matilda Stevens, who had watched me grow up.

Seeing me awake, Matilda urged, "I've bribed the doctor on duty, Miss, you must call the police. They'll be changing shifts soon."

It turned out Matilda had followed me all the way to the mental hospital and after Renaldo left, she used every means to pull strings and find this isolation ward.

I jumped up and ran through the silent corridor, not stopping until I reached the door and saw the car Matilda had called. Only then did I breathe in relief.

My mother had connections at the police station; I did not believe Renaldo could control everything.

Before my tense nerves could relax, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"Where did you take Edwina? Tell me!" Renaldo's ferocious face appeared before me, his eyes bloodshot, his grip so strong it almost crushed my bones.

I struggled in pain.

"I don’t know what you're talking about. Now let me go, it hurts so much..."

Like an enraged beast, he roared and slapped me hard across the face, "Do you know how important she is to me? She's pregnant! If anything happens to her, I'll make you pay with your life!"

My ears were ringing from the blow, my forehead slammed against the car, reopening my old scar.

Seeing my bloodied face and my dejected state, Renaldo seemed to snap out of his daze.

His heart skipped a beat and he reached out, as if trying to wipe away the glaring blood.

Then the phone rang.

Listening to what was being said on the other end, his expression turned even more grim, his eyes dark and menacing. 

He stopped looking at me and roughly shoved me into the car as he roared, "Edwina is your own sister. How could you be so cruel?!"

"If my men had not rescued her in time, I don’t even want to think what those beasts would have done to her." 

He sped to Robbins’ Hospital and dragged me to a VIP ward.

Edwina, pale-faced, huddled on the bed. The moment she saw me, she screamed shrilly, "I'll never do it again. I promise I'll give Renaldo back to you!”

“This, this child, I don’t want it anymore. So, please, please, tell them to let me go, sister!"

She climbed off the bed and knelt before me, frantically kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Renaldo rushed over and gently pulled her into his arms, comforting her, "Do not be afraid, Edwina. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you. I'll get justice for you."

Justice? I stared blankly as Edwina nestled in his arms, a smug smirk playing on her lips. I realized it was all a charade.

But what about justice for my mother? Who would get it for her?

“I did not do anything.” My voice was dry and hoarse. “If you do not believe me, you can check the surveillance footage, check the call records.” 

Several men with bruised and swollen faces were thrown in by the bodyguards. As soon as they saw me, they shouted, “It was indeed Miss Deana who gave us money to kidnap her sister, Miss Edwina!”

“She said… she said if we broke her sister’s leg again and aborted the child, she would give us double the money!” 

Renaldo’s face was extremely ugly. He turned to me, his eyes seeming to pierce through me, “Deana, what else do you have to say?”

I had never done any of these accusations, but in his heart, he had already sentenced me to death.

“Since you don’t believe me, I have nothing to say.”

“If you do something wrong, you have to bear the consequences.” He gritted his teeth. “Kneel down and apologize to Edwina!”

I stubbornly raised my head, “I will never apologize to the beast who killed my mother!”

Renaldo walked over, staring down at me. Every word was chilling to the bone.

"Kneel down, or I'll dig up your mother's grave."

I stared in disbelief at his heartless face, finally swallowing all my grievances, grief and hatred and knelt before Edwina with a thud.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I repeated mechanically, my forehead slamming against the ground.

I did not know how long I kowtowed, until Renaldo roared angrily and roughly pulled me up.

"Enough! Who are you trying to fool with this act?!"

I held back my tears, looking at his distorted and blurred face through the hazy blood.

I swear, all this humiliation and pain would be repaid to you.

The next day, my uncle would come.

###Chapter 7

"Since that's enough, I won't disturb your family reunion!"

I forcefully wiped the blood from my eyes, broke free from Renaldo's hand under his complex and unreadable gaze and rushed out of the suffocating hospital room.

Back in that place that no longer felt like home, I quickly packed my bags.

Facing the mirror, I picked up the scissors.

In my youth, I overheard him say, "I like girls with long hair," and I grew that head of black hair for ten years.

With a swift movement, the scissors fell, just as my ten-year infatuation with him was completely severed, leaving no trace.

Then, I began to pack up everything he had given me.

Those gorgeous dresses, dazzling jewelry, limited-edition handbags that once filled me with ecstasy…

Those golden safety locks, exquisite toys, mansion keys he prepared for our "baby"… The more I cherished them then, the more ironic they became now.

Compared to the old notebook and yellowed ticket stubs that held his true feelings in the "urn," these expensive items before me seemed so cold, fake and laughable.

"Please come and collect them tomorrow morning."

I packed everything up, contacted a charity to donate it all and then took a nap, waiting for my uncle to arrive.

As dawn broke, Renaldo stormed into the room in a rage.

"What have Edwina and the child done to you? Why won't you let them go?!" The man dragged me from the bed to the yard without a word.

I saw a box in his hand labeled "Abortion Pills," and was about to speak when Edwina timidly followed.

"Renaldo, don’t be impulsive. My sister definitely did not do it on purpose. Let me talk to her alone, okay?"

She knelt down in front of me with a sweet smile, whispering in my ear in a voice only I could hear, "You think that old bitch died so easily?”

“After she lost her legs, I had over a dozen men with unusual fetishes 'serve' her for most of the night before she finally breathed her last. Before she died, she begged me not to let her daughter know, hahaha."

My eyes were bloodshot, "Edwina, I'll kill you!"

I used all my strength to strangle her neck with both hands.

"Deana, you dare to do this in front of me!"

Renaldo kicked me to the ground without hesitation.

Edwina hid in his arms, crying her heart out, "I've clearly given up everything, I can even give you and the baby back to her… why won't my sister let me go? Does she only feel satisfied when I'm paralyzed on the ground like before?"

Renaldo's gaze towards me was filled with an unprecedented ruthlessness and disappointment.

"Edwina has shown such sincerity, yet you're still so vicious. It seems I've spoiled you too much."

His gaze fell on the metal baseball bat in the corner.

I stared in disbelief, fear gripping my entire body. I tried to run, but a wall of bodyguards blocked my path.

“Renaldo, what are you doing?!”

Renaldo pressed me firmly to the ground. “Do not worry, Deana, even if you’re in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, I’ll take care of you.”

“No, don’t do this to me. No!”

Edwina hid behind Renaldo, a triumphant smile flashing in her eyes. “Renaldo, let it go. After all, she’s still my sister.”

Renaldo interrupted. “It’s because you’re too kind that she’s become increasingly ruthless. I can not be soft-hearted anymore and let your and the child’s safety be threatened.”

He raised a baseball bat.

An unprecedented despair engulfed me and I tightly closed my eyes…

Suddenly, a roaring sound grew louder as a helicopter landed overhead.

The strong wind forced everyone to turn their heads and Renaldo stopped moving.

I struggled to open my eyes and saw a tall figure jump down. That figure—it was my uncle! 

"Uncle, save me..." Seeing my miserable state, my uncle's eyes bulged.