Chapter 5

Only the dead couldn't reveal the truth. Thanks to Dad's influence, Carly must have learned that lesson a long time ago. Perhaps her desire to kill me had been simmering for years before it finally emerged.

But back then, I was foolish. I treated her like my little sister, mistaking her clinginess for real affection.

I convinced myself that if I took the blame for the fire, our family's bonds might still heal. I thought we could become a true family, even though we weren't bound by blood. I was too naive.

After Mom died, Dad grew colder with each passing day. He stopped calling me by name and began referring to me as "she". Even glancing my way at breakfast seemed like too much effort.

If I showed up to the table a few minutes late, he'd slam his utensils down beside his plate and snarl, "You've got no manners! Who do you take after with that behavior?"

Even Jacob didn't bother hiding his disgust. He used to be the one who spoiled me the most, but he had turned against me now.

One day, Carly cried in front of him, accusing me of tearing up her sketches and shoving her. When I tried to defend myself, he cut me off mid-sentence, "Why is it always you causing problems?"

They treated me as if I were always the one at fault.

Later, Carly hid a teacher's engagement ring and framed me for the theft. As punishment, I was locked in the detention room for two nights without food.

When Jacob came to see me, he demanded, "How did you turn out like this?"

I opened my mouth to answer but stayed silent instead.

"You had that same look when you got Mom killed! You don't even care!"

Eventually, I made it a habit to disappear every year when the anniversary of Mom's death came around. This year was no different. I packed my things a month in advance and left for Ruth Springer's place. She was my close friend.

The Springer family lived in the western part of the pack, far from Dad's and Jacob's reach. I didn't want to be an eyesore to them anymore. I just wanted peace.

One late night, I got a call. A man's voice came through, low and rough, "Bring the money. I have your little sister."

"Help me, Lina! You've got to come alone, or they'll kill me!" Carly's sobs came through the line, her voice thick with fear and desperation.

My wolf kept warning me. "Don't go. It's too dangerous."

But I ignored it. I sold the only ring Mom had left me for cash and headed to the abandoned slaughterhouse, just like they'd instructed.

The place had been empty for years, its walls smeared with blood and rust, making it look more like a sacrificial altar. The second I walked in, the sharp, iron stench of blood hit me hard.

Carly stood there, clutching White Fang. A silver chain dug into his neck, and his paws dangled in the air as he struggled desperately. Yet, she held him tight, like some stolen prize, while he let out weak, whimpering cries.

She lifted his chin with her nail and murmured, "Soon, he won't even remember you."

Her lips twisted into a smirk, her eyes glinting with cruel amusement as she added, "Starting today, everything you have belongs to me."

Behind her loomed four rogues she'd hired. Their stares were venomous, their bodies reeking of decay. They'd pinned me to the ground, my arms and legs bound behind my back, leaving me immobilized.

Carly wore a pair of spotless white canvas sneakers. She stepped toward me, clutching a syringe. The silver needle gleamed in the light. Inside, the syringe was filled with dark blue wolfsbane.

I recognized it immediately—Severance. It was a vicious drug reserved for werewolves exiled from their families. One dose was enough to sever every blood bond and permanently cut off the mind-link.

She crouched in front of me, looking down with a gentle smile laced with disdain. "Did you really think Dad and Jacob could still reach you through the mind-link? They can't.

"You're not part of the Rosen family anymore. From now on, it'll be like you never existed."

I fought desperately, tears blurring my vision, but my body refused to obey.

Carly grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. "Close your eyes. It'll be over faster."

Without hesitation, she drove the silver needle straight into my carotid artery. Wolfsbane surged through my veins, ripping through my nervous system. My body convulsed, every nerve screaming as if I were being burned alive.

Then, Carly turned to the four rogues and said flatly, "She's the one I want dead. Make it clean. Rip out her throat, strip her fingerprints, and destroy her face."

This was the same "little sister" I had raised from childhood, piece by piece. The same person who once swore I meant everything to her.

She simply stood there, watching without a shred of emotion as I was butchered. To her, I was nothing more than trash waiting to be tossed out.

They started by killing my wolf using liquid silver, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. All I could do was watch as it disappeared before my eyes.

After that, they got even more savage. I screamed and fought with everything I had, but it was useless. Eventually, my body gave out, and my vision started to blur.

I didn't want to die. I wasn't ready to let go. I couldn't let myself die.

So, I kept crawling, dragging my mangled body forward. My wrists were shattered. My legs were crushed. Still, I clawed at the ground, forcing myself to keep going.

With the last of my strength, I dialed the emergency number seared into my memory—the one that reached Dad and Jacob.

The first call rang three times before someone ended it. On the second attempt, the line connected for barely two seconds before it dropped.

I kept trying—third call, fourth, fifth—until, finally, Dad blocked my number. Staring at the cold string of failed calls, a sharp ache gripped my chest.

He wasn't coming. He never intended to. To him, I was no longer part of the Rosen family.

One of the rogues Carly had hired stomped on my watch, crushing it under his boot. "Calling for help? You must really have a death wish!"

"The client said we can do whatever we want to her! Let's make sure she really suffers!"

They dragged me up and threw me onto the steel slab. Again and again, they plunged their silver blades into my body, stabbing with savage force. They ripped through me, crushed me, and kept driving the knives deeper.

But I still clung to life. I still had words left for my little companion, White Fang, and for Dad and Jacob.