Chapter 4

He sneered and tapped his fingers against the table.

"Why don’t we set fire to everything she treasures while she’s still in the hospital? Maybe… the shock will finally make her spirit collapse completely?"

Mom hesitated, her voice as soft as a sigh.

"Surely it won’t come to that… Nora may not know how to act spoiled like Suzy or cling to us while saying sweet things, but she has still lived with us for eighteen years…"

Dad swept a cold gaze over their hesitation, then ground out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Let’s try it. We can always buy Nora new things afterward. She has always been easy to placate. A little coaxing is all it takes to make her feel better."

I crouched in the shadows with Mimi in my arms and watched them return to the old villa.

Then I watched helplessly as my computer, diaries, every gift I had received over the past eighteen years, and even my room twisted and collapsed in the flames, eventually turning into a glaring sea of red.

The heat blasted against my face, but my blood felt colder than ice.

Suddenly, Mimi broke free from my arms. Her orange shape flashed like lightning as she charged straight toward the inferno devouring my past.

"Who’s there?!" Nathan’s furious roar tore through the night.

"It’s that animal Nora always fed!"

Noman’s voice carried a sick excitement.

"Hurry! Don’t let it get away!"

"Kill it, too. Nora will completely break down!"

The blood in my veins froze.

Nathan and Noman lunged at Mimi. One seized her by the neck while the other grabbed her hind legs. They were about to strangle her.

"Don’t!"

I charged toward the fire like a madwoman, but the blast of heat sent me tumbling to the ground.

Scalding tears burned trails down my face. I could no longer tell whether the pain came from the smoke or the agony in my heart.

"Nora?!"

Mom’s voice exploded behind me.

I slowly raised my head and saw them standing at the villa entrance. The firelight cast their expressions from viciousness to shock.

"When did you come back?"

Dad’s voice sounded somewhat strained.

I lay sprawled in the yard, my oversized hospital gown whipping in the night wind.

"The hospital said… my account was overdue."

Only then did they realize that no one had taken care of me since I woke up.

The air suddenly froze.

Mom gave an awkward explanation.

"Everyone was busy, so w-we forgot…"

Noman suddenly exploded.

"Are you stupid? You had a phone and a bank card. Couldn’t you pay the bill yourself?"

I lowered my head and answered honestly.

"You took my phone away on the day I came back. You said you would buy me a new one, but I never heard anything after that.

"As for the bank card… the PIN was wrong, so I couldn’t use it."

All four of them froze. For the first time, I saw a trace of guilt in their eyes.

"If you forgot the PIN, why didn’t you ask?"

Nathan’s furious roar broke the silence, but the obvious guilt in his voice betrayed his unease.

"Suki is so clever and always says exactly what she wants. Unlike you, you’re as quiet as a locked box."

I lowered my eyes, unsure how to respond.

After a year apart, I returned to find every one of them treating me with distance and suspicion.

I felt like a stranger who had wandered into someone else’s home, terrified that one wrong word or step would make them reject me completely.

How could I bring myself to ask them for anything else?

Noman could not stand the suffocating atmosphere.

He kicked over the loose stones by his feet in fury, then pointed at me and shouted.

"Why are you making that pathetic face again? Ever since you came back, this family hasn’t had a moment of peace! Now there’s even been a fire! The house is burned down, and our home is gone. Are you happy now?"