Chapter 2

At that time, I had reported Dad to Grandma without any hesitation.

Dad was caught in the mountains and brought back; Mom immediately broke his legs. Not long after, Dad took his own life, and Mom only cursed him for bringing bad luck to the family.

After Dad died, I became the only punching bag in the house.

A few years later, Mom found herself a new plaything. That same night, she got drunk and accidentally beat me to death.

…

In the darkness, I looked at Dad gently and held his hand against my cheek. I promised silently, "Dad, this time, I'll definitely get you out."

…

Mom kicked open the door furiously and jabbed at Dad on the floor with her foot. "You bastard, it's already noon, and you're still not up to cook. Are you trying to starve me?"

When she saw that he was motionless, she cursed under her breath. She then turned and shouted to Grandma, "Mom, give this bastard some medicine! Don't let him die. People from the city are so fragile."

After finishing cooking for Mom, I crouched beside Dad to watch over him.

By evening, Dad woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, and his gaze settled on me.

I held out a large bowl of food to him with a fawning smile. "Dad, eat!"

Dad slapped me hard across the face. "Why? Why did you betray me?" he demanded, his voice raw with anguish.

I fought back my tears and said with feigned innocence, "Dad, you and Mom are a family, so you have to stay together. I'm just protecting this family."

Dad stared at me like I was a stranger, then suddenly laughed. "It was my fault. I treated you like my son, but I forgot that the blood of a human trafficker runs in you. You're rotten to the core!"

Dad's indifference hurt me so much that I could hardly breathe. At that moment, I knew that I had lost him completely. He no longer saw me as his child.

I couldn't help but remember that Grandma had once rolled her eyes, saying I was a child Dad had insisted on keeping. When Mom saw that I had a defect after giving birth, she wanted to throw me away, but Dad fought to save me.

Back then, he was frighteningly thin himself, but he did his best to feed me until I grew up. For as long as I could remember, I had always slept beside Dad. His arms around me were my safest space.

Grandma and Mom looked down on me for being disabled and refused to feed me, so Dad gave up portions of his own food to raise me.

Every night, he held me and murmured, "Ben, hold on a little longer. I'll find a way to get us both out of here."

Mom and Grandma called me a burden, but Dad gave me a beautiful name—Benjamin Carter.

Yet now Dad didn't want me anymore, and I became an orphan. It didn't matter, though; I still loved him.

In my past life, I had overheard Mom say that she had deliberately given Dad a chance to escape. She wanted to see whether he had accepted his fate. If he hadn't, she would beat him until he did.

So, this time around, I reported Dad to Grandma again. Thankfully, his legs were spared.

Back then, I was too young to understand that Dad had been trafficked here, but now I knew. This time, I would help him escape and let him reunite with his real family.

…

As soon as Dad could get up, Mom yanked him by his chain and forced him to work.

Dad handled all the dirty, heavy work in the compound alone, while Mom went out to deliver goods every day. Whenever sales were poor, she would kick and punch Dad, yelling that he brought nothing but bad luck.

There was nothing I could do during those times. I could only hide nearby and watch Dad get beaten.

Once Mom had vented, she dragged Dad roughly into the bedroom. Soon, Dad's anguished cries and Mom's excited voice carried through the walls.

When Grandma heard it, she smiled so widely that her wrinkles seemed to vanish. Under the dim yellow light, her smile looked utterly terrifying. "I hope it is a healthy child this time."