Discarded, But Deadlier

By the time I returned to the Howell residence, it had begun to snow outside.Inside, it was warm and comfortable. However, I felt as though ants were crawling all over my body, gnawing at me.I wished I could escape right there and then.In the past, I had been afraid of the cold.However, back in the sanitarium, they would dunk me into ice water repeatedly or force me to kneel in the snow and repent for my "sins" whenever Isabella visited.The chill from the ice water seeped deep into my bones, and kneeling in thin clothes on ice made me feel even worse.Over time, I developed severe rheumatism. Now, even the slightest heat would make my joints go numb, ache, and swell.Suppressing the urge to scratch myself, I stood at the doorway, barefoot and at a loss for what to do.Once, my pair of bunny slippers had been placed here just for me. Now, in their place sat a pair of bright red, fluffy women's slippers. They weren't mine—likely belonging to Isabella.Noticing me frozen at

To avoid being tracked down, I quickly rented a place, changed my phone number, and even got myself a fake ID.But with no education or connections under that false identity, the only job I could find was as a waitress at a restaurant.For three months, I lived peacefully. Every day, I worked from morning to night. It was so exhausting that I would collapse into bed as soon as I got home.I did my job well and was soon promoted to floor supervisor.One day, the boss, Jayden Omar, asked me to serve a very important guest in a private room.I entered the room with the dish runner, politely opening the door, only to hear a stunned yet delighted voice. "Sadie?"The tray slipped from my hands, falling to the floor. Soup splattered all across my uniform.Noah strode toward me and grabbed me tightly, his voice trembling. "Sadie, I've been looking everywhere for you!"Jayden rushed in at the commotion. Seeing the scene, he assumed the guest was bullying me.He shielded me behind him

Nemera followed Noah back to the Howell residence.At the doorway, she paused. Her gaze fell upon the slippers by the entrance. She looked desolate as she pointed at them. "I remember… There used to be a pair of rabbit slippers here. Are these Isabella's?"Noah froze. "I never really paid attention. She left behind this new pair of shoes and kept saying she'd come pick them up, but never did. As for your rabbit slippers… Martha!"He called for Martha Hopkins, the housekeeper. Martha rubbed her hands nervously and answered, "One time, Ms. Dawson came over and dirtied those rabbit slippers. She told me to throw them away."Noah's face darkened. "If you're following everything Isabella says, perhaps you should consider working for the Dawson family instead."Nemera tugged gently at his sleeve. "Noah, don't blame Martha. Everyone knows Isabella is your dream woman."Her words cut into his heart like a blade. He could only reply stiffly, "Sadie, don't misunderstand. Yes, she and I did

That morning, the top headline on the financial news read, "Dawson Group Accused of Tax Evasion. Key Executives Summoned for Investigation".This was the result of Nemera and Noah working together.The Dawson and Howell families had collaborated for years. With just a bit of digging, countless shady dealings came to light.Moreover, Noah had already planted people within the Dawsons, and they had been instrumental in gathering evidence.That very same evening, another headline dominated the social pages, "Police Raid Abusive Sanitarium Masquerading as Rehabilitation Facility."The internet quickly uncovered that its major shareholder was none other than Dawson Corporation.Countless rescued patients came forward with testimonies of abuse. Within ten minutes, the videos of their stories had surpassed 100 million views.For the first time, the public realized that such blatant atrocities had actually happened in those institutions.Soon after, the trending searches were once agai