Chapter 4

The turning point came on the second day after Francis left for a business trip to Efrida.

With him gone, the house became Barbara's kingdom. She sent all the household staff away and had me locked in the villa's basement.

"Stay down there and think about what you've done, you little brat. When Francis comes back, I'll tell him you ran away from home." She sneered from the other side of the door.

The basement was cold, damp, and pitch black. I sat quietly on a torn-up cardboard box in the corner, closing my eyes and resting.

Honestly, was that the best she could do? This game was boring.

Around midnight, I heard faint footsteps outside.

"Ethan… Ethan, are you in there?" It was Emily. Her voice was shaky and tearful.

Through the gap beneath the door, she managed to push a crushed cookie and a small bottle of water.

"Ethan, I snuck out to see you. Don't be scared," Emily sobbed and muttered. "When I found out I had a brother, I was so happy. But I was worried too. I was afraid that bad woman would hurt you too.

"Whenever Dad isn't home, she locks me in dark rooms, forces me to eat leftovers that I'm allergic to, and makes me wear clothes with needles hidden inside them. And she doesn't allow me to tell Dad… I can't fight back, and Dad always believes her.

"Ethan, I've been saying money in my piggy bank. When I have a hundred dollars, I'll take you with me, and we'll run away together. We'll never come back to this awful house…"

Listening to the little girl who looked just like me cry outside the door, a strange irritation rose within me. She was too weak, so weak that it was embarrassing.

But at the same time, she really considered me her brother, so she was my responsibility. And nobody could mess with what was mine.

I got up and pulled a piece of wire from my pocket, slipped it into the lock, and gave it a few casual twists. With a click, the door swung open.

I had never been trapped. I'd only stayed in the basement because I wanted to see what moronic thing Barbara would do next. Strangely, I was excited because it had been a long time since anyone had dared challenge me.

When Emily saw me step out, she was so shocked that she forgot to wipe away her tears.

I walked over and roughly brushed the tears from her face with my sleeve. I said coldly, "What are you crying for? Shut up. Just watch."

Emily was frightened by the look in my eyes. She covered her mouth obediently.

I headed straight for the kitchen and grabbed three tubes of extremely spicy paste. Then, I quietly slipped into Barbara's bedroom. She was wearing a beauty face mask, dead asleep like a lazy pig.

I opened the tubes of spicy paste, then swiftly squeezed the contents into her eyes, nostrils, and ears, firmly pressing it into her orifices.

The burning sensation jolted Barbara awake instantly, and she let out a blood-curdling scream. She frantically flopped around on the bed, scratching desperately at her face. Tears and snot, mixed with the red-colored paste, flowed down her face. She looked worse than a ghoul.

She fumbled around aimlessly, trying to press the bedside call button to call for help.

Her screams annoyed me. I pulled out a slingshot from my pocket, loaded it with a steel ball, and stretched the elastic band taut. I aimed the ball at her stomach, which was already convulsing in pain.

Snap! The steel ball shot straight at her abdomen.

Barbara groaned in pain, her entire body curling like a cooked shrimp. She fell off the bed and landed on the ground with a loud thud, dry heaving in agony, too exhausted to even scream.

I walked over, tore off a piece of fabric from beside her bed, and roughly stuffed it into her mouth, silencing every sound she tried to make. Then, I pulled out a dog leash I'd prepared in advance and fastened it around her neck.

"Come on, Barbara." I tugged on the leash, my voice completely flat. "Let's go play a more exciting game."

I pulled and dragged her toward the basement. Emily hid around the corner of the hallway, staring at the scene in utter shock, too terrified to even breathe.

I hauled Barbara into a metal dog cage at the very back of the basement. Barbara had bought it just a few days ago. I didn't know who she intended to lock up in it, but dogs certainly weren't meant to be kept in the basement.