Nothing

“Dad! Mom! How could you?” The ground seemed to spin beneath her feet.

“How could you do this to me? Why? Why me? What the hell have I done to deserve this?” Rivera shook her head, her eyes filled with shock.

Rivera had spent all her life trying to please her parents, her family.

She couldn't believe that when trouble appeared, she'd be the first to be sacrificed.

A sense of fear, dread, and hatred surged in her.

Before Fox left, he let them know he'd be back in two hours to pick their choice—basically Rivera. And she should be ready by then!

Arthur couldn’t bear to look Rivera in the eyes.

Yet, Rivera couldn't help but notice that there was no sadness in his eyes. Rather, there was relief.

Arthur sighed. “Rivera, you have to understand, Megan is a child. She can't go through any hardship. Meanwhile, you are used to it; you’ll blend in. Rivera, don't worry, once Dad wins enough money, Dad will come over to get you...”

“Win? When? At the cost of what?” Rivera snapped.

“Have you ever cared about me? Ever considered my feelings? I'm also your child. Why have you never shown me any care? I was always out there toiling my heart out to feed the whole family. At what cost? This? Betrayal! Selfishness! You never tried to negotiate. You never consulted with me. You never tried to find a way out...”

“Keep your mouth shut, Rivera! Don’t you dare shout at your father.”

Mrs. Sylvester glared at Rivera and snapped, “Don't be ungrateful, we raised you...”

“You raised me? I've been raising the whole family for more than four years, yet I never dared to raise my head once. Can you show me a bit of comfort, concern, love…”

Rivera burst into tears. “I’m your daughter too, why do I receive no affection from either of you? Why? I almost got raped, yet none of you showed concern! Is this what a family is supposed to be? Is this?” Rivera seethed.

Perhaps it was because of what had happened; she was unable to stop the grievances.

Megan lowered her head and tried to grab Rivera's hand. “Sister, calm down. Dad has no choice. For everyone's happiness, he...”

“He chose to sacrifice me! Quickly. Why can't he try to negotiate, huh? Why? For everyone's happiness at the cost of my sadness. Since you're so understanding, why don't you sacrifice yourself? He’s your dad too!” She growled.

“Do you all remember? I’d yet to clock fifteen when Mom made me drop out of school to work. That wasn’t the same for you, Megan. Megan is seventeen now, yet she is a child who isn't old enough for all this type of lifestyle. I can’t have a phone, but you don’t mind putting money aside to buy a phone for Megan!”

Mrs. Sylvester shot Rivera a cold glare. “Stop whining, Rivera. You're not the only one who is going through hardship. Your dad is doing all of it for us...”

“No, it's not for all of us. This is cruelty. The truth is none of you cared about me. So, I have decided, I'm not going. No one can force me to. I'll never be his slave...”

“You have no choice.” Arthur sighed heavily. “He's above you, above us. That person is Don Vespertine De Vil,” Arthur announced heavily.

They all froze.

Vespertine De Vil? Rivera froze, and her eyes widened in shock.

Vespertine De Vil? His cruelty and ruthlessness spread rapidly around the city.

There was even a rumor that he was ruthless enough to detonate a whole city.

It was. It was that person.

Rivera's face paled, and she trembled. If he could do so much to a city, what more to her? That's more of a reason she had to leave.

Suddenly, Megan's hand fell on Rivera's shoulder. She stretched a cup of mineral water to Rivera. “Rivera, I also think you should be angry,” she softly spoke.

“But still, you need to calm down. This isn't the right time to make rash decisions. This is the right time to think about how the whole family will leave unscathed from this...”

Rivera paused, and her face cleared slightly upon hearing Megan's words.

After a while, she nodded. Megan is still thoughtful.

Rivera collected the cup of water and drank everything.

There must be a way out for the family.

Rivera returned the cup to Megan. She fell into reverie.

After a few minutes, Rivera suggested, “What if Dad stopped gambling and began to work...”

Rivera was yet to complete her sentence when a bout of dizziness hit her hard.

Unable to take it, she fell on the chair weakly. Her eyes turned blurry, and her whole body became limp.

Rivera was at the point of blacking out, but somehow she didn't. Her mind began to calculate.

Suddenly it hit her—the drink!

Realizing this, dread washed over her. “What did you do to me?” She gritted her teeth.

Megan couldn't suppress the smile on her face. “Rivera, you're becoming selfish. You have to realize this, only one of us can stay home, and it can only be me, Mom and Dad's biological daughter,” Megan explained.

“Biological daughter? What the hell are you saying?”

“Rivera, haven't you been curious about why Mom and Dad cared for you as they did for me? I'll give you the answer right now. In fact, you were never their daughter! You aren't the child of the Sylvester family.”

She froze, yet she shook her head. She must have heard it wrong. That must be it.

Why is today so strange? She must be sleeping. Yes, she must be having a nightmare. She hadn't just been...

“You're just an orphan we met on the road during our visit to the river in the summer. Since we had no child of our own, we decided to bring you up.”

Rivera's heart turned cold. She wished they never did. She wished they could have left her to die. Life wouldn't be so hard and cruel.

“Since Mom and Dad had done a great favor for you, you won't mind sacrificing yourself as the debt for our family, will you?”

Rivera didn't know how many minutes, hours, or seconds she was in a trance when Megan suddenly spoke.

“Fox is here. Mom, her clothes are still nice. Let's take them off. There should be a rag or worse tattered clothes here. It should work. You will be a slave from now on. No one will care about your choice of outfit.”

Rivera’s heart turned cold as she watched the whole family decide for her.

Soon, she was dressed in clothes that were no different from a rag.

Megan held her hand and cried out, “Rivera, we really have no choice. Don't be angry.”

Rivera shivered. All this time, she truly believed Megan cared for her.

“Arthur, call in the men to take her away,” Mrs. Sylvester ruthlessly said.

“No belongings?”

“She has nothing.”