Chapter 2

My grandmother was so heartbroken she could not stop crying. Without a word, she brought my uncles with her and stormed over to our house.

“David! Get your butt out here!”

“Do you think the Lloyd family has no one left? How dare you treat my niece like this? I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

Facing my two uncles, who looked like they were ready to tear someone apart, and my grandmother, who was swinging her cane at him, my dad did not say a word. He just pulled my uncles toward the shrine.

My grandmother carefully bandaged my wounds while making plans to take me away.

A moment later, my uncles emerged with grim expressions.

Without a word, each of them slapped me hard across the face.

Before I could even react, they snatched the walking stick from my grandmother’s hands and smashed it down on my head.

Blood streamed down over my eyes.

I clutched the wound on my head, at a loss.

My grandmother tried to stop my uncles, but her face turned pale when she heard them whisper something.

She let my uncle grab one of my arms and force me to my knees.

“Mom, hit her hard. Beat her to death today. Trash like this doesn’t deserve to live in this world. Margaret will surely forgive us when she finds out.”

My grandmother raised her cane. “I’m an old lady. If I turn myself in after beating you to death, there’s not much they can do to me!”

The military medals on her chest glowed a terrifying red.

I lost track of how long I was beaten that day. All I knew was that I eventually passed out.

I was jolted awake by the excruciating pain of my flesh being torn apart.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself still outside the shrine. Stray dogs were tearing at my bleeding wounds.

A chunk of my scalp had already been torn away.

I staggered to my feet and made my way home.

I did not dare make a sound the whole way because my dad always said he did not like noise.

I had once thought about never returning to this backward village.

However, whenever I spent more than three months away, my dad would bring my two adopted sisters to my office.

They would make a scene outside the building, accusing me of abandoning them.

I thought about cutting all ties with him completely, but everything was connected nationwide these days.

As soon as he posted a missing person’s notice, he would be able to find me.

When this happened with my third boyfriend, I called the police.

Yet when the police arrived, the whole village sided with my dad and claimed I was lying.

“She’s a bookworm. She reads all day and has read herself into a delusion.”

“They have three kids. The other two are fine. There’s no way he’d hit only her, right?”

“Officer, this girl has been a liar since she was little, and she steals things too. You can’t trust a word she says.”

I knew the villagers were speaking up for my dad because of his status.

There was nothing I could do about it.

After I called the police that time, he kept me imprisoned in a cave up in the mountains, all alone.

It was an old air-raid shelter. It was chilly and damp.

There was nothing in there but water.

I was kept there for a week. When I was let out, I almost fainted.

This time, when I got home, my dad was already asleep.

My adopted sister urged me to stop causing trouble and just be a good girl.

She even smashed my phone and computer, cutting me off from the outside world.

A sudden, indescribable rage welled up inside me.

I stormed straight into my dad’s room, woke him up, and confronted him.

“If you don’t want me to get married, just say so. Why did you encourage my boyfriend to break up with me?

“What have I ever done to deserve this? Ever since I was a kid, I’ve done everything you’ve told me to do. Isn’t that enough? What exactly do you want me to do?!”

He was furious after being woken up. He picked up a stool and threw it at me.

I fell to the floor, unable to move. Then, he pulled out his belt and wrapped it around my neck.

“I want you dead! Just die!”

I struggled desperately but could not get away.

All I could do was carefully use the backup phone in my pants to call the police.

When the police arrived, they saw me lying on the floor.

They immediately took my dad and my two adopted sisters into custody.

Yet no matter what the police asked, they refused to say anything.