Chapter 5

I had expected myself to lose control and scream, but no sound came from my throat.

What I saw shattered everything I believed and left my mind completely blank.

My entire body trembled. I squeezed my eyes shut, then forced them open again.

But the nightmare was still there.

“Do whatever you want with me.”

My knees gave way, and I collapsed onto the floor.

“Someone like me, someone whose very soul has been stained... doesn’t deserve to be cherished by anyone.”

My grandmother cast me a look of disgust.

“Lock her in the underground cell.”

Bracing my numb limbs, I struggled to my feet.

“I’ll disappear for good. I’ll hide who I am, and I’ll never bring disaster to anyone again. Just let me go. You don’t need to lock me up anymore.”

The only response I received was a room full of wary, mocking stares.

“You lunatic. You should have disappeared ten years ago. What right do you have to remain on this estate?”

“You think you can use this opportunity to escape? How naive.”

“Every street and security checkpoint surrounding this estate is watched by the Family. Even if you get away, we’ll still know exactly where you are.”

I stared hollowly at the people standing before me.

Then my father, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.

“Let her go.”

Everyone froze.

So did I.

My father’s voice remained cold.

“But before you leave, go see your mother one last time.”

Even if he hadn’t told me to, I would have gone before leaving.

I drove away from the estate alone.

No guards followed me.

No one tracked me.

My mother was buried in a private cemetery surrounded by dense woods.

Every year on the anniversary of her death, my father brought us there.

I wiped the dust from her gravestone and told her about all the pain I had endured over the past ten years.

“Mom... if you knew everything that had happened, would you have wanted me to leave this place long ago too?”

The sky gradually darkened.

Following my memory, I found a narrow path behind the cemetery that led directly to the mountaintop.

Standing at the summit, I looked down at the distant lights beneath a sky full of stars.

For the first time in years, I felt free.

Then the ground beneath my feet suddenly gave way.

I lost my balance and pitched backward over the edge.

In a moment of terror, I reached for the bushes beside me, but my fingers closed around nothing but loose soil.

A violent impact knocked me unconscious.

Before I lost awareness completely, I heard someone shouting from above the cliff.

“Hurry, get out of here. She fell.”

When I woke again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

Pain tore through my entire body.

I instinctively tried to move, only to discover that my wrists and ankles had been strapped to the bedframe.

A nurse beside me hurried over.

“Don’t move! You have multiple fractures. Surviving a fall from that height was nothing short of a miracle.”

I licked my dry lips, my voice hoarse.

“Why... am I...?”

A police officer entered the room before I could finish.

He showed me his identification, then began questioning me in a stern voice.

“Did you fall accidentally, or did someone push you from behind?”

“It must have been an accident. I had gone to visit my mother’s grave.”

“Before the fall, had anyone threatened you or forced you to do anything?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

The officer studied me suspiciously.

“We found another set of footprints along the path. Was someone else with you?”

My fingers tightened around the bedsheet.

“Someone else?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Who?”

The shout I had heard before losing consciousness echoed in my mind.

Then the horrifying images from the underground chapel flashed before my eyes.

Panic overwhelmed me, and I shook my head desperately.

“No! There was no one else! I slipped and fell! No one tortured me, and there is no underground chapel! Please don’t investigate my father. My family had nothing to do with this!”

The officer stared at me for a long time before reaching down and releasing the restraints around my wrists.

“We never mentioned your father.”

He paused.

“And we never said anything about a chapel.”

His expression hardened.

“This underground chapel you keep talking about—what exactly is hidden inside?”