Chapter 4

“"See? Mom and Dad are both on my side. Let's see how you talk your way out of this now!

“Everyone watching—today I’m taking back what belongs to me and throwing this liar out of my house for good.

“Y-you... don’t come any closer...”

I shrank back in fear.

She was terrifying.

And she hit hard.

In all eighteen years of my life, no one had ever treated me like this.

“Dad... Mom...”

I looked desperately at Dad and Mom, hoping they would say something—anything—for me.

But Dad avoided my eyes.

Mom turned her face away too.

In that instant, my heart went cold.

Lily had endured eighteen years of hardship after being lost. Because of that, they felt an eternal debt to her.

So they couldn’t bring themselves to stop her.

So they let her hit me, humiliate me, and use me as a punching bag for all her rage.

But what did Lily’s suffering have to do with me?

I had been an infant when I was adopted. I never had a choice.

It was Grandpa who brought me home. He said he would give me a family.

But in Lily’s eyes, I was the thief who had stolen her life.

Anything I said was an excuse.

Anything I did was an act.

From the moment she walked through that door, she had already decided I was her enemy.

And everyone else, because of what she had gone through, would think her anger was justified. They would think hitting me was understandable.

No one was going to stand on my side.

Because she was the one who had suffered.

Not me.

The tears kept falling no matter how hard I tried to stop them.

And Lily only looked more pleased with herself.

Then she turned toward the doorway and called out sharply,

“Someone get in here.

“Throw this fake out.”

Two broad-shouldered bodyguards came in.

One on each side, they grabbed my arms and dragged me toward the door.

I struggled through my tears.

“Please... please don’t make me leave... If Grandpa comes home and can’t find me... he’ll be upset...”

Lily acted like she hadn’t heard a word.

She simply followed behind us, speaking into her phone as she walked.

“You seeing this, everyone? This is what happens to a fraud.”

They dragged me to the top of the staircase.

Suddenly Lily raised a hand.

“Stop.

“If I just throw you out like this, that’s too easy on you.

“Aren’t you supposed to be some lucky charm? Some blessing?

“Then let’s see whether a lucky girl can survive a fall.”

My eyes went to the long staircase, and I shrank back in terror.

“No... please...”

But Lily only smiled, cold and cruel.

Then she shoved me hard.

Thud.

My whole body tumbled down from the second floor.

I smashed against the sharp edge of the stairs, each impact landing with a sickening jolt deep in my bones.

By the time I hit the marble floor on the ground level, the back of my head struck with a crack, and my vision turned red.

My lower leg was twisted at an unnatural angle.

I couldn’t move.

Pain tore through every inch of me—so much pain I couldn’t even cry.

Lily stood at the top of the stairs on the first floor, holding up her phone, smiling down at me.

“Let me make one thing clear,” she said. “Everything in this family is mine. Don’t even think about trying to take it from me.”

Just then, the front doors were thrown open.

Grandpa walked in, leaning on his cane.

He looked up and saw me lying there in a pool of blood, my face covered in it, my leg bent out of shape, crumpled like a broken doll.

He saw Lily too, still standing on the staircase with her hand not yet fully lowered, her face full of smug superiority.

And in an instant, Grandpa's expression turned terrifyingly dark.