All Chapters of Left to Rot, Held by Her Again: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

For as long as I can remember, I knew my dad didn’t like me.Other kids had their parents dropping them off at school.Me? It was always the housekeeper.When I got home, I’d stand nervously in front of Dad, clutching my backpack.“Dad… could you maybe… take me to school tomorrow?”He brushed me off with a cold look.“Be glad I haven’t abandoned you. That’s already more than you deserve.”I was fifteen when he shoved me aside like that. I bit back my tears, never understanding why he hated me so much after Mom died.Because once—he loved her more than anything.My dad wasn’t rich when they met. He was just an ordinary guy, serving drinks at a fancy party. Mom was the daughter of a well-off family. She was supposed to marry someone of her own class, not fall for anybody. But she did.Her family cut ties with her, furious that she’d throw everything away for him. And yet, behind their anger, they couldn’t stand to see her suffer. They secretly gave her most of her inheritance as a dowry,

I watched the dress in Rose’s hands and felt something break inside me. That dress had been mine once—kept wrapped in tissue in the back of my closet. It was one of my last connections to Mom.Rose smirked as if she’d stolen the last piece of me. She twirled, making sure everyone saw the fabric catching light. “You should be grateful, sister,” she said, sweet as poison. “After all, Dad said I could have anything I wanted.”My chest tightened. I wanted to scream. I wanted to snatch it back and tear the dress in two. But I stayed still. I remember Mom wearing that dress once at a charity event, laughing. The memory felt like a secret lamp—warm, private. Now Rose has made it a prop.After the party, the house fell into its usual cold silence. I sat on the edge of my bed and touched the edge of my wrist where she’d bitten me—one of many wounds. People visit once, apologize, leave. The ache lasts.Grandpa stayed as long as he could. He pulled me close and promised he’d see me tomorrow. He a

“I didn’t—” I tried to explain, but Ethan cut me off.“Enough!” he barked. “I should have known. A rotten seed like you can never change. You only bring death into this house.”He carried Rose away without another look. I sat on the floor stunned, clutching at the ragged wounds on my side that throbbed whenever I moved. The physical pain was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.I crawled to my pillow and pulled out the scrap of paper I kept taped under it—Mom’s handwriting. “I hope my little Ava grows up safe and sound.” That was the simplest thing she ever asked. For years I’d been drifting further from that tiny wish. Ethan blamed me for everything; he struck me, shouted at me, called me names. Sometimes I wished he’d just end it—end the loneliness—because living like this felt worse than dying.I hugged the paper and let myself cry until I couldn’t breathe. I promised Mom—quietly—that I’d try to be safe. That was the only thing I could do for her.I never imagined the next thin

The doctor didn’t need another word. She was a mother herself; she saw the truth as clearly as the bruises on my body. Ethan’s silence, his guilt, the way he hadn’t once asked about my condition.Her tone was firm. “Regardless, these injuries—combined with the kidnapping and the old wounds—mean we’re obligated to report this. The police will be here soon.”Mom’s knees buckled. She sank to the floor, her mind spinning. Why would the man she loved do this to their child?Ethan’s chest tightened at the sight of her pain. He wanted to speak, to explain, but the words lodged in his throat. When Mom had died, he’d told himself punishing me was a way to let out his rage. He’d never meant it to go this far. But now, faced with the truth, he regretted everything.Time blurred.When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Mom’s tired, tear-swollen face hovering above me.“Ava!” she cried softly. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”I reached up slowly, my hand brushing her cheek. Warm. Real. Sol

Rose thought she could win over my mom the same way she always did with my dad—by looking pitiful.Her eyes welled up with tears, her lips trembling, her whole face carefully painted with fragility. Normally, the second she acted this way, Dad would explode at me and beat me half to death just to make her smile again.But this time, it didn’t work.She’d underestimated how much weight Mom still carried in Dad’s heart.“Rose! What kind of nonsense is this?” Dad’s voice cracked through the room like thunder. “Fiona is the lady of this house. Whatever she says goes. Who are you to talk back?”He turned to Mom, his face softening in a heartbeat. “Honey, if you don’t like her, I’ll kick her out right now. We don’t need her—we can be happy, just the three of us.”Rose whipped her head toward him, disbelief written all over her face. How could he say that so easily?Her mouth opened, desperate to speak, but Dad wasn’t looking at her anymore. His gaze was fixed on Mom and me—his wife and daugh