《Making an Example Of》全部章節：第 1 章 - 第 9 章

Megan grabbed Dad's sleeve and begged him."Dad, please let Zack out. He is coughing blood!"Dad gently shook her off."No."I am doing this for your own good. Only when you see the consequences with your own eyes will you understand the lesson."Andrew staggered up to Dad, his eyes red."Dad, I ordered the takeout. It has nothing to do with Zack!"Punish me if you want. I will never order food behind your back again, okay? Please let him out!"Dad's mouth curved into a satisfied smile."Now you admit it? When I held up that receipt and asked you earlier, why did you not say so?"Andrew Reed, you lied to me."How am I supposed to believe a single word you say now, when you were lying just a moment ago?"Andrew's face went white.I curled up in the corner. My stomach churned violently, and every breath tasted like rust.I clenched my teeth, stood on tiptoe, and pressed my face to the tiny window in the punishment room door."Dad, Zack hurts so much. Can you let me out?"

Just as Mom touched the keypad, Dad pressed his hand over hers and shook his head."Wait. They have a history of lying."They lied just now. Now they say they swear, but who knows whether they are lying again?"Megan trembled with anger.But she knew that if she exploded, I would be locked inside even longer."What do you want, then?"Dad thought for a moment."Here is what we will do. Andrew will come with me to get his hand bandaged. His skin is broken, and infection is no joke."Megan will go eat dinner like a good girl. You have both done what you should. Tomorrow morning, I will let him out."Andrew stiffened."Tomorrow morning? That long? Zack..."Dad's gaze turned cold at once."Are you unhappy with my arrangement?"Megan's tears fell hard. She pressed herself to the little window and comforted me."Zack, hold on a little longer. Tomorrow morning, I will come get you."I nodded and whispered, "Okay."But the tears would not stop.Dad saw them. He shoved Megan aw

My soul stood to the side and watched quietly.Dad froze where he stood. The blood drained from his face in an instant.Andrew and Megan let out a sound that did not seem human."Zack!"They both rushed forward and collapsed beside my body.Megan cradled my head in her arms."Zack, wake up. I am here. Open your eyes and look at me, please!"Her tears struck my face, but my face had no warmth left.Andrew knelt on the floor and pried open the fingers still clamped around my throat, one by one.When he finished, he saw the ten purple-black marks on my neck.Mom stood behind them and had not yet reached the door.She frowned, her voice still carrying the impatience of being woken too early."What is wrong now? Why are you making such a fuss? He was only locked in for one night."She leaned in and saw my swollen purple face."Zack?"She snatched me from Megan's arms and pulled me against herself.Then she laid me flat on the floor and began pressing on my chest with everyth

Because my body looked so terrible and had already begun to smell, I had to be cremated the next day.Mom signed the papers.Her hand shook the entire time, like a child just learning how to write.Dad begged all night."Let me hold him. Just once. Please. Let me hold him one last time."His voice was already hoarse, as if his throat had been scraped with sandpaper.He knelt on the floor, hair hanging loose, eyes swollen like bruised fruit.Andrew stood in front of the door."No."You cannot hurt him again."Dad's shoulders shook."Andrew, Dad only wants to hold Zack one last time."He is my own son. I raised him for so many years. How could I bear to hurt him?"Andrew laughed coldly."You raised him for so many years."And then you used those years to torture him to death."Mom crouched in the stairwell with a cigarette between her fingers.She had quit smoking for more than ten years.When she quit, she had sworn she would never touch cigarettes again.The flame li

The next moment, a police car stopped at the cemetery entrance.Two uniformed officers stepped out and walked straight toward the crowd.The officer in front stopped before Dad."Michael Reed, you are suspected of aggravated assault and child abuse."You are now being taken into custody. Please cooperate."Dad did not resist.The officers moved beside him and pulled his hands behind his back.With a click, the handcuffs closed.Mom did not look at him.She turned away and lit another cigarette.Dad was taken away.After two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.He looked at the new headstone, at the small photo on it.In the photo, a little boy had short hair and a white T-shirt.Then Dad turned back and followed the officers step by step toward the police car.He walked very slowly, as if measuring the last of his freedom.The car door closed.The engine started, and the car slowly drove out of the cemetery.His trial happened three months later.The court fou