“How could you be so foolish?” Deborah scolded angrily. “You’re the first college graduate in our entire village, with a bright future ahead of you! If you marry into their family, you’ll never be able to hold your head high again—and the children you have will belong to them.”
Vino replied calmly, “Mom, their family is very wealthy.”
His mother snapped, “Wealth doesn’t mean everything! Once you make something of yourself, you might end up with even more money than she has!”
I couldn’t help but sneer in silence.
Does she really think success is that easy to achieve?
Vino went on, “Mom, I’m not really marrying into their family. Misca is an only child. When her parents pass away, I’ll be the only man left in the family.”
“Their entire property will be under my control.”
“As for the children’s surname? That’s up to me.”
“Even if I end up taking all their money, divorcing her and marrying someone younger and prettier, no one can stop me.”
Deborah hesitated, clearly still displeased. “It sounds good… but marrying into someone else’s family… the reputation is just too disgraceful.”
Vino’s father, Eddie, chimed in, “What good is a reputation if you’re broke? Once you’re rich, people will praise you no matter what you do. I think Vino is being smart. I support him.”
“But Misca’s parents aren’t that old, are they? As long as they’re alive, you won’t have full control.”
“I hear accidents happen all the time in the city… with all those cars on the road. Maybe there’s a way to…”
The more I listened, the more horrified I became. By the end, my entire body was trembling with fear.
I never imagined Vino could be this heartless.
Panic took over. I started pacing back and forth inside the room.
Then suddenly, I spotted a small window on the side.
It was sealed, but the wooden frame had rotted through. With trembling hands, I pried at the frame. The wood cracked apart under pressure. Hope surged in my chest.
I carefully climbed through the broken window.
Just as I was about to slip out, a rusty nail sliced deep into my skin. The pain was sharp—I almost screamed, but bit my lip to hold it back.
Once I was out, I didn’t even stop to check the wound. I tiptoed toward the front gate.
But just as my hand reached for the door…
Vino’s cold voice pierced the silence from behind me.
“Misca, where do you think you’re going?”
I didn’t stop to answer—I ran.
But he was faster. He caught up to me, grabbed my hair and dragged me back like a rag doll.
Deborah stormed over and began slapping me again and again.
“I’ll teach you to run away! I’ll teach you!”
Then Eddie came out, carrying a thick chain. He locked it to the bed frame and bound me to it.
He looked at Vino and said coldly, “If you ask me, you should get her pregnant first. Once she’s carrying your child, her heart will settle.”
“And even if she wants to divorce later, we’ll still have her child—and that means a share of her inheritance.”
Deborah nodded eagerly. “Right, right. Then trick her parents into letting her stay in our village for the full ten months.”
“Once the child’s born, we’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Vino nodded thoughtfully. Once his parents left, he shut the door behind them and turned toward me, his eyes filled with something dark and twisted.
He started tearing at my clothes.
I screamed and cursed at him with everything I had.
Enraged, he punched me hard in the face—once, twice, over and over. I could barely breathe, the pain crushing.
And then—bang!
The door burst open with a deafening crash.
A man stormed in, grabbed Vino by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
In the darkness, I heard a voice—deep, furious, familiar.
“You dare lay a hand on my daughter? I’ll kill you!”
It was my father.
