It felt like my flesh was being torn apart piece by piece. My vision blurred instantly, my whole body shaking uncontrollably.
“What… what did you do?!”
Elizabeth stepped back, watching calmly. “Acid. Funny, right?”
I struggled, pulling hard against the rope, but they cut into my wrists, tightening with every movement. The more I moved, the worse it burned.
It hurt. It hurt so much I couldn’t even think.
My nails dug into my palms, my body twisting, trying to escape something I couldn’t even see.
I screamed again, my voice hoarse, desperate.
Finally, I pulled with everything I had.
The rope snapped.
I fell off the bed, hitting the floor hard, barely even feeling it over the pain in my back. I grabbed the blanket, pressing it against my skin, trying to wipe it off, to stop it, to do anything.
It didn’t stop right away.
It kept burning.
By the time it slowed, I was shaking so badly I could barely breathe. My back felt raw, wet, every breath sharp and unbearable.
I pushed myself up slowly, using the bed for support, my legs weak.
Step by step, I walked toward her.
Elizabeth suddenly screamed and dropped to the floor.
“Ah—! Joaquin! Help me!” she cried, her voice shaking, tears instantly filling her eyes.
The door flew open.
Joaquin rushed in.
Elizabeth clutched her arm, sobbing. “It’s not her fault! I made her upset, Joaquin. She pushed me… I didn’t mean to make her angry…”
I looked at him.
He frowned, his eyes turning cold when they landed on me.
“Laureen, what did you do?” his voice was sharp. “Liza was only trying to help you. Why would you treat her like this?”
I opened my mouth, but the pain in my back shot through me so hard I couldn’t even speak.
No words came out.
My fingers gripped the sheets tightly, turning white.
I didn’t even get a chance to explain.
He had already bent down, lifted Elizabeth into his arms, holding her carefully.
Then he turned and walked out. He didn’t even notice when his shoulder hit me.
I stumbled back and fell, my head hitting the corner of the table.
Something warm ran down my face. Blood.
But he didn’t stop.
Didn’t look back.
Not even once.
I lay there on the floor, watching him disappear down the hallway, holding her like she was the only thing that mattered.
My back burned. My head throbbed. Blood dripped onto the floor.
But none of that felt worse than this.
I was right here. Broken. Bleeding.
And he didn’t even glance at me.
He used to panic over the smallest scratch on me.
Now… I could disappear, and it wouldn’t matter.
“Joaquin…” my vision blurring again.
You love her that much, don’t you?
If one day you find out… That the person you loved from the very beginning wasn’t her… Will you regret it?
My back was still burning. Every inch of it hurt.
I sat there alone and tried to put medicine on it myself, my hands shaking so bad I could barely hold the bottle. Every touch felt sharp, deep, and unbearable.
But I didn’t cry.
What was the point?
I think… I ran out of tears a long time ago.
I had just finished when the door slammed open.
SMACK!
My head snapped to the side, and my mom’s hand burned across my face hard enough to make my ears ring.
“You ungrateful child!” she shouted, her voice shaking with anger. “Liza was trying to help you, she even learned prenatal massage for you, and you pushed her? What kind of person are you?”
Blood filled my mouth. I tasted it slowly as I turned back, but before I could even speak, my dad kicked my knee.
Pain shot up my leg and I dropped straight to the floor.
“Drag her down,” he said coldly. “She needs to learn her place today.”
Hands grabbed me before I could react, and they dragged me all the way down to the basement. It was cold there, and dark in a way that felt like it swallowed sound.
When they threw me inside, my eyes fell to the floor.
Thumbtacks.
Hundreds of them scattered across the ground, tiny and sharp, glinting faintly under the dim light like they were waiting.
“Kneel,” my mom said sharply. “Do you even understand how sick Liza is? She needs that fetal stem cell treatment, she’s already suffering so much, and she still tried to take care of you. And this is how you repay her?”
I stared at the floor, then let out a small laugh.
“If I said your adopted daughter hurt me first…” I murmured, my voice barely steady. “Would you even believe me?”
“Nonsense!” my dad snapped immediately. “Liza would never do that. She’s kind, she’s gentle. Even if she made a mistake, you should’ve endured it. Who do you think you are, to hurt her back?”
I laughed again, softer this time, and it hurt to even breathe. My chest felt tight and my throat burned like something was lodged inside it.
Yeah…
Even if she killed me, they’d probably worry more about her hands getting dirty.
“M-mom… do you even see me as your daughter?”
“Stop saying useless things!” she said coldly. “If you had even half of Liza’s character, we wouldn’t have to discipline you like this. Take off your shoes. Kneel. And don’t even think about getting up until a full day has passed.”
My dad gave a small gesture, and the bodyguards stepped closer.
“I’ll do it,” I said quietly, pulling away from them.
I bent down slowly and took off my shoes. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the scattered metal points beneath me. Then I stepped forward.
The first one pierced my skin instantly.
My breath hitched, but I kept walking. One step, then another, and each movement drove more of them into my feet. Blood followed behind me, staining the floor in uneven drops.
Why does it still hurt this much? Haven’t I gone through worse?
I kept going until I reached the center.
Then I dropped to my knees.
“Ah—!”
The pain exploded through me, sharp and unbearable, and my vision went dark for a second. My body shook hard, but I bit my lip and forced myself to stay upright.
I wouldn’t fall. Not in front of them.
They didn’t even look at me twice.
“Don’t move,” my dad said coldly. “You’re not allowed to get up.”
Then they turned and left.
The door shut behind them.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
I knelt there, my whole body trembling, and the blood kept dripping beneath me, warm against the cold floor.
Time passed, though I couldn’t tell how much. Minutes blurred into hours until everything felt the same.
My head started spinning, and my vision blurred at the edges. I swayed slightly, fighting to stay conscious.
Am I going to pass out here? Would anyone even care if I did?
The blood kept spreading, and my body felt heavier with every second, like something was pulling me down.
Just as everything began to fade—
The door burst open.
“Laureen!”
For a second, I thought I imagined it. I tried to look up, but everything went black before I could see him clearly.
And then nothing.
