I was shattered inside, completely devastated—but I still gritted my teeth and tried to explain.
“Our family needs the money,” I said, trembling. “Mom needs treatment for her illness, Dad needs to pay off his debts, my brother wants to get married... and I—I just want to go back to school.”
“You ungrateful, heartless brat! How dare you talk back to me!” Dad exploded.
He lunged toward me, one hand shoving my head hard against the wall while the other reached into my pockets.
Just then, Mom rushed over and pushed him away with all her strength, placing herself between us to shield me.
“What are you doing?! Her forehead’s bleeding!” she shouted, voice shaking with fury.
But Dad didn’t back down—he just sneered coldly.
“You feel sorry for her? This heartless dead girl doesn’t deserve to be our child.”
The crowd gasped.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew how much Dad had doted on me. He used to say I was too precious to scold, too delicate to touch. The idea that he would say something like this was unfathomable.
Mom clutched her chest, stunned. “What the hell is going on?”
My brother stepped forward and handed her his phone, but I rushed to block her. I grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes, pleading.
“Mom, please. Don’t look at it. Don’t believe anything Dad or my brother says.”
I knew it—if she saw the picture, if she found out I’d won the jackpot—she’d change, just like they did. She’d turn her back on me too.
She wrapped her arms around me, trying to calm me.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It must be some misunderstanding between your dad and your brother. They’re just being ridiculous. Once I sort it out, everything will be okay.”
I shook my head in desperation.
“No, Mom. Don’t believe them. If you believe what they say… you won’t love me anymore.”
She looked down at me with the warmest eyes, her voice gentle.
“Don’t worry, Stella. No matter what happens, I’m on your side. I’m your mother—I love you more than anything in the world.”
Then Dad suddenly snapped, voice full of impatience.
“She won the five million dollar jackpot! The ticket’s in her pocket!”
The moment those words left his mouth, Mom’s expression changed.
The gentle warmth drained from her face in an instant, replaced by a twisted, stony look. Her eyes darkened and her jaw clenched.
My heart seized.
A stiff, bitter smile tugged at her lips as she stared at me.
Unlike Dad and my brother, who were visibly excited and angry, her reaction was eerily calm. That unnatural stillness was far more terrifying.
“Such good news,” she said coldly. “Stella, come on—let’s go home and celebrate.”
But there was no joy in her voice. Not even a flicker of a smile on her face. Her hand reached out to me—but it was trembling.
She was clearly struggling to stay composed, suppressing something darker just beneath the surface.
“No—I don’t want to go home.” I scrambled to my feet and stumbled backward into the crowd.
Her brow furrowed. Her face darkened even more. Her eyes glinted with menace as she demanded coldly, “What’s the matter with you, Stella? It’s getting dark. If you’re not going home, where else do you think you’re going?”
I could see them both—my parents—moving in to grab me again.
Panicked, I turned to the neighbors, clinging to them with tear-streaked cheeks.
“Please, help me. I can’t go back with them. They’re going to kill me!”
The neighbors looked at each other in confusion.
They were all familiar with our family. I had always been the one most doted on, the apple of my parents’ eye. Even if I had misbehaved, it was natural for them to scold me. From an outsider’s point of view, it didn’t seem like something they should interfere in.
Everyone hesitated—until Grandma Amy stepped forward.
“This girl clearly has something weighing on her heart,” she said gently. “You shouldn’t force her.”
Another neighbor added, “Stella is such a good, obedient child. Just talk things through. Look at her—she’s terrified.”
But Mom and Dad were beyond reason now. Their faces were contorted with fury. They didn’t care who was watching. They kept coming for me.
