My parents stood beside Alyssa, watching me coldly.
"How dare you attack someone now? If we don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll think you can do whatever you want!"
Alyssa looked aggrieved, her voice trembling. "Mom, Dad, why does my sister always bully me? Is it my fault that I’m outstanding? I just don’t want to embarrass you."
"But she... she keeps targeting me, and now she even wants to ruin my face. How am I supposed to face people after this?"
She sobbed pitifully.
My mother’s heart ached at the sight. She grabbed my hair and slapped me—hard—twice across the face.
"How could I give birth to such a vicious daughter?!"
"We were living a perfectly happy life. Why did you have to come back and destroy our happiness? If Alyssa’s face is scarred, I will never forgive you!"
My father snorted coldly. "Don’t think you can go out and spread lies. No one will believe a lunatic ex-convict like you. If you don’t behave, I’ll have you locked away in a mental hospital!"
At his command, the bodyguards behind me shoved my head underwater.
Again and again.
The suffocating pressure engulfed me, drowning me in terror.
The fear of death made me struggle desperately.
I had already decided to walk away from everything—why wouldn’t they just let me go?
I had finally found a new purpose in life. I had yet to live the life I truly wanted.
As despair swallowed me whole, I saw a figure approaching—Gabriel.
With the last of my strength, I screamed, "Gabby, save me!"
For a brief moment, he froze.
That familiar way I called his name reminded him of when we first met, stirring something in his heart.
But only for a moment.
After he saw the tear glistening in Alyssa’s eye, his expression hardened as he looked at me coldly.
"Ellie, when you make mistakes, you must accept punishment."
"Uncle Daniel knows what he’s doing. He won’t go too far."
Upon hearing that, all my remaining hope shattered.
My frail body, already tormented in prison, couldn’t withstand this kind of torture. Soon, the water’s surface turned into a crimson.
Alyssa smiled in satisfaction, then clung onto Gabriel’s arm.
"Forget it, I won’t hold it against my sister. Let’s go pick out my wedding dress."
"I heard you had a top-tier gown flown in from Italy. I’m sure I’ll look stunning in it."
Gabriel glanced at my miserable state. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, but in the end, he simply nodded.
My parents quickly followed them.
The group walked away laughing and chatting, leaving me behind like a stray dog.
I shivered as I dragged myself out of the pool.
My injured leg had lost all feeling, and every inch of my body throbbed with unbearable pain.
With trembling hands, I used the last of my strength to dial Professor Michael’s number.
"Professor... Release everything. The truth and the secret. Expose it all."
Before I could even hang up, darkness consumed me.
