I was only two years older than my sister, but our parents had never treated us equally. Not once.
Just because Anne had a sweet tongue, knew how to bat her eyelashes and play cute—while I was blunt and awkward—I deserved this?
Eric sneered. "What right do you have to cry? If you've got any guts, prove it yourself! That heart-shaped mole—if you don't have one, I'll get on my knees and beg your forgiveness."
"But if you do have one, you need to voluntarily give up your government position."
"Because someone like you doesn't deserve to be a public servant."
A chill sank through me. So this was what he'd been angling for all along. Everything tonight—the accusations, the spectacle—it had all been leading here.
The relatives exchanged confused glances, their voices tinged with something sour.
"Government position? Glenda passed the exam?"
"Passed and didn't even tell anyone? What an ungrateful child."
"Since when can a prostitute get a government job? Don't they do background checks?"
Five years. I'd spent five years preparing for the civil service exam. Four failures. This year, I'd finally come out on top—first place in both the written and oral exams. The background review was scheduled for after the New Year holiday.
Having learned my lesson from before, I hadn't told a single soul about the news this time.
And yet my parents, my sister, and Eric showed no surprise whatsoever. As if they'd known all along.
My voice came out cold and flat. "Eric, you placed second for that position, didn't you."
"Trying to use these filthy tactics to force me out. How pathetic."
Eric's jaw clenched. "Stop changing the subject!" He turned to the room. "Someone help me—hold her down and strip her!"
Anne was the first to grab me, pinning my arms. "Mom! Dad! Come help!"
I shouted, loud enough for every person in that room to hear: "If you lay a hand on me, you are no longer my family!"
My parents' footsteps faltered—but the words that left their mouths were ice.
"Glenda, don't blame us. Anne's boyfriend came all this way. We have to see that justice is done for him."
In front of everyone, my clothes were peeled off, layer by layer, until I stood in nothing but my bra.
Several relatives pulled out their phones and started taking pictures.
Twenty-seven years I'd been alive. Never—never—had I been subjected to humiliation like this.
Eric shoved me aside and bellowed, "Everyone, look! A heart-shaped mole! I wasn't lying! She's Princess Number Thirty-Six!"
The room erupted. Camera shutters clicked in a relentless, overlapping barrage.
In the chaos, I snatched my phone back and typed a text to Jarvis.
Help me.
Then I composed a message to the police and hit send.
My father grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me upright. "What do you have to say for yourself now?"
I wiped the tears from my face. I refused to bow my head. "You can pin any crime on someone if you try hard enough."
"This mole isn't mine. Someone put it there—and I don't need to spell out who."
His palm cracked across my face again. My entire cheek burned white-hot.
I'd lost count of how many times he'd hit me tonight.
"Still talking back?" His voice was a blade. "Glenda, you said it yourself—you don't claim us, and we sure as hell don't want to claim a vile daughter like you!"
"The Cox family elder is here tonight. He witnessed everything. He'll serve as our witness."
"Effective immediately, your name is struck from the Cox family registry! From this day forward, you are no longer one of us!"
The insults that followed his declaration were even worse than before.
"Laurence, removing the little tramp from the registry is the right call. I don't want people pointing fingers at me on the street."
"Too many daughters is more trouble than it's worth. One sweetheart like Anne is plenty."
"So does this mean Anne's boyfriend gets the government job now? Congratulations—landing a civil servant for a boyfriend, not bad at all."
"Eric, you know what they say—first thing a man does after getting a government post is dump his girlfriend. You wouldn't do that, would you?"
Eric pulled Anne into his arms and kissed her, deep and open-mouthed, right there in front of everyone. "Anne is the love of my life. I'd never leave her."
My stomach lurched. I doubled over and threw up everything I'd eaten that night.
My sister's face twisted with fury. "What's that supposed to mean? You see us together and you're so jealous you're losing your mind?"
I finished getting dressed and let out a cold laugh. "Oh, absolutely. Every single one of you in this room is revolting. So revolting I've already thrown up."
I waited for my moment, then darted toward the bags of New Year gifts I'd brought.
My parents had thrown family loyalty out the window and humiliated me in every way they could think of. So why should I keep their secrets?
Dad's voice erupted in rage. "Glenda Cox, you open that bag and I swear to God I'll kill you!"
I smiled, calm and deliberate, and tore the bag open, dumping everything onto the floor.
I moved too fast. By the time my parents lunged forward, it was already too late. The relatives' faces shifted, one by one.
At that exact moment, the front door was smashed open from outside.
Eric saw who walked in—and his legs gave out. He crumpled to the floor.
