To test if their new custom alloy arrowheads could pierce a human skull. My wife's old flame's daughter, Hailey, used the pretense of getting my wife, Evelyn, to come home and reconcile with me. She lured my special needs daughter, Lily, to an abandoned construction site on the edge of town. She made her balance an apple on her head, a living target. When I followed Lily’s GPS tracker watch and found her, The alloy arrow shaft had already pierced her scalp. Part of it was embedded deep in her skull. I frantically rushed Lily to the general hospital our family owns. I begged Evelyn, a leading neurosurgeon, to save our daughter. Over the phone. Evelyn’s voice was cold: "Hailey was an archery champion at five." "Did you think all children are as slow as that... that thing you fathered?" "If you want to scam me for sympathy money, at least work on your Photoshop skills." "Why bother saving her when she’s like that! She's a lost cause!" After hanging up. Evelyn had me and Lily thrown out of the hospital without another word. She even told all her colleagues in the city not to treat us. To prevent "scammers" like us from wasting medical resources. Later. Evelyn would brutally sever one of her own fingers. But she never managed to win me back. 1. After being turned away by the last specialty hospital in the city. I sat with Lily on a small flowerbed planter by the hospital entrance. Light snow drifted from the sky. The alloy arrow shaft had already pierced her scalp. Part of it was embedded deep in her skull. Snowflakes landed sparsely on Lily’s face; the chill made her weak eyelids flutter. She opened her eyes and managed a difficult smile at me. "Daddy, is Mommy home?" I fumbled to wipe away my tears and nodded quickly. "She's home, she's home, Mommy's already home!" "Really? That's great, Daddy. You won't have to work so hard all alone anymore…" Hearing this. The child in my arms smiled, her eyes crinkling with joy. But as she smiled, the twenty-five-inch alloy-fletched arrow lodged in her head wobbled. It made her already pale face look even more broken under the warm yellow lamplight. "Really, of course, it's real, my Lily is the best girl!" I said. "Sweetheart, rest against Daddy for a little longer. Mommy will be here soon, and when she comes, we'll take Lily to the amusement park." I wrapped my scarf tighter around her. My numb fingers kept swiping across the screen of my old phone. Dialing the number saved as "Wife" over and over. The call connected, then was disconnected, again and again. The child in my arms probably sensed something. She fought to keep her eyes open. Just staring at the streetlight glow, muttering to herself. "Daddy, I was so brave today, I didn't dodge even once…" "It hurt a little, but Hailey said if I didn't dodge, she'd make Mommy come home to us…" "Daddy, when Mommy comes back, can we go to the amusement park together?" "I don't want anything, I'll be good and listen…" Besides the arrow in her head. Lily’s whole body was covered in wounds. Without exception, all were from arrows piercing her and then being forcibly pulled out. I couldn’t even imagine. This child, who was afraid of pain, afraid of the cold, afraid of the dark. How did she endure being pierced by arrows time after time, and still stand back up through the pain? Because of Evelyn’s orders. Every specialty hospital in the city had turned me and my child away. I could only swallow my pride and beg a nearby pharmacy for a few band-aids and two rolls of gauze to try and stop the bleeding. This superficial treatment. Still allowed blood to seep through her down jacket onto me. I could clearly feel it. My child's life was ebbing away with the unstoppable flow of blood. I wanted to coax her to sleep for a while. But that cold arrow shaft prevented her from lying on her side or her back. Even the slightest movement sent agony coursing through her nerves, a heart-wrenching pain. Countless times, I held my child and wanted to rush into the hospital. To beg them to save her. But every time. I was stopped by the unyielding security guards at the entrance. "Director Hayes already called, Mr. Miller. You really shouldn't be pulling these childish stunts!" "Don't you know how strained medical resources are right now?" "People like you, trying to use connections to jump the queue for a minor injury, only tarnish the entire medical system!" 2. "Daddy, I'm so cold." My daughter’s sudden murmur from my arms broke my thoughts. "Daddy, isn't Mommy here yet? I think I might have to sleep soon…" I looked down at her. Her lips moved faintly, her voice growing weaker. "Daddy, please ask Mommy not to be mad at me, okay? When she comes, I'll definitely wake up…" I wanted to comfort her. But the words caught in my throat, choked by sobs. I fought back the agony, finally managing to squeeze out some words. "Lily, be good, don't sleep yet! Mommy's coming right now! Right now!" Under my relentless barrage of calls. Evelyn finally answered. I hurriedly put the phone on speaker. And turned up the volume, holding it to Lily’s ear. Wanting her, in her final moments. To hear the voice of the mother she longed for. But the next second after the call connected. Evelyn’s voice, a torrent of abuse, blasted through the speaker. "Ethan Miller! You're really getting into this act, aren't you! Calling and texting over and over!" "That idiot you fathered—I wouldn't care if she really died!" "Since you love playing the victim so much! Then today, I'll let you know what real misery is!" Before Evelyn could spell out my punishment. I heard the clear, bright voice of Mark Evans, her old flame. "Evelyn, come quick! Hailey's competition broadcast is starting! We're just waiting for you to watch!" "Yeah! Auntie Evelyn! I promise Lily is fine! I was playing with her earlier today!" Hailey chirped. "You said you wouldn't take any calls today and only spend time with Hailey!" "Okay, okay, only with Hailey. Auntie Evelyn is all yours today!" Evelyn cooed. 3. Click. Evelyn’s gentle voice cut off abruptly. The line went dead, filled with a long, persistent dial tone. Beeep, beeep, beeep... The hand with which Lily had been tightly gripping my shirt fell limp at the same moment. "Lily…" I whispered her name. The child in my arms showed no reaction. My hand trembled as I reached out to check her breathing. The tears I’d held back for so long finally burst forth. In that moment. I hated myself so much. Why did I have to make that call? My child. Even at the moment of her death, she received no concern from her mother. What she heard. Was her mother’s abuse towards her father, her disgust for her, and her affection for another child. For so many years. Lily had desperately craved her mother's love. But Evelyn, a highly educated professional, had always despised her existence. Yet she seemed to forget. My Lily was originally a very bright child. If it weren’t for that year when I had to handle the funerals of my parents, who died in the line of duty. And left our two-year-old solely in Evelyn's care. By the time I returned. My Lily had suffered brain damage from a high fever. Her intellect forever frozen at the age of two. Evelyn said it was because I hadn't fulfilled my duties as a father. It was much later that I found out. That time, right after I left. Evelyn, to pick up her old flame returning from abroad. Left our feverish daughter home alone for a day and a night. But back then. I had lost my parents, lost my support. With a disabled child, I couldn't find work. I didn't even have the standing to question Evelyn. Now. My child was gone. Everything was over. 4. I opened my phone. Wanting to inform Evelyn of our child's death. Only to find I had been completely blocked. All supplementary credit cards were deactivated. Bank card PINs all changed. Even our fingerprints were deleted from the house's smart lock. So, this was the punishment Evelyn mentioned on the phone? To leave me and my child penniless and stranded on the streets in the dead of winter. My heart was already too numb to feel. I even felt a strange urge to laugh. I calmly carried my child's body back to the hospital entrance. The security guard, not yet off his shift, still spoke with disdain: "Mr. Miller, still haven't given up after all this time?" "I told you, the emergency room here won't be open to you." "No…" I shook my head. "I'm here to get a death certificate for my child." The guard looked at the completely still child in my arms. The disdain in his eyes turned to panic. "Mr., Mr. Miller, please come in with me. I'll notify Director Hayes for you right away!" The guard hurried. Leading me through all the procedures as quickly as possible. Receiving the death certificate. The doctor who handled the paperwork looked at me with an apologetic expression. "Mr. Miller, please accept my condolences." "I'm truly sorry, I don't know why, but none of us could reach Director Hayes today…" I nodded, my face remaining frighteningly calm. With the help of the hospital staff. I used up the last bit of cash I had on me. To arrange for Lily's final affairs. The child who, just the night before last, was snuggled in my arms, begging me to tell her a story. This morning, had become a light handful of ashes. Evelyn’s phone was still unreachable. Probably to ensure no one disturbed her time with Hailey Evans. So, she had blocked everyone, including me. But it didn’t matter. What came next would be the same, with or without her. 5. After interring Lily's ashes. I found myself inexplicably drawn back to the abandoned construction site where I had found her injured the day before. Like a zombie, I operated Lily's bloodstained, cracked smartwatch. In Lily’s voice, I sent a few messages to the main culprit, Hailey Evans. Asking her to meet here again to play. After that, I picked up a discarded piece of rebar from the site. Then, I pressed it against a drab concrete wall, scraping it again and again. As if trying to sharpen its edges. Until my hands were raw and bleeding, the pain finally bringing a sliver of sanity back to me. Coming to my senses. I was surprised to find myself there, scraping rebar like a madman. But what surprised me even more. Was that just ten minutes ago, Hailey had cheerfully replied to my message. Saying she'd be there soon. As if nothing from yesterday had ever happened. Hailey wasn't lying. Just a few minutes after I regained my composure. She appeared before me, alone, with her little backpack. The first moment our eyes met. There was no guilt, no nervousness, only a deep, unsettling amusement. That look, a mixture of innocence and knowing playfulness. Sent a chill down my spine. It was hard to believe that look belonged to a pampered thirteen-year-old girl. Before I could even ask. Hailey spoke. "Hey, loser. I know why you asked me here." "You want to know how that retard you fathered died, right?" "Here, I filmed it all yesterday. See for yourself!" With that. The smartwatch in my hand buzzed. A video, nearly an hour long, was transmitted. My fingers trembled as I tapped play. On the screen. Four or five girls, around Hailey's age, surrounded Lily. Lily was first led around on all fours like a dog, then ridden like a horse. Then they started pulling out bows and arrows. Chasing Lily like she was prey in a hunt. One girl suggested tying Lily up. So they could shoot more accurately. But Hailey shook her head, pulled the terrified Lily close, and whispered in a seductive tone. "You want your mommy to come home? If you do, then stand right here and don't move!" "As long as we hit the apple on your head, I'll make your mommy come home to you!" Lily nodded, dazed. And she really stood there, not moving even when she wet herself in fear. One arrow, two arrows, three arrows. Lily was hit and fell. Then shakily stood up again. Letting those girls rip the arrows, flesh and all, from her body. Finally, Hailey aimed her arrow at the apple on Lily's head. The arrow didn't hit the apple. Instead, it pierced Lily’s scalp and lodged in her skull. At that moment. Lily was still alive. The girls scrambled to take photos with Lily. Ignoring Lily, who was coughing up mouthfuls of blood in pain, they used her longing for her "good mommy Evelyn" as leverage. Forcing her to smile for the camera. Having watched the whole thing. My heart felt like it had been torn apart and crushed. I looked up. And forced three words through gritted teeth at Hailey: "Why?" Hailey clapped her hands. "Why? What other reason? Because it was fun, of course!" "Besides, what's so precious about that retard you fathered? She's dumber than a dog! If she's dead, she's dead!" "If she dies, Auntie Evelyn will divorce you! She dies! Auntie Evelyn will be mine and Daddy's!" "You little bitch!!! Go to hell!!!" My barely recovered sanity shattered again. I grabbed the rebar I'd been sharpening and lunged at Hailey, aiming for her head. Completely oblivious to the blaring sirens approaching rapidly. "Help! Help! Mr. Miller's trying to kill me!" "Help! Daddy, Auntie Evelyn, save me!" Hailey screamed, not forgetting to snatch the smartwatch from my hand and smash it violently on the ground. In an instant. A bullet tore through my arm. I collapsed. Evelyn rushed towards me, kicking me repeatedly in the stomach. "Ethan Miller, I never knew you were this vile! How dare you kidnap Hailey and bring her here! If it weren't for Hailey's phone having GPS!" Having not eaten for a day and a night, I was kicked until I was half-dead. Vomiting mouthfuls of stomach acid. Without even a chance to offer a single word of defense. Only able to listen as that natural-born evil, Hailey, sobbed theatrically in Mark Evans' arms. "Daddy, Mr. Miller's gone crazy. He killed Lily, and now he wants to kill me… Daddy, save me…" Mark Evans, hearing this, couldn't help but sigh, "Evelyn, I'm sorry. It's all my fault." "It was me and my daughter who took up too much of your time, that's why Ethan got so angry! You're his woman, not mine. I overstepped…" "Ethan, I know you hate me! I hope you can vent your hatred on me, just spare my child!" "No! Evelyn! It's not your fault! It's this madman's fault! His fault!" "He harmed my daughter, and now he wants to harm Hailey. I must make him pay the price!" Evelyn said, then nodded to the accompanying police officers and stated gravely, "Officers, please take him away and interrogate him thoroughly! Preferably, ensure he can never endanger public safety again!" The gunshot wound and the beating left my limbs weak. As the police lifted me from the ground, I clearly saw. The smartwatch, its screen already smashed black, flickered back to life. And automatically forwarded the video Hailey had previously sent me to my wife's phone.
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