Chapter 1 It was the third year since my brother and I were kidnapped and taken to a hellhole in Southeast Asia. His fate was unknown, while I had been tortured into a living corpse. The rotting flesh on my body reeked permanently. The rusted shackles on my ankles had grown into my skin. To fill my stomach, I had fought stray dogs for scraps. After countless failed attempts to escape or call for help, I finally gave up. Despair consumed me. I just wanted to die. But just as I swallowed a handful of stolen pills, waiting for the darkness to take me, I heard an argument outside my cell. "She's your own sister! You ruined her future after she got into Stanford just for that charity case you took in. Why do you have to torture her like this?" Suddenly, my missing brother, Liam, kicked the door open and scooped me up. His voice was frantic, yet filled with anger. "She knew I’d always provide for her, that grades didn't matter. But she just had to show off and score higher than Vanessa, triggering her depression again. I’m just teaching her a lesson. I needed to humble her." "Vanessa graduates in a month. I was going to take Riley home then anyway. A little suffering builds character. What’s the big deal?" The realization hit me like a physical blow. No wonder... no wonder I risked my life searching the entire compound for him and never found a trace. It turned out that from the very beginning, this was all his doing. A punishment for upsetting his precious foster sister, Vanessa. I coughed up blood and laughed until tears streamed down my face. Liam, the punishment is about to be over. Forever. And I’m never going home with you. ... The smell of antiseptic in the hospital room was suffocating. I stared blankly at the ceiling, my stomach churning with nausea from the charcoal they had pumped into me. Liam pushed the door open, holding my medical chart. Watching the person I had spent three years searching for walk toward me so casually... My pupils trembled. A tsunami of emotions crashed over me. I stiffened my neck, refusing to let the tears fall. He stared at me, suppressing his rage. We both knew the score. Neither of us wanted to speak first. Finally, our eyes met. I couldn't stop my voice from trembling. "Liam..." But my voice only ignited his fury. He slammed the gastric lavage report onto my face. "Riley! Have you made enough of a scene? You knew this was just a punishment, so you swallowed pills to force me to come out? You’d risk your life just to make me feel sorry for you?" "It was just a few years of hardship. I specifically told those people not to permanently damage you. Painting fake wounds on yourself won't work—it just makes you look pathetic!" I froze in disbelief. The agony stuck in my throat. For three years, I dreamed of finding him. I imagined our reunion a thousand times. I thought I would be excited. I thought I would cry in relief. I never imagined... his first words would be a dismissal of my torture and his habitual distrust. After a few seconds of silence, Vanessa walked into the room. She smiled sweetly and handed me an invitation. "Riley, I'm graduating soon. Come to my party. I don't blame you for what happened in the past." I stared at Liam with bloodshot eyes, my hands motionless. Vanessa instantly lowered her head, wiping away a tear. "Liam, it looks like Riley still hates me. Don't worry about me. Cancel the party. Just take Riley home. I... I'll leave the family." Liam’s heart broke instantly. He glared at me, his fists clenching tighter and tighter, until he roared. "Riley! You’re still this stubborn? You still won't accept Vanessa? You know she has severe depression, yet you still make her cry!" "It seems the punishment wasn't enough!" Liam immediately ordered his bodyguards to throw me out of the hospital. "Let her suffer on the streets for another month. Maybe then she’ll learn her lesson!" It wasn't until Liam drove off with Vanessa, the exhaust fumes hitting my face, that I snapped back to reality. I looked blankly at the bustling street. The banners hanging from the lampposts were all celebrating Vanessa’s graduation. The massive screen on the mall across the street was playing a video of Liam’s graduation gift to Vanessa: a chest full of jewelry and two island villas. Passersby were whispering, envious of how much Liam spoiled her. I suddenly laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. Tears flowed uncontrollably. It turned out, during those three years where I lived a life worse than death... During the three years I risked everything to find him... During the three years I prayed for rescue... He was out here, treating Vanessa like a princess. Chapter 2 I wandered the streets aimlessly. My body was covered in hideous scars, and I was wearing a blood-stained t-shirt in the freezing winter wind. Everyone looked at me like I was a monster. But I didn't care. I just stared at the river in the distance and kept walking. There was a faint sense of relief in my heart. Suddenly, a hand tapped my shoulder. I instinctively dropped to a crouch, covering my head in terror. "Don't hit me! Please don't hit me! I'll be good..." The person frowned, eyes full of confusion. "Riley? Is that really you?" Hearing a familiar voice, I peeked out cautiously. It was Ms. Clarke, my favorite teacher from high school. "What happened to you? Does your brother know? He used to value you more than his own life." Hearing her words, I let out a self-deprecating laugh. From the day Liam brought Vanessa home, I was no longer the sister he valued more than his life. Back then, Vanessa framed me constantly. Today, I slapped her; tomorrow, I tore her dress; the next day, I orchestrated bullying against her. Every single time, Liam believed her without question and scolded me. When I tried to explain, he would get angry, accusing me of being vicious and a liar. Finally, he slapped me hard across the face. "Riley! I give you this privileged life to give you confidence, not to give you the audacity to bully the weak!" "I've spoiled you too much! You need a lesson!" He locked me, knowing I was claustrophobic, in the basement for a week. From then on, I stopped talking to him. For six months, silence. Until I got the highest SAT scores in the state. Liam said he wanted to take me on a graduation trip to make amends. I knew he was trying to coax me. We were siblings, after all. There was no deep hatred. But on the day of the trip, we were bagged and dragged away to that camp abroad. The next day, Liam vanished. I was terrified something had happened to him. I searched the compound even as my flesh was whipped raw. Old scars hadn't healed before new ones were added. But no matter how much it hurt, I never stopped looking for him. Once, after being branded with a hot iron for running away and nearly fed to the pigs, a kind older woman whispered to me: "Little girl, stop looking. People who disappear here... they're usually dead." In that moment, my heart died too. I drowned in guilt. If I hadn't held a grudge, he wouldn't have planned this trip to appease me. If it weren't for me, my brother wouldn't be dead in this hellhole. I stopped fighting. I numbly accepted the daily beatings. I numbly accepted the scars. I became numb enough to want death. Finally, I found a bottle of sleeping pills. Just as I was about to be free... I heard the truth. A truth more painful than death. Everything I suffered was because I scored higher than Vanessa, triggering her insecurity. It was Liam punishing me because his heart ached for her. As I recounted this to Ms. Clarke, my smile turned grotesque, and the dam holding back my tears broke. Ms. Clarke’s eyes were red. Her lips trembled, trying to speak but failing. Finally, she just hugged me tight. "Tell me what you need. I will do everything in my power to help you." I shook my head bitterly. "I don't need anything anymore." In a way, I was already dead. I didn't want this empty shell of a body anymore. If Liam hadn't "saved" me, I would already be free. Chapter 3 No matter how much I refused, Ms. Clarke insisted on buying me a warm coat. She took me for the fullest meal I’d had in three years. Before leaving, she bought me a bag of snacks and told me to call her anytime. Watching her walk away, my heart ached with sourness. Back in school, when Vanessa framed me, my own brother didn't ask a single question before punishing me. But Ms. Clarke had chosen to believe me. Three years ago, she was the only warmth I had. Unexpectedly, three years later, she still was. A thought sparked in my dead mind. Before I die, I want to repay her. I want to thank her for her help. I decided to buy her a bouquet of flowers. I had no money, and my broken body couldn't handle labor. So, I walked around collecting plastic bottles and cans to sell. But every time I managed to fill half a bag, someone would snatch it and dump the contents into the river or a dumpster. At first, I chased them, shouted at them, and then resigned myself to starting over. After it happened several times, I finally collected enough cans. I sold them immediately, terrified of another "accident." Clutching the cash, I bought a single bouquet. Just as I was dialing Ms. Clarke’s number... The flowers were snatched from my hand, thrown to the ground, and crushed under a polished leather shoe. "What are you doing?!" I screamed, lunging forward. The man kicked me aside, sneering. "This is the price of offending Mr. Hart. He paid me a lot of money to watch you. You aren't allowed to have a single penny." I froze. I remembered Liam saying he wanted me to suffer a bit more. I still couldn't believe it. He was my brother! Was he really going to stomp me into the mud for Vanessa? My head buzzed. Without thinking, I grabbed a rental bike and rode straight to the Hart estate. Vanessa’s graduation party was in full swing. It was lively, opulent. I didn't care about anything. I grabbed a glass of wine and hurled it at Liam. "Was Myanmar not enough?!" My scream silenced the entire party. "Will you only be satisfied when I'm dead?" Liam turned, frowning at me. His tone was cold, casual. "What's with all this talk of death? I just wanted you to suffer a bit, to smooth out that attitude of yours." "Enough. Vanessa’s party ends tonight. The punishment ends tomorrow. I’ll bring you home then. I’ll give you whatever you want. Why are you making a fuss over some trash you picked up?" Trash? I looked around the venue. A single bottle of wine here cost thousands. This party cost millions. And all I wanted to live for... was to trade recyclable trash for a bouquet that cost twenty dollars. The things he sneered at were things I had to bleed to obtain. At that moment, Vanessa walked over in a princess gown, glowing. She patted Liam’s back gently, looked me up and down, and sighed. "Riley, everything Liam does is for your own good. Why can't you understand his good intentions?" Chapter 4 She stepped forward and took my hand, her face a mask of innocence. "Today is my graduation party. Since you're here, celebrate with me. I won't hold your past bullying against you." "For Liam's sake, I hope we can get along in the future." Just then, my phone buzzed. It was Ms. Clarke returning my call. I stared at the screen, about to answer. Vanessa suddenly shrieked, slapping the phone out of my hand. "Ah! Riley! Why are you still in contact with Ms. Clarke? Are you two plotting how to hurt me again?" Before I could react, she started bowing to me frantically, acting like a terrified victim. "I'm sorry! Riley, I shouldn't be in the Hart family. I shouldn't be an eyesore to you. I understand now... only if I die will you be satisfied!" She turned, wiping fake tears, and ran toward the river opposite the villa. Chaos erupted. Liam’s face went pale with terror. He sprinted after Vanessa without hesitation. Just as Vanessa climbed onto the railing, Liam tackled her, pulling her back to safety. She wept in his arms like a fragile flower. "Liam, why did you save me? Why won't you let me die? I don't want to relive that nightmare. Only death will set me free." Liam’s eyes were red. Along with his heartache for her, there was an intense rage directed at me. He choked back tears, comforting Vanessa. Then he turned, marched over to me, and slapped me across the face with all his strength. "Riley! Wasn't it enough that you and that teacher bullied Vanessa into depression back in school?" "You just got back, and you're already trying to kill her! You are incurable!" My head snapped to the side. I clutched my burning cheek, standing there, stunned. Why? Why is it always my fault? I didn't do anything! I looked up, a trace of stubbornness in my eyes. "I never hurt her. What do I have to do for you to believe—" But when I saw the sheer disappointment in his eyes, it overlapped with every moment from the past. I laughed at myself. The words died in my throat. There is no "why." If you don't want something anymore, you treat it like trash. The last thread of familial love in my heart snapped. I stared at him blankly. "Your punishment is almost over. Can you promise me one thing? Send flowers to Ms. Clarke for me." He scoffed, full of contempt. "Once the punishment is over, as long as you don't team up with her to bully Vanessa, I'll give you whatever you want." You won't have to worry about your precious sister being bullied anymore. And aside from those flowers, I don't want anything. "You keep your word." My heart was completely empty. I lowered my head and turned toward the secluded part of the riverbank. Liam watched my retreating figure—walking like a corpse—and his heart gave a sudden, violent lurch. An unprecedented uneasiness welled up. He was about to chase after me when a soft cough from Vanessa pulled him back. He immediately picked her up and rushed her to the hospital. I waited by the river until late at night. When no one was around, I climbed over the railing. Looking at the dark water, I closed my eyes, finally feeling relief... To soothe Vanessa, Liam stayed with her for a full week. Checking his phone, he realized my birthday was approaching. He decided to bring me home and give me all the birthday presents he missed over the last three years. But just as he was about to dial my number, a news alert popped up on his phone. [Breaking: A decomposed female body was recovered from the Linlang River today. Identity confirmed as the former top scholar who vanished three years ago, Riley Hart!]
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "387738", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel