"Daddy, Mommy, I missed you so much!" Her voice transformed into a sweet, spoiled whine. "Studying abroad was exhausting. Promise you'll stay home and pamper me."
Tears blurred my vision.
Hudson told me she was suffering, I thought. Working herself to the bone to pay off the family's debts.
My adoptive parents called me a curse. A jinx who destroyed everything. The Sanchez family's ruin was my fault. I had to work harder. Make more money. Bring Eliana back so my brother could see our home whole again—even if I had to sell every part of myself.
Security dragged me out. Passersby stared—some with disgust, others with pity. A few whispered for the guards to be gentle, but no one stepped in.
Noah followed at a leisurely pace. The moment we cleared the crowd, the gentleman act dropped. He shoved me into his car.
Back in that suffocating basement, he forced my head under the faucet, scrubbing blood from my mouth with rough strokes.
"I love breaking things that try so hard to survive," he sneered, water dripping from his chin. "Your brother, your parents—they play you for a fool, and you thank them. You bleed yourself dry for a lie." He met my eyes in the mirror. "Is the game fun, Harper?"