Half her face was bandaged, but her uncovered eyes were full of smugness and mockery. “See? In this family, you’re worthless. If I cry, they’ll blame you.” She smiled, touched her wound and hissed in pain.
“Oh, I forgot. To make up for the ‘grievances’ I endured, Mom and Dad gave me your sixteenth birthday gift, the limited edition red sports car you hadn’t registered. It’s mine.”
That car was Grandpa’s gift. Before he died, he held my hand and said, “From now on, Elena and I will live like fire, passionate and free.”
She admired my cold gaze and said, “They said someone with a criminal record like you shouldn’t drive such a nice car. They also said when you get out, they’d marry you off to an honest man far from this family, so you won’t cause trouble and affect my brother and me.”
I watched her quietly, stopped recording on my phone and sent the two-minute audio to the “Loving Family” group.
At the same time, down the hallway, my parents and brother’s phones dinged. Beatrice’s face went from red to white, then ashen blue.
“You…” She barely spoke when the ward door swung open.