Chapter 2

My mom's chest was heaving with rage. Not saying a word, she marched straight over and slapped me across the face, hard.

She didn't hold back—my whole cheek went numb instantly.

Everyone stared at me in disappointment, as if I'd already been declared guilty.

Tessa's eyes shone with smug satisfaction. She'd come out on top again.

She clung to Mom's sleeve, looking as heartbreakingly fragile as she could muster.

"Mom, am I really an extra? Nina tricked me into the trafficker's car and told me you only needed her, that I was just in the way," Tessa said.

Tessa was lying through her teeth again.

Her story sent ripples through all of us, stirring up chaos in our hearts.

All eyes were suddenly on me.

Their gazes weren't just full of disappointment—there was anger blazing in them, too.

Tessa had been causing chaos since she was a kid.

She'd smash dishes in the kitchen, destroy Mom's lipstick, kill the fish in our tank, even swipe packages from the neighbors. Whatever mess she made, once things blew up, she'd just flat-out lie and pin it all on me.

I wasn't much of a talker growing up, so in my parents' eyes, I was always the bad kid. To Remy and Edwin, I was the family's bad seed. Getting smacked around turned into my everyday routine.

With Tessa out of the picture for a few years, things were a little more tolerable.

But right now, I was so afraid my hands were shaking. I glared back at Tessa and snapped, "Tessa, I never said anything like that. I tried to stop you from entering that car, but you wouldn't listen. You said you wanted to cut ties with us."

"Of course you're not gonna admit it, Nina," Tessa retorted.

Tessa's face was streaked with tears, looking like she'd been wronged but trying to be sensible. "It's all behind us now—those terrible days are over. I don't blame you, Nina. I just hope, since I'm your sister, you'll stop making things hard for me, okay?"

I stammered out, panic rising in my chest. "I-I didn't. I swear, I really didn't."

Tessa nodded. "Sure. Must be me making everything up, right? It's not like murderers ever admit to the crime."

Mom pulled Tessa into a tight hug, her whole body trembling with rage.

Dad clenched his fists, eyes blazing with fury. He stormed over, grabbed me by the collar, and yelled, "You ungrateful brat. I always knew you were competitive, always trying to one-up Tessa, but I never thought you could be this vicious."

Remy and Edwin just stood off to the side, cold and silent, same as always whenever Dad went off on me. They didn't say a word, just watched him go to town on me, never once stepping in.

Dad's fists came crashing down on me mercilessly.

The pain had me convulsing. I sobbed until my voice was nothing but a rasp, protesting repeatedly, "It wasn't me. I didn't do anything."

But my protests just sounded hollow—no one believed a single word.

They only saw me as a liar, called me stubborn and beyond saving. It was just like all those childhood moments when Tessa would frame me with ironclad evidence and I'd be left denying it to deaf ears.

Mom drew Tessa close, eyes blazing with hatred as she screamed at me, "You're a born devil. You deserve to die. How dare you sell your own sister? I won't be satisfied until every bone in your body is broken."

By the time I was covered in bruises and couldn't move, Dad finally had to stop, exhausted.

He stomped his hard shoe down on my ankle and cursed, "You're inhumane. Tessa just split her gifts with you, called you her only sister, and you stabbed her in the back like this?"

Edwin frowned at me. "Nina, you're so heartless. Why couldn't it have been you who got snatched by those traffickers instead?"

Remy was full of disappointment as he said, "Nina, when you do something wrong, you have to pay the price."

No one bothered to question anything—they all took Tessa's side without a second thought.

It was like all their pent-up regret and rage finally had somewhere to vent on, and every bit of it landed on me in a wave of violence.

I spat out blood, struggling to breathe through the pain, weakly defending myself, "I didn't do it. I swear, I really didn't..."

Tessa burst into even louder tears, instantly turning herself into the family's favorite—the one everyone cuddled and fussed over.

Just a few lines from her, and my entire world crashed down. In no time, everyone saw me as the villain.

Just when I was about to lose all hope and closed my eyes, I suddenly heard Tessa's voice.

'I totally won this time. Nina's just as useless as ever—one little lie and she crashed and burned,' Tessa sneered inwardly. 'What a bunch of morons they all are.

'When they drive Nina to her death, I'll be the golden child. Then, I'll deal with Remy and Edwin. Watching them idiots tear each other apart is absolutely awesome. They totally deserve it.

'Hope they drop dead. Not a single one of them is worth a damn. Once they're all out of the way, I'll have the whole inheritance to myself.'

My eyes shot open in horror.

Tessa was huddled quietly in Mom's arms, looking all timid and fragile, like a scared kitten.

Her lips hadn't moved even a little.