Chapter 1
My dad hated my mom.
He could go a whole month without saying a single word to her, then joked around and chatted happily with another pretty woman.
Then one day, a few masked men shoved Mom and I into a black van.
Mom secretly pulled out her phone and called Dad for help, but his voice was still cold as ice.
He said, "Do whatever you want. Even if you and that brat die out there, it's got nothing to do with me."
Mom froze.
She hugged me tightly, tried to calm me down, but I was already scared and heartbroken.
Later, I heard those men whispering about my mom, pointing at her. They said, "Her organs could sell for good money."
I'd no idea what organs were, but I saw them pin my mom down on the floor and cut her open with shiny tools.
On the tenth day, my mom stopped talking. Her stomach was flat.
I picked up a piece of bread from the ground and put it in her mouth.
I ate a lot of bread too, but it tasted hard and awful.
Later, my dad cried and begged me not to go to sleep.
Bewildered, I wiped his tears, bugs biting within me.
I said, "Dad, don't be said. I'm going to find Mommy in my dreams. I'll wake up soon."
*****
On the way home from kindergarten, I kept pestering Mom, saying I wanted meatballs for dinner.
Mom gently booped my nose, her smile full of love.
That was the last time I ever saw her smile.
The very next second, a bunch of masked men shoved us into a black car.
The car smelled awful, so I scrunched up my nose and burrowed into Mom's arms.
Her hands wouldn't stop trembling as she hugged me tight.
With the car bumping and swaying, I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, we were locked in a pitch-black room.
I heard Mom whispering, "Adam, Esme and I have been kidnapped. Please, you have to come save us!"
But Dad's voice on the other end was icy cold. "Do whatever you want. Even if you and that brat die out there, it's none of my business."
He didn't even give Mom a chance to say another word, hanging up ruthlessly.
Mom was about to call him back when she heard the lock turning at the door.
She hurriedly hid her phone, hugging me tightly as we backed into the corner.
One of the masked men yanked me out of her arms, brought the knife down, and sliced my face.
I wailed at the top of my lungs. It hurt so badly.
Mom threw herself in front of me, but two of the men held her in place.
All Mom could do beg desperately. "Please, just let my daughter go. I'll give you whatever you want."
One of the thugs burst out laughing. "Alright. Hand over 3 million dollars then," he sneered. "Someone paid us 2.5 million to rough you up. But if you can cough up 3 million, we'll let you walk."
Mom nodded frantically. "Please, just let us go so we can get the money. I swear I'll send it to you tomorrow."
One of the thugs grabbed Mom by the hair and smashed her head against the wall, spitting curses at her.
"You think we're stupid, bitch? If we let you go, we'd be dead before we even see the cash," he sneered.
I threw myself at him, biting down hard on his hand. "Don't hit my mom."
The thug grabbed me by the collar, lifted me up, and flung me down onto the floor. He lifted his foot, about to stomp on me when Mom crawled over and shielded me with her body.
His big fists rained down on Mom. Mom held me tight, gritting her teeth, not making a single sound.
Mom was beaten until her phone fell out on the floor.
The thug caught sight of the wedding photo of Mom and Dad on the lock screen, and he broke into a grin.
"So you're Mrs. Langley, huh? You know what, you're old friends. Call Mr. Langley and tell him to wire 15 million dollars. Once the money hits our account, you're both free to go," he sneered.
Mom's eyes were red as she grabbed the phone, hands shaking. "Adam, please, save Esme. They want 15 million dollars."
Adam cut her off. "Nancy, I'm busy. I don't have time for your games."
Mom clutched her chest, her voice breaking. "But Esme is your child, too! If you don't help us, we're really going to die."
Dad's voice cut through the phone, cold and merciless. "Then both of you can just die. Why do you think I'd spend 15 million dollars on a bastard?"
My heart ached a little. I shouted, "Dad!"
On the other end, Dad just gave a cold chuckle and hung up.
Dad always called me a bastard, saying I wasn't really his kid.
Whenever he said that, Mom would just hug me tight, her tears silently falling.
But after a while, she stopped crying. She just stared at me with big, empty eyes, like all the light inside her had gone out.
The screen went black, and the thugs realized their chance was gone.
They knocked Mom to the floor, and each one of them spat in her face and kicked Mom in the stomach.
I ran over and started smacking their feet, but they didn't budge at all.
So I just bit down hard on a leg. That made the thug mad. He whipped out something shiny and tried to stab me.