Chapter 3

The police gave us time to decide on the compensation amount.

With tears streaming down her face, Mom firmly insisted on letting them pay.

But Dad didn't say anything. Soon, he received a call and left the ward.

After about ten minutes, he walked inside, followed by a woman. It was his second wife, Linda Miller.

Linda nudged him. After hesitating for a while, he said to Mom, "The police are right. I think we should take the money. Since Emily has been under my custody after the divorce, I call the shots. You and Nina should go home."

Mom looked at him, finding it hard to believe what he had just said.

Utterly furious, I kicked Linda's calf hard. "Those women got to you, right? How much did they offer you? Have you forgotten what those girls did to Emily?"

Linda slumped to the floor in pain, and my dad wanted to help her up.

But I roared at him, "Piss off!"

He shivered, terrified.

Linda had known my evil nature and started to cry out in pain.

"They... They gave me 2,000 dollars. They said Emily's life wasn't worth a penny, and some spare change would be more than enough for her compensation. They gave me this much because they felt sorry for me, taking care of Emily all these years..."

I clenched my fists. "2,000 dollars? For what they did to Emily? Are you fucking kidding me? You think you get to make this decision for Emily? Fine. Go and talk to them again. Ask them for 200 thousand dollars this time!"

I let go of her, and she scrambled out together with my dad.

Mom looked at me dejectedly, apparently disappointed in me. She asked, "Nina, why did you agree to settle this with money?"

I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Mom, Emily's gonna need a lot of money from now on. Those bullies are supposed to pay for what they did to her. If we turned the money down, it'd be theirs again. As for the horrible things they've done? The police might not be able to do anything about it, but I can."

I was born messed up.

But Mom and Emily had never given up on me.

When I was little, I often struggled with something primal inside, snapping at everyone.

Emily always trailed behind me, apologizing to them.

She told them I was the greatest sister in the world. It was just that I could be a bit cranky sometimes since I was sick.

After apologizing, she'd even give her favorite lollipops to the kids I scared.

As for Mom—she worked from dawn till dusk to earn money for my treatment.

At her lowest point, she even volunteered for drug trials.

She swallowed fistfuls of those untested pills in exchange for 300 dollars per session.

They were the sweetest, kindest souls in the world. Yet they ended up being bullied by a bunch of jerks miserably.

Tell me—how could I let that happen?

Honestly, I was born cold-blooded.

Only Mom and Emily ever made me feel warm and loved.

So, I'd do whatever I could to make sure they lived long and prosper.

Two days later, we reached a settlement with the police's intervention.

They'd compensate us 60 thousand dollars, which was the best we could do.

Dad handed over those videos and signed the agreement in exchange for 20 thousand dollars from each of the three parents.

Their faces were filled with undisguised contempt as they handed over the cash.

"It's just about the money, isn't it? And you acted so nobly."

"They fooled me into believing they loved Emily so much. And here they are, grinning at 60 thousand dollars only. Forget it. Twenty thousand dollars is nothing to me. Even my night cream costs more than that."

They paid, but their daughters were nowhere to be seen.

Samantha's mom mocked my mom, "Hey, how about I throw in two dollars more? Consider that Samantha's apology."

Mom looked at her deadpan, not saying a word.

She had wept so much these days that her tears had dried up.

With a mask on my face, I supported her while retorting. "Two dollars? Is that how much Samantha is worth? Gee, she's so cheap."

Furious, Samantha's mom raised her hand at me, but I dodged swiftly.

Seeing this, the other two parents lunged at me fiercely.

But the police stopped them in time. "She's of the same age as your daughters. Holding it against a child? Really?"

How familiar those words sounded. Right—Samantha's mom had said pretty much the exact same thing to defend Samantha.

Cursing, they left under the police's persuasion.

Only then did I realize Linda had already slipped away with the 60 thousand dollars.

*****

Emily came around completely three days later.

At the sight of me, she cried, looking all aggrieved.

I held her hand gently. "Emily, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had suffered this much. I promise. From now on, I'll never leave you again."

Emily had always been the one who protected me and cleaned up the messes I made.

From now on, I'd protect her and our mom.

She was transferred to a general ward after coming around. Just one day later, Linda started to talk about getting her discharged.

I didn't stop Linda. All I said was, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm still so worried about Emily, so I'm gonna move in with you from now on."

Terrified, she went pale-faced at once and never spoke about getting Emily discharged again.

The second day, she showed up with 40 thousand dollars, had Emily sign a severance agreement with our dad, and then dumped Emily on us.

Mom held Emily tightly, crying her eyes out, glad that we finally got Emily back.

Meanwhile, I kept reviewing the videos I had backed up, memorized every word in them, and then went to Dad's place to pack Emily's books and clothes.

The new semester was around the corner. I was ready to experience the pain she had endured.

I was born from sin to begin with.

From now on, I'd decide everyone's fate.