Chapter 1
Series 1 Chapter 1
For three seconds, the entire auditorium went silent.
Then the screams began.
Judges shot up from their seats.
Parents pulled their children closer.
The host stood frozen with the microphone still in his hand.
Ellie stood alone under the spotlight, her white dress glowing so brightly it almost hurt to look at her.
In front of her was the painting that had just won first place.
My Hero.
A man in a white coat.
A stethoscope around his neck.
A gentle smile on his face.
Her father.
Her small hand tightened around the black handle of the palette knife.
She stared at the painted smile for a long time.
The host raised the microphone.
He softly prompted her to deliver her acceptance speech.
Ellie slowly squatted down.
She moved carefully, almost gently, as if the painting might hurt her if she touched it too hard.
In the next second—
The canvas ripped open vertically.
The sound was sharp, like fingernails dragging across a chalkboard.
Screams erupted from the audience.
Judges stood up in shock.
Security guards rushed toward the stage.
"Ellie! Stop!" someone shouted from below.
Ellie did not stop.
Maybe she heard them.
Maybe she didn’t.
Her hand kept moving.
Her hand moved mechanically, stabbing and scraping.
The blade peeled the paint from the man’s face piece by piece.
Thick oil layers curled and flaked off.
Soon, nothing remained but a rough, blurry patch of white canvas.
She stopped.
Her shoulders slumped.
She looked exhausted, like that one act had taken everything she had left.
No one spoke.
She placed the palette knife back down.
She wiped her small hands on her dress and spoke into the microphone.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"The forty-ninth time."
No one understood.
Only I knew.