Chapter 8

<p>When Lena woke again, the wall clock in the warehouse read 5 a.m.—the dawn of the day she'd planned to leave forever.</p><p>She tried the door, but it was still locked from the outside.</p><p>Moments later, the door creaked open. This time, it was Lisa who stepped in.</p><p>Her eyes widened at Lena's battered form, feigning shock, "Lena, how did you get yourself into such a state?"</p><p>Lena leaned against the wall, refusing to indulge her performance.</p><p>But Lisa pressed closer, her nails scraping along Lena's still-bleeding wounds.</p><p>"Don't touch me."</p><p>Lisa let out an exaggerated laugh. Her body hadn't fully recovered, but Lena was now too weak to stop her.</p><p>She stepped back to the door, pulling out two small jars.</p><p>"Lena, do you know what these are?"</p><p>Lena forced herself to look up. One jar was instantly recognizable—it was the urn she'd personally buried with her mother's ashes.</p><p>Her breath hitched, and her eyes filled with unbridled hatred.</p><p>Lisa reveled in her sudden fury.</p><p>"Recognize it? That's right, Lena. The one on the left is your dead mother's ashes. And the one on the right..." She paused, grinning maliciously. "Well, that's yours, of course."</p><p>"What are you going to do?"</p><p>Lisa's smile vanished. She wrenched both lids open and emptied the ashes onto the dirty floor.</p><p>"No!" Lena tried to stop her, but she had no strength left.</p><p>She watched in horror as Lisa stepped on the mingled ashes, then poured a bucket of sewage over them.</p><p>Unprecedented rage clouded Lena's vision. She hated Lisa so fiercely, she wanted to kill her.</p><p>But Lisa was overcome with maniacal delight, her face twisted with madness, "What am I going to do?"</p><p>"Do you know how much I've hated you, Lena? Why did Dad dote on you so much when we were kids? Why did you steal Jason's attention? Why did I lie in a coma for years while you lived my life in happiness?"</p><p>"All of this was mine! It was always mine!"</p><p>After Lisa left, Lena crawled painfully toward the indistinguishable pile of ashes. She gathered every last speck from the corners and placed them in a small box.</p><p>Clutching the box tightly to her chest—as close as her heart—Lena had no more tears to shed. She lay motionless on the floor, like a corpse.</p><p>Two hours later, there was a knock at the door. Jason's voice filtered in, "Lena, reflect on your mistakes. I'll let you out tonight."</p><p>His footsteps faded away, but faint fragments of conversation drifted back.</p><p>"Jason, is there fun? Do you think I'll like it there?”</p><p>"I'll be with you. If you get tired, I'll carry you..."</p><p>Lena felt nothing. It wasn't until another hour passed that she finally mustered enough strength to move.</p><p>She and Jason had cleaned out this warehouse together—she remembered there was a spare key hidden nearby.</p><p>Finding the key and unlocking the door, she stepped into a silent house.</p><p>Lena grabbed her pre-packed documents and backup phone, retrieved her visa from the outdoor mailbox locker, and left without looking back.</p><p>As the plane lifted off, Lena stared at the snow-white clouds outside the window. For the first time in years, she felt reborn.</p><p>Jason, we'll never meet again.</p>