Chapter 2

Susan's head was wrapped in bandages, her face pale as Raylan held her protectively in his arms.

As soon as they stepped into the yard, her eyes landed on the swing under the banyan tree, our favorite swing, the one Mom and I always loved.

Raylan had built it for me himself, and my name was carved right into the seat.

Susan froze for a moment, her whole body trembling.

"Raylan, I'm scared," she whispered.

Raylan immediately tensed up, leaning in closer and asking softly, "What's wrong?"

"When I was little, I fell off a swing. It hurt so much," Susan said.

As she spoke, her hand instinctively went to her stomach, unease clear in her eyes.

"Now, every time I see a swing, my heart starts pounding, and my stomach gets all weird too," she added.

Raylan lashed out and gave the swing a furious kick.

"Tear down this damn thing. Just looking at it brings bad luck," he snapped.

"No," I yelled, rushing over and blocking the swing with my arms outstretched. "Dad, this was your birthday gift to me. Don't you remember?"

Raylan's frown deepened, impatience flashing in his eyes.

Susan quickly grabbed his sleeve, trying to smooth things over. "Raylan, don't be like that. It's on me."

She crouched down and pinched my cheek. "Scarlett's our little princess. How could we ever make her unhappy?"

She blocked Raylan's view, leaned in close, lowered her voice, and dug her nails hard into my cheek.

"You little bastard, what makes you think you deserve to be the master of this place just because you were born here?" She hissed.

Her nails dug into my cheek, making it sting, and the overpowering scent of her perfume made my head spin.

Just as I was about to cry, she suddenly yelled and collapsed to the ground. My dad rushed over to help her up, his face looking troubled.

"Apologize to Susan and your brother," he snapped.

Susan was clutching her stomach, leaning into my dad's arms, her face twisted in pain.

"Raylan, don't blame Scarlett. She didn't push me. I had someone check our birth charts, Scarlett's clashes with our baby's. Scarlett will always have the upper hand over our son," she said.

With that, she hugged her belly and started sobbing, tears streaming down her face as if she'd been terribly wronged.

My dad marched straight up to Mom, his expression icy. "For Susan and the baby's sake, I'll have the driver take Scarlett to the old house for a while. She can come back once the baby's safely born."

But Mom didn't even look at him. She walked over, her gaze landing right on my aching cheek, her smile soft and gentle.

"So my daughter's birth chart clashes with your son's? Isn't that easy to solve?

"If there's no baby, there's no clash, right?" she said calmly.

Raylan had no idea what Mom was getting at.

Just then, as the workers were about to start taking down the swing, Mom cut in and stopped them.

"Wait a second," she said.

She took the thick, long rope from the worker and gave it a little heft in her hand.

Then she turned to Susan, a smile playing on her lips.

Susan didn't even have time to react before Mom was already moving.

She moved with lightning speed. Before anyone could blink, she'd looped the rope around Susan's neck, hurled the other end up over the thick banyan branch, and yanked it tight in a dead knot.

Susan screamed.

The rope jerked her off the ground so fast her feet barely touched the air. She was left hanging, thrashing, and kicking like crazy.

Her face went bright red, eyes bulging out, fingers clawing hopelessly at the rope choking her neck.

"Raylan, save me." She choked out.

Everyone just stood there, stunned and speechless.

Meanwhile, Mom looked like she was watching a boring movie, leaning against the tree, lighting up a cigarette, and taking it all in with a lazy smirk.

"This banyan's got some killer luck, right? Didn't you say that baby in your belly is worth its weight in gold? Perfect, let's let him get some fresh air ahead of schedule," she said.

Then she whipped out a dagger, the blade glinting coldly in her hand.

Just as she was about to cut open Susan's belly, my dad lost it and threw himself at her like a madman.

"Katherine, Stop.

"Katherine, if you so much as touch her today, I swear you'll be crying your eyes out with regret," my dad yelled.

"Oh? I'd like to see how you'll make me regret it," my mom sneered.

My mom slipped the dagger under the belt of Susan's dress, lifting it with a practiced flick.

My dad's eyes widened, and he snapped his fingers, a signal.

In an instant, dozens of gun barrels emerged from the shadows around the yard, all trained on my mom.

My dad snatched the dagger from my mom, tossed it to the ground, and turned to help Susan.

My mom smirked coldly at Susan, who was still clinging to Raylan's arms.

"Raylan, you really wanna go all out for someone so worthless?" she sneered.

My dad's face grew even darker. He handed Susan off to one of his men, then drew his gun and pressed it right against my mom's head.

"Katherine, I gave you your chance," he said.

My mom narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh? Too bad, you're in for a letdown."

Suddenly, even more figures slipped out of the shadows, at least double their number, maybe more.

In a flash, my dad, Susan, and all their men were forced down to the ground, completely overpowered.

My mom wrapped her arms around me, her gaze landing on Susan's right hand. She pointed and asked in a gentle but chilling tone.

"Scarlett, tell Mom, was it this hand that dug its nails into your cheek?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Cut it off," my mom ordered.

My dad shouted, "Katherine, don't you dare."

The blade flashed. Her hand was chopped clean off, flying through the air and landing with a sickening thud, blood splattering everywhere.

Susan convulsed in agony, her whole body shaking as she nearly blacked out from the pain.