Chapter 2

Dad rubbed his hands together, offering me an oily, hypocritical smile.

"Listen to me, Flora. You won't suffer there. A high-society family in the city gets the absolute finest food, clothes, and living conditions. What is there to complain about? Free luxury! The man explicitly said you had a comforting face. You go live in luxury, Leo gets his wedding funds, and everyone wins, right?"

Whenever Dad wanted me to yield, he always spoke in that gentle, reasoning tone. Growing up, they played good cop, bad cop, training me to be obedient, to be the sensible one.

And now, for Leo's sake, they were selling me to old Mr. Bailey. Was it really for my own good, or was it just for that check?

I set my jaw, lowering my gaze, my voice flat and raspy.

"I'm sick. The doctor said I only have three months to live. A dying girl... would they even want that?"

The room plunged into dead silence, broken only by the ticking clock on the wall.

They sneered, not believing a single syllable.

"Look at your healthy, plump face! Sick? Dying? Who are you trying to fool? Even if you drop dead tomorrow, you make damn sure you die inside the Bailey mansion!"

Mom's venomous words felt like a serrated blade tearing through my chest. Only I knew how deeply it cut.

Just then, Leo brought over a mug of warm milk, suddenly dropping to his knees with a look of utter sincerity.

"Flora, please, calm down. If you really don't want to go, I'll return the check tomorrow. If the wedding falls through, so be it. I can't let my sister suffer like this."

I looked down at his face. Memories flooded back—how he used to trail behind me, calling my name, refusing to eat dinner until I walked home from school, pressing his nose against the window to watch me board the bus.

That single, remorseful look melted my defenses.

I took the mug, drank the warm milk in one breath, and set the glass on the table, reaching out to help him up.

Suddenly, my head spun violently. My body gave out, crashing heavily onto the couch. My shin banged hard against the coffee table, but I couldn't feel the pain.

"Flora, eight hundred thousand is all you're worth anyway. Mom and Dad raised you for decades—it’s time you paid them back! I went out of my way to find you a golden ticket, and instead of kissing my feet, you refuse? In your dreams!"

Leo tossed the check onto my face in disgust, turned his back, and walked away.

My eyes rolled desperately toward Dad. I parted my lips, squeezing a cracked whisper through my teeth. "Dad..."

He averted his gaze, acting as if nothing was happening, and pulled Mom into their bedroom.

Tears spilled helplessly down my cheeks, soaking into the worn fabric of the sofa.

I never could have imagined that the parents and brother I had loved and respected for over twenty years would conspire together to throw me into the jaws of a beast.