Chapter 3

The window couldn't keep out the wind and snow.

Snowflakes drifted in, landing on my frozen body, unmelting.

My consciousness began to fade.

The excruciating pain of my broken hand kept me barely awake, but I no longer had the strength to scream.

I thought, I might really die here.

Die on this New Year's Eve.

While on the other side of the city, the place I called "home" should be the warmest right now.

At home.

Robert and Brenda locked the doors and windows, and drew the curtains. They pulled out a red cloth bag from a secret spot in the back of the pantry.

Unwrapping it layer by layer, they revealed a red bankbook.

Robert dipped his finger in saliva, counting the zeros in the bankbook over and over.

"Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands... three hundred eighty thousand!"

"Never seen so much money in my life! Brenda, we're rich!"

Brenda hugged the bankbook and kissed it a few times.

"With this money, no one will ever look down on us again!"

"Next year, we'll buy Kevin a house in a top school district, and a new car!"

Kevin, who was playing video games, ran over.

"Mom! I want the newest game console! It's eight hundred bucks! And skins!"

Normally, Brenda would have slapped him.

Today, Brenda waved her hand.

"Buy it! Son, you can have anything you want! We're rolling in money now!"

"Just as long as your poor Uncle George doesn't find out."

Robert chuckled, pouring two glasses of whiskey.

"Speaking of which, we really owe it to Mia, that kid, today."

"If we hadn't pushed her out for this sympathy scam, Uncle George's family would have never left."

"Yeah."

Brenda took a sip of whiskey, her lips curling into a smile.

"Even if those actors charged a bit more, the effect was amazing."

"Uncle George's pathetic face just now, I laugh every time I think about it."

"You know what they say, you have to make sacrifices to get what you want."

"But..."

Robert hesitated.

"In the video just now, that kid was screaming pretty badly. Nothing really happened, right?"

"What could happen?"

Brenda glared at him, picking up a piece of roast chicken with her forks.

"It's all part of the script! What won't college students do for money these days?"

"As long as we stick to our guns and don't pay, they won't have a choice."

"They'll just drop her off somewhere, and Mia will walk herself home eventually."

They clinked their glasses.

Inside the pig farm.

Scar made a round of calls, his face growing darker and darker.

The middleman had blocked him.

"Damn it! We got played!"

Scar smashed his phone against the wall.

"This whole job was a scam from start to finish!"

"That old geezer posted fake info online, he tricked us into doing his dirty work!"

Twig asked:

"Boss, what now? This kid..."

He looked at me.

"If we let her go, then our kidnapping will be confirmed, right? That's a felony!"

The hesitation in Scar's eyes vanished, replaced by a murderous intent.

"No loose ends."

"This family is so stingy, they won't call the police for a dead person."

"And this place is remote; once the snow covers it, all traces will be gone."

He picked up the dagger from the ground and walked towards me.

I watched the approaching blade, feeling no fear.

My heart was already dead.

"Brother..."

I used my last ounce of strength, my voice weak.

"I don't hate you... I just hate... being their daughter..."

Scar's steps faltered for a second. He cursed.

"Damn it, next life, may you have better parents, don't meet parents like this again."

The blade touched my neck.

In that moment, I remembered my childhood.

I collected cans for a month, got a few bucks, and bought Kevin some candy bars.

I handed them to him, wanting to see his happy face.

But Kevin swatted them to the ground with disgust.

"Gross! Don't touch me with your dirty, trash-picking hands!"

Mom saw it and scolded me for being inconsiderate and making Kevin cry.

Turns out, in this family, I was always superfluous.

"Dong—dong—dong—"

The midnight chimes of New Year's Eve rang in the distance.

Fireworks exploded in the night sky, illuminating the darkness, and the pig farm.

So beautiful.

I closed my eyes.

The blade sliced across, and warm liquid gushed out, carrying away my last warmth.

I fell into a pool of blood, my eyes fixed on the direction of my home.

I died in the snowy New Year's Eve night.