Chapter 4

At eight o'clock in the evening, the live stream started right on time.

Alden and Olive were sitting on the sofa in my old house.

This house was the only keepsake my mother left me, and now they had taken it over like magpies seizing another bird's nest.

The phone stand was already set up, the camera pointed at me.

The moment the stream went live, millions of viewers flooded in, and the screen filled up with a dense stream of insults.

"Look, that crazy woman actually went live!"

"What's the act today? Faking an injury for sympathy online?"

Olive carried over a bowl, held it out in front of me, and smiled with an innocent face.

"Sister-in-law, I hear an apology with nothing behind it isn't sincere."

"So I prepared this especially for you. You can apologize while you eat, and everyone will definitely feel how genuine you are."

The bowl was full to the brim with bloody raw dog meat.

An overpowering stench of raw flesh hit my nose in an instant.

It was this smell.

Five years ago, because of a car accident, I watched my first pet dog get crushed with my own eyes, its flesh and organs smeared all over the ground.

From that day on, I developed severe depression and PTSD, and I could never stand the smell of raw meat again.

I had only ever told Alden about this.

He once held me and said that with him there, he would never let me see anything like that again.

And now, with his own hands, he was pushing my nightmare right back in front of me.

He pressed down on my shoulders, which were trembling with fear, his voice as gentle as a devil's whisper.

"Naomi, be good."

"This is a breakthrough therapy I tailored just for you, made specifically to help you overcome your psychological barrier."

"Swallow it, face it bravely, and your illness will be cured."

He picked up a spoon, scooped up a big chunk of the raw, blood-streaked meat, and forced it into my mouth.

The chunk rolled around inside my mouth.

My stomach churned violently.

Under their expectant, faintly cruel gaze, I closed my eyes and forced that piece of meat down.

Then I jerked my head up, facing the phone camera.

I opened my mouth and vomited up mouthful after mouthful of blood.

Not bright red blood, but thick, black clots.

Chunk after chunk, spraying across the pure white wall and splattering all over the phone screen.

The entire live stream went silent in an instant.

Every abusive comment vanished.

Alden and Olive froze too, clearly not expecting this scene.

I wiped the blood left at the corner of my mouth and gave the camera a strange smile.

Then, before they could react, I pressed the tiny remote hidden in my palm.

The next second, a video played across the live stream.

It was clear surveillance footage of Olive gambling heavily underground.

Alden's face went deathly pale in an instant.

He lunged at me, trying to snatch my phone.

"Naomi! Don't you dare!"

I had already backed up to the edge of the floor-to-ceiling window behind me.

Smiling, I pulled open the old window, and the wild wind of the eighth floor rushed in, whipping my long hair into a frenzy.

"Alden."

"I'm sick of your redemption game."

"Now it's my turn to make my exit."

In Alden's horror-stricken eyes, I spread my arms and leaned back.

My whole body dropped into the boundless night.