Chapter 4

I didn't tip my hand. I returned to that moldy basement as if nothing had happened.

For the next two days, I woke up early as usual, still rummaged through trash bins, but my eyes were no longer vacant. I began to discreetly observe this "poor" home.

Before, I was too foolish, too desperate to save them, and I had overlooked so many obvious flaws.

For example, Mom. Although she wore old clothes bought from a bargain store, her face had smooth, radiant skin. If you got close, you could still smell the subtle scent of a high-end moisturizer.

How could a poor person have such a glowing complexion? Poor people, like me, have sallow complexions and chapped hands.

Then there was Chloe.

She was lying on the small bed, playing on her phone. Seeing me enter, she immediately hid the phone behind her back and weakly coughed twice: "Olivia... you're back."

As she reached for a glass of water, I grabbed her wrist.

It was a hand that had recently been meticulously cared for, nails perfectly rounded, even coated with clear nail polish, glowing with a soft pink sheen.

"Chloe, your nails look great, like they've been treated at a top salon," I said, a faint smile playing on my lips.

Chloe's face stiffened, and she recoiled her hand as if shocked: "This is... I just messed around with it myself."

I glanced at the pile of dirty clothes in the corner, which Mom had deliberately left for me to wash.

I suddenly spoke, "Chloe, the bear I bought you..."

"The bear... I'm sorry, Olivia, I accidentally lost it..."

"But you'll forgive me, right? After all, a bear like that, you can earn back by cleaning toilets for three days."

"But I..."

"Enough!"

Mom shoved me, shielding Chloe behind her, her eyes wide with fury: "Your sister isn't well, and you're still upsetting her! It's just a silly bear, it's lost, so what?"

I staggered from the shove, my heart chilling to the core.

But I wasn't ready to give up completely.

I wanted to give them, and myself, one last chance.

That evening, Dad's "condition" worsened. He coughed convulsively, as if his chest was tearing apart.

He grabbed me, rehashing the usual drama: "Olivia... the doctor said the surgery would cost half a million... Dad doesn't want to die..."

Mom, beside him, dabbed her eyes, and then, her true intentions became clear: "Olivia, that crippled Mr. Wallace said that if you marry him, the dowry will be exactly half a million..."

I took a deep breath, knelt by the bed, and stared intently into their eyes.

"Dad, Mom. If I don't marry Mr. Wallace, if our family really has to live in a basement and pick up trash for the rest of our lives, will you... still love me?"

"Can't we stop begging others? Just be together as a family, even if it's a little hard, it's okay?"

The warmth in Dad's eyes vanished, replaced by impatience.

"Shut up! What's 'a little hardship is okay'? Without money, you're worse than dirt! If you don't want to save me, just say so. I raised you this long, and you won't even make this small sacrifice? You ungrateful wretch!"

Mom's face also turned cold: "Olivia, don't be so selfish. That's your dad's life! What's wrong with you enduring a little hardship?"

At that moment, I heard the sound of something in my heart completely shattering.

They had money, yet they still wanted me to sell myself. They weren't bankrupt, yet they pushed me to the brink.

"Alright,"

I lowered my head, hiding the tears and hatred welling up in my eyes. "I'll raise the money. Even if I have to sell myself, I'll get the money."

Dad lay back, satisfied, believing I had finally submitted.

Late at night, when their snores were like thunder, I pulled out my burner phone from under the bed.

The light from the screen illuminated my pale face.

My fingers trembling, I transferred all the encrypted files to my cloud storage.

After doing all that, I looked at my sleeping parents and softly said in my heart:

Goodbye, Dad, Mom.

This was the last lesson you taught me—push someone to the brink, and they will fight to survive.