Chapter 2

2

I sat there, cradling Sunny's cold body. My mind wandered through the few happy memories we shared. Our parents were degenerates who only cared about the next bet.

Growing up, the neighbors in our small town were the ones who fed me. I always knew I was different―a monster with no emotions. I watched other people's happiness with a cold, detached eye.

Then Sunny came along. For the first time, I felt something soft inside me. I watched her grow, listened to her sweet voice calling me "Big Sis."

We were poor, but we had a dream. We promised each other we'd work hard and find a better life away from this hellhole. But now, she was gone at only seven years old.

The lights in the house flickered on, snapping me back to reality. I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white. I couldn't let this go.

Sunny died a horrific death. I had to make sure someone paid for it in blood. I pulled myself together and moved her body to a quiet spot under the shed.

As I walked toward my bedroom, I heard a familiar sound. It was the crisp rustle of paper. Someone was counting a large stack of cash.

"Twenty-one, twenty-two... three hundred! Hahaha! Thirty thousand dollars, every cent is here!" My father's laugh was like a serrated blade across my skin.

I stood outside the door, biting my lip so hard it bled. Thirty thousand dollars. That was the price of my sister's life.

"This will keep us at the tables for a long time," my mother's voice chimed in. She sounded relieved, not heartbroken.

"It's a shame they didn't want Liana too," my father grumbled. "I could have sold them both and cleared my debt for good."

"Arthur, she didn't believe us today," my mother whispered, sounding worried. "What if she starts asking questions to the police?"

He slammed his hand on the bed. "So what? I'm her father! She'll do what I say or she'll end up just like the kid."

I forced myself to breathe. The malice inside me was screaming to go in there and end them. But I needed the full truth first. I couldn't get caught yet.