Chapter 2

2.

Wretch stood frozen, casting a desperate glance in my direction.

I looked away and placed a tender piece of roast turkey onto Chloe’s plate.

“Eat up, honey. After dinner, I’ll take you to the movies.”

Chloe smiled brightly. Seeing her happy made Gertrude radiate with joy.

In a rare fit of generosity, Gertrude allowed Wretch to stay in the corner of the room, though she was forbidden from touching the table.

Instead, Gertrude tossed a few burnt scraps and gristle onto the floor for her to scavenge.

Years ago, I had gotten pregnant before Jason and I ever registered our marriage.

Because of that, Gertrude despised me and treated me with utter contempt.

There was no engagement ring, no proper wedding ceremony, and no home provided.

My own parents had raised me with love for over two decades, only for me to end up trapped in this rural hellhole without a penny to their name.

But I was pregnant back then, and I had no way out.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I gave Jason’s pant leg a subtle tug under the table.

He immediately caught the hint and turned to his mother. “Mom, Chloe needs to attend an exclusive acting masterclass in New York soon. It’s quite expensive. Could you help us out?”

Hearing this, Gertrude immediately went to the sideboard and retrieved a bank certificate.

“This is a certificate of deposit I saved just for Chloe. There’s fifty thousand dollars in there. Will that be enough?”

I gave a sweet smile. “That should cover it. Chloe, sweetie, thank Grandma.”

Before Chloe could reply, Wretch suddenly threw herself onto the floor before Gertrude, begging on her knees.

“You have fifty thousand dollars... Can’t you just spare a thousand so I can get my GED?”

Without a second thought, Gertrude kicked her hard in the stomach.

“Get the hell out! This has nothing to do with you!”

Wretch collapsed onto the floor, clutching her abdomen, her face pale with agony.

Not a single person in the room showed an ounce of sympathy. Including me.

Both she and Chloe were sixteen now. For over a decade, Wretch had suffered nothing but sheer torment.

Believing she was my daughter, Gertrude treated her like vermin.

In the dead of winter, she was locked outside in thin rags.

Jason cared even less. Once, he had even let a bunch of local vagrants harass and torment her just for amusement.