Chapter 7
O
At the mention of Kyler’s name, both Vernon and Joanie froze. Their faces mirrored the same look of utter disbelief.
Vernon roared, voice hoarse with denial. “Impossible!“}
His eyes burned with fury as he spat the words at me. “You? A worthless slut I’ve used up–how could you possibly have tied yourself to the Butterfields? Do you even understand who they are? You’re just an orphan!“}
His voice cracked as he shouted again, wild with hysteria. “A fucking orphan! By what right? By what ri–ahhh!“}
A sharp crack split the air. His fingernail had been ripped clean off.”
I watched as his entire body trembled uncontrollably, his complexion draining to a deathly white.
And at that moment, a memory surfaced.\
In the video, Wiggle had all of his claws torn out. Not a whimper had escaped him because Vernon had ordered his mouth sewn shut.<
He said the dog’s howls were too noisy, so he had Wiggle’s teeth yanked out, then had his jaws stitched closed with needle and thread.
As blood gushed from my poor dog, Vernon kicked him viciously and cursed, “Useless mutt!”
But now–how strange. Why was Vernon the one screaming?”
Another fingernail was torn away, and he finally snapped back to himself. His eyes widened in terror as he shouted, “Who the hell are you?!“\
He staggered backward, his voice breaking. “Keyshia, who are you really?!“}
Woice rang out from the crowd.
Before I could answer, a deep and resonant
“I’ll tell you who she is! She is my daughter–the only child of the Pehrssons!”
The crowd shifted as my dad was wheeled forward, his presence commanding
Vernon.
even from
a
chair. His cold eyes locked on
“She only lived temporarily under your roof while she was separated from me. And it was your grandfather,” Dad said, his voice like iron, “who swore before me that he would protect my daughter.”
He let out a sharp, derisive laugh. “So this is how you keep your promises?“”
My chest tightened.
T–IN THE THEANA you th
Years ago, when Dad had been forced into hiding, he entrusted me to the Browetts only because Ernest swore before him over and over that I would be taken good care of and never suffer mistreatment.
Dad, reluctant but cornered, left me behind. He even promised that as long as I lived well, the Pehrssons would fully support
the Browetts.
It was because of that promise that the Browetts had risen to power.
But when Dad vanished without a trace, Ernest eventually assumed my dad was dead.
From then ori, Ernest stopped caring. Even when he knew what brutal things his grandson had done to me, his response was nothing but a casual remark.”
“That punk–Vernon–doesn’t treat anyone else like this. Only you. Why do you think so? Well, he must really love you. You should be happy.“”
Those words were his attempt to brainwash me.
“You’re going to marry Vernon,” he said. “I raised you all these years. I searched for news of your father. You owe us something in return.“”
So even though I never loved Vernon–even though I despised him–was forced to agree to the marriage, bound by Ernest’s threat of withholding my dad’s whereabouts.
I hadn’t expected how one decision would set off a chain of destruction.
Vernon flaunted Joanie in front of me, humiliated me for her sake, and locked me away.”
No matter how much I yielded, I still couldn’t protect Wiggle.\
After Wiggle’s tragic death, I stopped clinging to any hope of finding Dad. Grief consumed me. I lost control and stabbed Joanie, mad with the need for revenge. Even if it meant going down with them, I wanted blood for my Wiggle!\
But then Ernest came to me.”
He looked me straight in the eye and asked, “You truly can’t go on with Vernon anymore?“M
His gaze was sharp, demanding the truth. I nodded. I asked for nothing but freedom.N
Soon after, Vernon shoved the divorce papers at me. His hand crushed around my throat as he snarled, “What did you say to
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the old man? What spell did you cast on him, that he’d let you go?“}
Everyone thought I loved Vernon so deeply that I’d rather live as livestock in his family’s villa than leave his side.”
But no one knew the truth.\
After Dad left, the only family I had in the world was Wiggle. He was the dog who depended on me for life and whom I depended on.”
10:25 AM P
