Chapter 3

Avelina returned to the family mansion as fast as humanly possible, and the moment she stepped into the living room, her gaze fell on the entire family. This included her father, Mr. Ferguson, his first wife, Lady Flora, her half-sister, Rosalia, her half-brother, Lucas, and finally her ill mother, Irene, who was the second wife, all seated in the living room, waiting for her.

Do they all already know? But so quickly? She thought to herself and fiddled with her fingers as she proceeded further into the living room. She stood in front of them, and her mother, Irene, who looked quite disappointed, stared at her with pain in her eyes.

       "Moth-"

       "You do know that for your disgraceful action, punishment comes." Mr. Ferguson’s angry voice resounded, and he stood to his feet. He stepped towards Avelina. As he stood in front of her he slapped her hard across the face, to the point that she spurted out a mouthful of blood. "This is the last straw." He glared at her and proceeded to slap her again, but the sudden vibration of the phone in his pocket had him halt.

       He glanced at the pocket of his pants and pulled out his phone. He picked up the incoming call, and a deep, unrecognizable voice began to resound through the phone.

       “I am speaking with Ferguson Dante, right?” the unknown male voice questioned.

       Mr. Ferguson stayed silent for a few moments, contemplating how such an unknown person could have gotten a hold of his contact.

       "Who is this?" he asked, not bothering to answer his question.

       “Well, then, I believe I am speaking with Dante,” the voice scoffed. “I have a special deal to make with you,” he said

       Immediately uninterested in whatever deal it may be, Mr. Ferguson proceeded to cut the call, but the next word that came from the unknown person had him ceasing immediately.

       “I see your daughter had quite a rough night with someone,” the male voice mentioned.

       Mr. Ferguson's eyes flashed, and his hand gripped the phone tightly. "Who are you?" he questioned once more.

       “I have all the recordings of what happened from last night up to this morning. You know, Dante, I have a lot that I could do with this recording, so you might want to think your decision through.”

       The person chuckled and Mr. Ferguson instantly went dormant in bewilderment.

Recordings? he thought. He recalled what had transpired this morning, including what had occurred last night. No, impossible! There is no way that he has a recording of those moments. It’s not possible! He disagreed and quickly tried to hang up the call, but the unknown voice, however, cackled again.

       “I know you must be in doubt, Dante. But I wouldn’t just call you to mess around. This is not child’s play. I will give you until tomorrow to call me back and we will discuss the proposal. If not, I will release this recording, and we will see how your perfect image will remain. The lies that you have told the world. Perhaps it's time, it's all over.” The person laughed hysterically and hung up the phone.

       Mr. Ferguson slowly brought the phone away from his ear, and obvious anger bubbled in his eyes.

       He shifted his deadly gaze to Avelina, and in fury, he grabbed a hold of her and slapped her hard across the face, causing her to fall to the floor. She clutched her cheek and began to back away from him.

       "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she pleaded, with tears already welling up in her eyes.

       "Get the whip," Mr. Ferguson ordered, and Avelina’s body trembled instantly.

       "F-father, I am so sorry. Please forgive me, I beg you," she pleaded, with tears streaming down her face. Mr. Ferguson glared at her and snatched the whip from his personal bodyguard. He looked at her with wickedness and rage in his eyes, and Avelina, knowing what was about to happen, rushed towards her mother hoping to be saved. But her mother simply pushed her away.

       "M-mother..." she called, but her mother looked away from her, not having the courage to stare her in the eyes.

       "I am sorry," she whispered.

       Avelina’s heart dropped to her stomach, and horror flashed in her eyes the moment a pair of hands gripped her. They pulled her and had her kneel in front of her father. Mr. Ferguson’s hands trembled in fury, and without a bit of fatherly love in his eyes, he raised the whip and hit her mercilessly.

       Avelina’s scream resounded throughout the entire mansion, and she struggled to free herself, but that was to no avail.

       "All you ever do is bring me trouble, nothing more. I have held back many times, but this was the last straw." He scowled at her and furiously whipped her again, causing Avelina’s white shirt to tear. Blood began to ooze from the open wound caused by the intense whipping, staining her clothing.

       "Father, that’s enough," Lucas pleaded, unable to stand by and watch such inhumane treatment, but his father just frowned at him with wrath in his eyes.

       "Stay out of this, Lucas, or else... you will join in." He scowled and returned his attention to Avelina.

       As the whip landed on Avelina's body, she quivered and whimpered, unable to cry anymore. She clutched the floor so tightly that her knuckles turned completely white.

       The blood that dropped from her body, arms, and even her face fell and tainted the floor. She inhaled and exhaled, trying to breathe, but because of how weak her body has gotten, she ended up collapsing to the floor.

       "Avelina!!!" Her mother quickly rushed towards her and knelt down on the floor beside her. She pulled Avelina’s unconscious body into her arms and caressed her face. "Avelina! Honey, please wake up. I'm sorry, please wake up," Irene pleaded and hugged her tightly.

       She couldn’t help her because she knew that Avelina’s punishment would be even worse if she dared interfere. So for the sake of not wanting to make things worse for her, she ignored her and pretended like she didn’t deeply wish to help her. But seeing her daughter collapse on the floor triggered her reaction and she couldn’t help but reach out to her.

       Painful hot tears fell from her eyes, and she immediately darted her gazes around when Mr. Ferguson ordered his bodyguards to pull Avelina away from her. "Dante! Dante, please don't do this," Irene pleaded, but Mr. Ferguson pretended as though she didn't exist to him.

She ordered his men to lock Avelina up in her room, and they did so.

       "Dante, please. She needs to be tended to," Irene pleaded. Mr. Ferguson looked at her with revulsion in his eyes. He dismissed everyone and stormed out of the living room towards his bedroom. With horror in their eyes, the maids hurried into the living room and proceeded to clean up the mess.