Chapter 1

"If you're going to die, then hurry up and die! Stop putting on an act. I don't have time for your drama!"

With a sharp click, the call ended.

But Mom's shrill curses still echoed in my ears.

"What? You little witch! Did you give us a fake number? Was that really your mom telling you to go die?"

The abductor who'd made the call kicked me hard to vent his frustration.

"I thought we'd hit the jackpot, since the little witch said her mom's been making good money in business these years. What rotten luck!"

"What should we do now, boss?"

The man they addressed as "boss" had a sinister look on his face. He suddenly lifted my chin and smiled cryptically.

"I refused to believe that her mom wouldn't have any reaction at all. She's probably faking it. Record something interesting and send it to her mom.

"If she still doesn't react… Well, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Anyway, this one's pretty enough. We might as well have some fun before we finish her off."

The men quickly reached an agreement.

Someone pinned me down and started tearing at my clothes.

Despair, misery, and helplessness—it all twisted together in my chest.

I had already died once. Was I really going to die again?

In my past life, Mom hadn't been this indifferent.

It was true. She had always favored Charlene Grady, her adopted daughter whose parents died in the line of duty. But when it came to life and death, she wouldn't abandon me—her own flesh and blood.

Fearing the cruelty of the abductors, Mom dropped Charlene off along the way and rushed to the address alone.

Before quitting her job to go into business, Mom had been an exceptionally skilled police officer. The abductors had underestimated her when they took me, so she was able to rescue me without trouble.

But no one could have predicted what happened next.

That same day, a news story went viral.

Criminals had targeted a young woman who was waiting by the roadside. Taking advantage of the sparse crowd, they dragged her away, assaulted her, and then tortured her to death.

The details were so brutal that even with the images being blurred out, they still sent chills down people's spines.

Mom recognized the young woman as the adopted daughter she had doted on for years. She broke down completely right there and then.

She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me violently. Her grief was so overwhelming that she began pounding my chest and screaming, "Why did you wander off? Why did you have to get yourself abducted? If I hadn't gone to save you, Charlene would still be alive! Why couldn't it have—"

She never finished that sentence, but I knew that she wished it was me instead.

From that day on, Mom never smiled at me again.

After calming down, she told me that she knew it wasn't my fault and that she shouldn't blame me. Still, she never forgave me.

Charlene's funeral was a grand affair, meticulously arranged by Mom. She spent three sleepless days and nights pouring her heart into every detail. However, she didn't even allow me to attend.

"Matilda, don't taint her journey to heaven. I want her to finish her journey with purity and peace, alright?"

Later, on the anniversary of Charlene's death, Mom received an extortion text message.

"You seem like a good girl. So I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want your mom finding out that you hired us to abduct you, would you?"

Even though the text message didn't specify who it was for, Mom immediately assumed that it was about me. She grabbed me by the throat and yanked my hair. Then, she laughed maniacally, her eyes brimming with hatred.

"So it was all an act! I've told you before that I can never repay what I owe Charlene in this lifetime. It was only right for me to treat her well! How could you do something so vile just to steal my attention away from her?

"I've spent my whole life saving people. I never imagined that the thing I birthed would be such a shameless monster! You should just die and pay for Charlene's life!"