Chapter 1

Lavender Stone left school for home, feeling very excited. She could not wait to share the good news of her completing high school with her parents.

She knew that her father will be especially excited since he was looking forward to her completing high school. She could not wait to see and hug the presents that her parents would give her. It was a double blessing since it was also her birthday.

But she was not prepared for what was about to unfold. She never imagined that her life will take a very drastic change on the day that was supposed to be her happiest.

Lavender reached home excited only to find her uncle and auntie feeling solemn. Her grandfather, her parents, and her brother were nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a very bad feeling crept into her heart.

"Dad, mom, lil' bro, grandpa, I'm home." Regardless of the uneasiness in her heart, she still called out for them.

"What are you shouting for?" Her auntie reprimanded her.

"I just want to see my parents, where are they?" Lavender said.

"Or maybe they are preparing a surprise for me!" She added, smiling gleefully.

"What a surprise. Quit dreaming, your mom and dad are long gone. And even your useless brother is nowhere to be found." Her auntie said mercilessly. Although she always appeared caring on the outside, in reality, she hated this girl and her parents with all her might.

When they came to this family some years back, everyone was polite to them. But after grandma passed away, they were mistreated and even her children could not attend school.

She always felt beneath everyone in the family and when she heard about the calamity that befell this witch's parents, she could not help but feel excited.

With them gone, grandfather will have no choice but to appoint her husband as the head of the family since he was too old and he was even on the verge of losing his sight.

But they did not expect the old man to suddenly be paralyzed. Her husband knew nothing about the family business since he was only a lowly clerk in the company. They could only sit and watch as the billion-dollar worth of business was reduced to nothing. And now her husband was forced to engage in odd jobs to take care of the family and the paralyzed man.

"Gone, gone where?" Lavender asked. It could not be what she was thinking about, right?

"Gone where? Of course, they have gone to where they came from." Janet said with a sneer. She felt no remorse for this little girl.

"What are you saying? Can you speak properly?" Lavender said. How she wished to slap this woman to hell, but she was her elder, she could only cub her anger.

"They are dead!" Janet finally said.

Lavender's mind turned blank when she heard what her auntie said. She could not help but take a few steps back. Her face lost its color in a split moment and now she looked as pale as a ghost.

She regained her voice after a long time and looked at her auntie like she has seen a zombie, how scary.

"Auntie, that joke is not funny," Lavender said, trying to regain her cool, but her heart was already in turmoil.

"Do you think I have time to joke with you about something like that? Your parents were buried one month ago. We did not inform you because we did not want you to be affected during your exam period." Janet said.

"Lavender, I'm afraid your auntie is right. Your parents were involved in a very bad road accident and died on the spot. Your brother, who was with them at that time disappeared without a trace." Her uncle, finally opened his mouth to speak.

Lavender felt her whole body turn cold.

'This can't be. How could my parents die just like that? I came home to especially celebrate with them, but what am I hearing? How could they leave me alone in this world.' Lavender's mind was in turmoil as she screamed in her mind.

She could not imagine a life without her parents and her brother.

"Where is grandpa?" Lavender used her last will and asked in a hoarse voice.

"Ooh, the old man was too shocked that he fainted, after he woke up, he was paralyzed and now we have to take care of him for the rest of our lives," Janet said, feeling like it was really a burden to take care of a bedridden man.

The money that her husband got from his odd jobs was barely enough to feed them, let alone pay for the old man's medicine. They were just hanging in there.

Lavender felt like this is the worst nightmare she had ever had and she wanted to wake up from it as soon as possible. She did not want this to be a reality, but the pain from her pinch told her that this was not a dream or a horror movie, but it was her life. It was the reality. Her parents were no more, her brother was lost and her grandfather was paralyzed.

After standing there dumbly for a long time, she took her bag and rushed upstairs to her room. She immediately closed the door and let out a painful cry.

Her heart was suffocated and she find it hard to breathe. She tightly clutched it and slid down to the floor. Lavender stayed in her room for a long time and Janet thought that she was also paralyzed.

"Go check up on your niece, maybe she too has fainted and might wake up as another vegetable," Janet said to her husband.

"You went too far just now." Her husband reprimanded her.

"What? Are you feeling sorry for her now? Her parents have been humiliating us ever since we stepped foot in this house, don't tell me you are being soft-hearted."

Her husband shook his head.

"They could not even give you a good position in the company and could only make you a mere clerk, is that not embarrassing to you?"

Jeffrey said nothing.

They have come from the village and he had not even gone to kindergarten. He knew very well that he did not even deserve that clerk position, but in order not to be a laughing stock, he accepted it anyway.

Although he was not learned, he was a man after all and he had his ego and a face to maintain.

Actually, this family was not as bad as his wife projected it to be. They allowed them to stay in this house, fed them, and took care of them. But because his wife loved luxury and liked comparing herself to those rich ladies from well-off families, she started feeling like they were being mistreated.

It is not like his children could not be taken to school. Their grades were just too poor that he even felt embarrassed on their behalf. He could only quit wasting money. But his wife did not know all of these.

Lavender cried for a very long time while calling her parents' names, but they could not come.

The reality was harsh. She had no idea where to start from. Her life felt lifeless and empty without her parents and brother in it.