Chapter 1
My mom and my little brother teamed up to push me into traffic so they could raise money for his study abroad.[]
They stood there cold as ice while a truck took my leg.[]
After that, hungry for a bigger payout, they tied me up at home and–holding a knife–sawed off the only leg I had left.[]
I gasped and begged until my lungs burned, but they didn’t spare me a single scrap of mercy.[]
They were already picturing the settlement money in their hands, but the driver ran and then died in a hit–and–run.[]
With no payout coming, the two of them dumped me–now legless–out in the wild.[]
They left me to be chewed at by feral dogs until I was gone.[]
When I opened my eyes again this time, I flinched away from my mother’s hand as she tried to shove me.
-0
The pain unclenched like a fist, and I could finally look at their faces with clear eyes.[]
Cold slid through me from head to toe, like falling into an ice cellar, and my teeth started to chatter.
My eyes burned; they went red before I even realized it.
Seeing me frozen, Mom grabbed my arm hard and barked like she owned me: “What are you standing there like an idiot for?“]
“Get moving–your brother’s counting on you to earn his way to college.“[]
“Don’t forget who fed you; you owe us.“[]
I swallowed the hate that wanted to climb out met the
Sedeul woman who’d once shoved me into traffic with nothing but a flat stare.
My brother Ben leaned against the fence, arms crossed, watching show.
Because he had what made him more valuable–because
could give them a
grandkid, because of his looks–money and chances always went to him.[]
This time I was done letting them break me.[]
My stare must have gotten under Mom’s skin because she tensed and pulled me toward the highway, her eyes flicking to the traffic like a gambler eyeing the cards.
Anger took over her face and suddenly she was on me, nails and fists flying.[]
“Shut that sour face up, you little tramp,” she snarled.[]
Ben pretended to step in and calm things down, calling out, “Don’t–don’t hit her, she didn’t do anything.“]
But his hands worked with Mom’s, pushing me toward the road–toward the same big rig that had taken me before.
Back then I’d believed my little brother might actually protect me; I’d been wrong.]
The truck was coming fast and my mother and Ben both looked frantic.]
When my stance stayed steady, Mom lunged and slammed her shoulder into me.]]]
1 smirked just a little and stepped aside, slipping behind them where they crashed through empty air.[]
She hit nothing and froze, eyes wide, screaming.
I used the moment to signal the driver; he braked and swerved away, horn blasting.[]
The truck slowed, and for a second it felt like Mom was the walking disaster everyone avoided.[]
She stood up on shaking legs, red with humiliation, and came at me swinging.[]
“You trying to kill me?” she shouted.[]
“Remember–if you kill, you pay. If you want to die, fine, but I’m not going with you.“[]
