CHAPTER 4

I remembered the days of my youth when I was just an ordinary high school student born into a well-nourished family, blissfully unaware of the darkness that was lurking beneath surface. It was my 16th birthday, beginning of my misfortune, the day when I lost everything.

I can still recall that evening, when I waited patiently in front of a luxurious birthday cake for my parents.

I stood before it, a knot of anticipation tightening in my stomach as I waited for my parents to arrive.

"Aunty", I called to the house servant, "when are my parents coming?"

She glanced at me, her expression unreadable for a moment before she replied,

"They said they would arrive at six, Miss."

I checked the clock on the wall, my brow furrowing in concern.

"It's been seven for a while now," I murmured to myself, a sense of uneasiness creeping over me.

As the minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity, my worry grew with each passing moment. The room seemed to close in around me, the silence broken only by the ticking of the clock and the soft hum of the air conditioning.

And then, just as I was about to give in to panic, the landline rang, piercing the stillness with its shrill ringtone.

The house servant answered it, "Hello?"

Her complexion turning pale as she listened to the voice on the other end, her hands began to tremble.

I watched in growing horror as she hung up the phone, her hands shaking as she turned to face me.

"Wh-What happened", I asked her in trembling voice.

She fell silent, her mind seemingly blank, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

"Please," I implored, desperation creeping into my voice. "Tell me, for God's sake."

"Miss," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of my heart,

"There's been an accident."

"Your parents... they..." She trailed off, unable to find the words to convey the devastating news.

My world tilted on its axis, the ground shifting beneath my feet as the weight of the truth crashed down upon me. Tears stung my eyes as I struggled to comprehend the enormity of what had happened.

"I-Im sorry, miss", she cried out as she held me in her arms.

At that moment, the birthday cake before me seemed to mock the celebration that would never come to pass.

And as I stood in the shadow of tragedy, the flickering candles of cake cast dancing shadows upon the walls, a heartbreaking reminder of the fragile nature of life itself.

After the funeral of my parents, when the world felt like a bleak landscape of sorrow and loss, my uncle came forward like a savior amidst the darkness.

He offered to adopt me, to welcome me into his home and his family with open arms.

At first, my uncle and aunt seemed to cherish me, their kindness a balm to soothe the wounds of grief that still festered within me. They welcomed me into their home, showering me with affection and promises of a brighter future.

But it wasn't long before their true intentions began to reveal themselves, hidden beneath the guise of false smiles and empty promises. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, their attitude toward me began to change.

They cast hell upon me, their words like knives that cut deep into my soul. They abused me, both physically and emotionally, their cruelty a constant shadow that loomed over me like a dark cloud.

I tried to tell myself that it was just a phase, that they were struggling with their own grief and didn't mean to hurt me. But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, it became clear that their torment was intentional, their cruelty calculated to break me down and strip me of my dignity.

And so, I endured their abuse in silence, a silent witness to the darkness that lurked within the hearts of those who had once promised to protect me.

As time passes I grew accustomed to the torment of this family, but there was still hope amidst this hellish house.

"Tonight was the night I had been waiting for - the night I would finally come of age and break free from the clutches of my adopted family's torment..."

I glanced around the house, savoring these final moments, allowing memories of me and my parents in this house to flood my mind...

"For years, I had endured their cruelty, their relentless demands, all for the sake of maintaining their lavish lifestyle"…

"But tonight…..", I inhaled a deep, peaceful breath..., "I would put an end to it all."

The document sitting in front of me, the deed to my inheritance, would ensure my independence once and for all.

I could almost taste the freedom, the sweet release from years of suffering. But beneath the surface, doubt gnawed at me…..

Could I truly trust this damn family to honor their end of the bargain?

MY thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clinking glasses as her family raised their flutes in a toast.

"To my dear niece", my uncle declared, his voice dripping with false sincerity. "May this be the beginning of a new chapter for our dear niece."

But as I raised the glass to my lips, a bitter taste filled my mouth. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my stomach, and my vision blurred.

Panic rising within me, I turned to my adopted family, searching their faces for answers.

But all I saw was smug satisfaction, masked behind forced smiles. And at that moment, I knew that I had been betrayed.

They had poisoned me.

As I lay on the cold, hard floor, coughing up blood and wracked with pain, I couldn't comprehend why my uncle and aunt would do this to me.

"Why?"

I rasped, my voice barely a whisper amidst the agony that consumed me.

"What have I done to deserve this?"

But instead of answers, all I received were mocking sneers and cold laughter from the very people who had once claimed to love me.

My uncle and aunt stood over me, their faces twisted with malice as they reveled in my suffering.

"It's simple, my dear," my uncle said, his voice dripping with venom.

"It's your fortune—the lands and assets that your parents left to you. We wanted it for ourselves, and now that you're out of the way, it's ours for the taking."

Shock and betrayal coursed through me like a tidal wave, threatening to drown me in their icy grip. My parents had entrusted me with their legacy, their hard-earned wealth meant to secure my future. And now, it was being stolen from me by the very people who had sworn to protect it.

Anger surged within me, a fierce and primal rage that burned like wildfire in my veins.

How dare they betray me in such a manner, to treat me as nothing more than a tool in their twisted game of greed and power?

But amidst the anger, there was something else—an overwhelming desire, an urgent need for vengeance.

They had taken everything from me—my family, my home, my future. And now, they would pay the ultimate price for their treachery.

With a steely resolve, I vowed to make them rue the day they crossed me. They may have thought they could destroy me, but little did they know that they had awoken a beast within me—a beast hungry for justice, hungry for revenge.

And as I stared up at them from the cold, unforgiving floor, I knew that my tormentors would soon learn the true meaning of fear.

As darkness enveloped me, suffusing the air with an ominous chill, a voice—a sinister, seductive whisper—slithered into the recesses of my mind.

"Do you want revenge?" it hissed, its words echoing like a sinister refrain.

I felt a surge of primal instinct coursing through me, fueled by the burning desire for retribution that had consumed my every thought.

"Yes," I replied, my voice a pained and reckless whisper, heedless of the consequences that awaited me.

The voice seemed to swell with satisfaction at my response, its presence looming like a specter in the shadows.

"I will do that for you," it promised, its words laced with a dangerous allure.

"I will take revenge."

"But…."

Then, its tone shifted, becoming colder, more demanding.

"But….. you must offer me their souls," it insisted, its words a chilling reminder of the price that must be paid.

For a moment, I hesitated, the weight of the bargain settling heavily upon me. But the burning desire for vengeance eclipsed any doubts or fears that lingered within me.

"You can take anything you want," I declared, my voice filled with a steely resolve.

"Just make them pay."

And as the darkness closed in around me, swallowing me whole, I knew that there would be no turning back.

I had made a deal with a force far darker and more dangerous than anything I had ever encountered before.

But at that moment, consumed by the fires of vengeance, I was willing to pay any price for the chance to see my tormentors suffer as they had made me suffer.