Chapter 4

I had less than two days left in this world.

My body felt more exhausted with every passing hour, and I did not have the energy to talk.

However, even though I refused to respond, the girls only became more enthusiastic under Sheila’s smug smile.

At first, Derrick glanced in our direction every now and then. After seeing Sheila laughing and chatting happily, he stopped paying attention.

Sheila leaned close to my ear and whispered, her voice filled with triumph.

“So what if you are the biological daughter? As long as I am unhappy, you will not even make it through the front door of the Lawson family.”

I looked straight at her and spoke slowly and clearly. “I just want some peace and quiet. Can you make them leave me alone, Janet?”

The moment she heard the name Janet, Sheila’s pupils tightened.

Panic flashed across her face.

She forced herself to stay calm, then quickly found an excuse and led her friends away.

I wiped the blood from my nose and stayed in the restroom for what felt like hours.

By the time I finally moved, the party was over and everyone had gone home. No one remembered me. A janitor eventually found me slumped there and gently asked whether I needed an ambulance. I shook my head.

“No.”

By the time I returned to the Lawson family estate, it was completely dark outside.

The moment I stepped through the front door, an ashtray flew toward me.

I cried out and stumbled backward, clutching my forehead.

Blood streamed down the side of my face.

Derrick’s voice sounded terrifyingly cold.

“Where were you? Where is Sheila? Why did you not answer any of our calls?”

Mom rushed over with red‑rimmed eyes and slapped me across the face.

“It must have been you who drove Sheila away.” Her voice trembled with anger. “A girl raised by human traffickers is exactly what I expected. We should never have let you come back.”

I stared at her. Then, through the blood blurring my vision, I looked toward Derrick.

At that moment, the system’s countdown echoed in my mind.

The stabbing pain in my chest intensified without warning. It hurt so much that every word required all the strength I had left.

“If this was how things were going to be…”

I struggled for breath.

“…then she would have been better off dying at five years old.

“At least she would not have spent all those years wanting to come home.

“Believing someone was waiting for her.”

No one noticed the flaw in my words. No one paid attention at all. They were too busy calling people and searching for Sheila.

Dad slammed his hand against the table.

“Derrick.

“Lock her in the storage room and let her think about what she has done.

“Until Sheila comes back, she is not coming out.”

Without a word, Derrick grabbed me with one hand, dragged me away, and threw me into the storage room.

The door locked from the outside.

The world became silent.

The wound on my forehead would not stop bleeding, and blood kept dripping from my nose.

In the darkness, I wiped it away again and again until I no longer had the strength to lift my hand. I did not know how much time had passed when the system’s voice finally sounded again.

[Reward delivered.]

A faint smile touched my lips.

Finally.

I could go home.

Someone was waiting for me there.

Meanwhile, Derrick found Sheila in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. Her evening gown was torn, the ruby necklace was gone, and she looked miserable and disheveled.

The moment she saw him, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

“Brother.

“You finally came.

“I thought I would never see you again.”

Derrick wrapped his arms around her. His voice shook uncontrollably.

“It is okay. I am here now.

“You are safe. Do not be afraid.”

Only after her sobs quieted did he ask, “Why did you come here?

“Why were you not with your sister?”

As though the question triggered a terrible memory, Sheila shuddered. Fresh tears filled her eyes.

“It was Harriet.

“She said she was going to sell me.

“I got scared. I was about to call Mom and Dad when I suddenly blacked out.

“When I woke up, I was already here.

“My phone was gone too.”

The entire drive home, Derrick’s face stayed dark.

He made a phone call.

“Cancel everything we ordered before.

“The house, the car, and the school admission spot.

“Get rid of all of it.

“And Harriet’s birthday banquet.

“Cancel that too.”

As soon as the car entered the Lawson family estate, Derrick got out before it even reached the garage. He walked straight toward the storage room.

“Harriet.

“You had better get out here right now.”

The moment he unlocked the door and pulled it open, his voice died in his throat. He froze in place, completely still.