Chapter 4 Leaving for Good

When I returned to the living room, I walked straight toward my suitcase. Natalie followed closely behind me. "Dad! Mom! Iggy didn't do anything to the vegetables at all!"

The relatives in the living room stopped talking at once and turned to look at me.

Natalie hurried forward, grabbed the handle of my suitcase, and yanked it into the center of the room. With a loud thud, it toppled over.

She pulled the zipper open roughly, and my clothes and books spilled out across the floor. "Look!" she called out. "She really packed everything! She even treats the old clothes I didn't want like treasures and wants to take them with her. So pathetic!"

My aunt covered her mouth as she laughed. "Oh my, this girl's really committed to her show."

Owen nudged the books on the floor with his foot. "Classic move. Crying, making a scene, threatening to run away. She probably just wants more pocket money."

My mother's face turned grim with embarrassment. She rushed over and pointed at the mess on the floor. "Ingrid Scott, you're hell-bent on embarrassing me, aren't you? Clear up your junk now and get back to your room!"

My father grabbed the ashtray from the table and hurled it at me. I did not dodge, and it struck my shoulder before shattering on the floor. "So, you think you've grown up now, do you? Showing me attitude in front of everyone?"

He strode toward me and raised his hand to slap my face, but I caught his wrist firmly.

He froze.

In 18 years, this was the first time I had ever resisted.

At that moment, Natalie raised her phone, the screen facing me. Voices overlapped noisily from it, and the display was filled with faces.

"Ingrid, I just started a group video call," she said with a laugh. "I pulled in our high school classmates and teachers. Let everyone see how the top student in our class belabored her parents at home!"

My whole body jolted as I looked at the screen.

In the center frame sat Ms. Knight.

In my senior year, when I could not afford the review materials and fainted from hunger on the track field, it was Ms. Knight who paid for my meals. She had told me, "Ingrid, knowledge changes fate. I believe in you. You'll make it out of here."

In 18 years of darkness, she had been the only light I ever held onto. But now, on the other side of the screen, she frowned, her eyes filled with disgust.

"Ingrid, you've disappointed me deeply," she said. "So what if you ranked first in the city? You have such poor character that you can't even respect the parents who raised you! Your sister said you bully her at home. I didn't believe it before. But now it seems your good grades can't hide your selfish nature. Apologize to your parents now! Don't run away from home and disgrace our high school!"

My classmates chimed in one after another.

"Exactly. Being ugly is one thing, but her heart's just as rotten."

"She wears a mask every day pretending to be mysterious… Turns out she's just ungrateful!"

Natalie held up the phone, laughing so hard she nearly doubled over.

I looked at Ms. Knight on the screen, still lecturing me without pause. I looked at my parents and relatives, their faces full of glee at my humiliation. The dull, tearing pain in my chest suddenly vanished.

I had always thought my parents simply favored my sister. But now I finally saw the truth. They had never treated me like a human being at all.

I crouched down, picked up my documents and passport from the floor, and put them into my bag. The clothes and books—I left them behind.

I stood up and looked at them. "You've always thought I was ugly, that I embarrassed you. Now that I'm leaving, you should be happy."

Natalie sneered. "Leave? Where do you think you can go? Don't think we'll come looking for you. Even if you die out there, no one will care."

I looked at her, then at Ms. Knight on the screen. "I waited long enough back at the amusement park."

I turned and walked toward the front door. Behind me, my mother shouted, "Ingrid Scott, walk out that door today, and don't ever think about coming back! We didn't raise an ungrateful wretch like you!"

I pulled the door open without looking back. "Fine by me."

From now on, the three of them could enjoy themselves.