She crumpled onto the cold concrete floor, her body like a discarded rag doll.
Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around her stomach.
In the dark, she curled up, biting hard on her lip to keep herself from crying.
She couldn’t die.
If she died, Kendra would win.
If she died, there would be no one left to avenge her parents and her brother.
If she died… she’d lose her baby, too.
Suddenly, the basement door clanged open again.
Harsh light flooded in, and Kendra stepped inside, her high heels clicking sharply against the concrete. She held a perfumed handkerchief over her nose, her face twisted in disgust.
She prodded the curled-up woman in the corner with the tip of her shoe. “Get up.”
Daisie didn’t move.
Kendra signaled the guards, and they yanked Daisie to her feet.
“I’ll take you somewhere nice,” Kendra said with a cruel smile.
They dragged Daisie out, shoved her into a car, and drove away.
She didn’t know where Kendra was taking her, and she didn’t even have the strength to ask.
When the car stopped, she realized they were at the hospital.
The guards dragged her into an elevator, then into a patient ward.
On the bed lay her mother—pale, unmoving, a ventilator hissing softly beside her.
“Mom…” Daisie’s dry, cracked lips trembled, and tears burst from her eyes.
She tried to rush forward, but the guards pinned her down.
Kendra stepped to the bedside, leaning down, and spoke to the unconscious patient.
“Auntie, look who’s here. It’s Daisie, your wonderful daughter.
“She’s pathetic now. Lost a kidney, got tossed aside by Willard, and locked up in the basement like a dog. Your family’s finished. Your husband’s dead. Your company’s gone. Your son’s useless.
“And it’s all because of your precious daughter! That shameless woman just wouldn’t stop clinging to Willard and wouldn’t stop provoking me. That’s why your family ended up like this!
“She’s cursed! She ruined her own parents’ lives! You’re lying here because of her!”
“Kendra! Shut up!” Daisie roared, struggling wildly against the guards. “Don’t you dare talk to my mother like that!”
Suddenly, the heart monitor beside the bed began to give a sharp, continuous alarm.
Her mother’s fingers twitched, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eyes.
“Mom! Mom!” Daisie cried hysterically.
She felt her heart being torn apart. In her desperation, she fought to break free.