Chapter 4
The moment Heather heard the news, her expression turned stone-cold. She waved over a servant and whispered something in his ear. Moments later, a doctor in a white coat arrived, carefully lifting the lifeless cat and examining its blood-matted fur.
“The wounds were made with a knife,” the doctor confirmed grimly. “Precise incisions. The poor thing was drained of blood… it died in agony.”
Almost immediately, security personnel entered the room.
“We reviewed the surveillance footage,” one of them reported. “This afternoon, only the eldest young miss entered the garden.”
Heather’s eyes snapped to Daisy, her gaze sharp as a blade.
“Well?” she said, her tone laced with icy authority. “Anything you want to say for yourself?”
Daisy opened her mouth but no sound came out. She had seen this moment coming from miles away.
Finally, she spoke, her voice soft, steady, but void of hope.
“What’s the point? None of you have ever believed me. What else is there to say?”
Desmond faltered. His eyes flickered, but only for a second.
“Sister,” Heather choked out, her voice cracking with emotion. “Are you saying I framed you?” She shook her head, letting the tears fall freely. “Althea was the only thing my mom left me. If I wanted to frame you, how could I possibly bear to sacrifice her?”
Then, like the final act in a twisted play, Heather collapsed to the ground in a sobbing heap.
Desmond caught her before she hit the floor, his face hardening with rage.
“I never thought… Daisy, I knew you were upset about the wedding, but this? This is cruel. If you were angry, you should’ve taken it out on me. I abandoned you. Blame me. But hurting her cat? What kind of person does that?”
His voice trembled with disgust.
“The Thomas family can’t accept a daughter-in-law who’s so heartless. If this is the person you’ve become… then let’s call off the engagement.”
“Fine,” Daisy said. Her voice was clear. Calm. Final.
Desmond stared at her, stunned, as if he hadn’t expected her to agree so easily.
“I’m serious,” he warned. “Don’t come crying to me later.”
Before Daisy could reply, her parents burst into the room.
Without a second’s hesitation, Samuel stormed forward and struck her across the face.
The slap echoed through the air like a gunshot.
“How did I raise a daughter like you?!” he bellowed.
The fresh wound split open her already bruised skin. Blood trickled down her cheek, but Samuel wasn’t done. He raised his hand again.
“Today it’s a cat. Tomorrow, who knows? You’ve been nothing but chaos since the day you woke up! If I had known this is what you’d become, I would’ve wished you died in that car crash!”
“Someone lock her up!” he shouted. “No food. She stays there until she learns her lesson!”
Pain blossomed across Daisy’s face like fire, but it was nothing compared to the ache in her chest. She stumbled backward, her head spinning, nausea rising in her throat.
Years ago, it had been her who dragged her parents and Desmond out of that wrecked car, one by one, just before it exploded. It was that same moment of self-sacrifice that had left her in a coma for three years.
And now… they wished she’d never woken up.
Tears, or was it blood?, blurred her vision. She raised her eyes, searching the familiar faces she once loved with all her heart. But all she saw were strangers: cold, cruel, unrecognizable.
She let out a quiet, broken laugh, emptied of hope, drained of anything human.
For just a moment, something flickered in Desmond’s eyes. Hannah, too, felt a pang in her chest. Something deep and unsettling, like a piece of their souls had slipped away unnoticed.
They might’ve reached for her… might’ve stopped it all…
But Heather stepped in front of them, her voice full of sorrowful resolve.
“Mom… Desmond… as much as it hurts to see her like this, Dad’s right. If she doesn’t learn now, she’ll destroy everything later. We can protect her here, but the world won’t be so kind.”
Hannah’s hand slowly dropped to her side. Desmond gave a slow, reluctant nod.
“You’re right,” he muttered.
And with that, Daisy was dragged away, limp, silent, defeated.
They locked her in the abandoned garage. The cold, dark space swallowed her whole.
And nobody looked back.
