To secure a multi-million dollar contract and buy a villa for his illegitimate daughter, my father got me blackout drunk and delivered me to the bed of his wealthy best friend. We had a wild night. But when Julian woke up, he looked at me with pure disgust. "I'm your family friend. I'm your elder. To satisfy your own sick desires, you drugged me? You have no shame." He threw me out of the house, naked, claiming he never wanted to see me again. Terrified of offending the powerful Thorne family, my father dragged me to a shady psychiatric institution that very night. I was beaten, electrocuted, and assaulted by the director and his staff. Just as they were preparing to perform an illegal lobotomy on me, I finally snapped. I threw myself off the roof. As I lay dying, a voice, distant and ethereal, whispered in my ear. "Little girl, give me your heart, and I’ll let you live. Deal?" 1. I don’t remember if I said yes. I only remember waking up with a hollow emptiness in my chest. The doctors and orderlies who used to treat me like an insect were now looking at me with sheer terror. "Miss Quinn... please... here are your discharge papers." "We called your family. Please, have mercy. Spare us." I rolled my wrist, which felt a little stiff. Then I remembered. I made a deal with a devil before I died. He told me I had a heart that was too pure, too kind. That heart was why I always put others first, and why I had been bullied my entire life. So, I gave it to him. He took away the sweet, fragile Quinn who craved love and family. And he left behind the monster—violent, cruel, and completely void of emotion. Standing there, clutching my discharge papers, I watched the black stretch limo pull up below. I started laughing. This was... perfect. From this moment on, I could finally let the people who hurt me understand what it feels like to be trampled on. When I walked back into the house, the family that had been laughing and chatting instantly fell silent. Julian instinctively pulled my stepsister, Bella, behind him protectively. My father looked at me with undisguised revulsion. "Why are you back so soon?" "And what are you wearing? Are you trying to play the victim?" I looked down at my hospital gown. It was filthy, crusted with layers of blood. The dark, dried stains at the bottom were mine. The fresh, bright red stains? Those belonged to the people who tried to hurt me before I left. When I didn't answer, Dad’s tone got harsher. "Get to your room. Don't stand there being an eyesore." "We're discussing Julian and Bella's wedding. We don't have time for you." I followed his gaze to Julian. I hadn't seen him in three years. He looked as dashing as ever. Just like that night. I remembered clearly how he kicked me off the bed. My lower back slammed into the nightstand, pain shooting through my spine. There was no pity in his eyes then, only loathing. "Quinn, how can you be so cheap?" "I'm your father's friend. I've known you since you were a kid. You crush on me, fine, but drugging me? That’s incestuous and sick." "Your father is a proud man. How did he raise a daughter so low, indistinguishable from a streetwalker?" He refused to let me dress before throwing me out onto the front lawn. And now, three years later, this man of "high morals" was about to marry my illegitimate stepsister. Before, this would have broken me. But now? My heart was gone. And with it, my love for Julian. Perhaps my stare was too intense. Julian frowned. "Three years in the asylum and you still haven't learned your lesson?" "I'm warning you, don't get any ideas. I can send you back there with a single phone call." The threats washed over me. I pressed a hand to my chest. Nothing. No pain. No sadness. Not even despair. Back then, I had escaped the ward with a broken leg, crawling to a payphone to call Julian. I begged him to save me. I promised I’d disappear if he just got me out. He agreed. Then he called the director. "How are you treating her? She hasn't learned a thing. She’s even learned to act pitiful now." "If she escapes again, I'm pulling your funding." Because of that call, the director broke my limbs and prepped me for surgery. He wanted to turn me into a vegetable so I could never leave hell again. That’s why I jumped. My thoughts snapped back to the present. I smiled sincerely at Julian. "Julian, thank you for giving me the chance to be a new person." "Don't worry. I definitely won't love you anymore." And I definitely won't show you any mercy. 2. My coldness didn't make Julian happy. If anything, it seemed to annoy him. He cleared his throat to speak, but Bella interrupted. She walked over, her hand adorned with a ten-carat diamond ring, and pinched my arm hard, right on a bruise. "Sister, I'm so glad you're back. No one is more suited to be my bridesmaid than you." "You don't know how boring it’s been without you." "I've been waiting for you to come back so we can... play." I smiled at Bella. "My dear sister, I’ve been waiting for this reunion too." Years ago, my parents built their business from scratch. I suffered through poverty with them. Just when life was getting good, Bella’s mom showed up with her. They stressed my mother until she died of a stroke. Overnight, I went from the cherished daughter to the unwanted burden. The day she moved in, Bella smashed my mother’s photo and took my bedroom. She framed me for stealing and got me banished to the utility closet. It was hot, dusty, and cramped. Every time I came out, Bella would cover her nose and say I smelled. I wasn't allowed at the dinner table. I ate leftovers. I wore rags. I endured Bella’s punches and kicks whenever she was in a bad mood. Once, starving, I snuck a piece of cake Bella had thrown in the trash. She caught me. She took a needle and thread and literally sewed my lips shut. The nanny wanted to take me to the ER. My father stopped her. He tore the thread out of my flesh himself. "How do I have such a useless daughter? If people find out, where will I put my face?" "If you were half as elegant as your sister, I wouldn't hate you so much!" To hide the "shame," he fired the staff and made me do all the chores. I rolled on the floor in pain that day, but all I could think was: The cake was sweet. If I’m good, maybe Dad will buy me a cake one day. Now, looking at Bella’s smile and my father’s disgust, all I wanted to do was take a cake fork and jam it into their eyes. I grabbed Bella’s hand. "Sister, your hands are so pretty. Long, slender fingers. Manicured perfectly." "Mine used to look like that. Until you smashed them with a hammer. Now they're crooked and ugly." Bella yanked her hand back, looking guilty and scared. "What are you talking about?" she gasped. "You're just jealous I'm marrying Julian. How can you slander me like that?" Julian immediately pulled her into a hug. "Quinn! When will you stop lying? Bella is pure and kind. Just because I love her doesn't mean you get to attack her!" Dad slapped me across the face. "You bully your sister the moment you get back? You should have died in that hospital!" I covered my stinging cheek and lowered my head so they wouldn't see my smile. Yes. I did die. I died from my family's cruelty and my lover's betrayal. The thing standing here now is a monster without a heart. A demon who has come to collect. 3. Dad locked me in the utility room to "reflect," afraid I’d ruin the wedding planning. I curled up in the dark corner, listening to their laughter and the clinking of wine glasses. I wrote their names on the dusty floor, over and over. The slap hurt. The last twenty years hurt. Killing them quickly would be too easy. How do I make them pay back everything I suffered? I drifted into a light sleep, only to be woken by hands roaming over my body. It felt like the asylum. The predatory touch. I snapped my eyes open to see Julian staring at me. His breath was hot, reeking of whiskey. I slapped him hard. "Julian, what the hell are you doing?" The slap seemed to sober him up slightly. His eyes, filled with lust a moment ago, shifted to disdain. "What am I doing? Quinn, you're trying to seduce me again. You really are shameless." "Looks like the last lesson wasn't enough." Three years, and nothing had changed. Back then, he slept with me while sober, but claimed I drugged him to save his reputation. Now, he was drunk and molesting me, but wanted to pin the blame on me again. But I wasn't the same Quinn. I stared at him calmly, my hand creeping toward a heavy glass vase on the shelf. Before this moment, I had considered letting Julian live. After all, he had saved me once, years ago, when Bella’s friends were beating me up. He had given me his jacket and told me, "If anyone bullies you, come find me. I'll protect you." That one sentence made me fall in love with him. It was why I forgave him for taking my virginity and discarding me. It was why I held onto hope in the asylum. But now? That feeling was dead. I just wanted to rip his chest open and see if he had a heart at all. Suddenly, Julian grabbed my wrist. His gaze fell on my chest, where my shirt had been torn. "Why... why do you have so many scars?" In the moonlight, the jagged, raised scars were horrifying. Julian looked shocked. "I told the director to just teach you discipline. I told them not to hurt you too badly..." They taught me discipline, alright. They just enjoyed doing it with branding irons. I was about to smash the vase over his head when the door burst open. Bella stood there, eyes red. "It's the middle of the night. What are you two doing?" Julian let go of me like I was on fire. The concern vanished. "Quinn, I can't believe you. Three years away and you're still a slut." "I'm marrying Bella. No matter how much you throw yourself at me, I will never want you!" Dad rushed in, trembling with rage. He grabbed a wooden plank and smashed it over my back. "I should beat you to death!" Bella glanced at Julian and feigned kindness. "Dad, stop. She's always been like this. Don't hurt your hand." "But we should send her back to the hospital. The wedding is coming up. If she ruins it, we'll be the laughingstock of the city." Dad agreed immediately. He dragged Julian out to "calm him down." Watching their retreating backs, I laughed. Julian just missed his only chance to find out the truth. His only chance for mercy. I dug through the clutter and found an old, rusty claw hammer. I walked out of the room. Time to get started. 4. I stood in the hallway, watching the happy family in the living room. Julian was hugging Bella. Dad was transferring money to her account to cheer her up. My stepmother, Linda, was feeding her fruit. It was the scene I had dreamed of for three years. Finally, Bella smiled. She said she was tired and went to her room. But instead of sleeping, she grabbed a fruit knife and headed for the utility room. "Quinn, you bitch. Three years in the loony bin and you still want my man? I'm going to carve up your face tonight." I stepped out of the shadows behind her. "Looking for me?" Bella spun around, her face twisting. "You dare come out? The men in the asylum couldn't satisfy you, so you came for my fiancé?" She lunged at me with the knife. I didn't flinch. I swung the hammer. Crack. It smashed directly into her nose. Before she could scream, I shoved her own hand into her mouth. "Shhh." "Keep it down. We don't want to wake the others." "It's no fun if you die too fast." Pain turned her anger into terror. She whimpered against her hand. I smiled, tracing the knife blade in the air. "The director carved the word 'whore' into my skin over and over just to make you happy. Should I carve one into your face?" "Oh, you want to know how I got out? It was easy. I just sliced through them, one by one... like this." I pressed the knife against her cheek and sliced downward. Blood sprayed onto my face. I felt a rush of adrenaline. But she was weak. She fainted before I finished the first letter. Pathetic. I held out for ten letters. I dragged her by her hair toward her bedroom, humming a tune. Who's next?
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