Chapter 4The Family Tool

A few minutes later, a beat-up van pulled up beside us.

Terrified, I begged Margaret not to let them take me, but she dragged me into the back of the van without a hint of remorse.

The vehicle rattled down the road, eventually stopping outside an abandoned, desolate factory on the edge of the city. Margaret hauled me out of the van by my hair, throwing me onto the dirt floor before turning to the disheveled man who had climbed out after us.

She held up her phone, her voice completely flat. "He's all yours. My younger daughter is behaving like a cheap delinquent. I want her to see exactly what happens to girls who lose their way."

The man grinned, revealing a row of rotted, yellow teeth, and began stepping toward me.

I scrambled backward, my voice raw from screaming. "Mom, please! Don't do this to me! Please!"

Margaret switched her phone to video mode, her face completely blank. "Alicia, if Hailey doesn't learn her lesson today, her entire life will be ruined."

But what about my life?

In the next second, rough, dirty hands tore away the last of my clothing.

I screamed, fighting with every ounce of strength I had left, but I was no match for him. Every inch of my skin was bruised, subjected to a sickening violation that made it hard to breathe.

A few yards away, Margaret watched through her screen, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips as she captured every single detail.

Finally, she nodded. "That's enough. Let her go, I have what I need."

The man grumbled, reluctantly pulling away, and took the cash Margaret held out before leaving the factory.

I lay on the filthy floor, shivering violently, my chest hollowed out by a pain so deep it felt like a physical wound. The last lingering shred of love I had held for my mother shattered into dust.

I reached out, picked up my phone from the dirt, and took a picture of my broken, ruined self.

I sent it to the number from five years ago.

This is the hell she will build for you. Don't come back.

Then, I dragged my broken body toward the stairs, slowly making my way up to the roof of the factory.

Margaret didn't even notice I was gone. She was busy sending the video to Hailey, typing out a message with frantic excitement.

Look closely, Hailey. If you don't want to end up like your sister, break up with that boy immediately.

Your mother only wants what's best for you.

If you keep defying me, I will let him finish what he started.

Be a good girl and come home to apologize.

I stood at the very edge of the concrete roof, looking down at her. My heart felt completely empty.

I wondered, if I had refused to go home with her five years ago, would any of this have happened?

I closed my eyes and let myself fall backward into the empty air.

As the wind rushed past my ears, my phone vibrated one last time in my hand.

I understand now. I won't go with her.

Down below, Margaret’s phone rang. It was Hailey's homeroom teacher, her voice filled with deep regret. "Mrs. Chen, I am so incredibly sorry. It was a misunderstanding."

"We checked the security cameras. Hailey and the boy were indeed just looking over a textbook. There was no relationship."

Margaret froze. "Really? That's... that's wonderful."

"It's fine... Alicia’s punishment will just serve as a warning for the future. It will keep Hailey on the right path."

She hung up the phone and looked around, realizing the space around her was empty. "Alicia?"

She ran out of the factory doors, but the yard was quiet. The only thing she found was a shattered phone lying in the dirt, its cracked screen still glowing.