A daughter s revenge

1

I am an orphan and grew up in an orphanage.

Because I had to be sensitive to others' moods since I was a kid, I became very attuned to others' emotions.

The kids at the orphanage were all overly deferential. And naturally, they didn't treat older kids like me, who couldn't be adopted, very well.

To receive my education, I often worked part-time. Fortunately, my perseverance and hard work paid off.

I was successfully admitted to a local college. After I left the orphanage, I enjoyed the days at college, where I rarely led a carefree life in my life.

I thought my life would be different and my childhood wounds would be healed after I met Kevin Harrett. But I never expected that he would be the beginning of my tragedy.

Kevin and I dated for five years. Both of us came from humble backgrounds and we earned our way through hard work. So our values and outlook on life were quite aligned.

He was very down-to-earth, diligent, and always serious at work. I was satisfied with almost everything about him, except for his mother who was difficult.

I remembered the first time I met Kevin's mother. She pointed at my nose and said I was poor and not good enough for Kevin.

That day, I barely dared to speak. Kevin argued with his mother, but it ended unresolved.

After leaving Kevin's family, he held my face and promised he would marry me. He cried, saying, "I'm sorry for the way she treated you, Samantha."

His mother strongly opposed our marriage, but Kevin took the risk of being beaten and got married to me.

After that, we had dinner in a fancy restaurant. I remembered the steam rising from the dishes and the warm lights in the restaurant.

Kevin smiled and told me that we would move out, away from his mother. Then we would have a baby. Whether it was a boy or a girl, he would love it.

I always thought Kevin disliked his mother too and wanted to live independently from her. Looking back, I was utterly mistaken.

It was a trap. Kevin and his mother had woven a web, and I was like an insect caught in a spider's web. I couldn't escape once trapped.

Kevin and I got married and then went on a honeymoon. We enjoyed the scenery and used our savings to take out a loan for a small apartment.

We bought a crib, and I lay in Kevin's arms and listened to him talk about our future. We would have a baby and a big dog. And the two of us would enjoy sunny strolls.

The warmth of family was something I could only dream of because I was an orphan. I was eager to have a happy family.

So, I joyfully began preparing for pregnancy. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

I thought I would have a happy ending like a princess marrying a prince in a fairy tale. But reality gave me a good lesson.

I gave birth to a girl. I loved it, whether it was a boy or a girl. How could I not love my baby?

But Kevin's mother repeatedly took out her anger on me because I gave birth to a girl. Maybe she just had a preference for boys.

I patted Sacha's back as she drank milk in my arms. I believed that after she grew up, her grandmother would love her.

I underestimated the malice of human nature and was blinded by happiness.

Sacha died before she even grew to one year old. She was so light and soft in my arms. She was so adorable. I hadn't even heard her say, "Mom, I love you," before she was gone.

The doctor told me it was an accident. I didn't believe it. I found the truth in the deleted home surveillance footage.

Kevin's mother stuffed large pieces of mango into Sacha's mouth. But Sacha was allergic to mangoes.

2.

On the day I gave birth, Kevin and his mother were both waiting for me outside the delivery room.

The labor was so painful that I lost track of time. The doctor and the nurses kept urging me to push, and at the last moment of exhaustion, a baby's cry burst from the delivery room.

I knew Sacha was born. She was tiny and frail. Her skin was covered in my blood. She wasn't pretty, but I loved her.

After I knew Sacha was born safely, I closed my eyes in exhaustion. In a daze, I seemed to hear someone shouting in the ward.

Someone complained loudly about having a girl. "What's the point of getting married without paying anything? A girl is useless." It seemed to be Kevin's mother's voice.

It was too noisy. I opened my eyes to see Kevin's gloomy face and Kevin's mother leaving the ward.

My lips were cracked. I hadn't had any water since giving birth. No one had taken care of me. Kevin, who was usually so considerate, must have forgotten.

I struggled to sit up and softly called Kevin over. He was holding a baby.

It was Sacha, the name Kevin and I had chosen together. I couldn't wait to see her. But when Kevin saw I was awake, his expression didn't brighten. Instead, it darkened even more.

He shoved Sacha into my arms and rushed out. Only his voice was heard in the ward. He told me that his mother had called him out for something.

I was eager to see Sacha and didn't notice the disdain in Kevin's eyes. Things started to go wrong from then on.

When I was discharged from the hospital, Kevin said he had to work overtime and told me to take a taxi by myself.

Later, he didn't come home for days. He explained that his boss was giving him more tasks and he was too busy.

At that time, I was in confinement, fully focused on Sacha, and didn't pay much attention to Kevin's mother and husband's odd behavior.

But sometimes, the things you ignored would catch your attention soon.

Kevin didn't come home for dinner anymore. He worked late at midnight and often was drunk when he got home, smelling of alcohol and women's perfume.

At the same time, his temper grew worse.

For instance, if it wasn't clean enough in our apartment, he would only blame me. He said I hadn't tidied up since I didn't need to earn money.

But he didn't know how many times Sacha woke me up during the night. I worked around with dark shadows under my eyes. I even fainted more than once.

He wasn't home, and his mother wouldn't come to help. Sometimes, he would be interested in playing with Sacha. But as soon as I asked him to take care of her, Kevin's face would change, and he would start yelling at me.

Afterward, he would hold me in his arms and say it was his fault for not giving me a good life and making me work so hard in a pained voice.

Such things repeated. My days became exhausting, endless, and terrifying. I thought I would quickly tire of his blaming and comforting routine.

But I found myself getting used to it, which was indeed terrifying.

I started doing more chores, and he cared less about the family. He transferred to our account each month just a small amount.

That day, I washed his clothes at two in the morning as usual, when I saw a bright red lipstick stain on his white shirt.

For a moment, the lipstick stain seemed to mock me like a cruel joke.

3.

When Sacha died, I wasn't home. I was at the market buying groceries.

Kevin told me that his mother would stay with us for a few days and help take care of Sacha and that she wanted to make up for not being there when Sacha was born.

I was surprised. His mother previously disliked us. For the first few days, she behaved normally, helping with whatever she could for Sacha.

She didn't talk to me as harshly as usual. Even Kevin came home early those days to have dinner with us.

Sometimes, Kevin and his mother would talk late into the night on the sofa. When I brought them some fruit, I overheard them talking about relatives and something like that. I didn't pay much attention and went to bed early.

The incident happened on the third day. That morning, Kevin said he wanted to eat ribs and told me to go buy them immediately. He told me to leave Sacha at home with his mother as she would take care of Sacha.

As I hurried back home, I received a call from Kevin. He told me Sacha was dead in a weak yet angry voice.

The bag of ribs scattered on the ground. I ran home frantically, desperately questioning on the phone why Sacha had died.

He didn't answer my question. And he only gave me the hospital address and told me to hurry over.

In the pale hospital corridor, the doctor looked at me with a sympathetic gaze. He told me the result that Sacha died of an allergic reaction.

How could that happen? I had only been away from home for half an hour. How could Sacha die from an allergy in such a short time?

My eyes were filled with rage. Kevin stood beside me and gently patted my shoulder. His eyes were fixed on his shoes, and I couldn't see his expression.

I turned my head to look at Kevin's mother. She was evasive and didn't meet my gaze. As I mentioned before, I was an orphan and was particularly sensitive to others' emotions.

So when Kevin's mother anxiously grabbed the doctor's white coat, asked for compensation, and accused the hospital of causing her granddaughter's death, I could see through her facade of concern.

On the way home, Kevin and his mother talked to each other. She apologized to me with a guilty expression, saying that she hadn't taken good care of Sacha. She even wiped away her tears.

They probably didn't notice my suspicious gaze. I even had the malicious thought of why Sacha died, but they didn't. They failed to take good care of Sacha.

How could Sacha have accidentally eaten something she was allergic to? I had clearly told Kevin's mother about Sacha's allergies, and even my absent-minded husband had heard it.

The car soon arrived home. Perhaps due to guilt over Sacha's death, Kevin's mother cooked dinner.

After dinner, Kevin took my hand and led me to the room for a talk. "We can have another baby. You just need to do a bit more for our family. My mother is very concerned about you, right?"

His words chilled my heart. I had given so much to the family, but in the end, my only beloved daughter was gone.

Seeing my stubborn refusal to accept the fact, Kevin grew impatient and simply told me to go to bed early. Then he headed to the living room. I had no idea what he talked about with his mother.

I buried my head in the pillow, and tears silently soaked through it as I sobbed quietly.

After a while, Kevin came back. Perhaps he thought I was asleep as I hadn't moved. He turned on the computer and started operating the home surveillance system.

I glared at him and wished I could tear some flesh from him. He must be up to something I didn't know about, and I was determined to uncover the hidden truth.

4

The next day, when I woke up, no one was home. Kevin's mother seemed to have left, and Kevin no longer wanted to go on pretending in front of me.

I had long noticed he did not care about our family. But for Sacha's sake, I was willing to endure anything, even if it meant forcing myself to comply.

The computer screen gradually lit up. I opened the page Kevin had accessed yesterday. It was the surveillance footage.

What exactly had they done? My fingers seemed to weigh down by a ton. It was so difficult for me to click on yesterday's surveillance footage.

I pressed the mouse with force, only to see that there was no surveillance record displayed on the computer.

Kevin had deleted the footage. I wasn't an idiot. So I was sure that something terrible must have happened yesterday.

I immediately called a friend who specialized in recovering surveillance footage.

In over two hours, yesterday's footage was restored on the computer.

It was ten in the morning. The footage showed me leaving the apartment. Then Sacha started to cry.

Kevin's mother appeared on the screen. She grabbed Sacha, completely ignoring her cries, and shook her violently.

A baby should be treated gently. But Kevin's mother did it so roughly. I clenched my teeth in anger.

But that wasn't the worst part. Kevin stretched lazily as he walked out of the bedroom. Fortunately, he had bought a recording system that captured audio.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have heard such shocking words. "She's so noisy. Why doesn't she just die?"

His mother heard his words and threw Sacha back into the crib and then turned to the kitchen.

Sacha continued to cry, and Kevin's mother returned with a plate of mangoes, which hadn't been carefully prepared. She stuffed large chunks into Sacha's mouth.

Sacha couldn't possibly eat so much. As soon as the mango was stuffed in her mouth, her face turned purple, and she was breathless.

Kevin's mother grabbed Sacha by the collar and tossed her into the room.

The surveillance didn't capture any sound from Sacha. My dear husband and my considerate mother-in-law calmly finished the remaining mangoes in the living room.

Kevin's mother even cleaned up the mango peels.

Sacha was left in the room, and the surveillance didn't record any sound from her. In those ten minutes, Sacha had slowly died.

And those two heartless monsters leisurely packed Sacha's body into a plastic bag and took it to the hospital for "rescue."

Kevin's mother did it on purpose. I had clearly told her that Sacha couldn't eat mangoes.

They killed Sacha. They killed Sacha. The hatred in my mind was almost tangible, and I was overwhelmed.

I was filled with rage and wished that I could kill them right now.

But it couldn't solve anything. I was just an ordinary woman. How could I possibly fight against a strong man and a shrewd old woman? The police might arrest me before I could even tell Sacha that I had avenged her death.

The surveillance footage was evidence against Kevin's mother, but it couldn't serve as direct proof of murder in the court.

The footage only showed her "accidentally" feeding Sacha mangoes and leaving her in the room. Then Sacha died.

I wouldn't let Kevin's mother get away with just going to jail. I wanted Kevin's family to experience something worse than death.

5

Sacha's death became an unbearable pain in my heart.

After her death, I could have a reason to find a job and not be confined to the small apartment by Kevin.

I had done so much for the family, but in return, I lost Sacha.

I knew Kevin was a chauvinist. He believed a woman's place was in the home, caring for her family.

We graduated from the same prestigious university, both from humble backgrounds. We had dated mostly in the library at college.

My work and academic abilities were no less than his, perhaps even better. But I liked him, and he told me that women should prioritize family.