The moment I dared to speak, my father's rage sparked, and in an instant, his foot struck my stomach with brutal force.
"Eliana is still lying in that hospital bed, and you dare claim she’s faking?"
"Who would risk their own life for a joke?"
"Saige, lying is the only thing you're good at!"
"You’re like a dog that can’t shed its habits, a wild thing with no sense of class!" "Bringing you back from that remote village was the worst mistake I ever made!"
I gasped as pain ripped through me, falling heavily onto the floor, sending the nearby vase crashing to the ground in a thousand pieces.
Tabitha, cold and unyielding, broke her silence at last, her voice as steely as her gaze. “Saige, if you’re determined not to change, jail is where you’ll end up.”
A tremor ran through me as I met her unflinching eyes. Could a mother truly be this heartless?
“You…you would actually press charges against me?” I asked.
Wade scoffed, shaking his head. “You’ve pushed us this far, Saige! We overlooked your past stunts and gave you chances to turn things around. But instead of changing, you kept pushing boundaries.”
“For Eliana’s sake, we have to take action now.”
“As her family, standing by and watching her suffer is not an option!”
I clenched my lips together, a slight tremble betraying the bitterness I felt. People say even a tiger would never harm its own cub, yet here I was, sharing their blood, while Eliana, an outsider, was cherished as if she were the true daughter. In my family’s eyes, she was worth more than I’d ever be.
They had sooner thrown me behind bars than watch Eliana endure any more so-called bullying. The three of them were livid, deaf to my explanations, their trust firmly rooted in Eliana’s words over mine.
Mason’s face was a stone mask as he announced, “Saige, from this moment on, you are no daughter of mine.”
His voice was cold as he continued, “You’re no longer part of this family. Don’t expect to spend another cent of ours. Leave, and brace yourself for the court summons.”
I was cast out of the villa and left to roam the empty streets.
The sky hung heavy with clouds, and a light drizzle fell, mirroring the day I lost my way all those years ago.
I huddled against the chill, the cold settling deep in my bones, but it was nothing compared to the ice gripping my heart.