Fifteen Years Ago
A couple and their two-year-old daughter were driving along a quiet road in an old Mercedes, chatting casually as they made their way home.
Suddenly—
SCREECH!
A body slammed onto the car's windscreen before rolling over the roof and falling onto the road behind them.
Fear, shock, and silence filled the car.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, without stopping to check on the victim, the man stepped on the accelerator, and the Mercedes sped away into the night.
One Week Later
The couple walked down a quiet alley, repeatedly glancing over their shoulders. They couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following them.
Then, without warning, a figure appeared in front of them.
"You know your misdeeds," the mysterious figure said. "You have two choices. Pay with the life of your daughter, or do a good deed to write off your debt."
Before either of them could respond, the figure turned and disappeared into the darkness.
The couple stared at each other.
They didn't need words to understand what was going through the other's mind.
At dawn the following day, after dropping their daughter off at kindergarten, they headed straight to an orphanage.
Eventually, they chose a little girl who was only a year older than their biological daughter and took her home.
But they never truly accepted her as their own.
As the years passed, Layla received little to no affection from her adoptive parents. They openly favored their biological daughter, Jessie.
Whenever Layla cried, she was ignored.
Whenever she got hurt at school, while washing dishes, or even while slicing vegetables, no one paid her any attention.
So Layla learned to keep everything inside.
Year after year, she bottled up her pain, her anger, and her tears.
The Present
CRASH!
The sound of something breaking was quickly followed by a series of thunderous slaps.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
"What were you doing out last night?" Christen hollered at the girl sprawled helplessly on the floor. "Your sister said you didn't even sleep at home and saw you sneaking in through the back door! How dare you!"
Tears streamed down Layla's face.
Once again, she had been falsely accused.
"What did I do to deserve all this?" Layla cried, her voice filled with agony and frustration. "I'm not in the wrong! I've been home since yesterday. I didn't go anywhere!"
"How dare you raise your voice at me, your mother!" Christen shouted. "Charles! Charles, come and see this thing you raised!"
"I'm not your daughter!" Layla screamed through her tears. "If I were, you wouldn't have treated me like this all these years."
"Oh, really?" Christen sneered. "Then pack your things and leave. No one is stopping you! At least you know your place."
"How many times have I tried running away?" Layla shot back. "But Dad always brings me back for only God knows why. Hit me all you want, but it won't change the fact that I was home all night."
She wiped the tears from her face.
"Besides, your precious daughter doesn't even sleep at home. I heard from one of her friends that she had an abortion. She's only seventeen!"
SMACK!
Christen slapped her again.
"I dare you to speak ill of Jessie again, and I'll sew your lips shut."
"Despicable!" Christen spat before storming out of Layla's room and heading straight for her husband.
Charles seemed completely oblivious to the commotion. It wasn't unusual in their household.
He sat comfortably with his legs crossed, casually flipping through a newspaper.
"Honey," Christen began. "Layla is at it again. She—"
"I don't want to hear it," Charles interrupted. "I see you've handled the situation, so why bother involving me?"
"Well..." Christen smiled as she clung to her husband's arm. "It's a good thing she'll be leaving for college in a few days."
"Mmm."
That was all Charles said.
Meanwhile, Layla slowly picked herself up from the floor and walked toward the mirror.
Clear fingerprints were visible on her cheeks.
She stared at her reflection.
Sadly, she had never received genuine love from the Christopher family.
Her sister was constantly plotting against her, and today's accusation was no different.
Layla took a quick bath before lying down on her small bed in her cramped room.
As she stared into the silence, countless thoughts raced through her mind.
What would her future be like?
Why had her parents always treated her differently?
Who were her biological parents?
Had she truly been abandoned?
She had spent years wondering about the answers.
"I can't wait to leave for college," she whispered to herself. "Just three more days, and it'll all be over."
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
On the third day, Layla packed her belongings.
She didn't have much compared to Jessie—only a few worn-out clothes and some shoulder bags.
The one thing she cherished most was her bracelet.
She had worn it for as long as she could remember, believing that somehow, it would lead her back to her roots.
The strangest thing about the bracelet was that it always remained the perfect size.
It was never too tight or too loose.
It seemed to adjust itself as she grew.
Layla walked downstairs and found her supposed family waiting for her with bright smiles plastered across their faces.
"Oh, my daughter," her stepmother mocked. "I'll really miss you."
"Sister, please go and never come back," Jessie said with a smile. "Besides, your stay here was a mistake. You were never welcomed."
"You weird and evil child. Goodbye."
Charles' voice was filled with resentment, even though the smile never left his aged face.
"I've already transferred your tuition fees. I believe you can take care of the rest."
Layla said nothing.
She simply walked toward the door.
She didn't turn back.
She had already made up her mind.
She would make a name for herself and return one day to repay them in their own coin.
She boarded a bus to Zoarah City, where her college was located.
As usual, almost everyone on the bus turned to look at her for a few seconds before slowly turning away.
Layla had grown accustomed to it.
When she arrived at the school, she went through the admission process alone, moving from one office to another while other students arrived with their parents.
She knew exactly what kind of people her adoptive family were.
That was why, ever since she turned fifteen, she had secretly saved money.
It wasn't much, but it would last her a few months—at least until she found a part-time job.
After paying her hostel fees, she discovered that she wouldn't have to share her room.
"What a stroke of luck," she whispered.
Finally, she had a place of her own.
"What a tiring day."
Layla collapsed onto her bed and soon drifted into a deep sleep.
Hours later, she stirred.
Something seemed to be looming over her face.
Her eyes snapped open.
Nothing.
She looked around the room, but there was no one there.
"Maybe I imagined it."
She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
The following morning, Layla dressed for her lectures.
As she prepared to leave, something caught her attention.
Scratches covered her window.
They were long and jagged.
They looked almost like claw marks.
Maybe they've been there since before I came, she thought.
She grabbed a towel and some sanitizer and carefully wiped down the window.
Then she left for class, completely unaware that something had emerged from the shadows of her room.
A sinister grin stretched across the creature's face.
"Found you."
When Layla returned home later that day, exhaustion weighed heavily on her.
She dropped her belongings and collapsed onto her bed without even bothering to shower.
A few hours passed.
Then her eyes slowly opened.
She stared at the scene before her.
For several seconds, she couldn't move.
What's this?
Her heart began pounding.
In the darkness before her...
A pair of red eyes stared directly at her.