Falling into the abyss: Betrayal by a
beloved one
Chapter One
My favorite year with Ethan was the year he
shattered my world.
He laughed while I was dragged into the
bathroom and beaten.
His childhood sweetheart, Sarah, burned
scars onto my skin with a curling iron, and he
filmed it, posting the naked pictures online for
everyone to see.
I begged him to stop, but he just said, “You
haven’t even experienced half of what my
sister went through. What’s the rush?”
That’s when it hit me. He got close to me,
showered me with affection, only to pave the
way for his revenge.
I was being dragged into the bathroom by a
group of girls, and Ethan stood in the hallway,
laughing.
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Before I could process what was happening,
Sarah yanked my hair, forcing my head back.
“Bitch! You think you’re good enough for
Ethan?”
I was still holding the strawberry cake I made
for him. He told me just yesterday it was his
favorite.
Sarah snatched the cake and threw it on the
floor, splattering frosting everywhere.
They held me down while she put her foot on
my face.
“Lick this floor clean, or you’ll be licking the
toilet tomorrow!”
From my angle, I could see Ethan lighting a
cigarette. He glanced at me coldly, the smoke
obscuring his face.
I couldn’t see his expression, couldn’t see into
his heart.
The guy who told me he loved me just
seconds ago was now orchestrating my
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humiliation.
Sarah pressed her foot down harder when I
didn’t move.
“Are you deaf? Or do I need to shove a toilet
brush down your throat?”
I opened my mouth and slowly licked the
frosting off the floor, my dignity dissolving
with every lick.
Ethan walked in, looking impatient. I grabbed
his pant leg like a lifeline.
Even then, I wanted to believe in him.
But he flicked his cigarette onto my hand and
ground it in with his heel.
“No–Ethan, stop…”
The pain ripped through me.
I don’t know which hurt worse, my body or my
heart.
Ethan sent the other girls away, leaving me
alone with him in the bathroom.
I curled up, barely able to ask, “Why? Why are
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you doing this?”
He scoffed, “You know Anna Miller, right? I’m
her brother.”
My mind went blank.
Anna was the girl who was raped and
committed suicide two years ago.
My brother, Jason, was accused.
But I knew he would never do something like
that!
There had to be a reason why he confessed.
Before they took Jason away, he cried and
told me, “Believe me, Riley, you have to
believe me.”
He was sentenced to fifteen years but died of
an illness in prison less than a year later.
So, Ethan got close to me, gave me all that
special attention, just to avenge his sister?
He used his warmth to comfort me, then his
darkness to tear open my wounds.
Ethan, you really know how to get revenge.
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He stepped on my back and leaned down, his
voice dripping with venom.
“Your brother’s dead, so you, his little sister,
will pay the price. I’ll make sure every second
of your life is so painful you’ll wish you were
dead.”
“But don’t you dare die,” he added, his voice
chilling me to the bone. “I know you want
your dad to live.”
He was right. My dad, trapped in the Miller
family’s ‘care facility,‘ already lost his mind. I
couldn’t let him suffer anymore.
Today was supposed to be my quarterly visit
with him.
The Millers claimed they didn’t want to
disturb him, but it was just a gilded cage.
I reached his room, bruised and broken. Dad
was banging his head against the wall, just
like always.
He mumbled, “Jason’s innocent… Jason’s
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innocent…”
Dad was the Millers‘ driver, specifically,
Sarah’s dad, Mr. Miller’s driver.
The day Anna was raped, she went to the
Millers‘ house to get some documents from
Sarah.
Later, the maid found her in the study, barely
alive and clothes torn.
Security footage showed Jason running out of
the study.
