That’s why he became the prime suspect.
Before Anna could give her statement, she
jumped from the hospital roof.
Jason insisted he was innocent.
He had a mental illness that made him stutter
and confused when stressed.
He just kept repeating, “I didn’t, I didn’t, I
didn’t…”
But a few days later, he confessed to raping
Anna.
<
He even acted out how he lured her into the
study and assaulted her in front of the police
and the Millers.
The Millers, devastated, used their influence
to get Jason, despite his mental illness,
sentenced to fifteen years.
Dad collapsed when he heard the news. He
woke up with his mind gone and was taken to
the Millers‘ ‘care facility.‘
I hadn’t met Ethan then. I later heard he was
managing the family business overseas.
We were just ordinary people. No matter how
much I believed in Jason’s innocence, I
couldn’t clear his name.
I lived the next two years branded as the
sister of a rapist.
Then I met Ethan.
He was like a ray of sunshine in my dark
world, bringing color back into my life.
He would give me his jacket when I stained.
く
He would give me his jacket when I stained
my clothes during my period and wake up
early to make me ginger tea.
He would defend me when people whispered
behind my back.
They would stare at him in surprise, but no
one dared to say anything.
As long as Ethan was there, no one looked at
me with those judging eyes.
He pursued me relentlessly, saying he had
never felt this way about a girl before.
After enduring two years of darkness in high
school, I couldn’t resist his charm.
I said yes when he confessed his feelings for
the second time.
But at that moment, he looked at Sarah, who
was sitting across from us, and they
exchanged a knowing smile.
Now I understand. They were signaling to
each other: the prey had been caught.
く
The moment I fell for Ethan, I became their
plaything.
The nurses wouldn’t let me near Dad, saying
it would interfere with his treatment.
But through the small window in the door, I
could see he was worse than before.
He sat on the floor, surrounded by filth.
“Dad…” I whispered, tears streaming down my
face.
He looked up slightly, as if sensing my
presence, and started to turn around, but the
doctor pulled me away.
“Miss Riley, if you continue to disrupt his
treatment, we can’t guarantee your father’s
well–being.”
It sounded like a warning, but it felt like a
threat.
Just like Ethan’s threats.
I couldn’t see Dad. I couldn’t leave.
I was a kite, and they held the string.
く
The next day, back in the dorm, my bed was
covered in spoiled food. The smell was rancid
in the summer heat.
I knew it was Sarah’s doing.
She walked in with her posse.
She grabbed my hair and forced me to bend
over.
“Oh, I thought you wouldn’t show up.”
“What are we doing today, Sarah?” one of the
girls asked eagerly.
Sarah let go of me, a venomous look in her
eyes. “Ethan said as long as we don’t kill her,
anything goes. Bring her to the classroom
tonight. Ethan has a special gift for her.”
With a nod from Sarah, one of the girls.
kicked me hard in the stomach.
I fell to the floor, and they pinned me down.
Terror seized me. “What are you doing?”
“Hmm.” Sarah scooped up some of the
spoiled food from my bed. “Aren’t you hungry,
Riley? Let me feed you.”
I knew what she was going to do and
struggled, but they held my arms down.
“No, please don’t,” I pleaded, shaking my
head.
They laughed, forcing my mouth open and
shoving the food in.
They used chopsticks to push it down my
throat.
“Aww, poor thing,” Sarah said, wiping her
hands in disgust.
She patted my head. “Was it good?”
Tears of humiliation streamed down my face,
fueling her sadistic pleasure.
They threw me into the bathroom and ripped
my clothes off.
“Whoa, so this is what the rapist’s sister looks
like!”
“What’s the point of keeping this body intact?
Let me give you some nice scars.”
:
Sarah held a burning hot curling iron.
She gestured towards me. “Where should we
start?”
“Oh, I know!” she exclaimed. “I remember
Jason demonstrating to the police how he
took off Anna’s bra first. Let’s start there.”
She grinned wickedly, and the other girls
understood, pulling my hands away from my
body.
The searing iron hit my skin, the sizzling
sound accompanied by the smell of burning
flesh.
My mouth opened in a silent scream, the pain
too intense for any sound to escape.
Sarah laughed. “This is so fun! You’re so pale;
the scars will look beautiful.”
She burned my back, stomach, and thighs.
She finally stopped when Ethan called.
I lay on the cold bathroom floor, the chill a
small relief against the burning pain.
<
“She’s not dead, is she?” Ethan’s cold voice.
came through the phone.
“Not yet. Should we bring her over now?”
Sarah glanced at me with contempt.
“Yeah.”
They dragged me up, and I scrambled to put
on my scattered clothes.
Sarah scoffed. “What’s the point of getting
dressed? You’re just going to take them off
again anyway.”
I shivered, dreading what was to come.
They took me to an empty classroom. Ethan
was there with a group of guys and girls, all
part of their clique.
Sarah threw me on the floor. Ethan looked
down at me.
“Riley, do you remember what day it is
today?”
Of course, I remembered. It was our 100–day
anniversary.
<
“Remember I said I’d give you a special gift?”
He had. Last week, he held me close and
whispered about a gift I would never forget.
I’d been looking forward to it, but now I didn’t
want to know.
When I didn’t answer, he grabbed my chin and
slapped me hard.
“Bitch! What did you think I’d give you?
Flowers? Love? You’re a joke. You don’t
deserve any of that!”
“Do it!” he ordered.
The other guys and girls held me down and
ripped my clothes off again.
“No!” I screamed, crawling to Ethan’s feet. “I’ll
confess! I’ll atone! Just please don’t do this!
Don’t humiliate me like this…”
In front of all these people, the man I loved
was going to strip me naked.
Ethan kicked me away.
“Did my sister’s rapist care when she begged
く
him to stop? He humiliated her over and over
again!”
“You haven’t even experienced half of what
my sister went through. What’s the rush?”
His eyes were filled with hatred, as if he
wanted to tear me apart.
I shook my head. “My brother didn’t…”
Sarah slapped duct tape over my mouth.
I stood there, exposed, feeling their eyes on
- me.
Amusement, mockery, lust, disgust.
I tried to block it all out, but Ethan’s voice
brought me back.
“Look at her, such a slut. The rapist’s sister,”
he sneered.
