“Those people will be here any minute. This
will ruin him. He’ll lose his job, everything.”
Sarah kicked me again, then slapped me a
few times.
“Mom, what if you hurt him too much? What
if someone notices?” Ashley asked, worried.
“That’s the point! It’ll look like he fought
back,” Sarah sneered. She grabbed Ashley’s
shirt, ripping it.
Г
“When your grandpa gets here, you run to
him and tell him John’s been abusing you for
years. With everyone here, they’ll believe
you.”
“Mom, I’m scared,” Ashley whispered.
“Do you want us to be a family again? Or do
you want to keep calling this man ‘Dad‘? He’s
the reason we’re in this mess. Now get it
together!” Sarah snapped, a chilling contrast
to her usual maternal facade.
A family? Was Ashley really Sarah’s daughter?
But Sarah was infertile. That’s why we
adopted…
Sarah’s phone buzzed. She grinned. “Get
ready. They’re here.” She had an accomplice.
She left the room
く
Ashley looked at me. “Don’t blame me, John.
Blame yourself for standing in the way of our
family’s happiness.”
A knock at the door. The moment Sarah
opened it, Ashley ran out, disheveled,
throwing herself into the arms of the
university president.
“Grandpa, help me! He… he tried to… he…”
The room erupted in shock. “Professor Miller?
I can’t believe it!” “What a monster!” “So
that’s why he adopted her! Sick!”
The president’s hands trembled with rage.
“Where is he?”
Ashley pointed to the study. “He’s in there. He
said he was going to tutor me but then he
he touched me. He said he’d raised me all
these years, now that I was eighteen… it was
his turn. That I was a girl, I’d belong to
someone eventually, so…” She trailed off,
leaving the implication hanging in the air.
The president grabbed his phone to call the
police.
I stepped out of the study, calmly adjusting
my clothes, holding up my own phone. “No
need to call. I already did.”
Chapter 2
Seeing me emerge, Sarah and Ashley froze,
Ashley’s panic obvious.
Sarah quickly grabbed her, pointing at me and
yelling, “John, you’re disgusting! Ashley’s your
daughter! The inappropriate touching before
く
was bad enough, but now…” She trailed off,
choked with fake sobs, the implication clear.
Ashley buried her face in Sarah’s chest,
wailing dramatically.
“I can’t believe it! Professor Miller, such a
respected man… a predator!”
“Sounds like this wasn’t the first time, either.
This is sickening!”
“He should be locked up, castrated!”
Sarah’s performance had whipped the crowd
into a frenzy.
The president stared at me, furious. “John,
what is the meaning of this? Do you
understand the consequences of your
く
I walked towards them, calm. “If I said I didn’t
do it, would you believe me?”
Sarah stepped forward. “John, don’t you dare
lie! You’ve caused Ashley irreparable harm!
Just shut up! Do you want to humiliate her
further by recounting it all in public?”
“Harm? What about the harm you’ve caused
me? False accusations, destroying my
reputation! Sarah, we were married! How
could you be so vicious?” I demanded.
Sarah smirked. “Vicious? John, since you’ve
abandoned all shame, I’ll let you die knowing
the truth.” She pulled out her phone, playing a
video.
It showed Ashley sitting at her desk, me
beside her, seemingly tutoring her. The video,
<
taken from the doorway, only showed our
backs. Then, Ashley ducked under the desk,
out of view, hidden by my body. She stayed
there for an extended period. Taken out of
context, it looked damning.
