Chapter 5

"Melody, my darling sister," she wailed, tears streaming down her face. "If you truly despise me, just tell me outright. I'll leave the Winters family. There's no need to fake an injury to win sympathy from Mom, Dad, and our brother! It's so foolish!"

Melody's sobs were heart-wrenching, her words effectively nailing my coffin shut.

Mom, Dad, and my brother, who had shown a hint of remorse towards me moments ago, turned cold once again.

"Seraphina, we were planning to let you stay home instead of sending you back to the boarding school."

"But now it's clear you haven't changed at all. You've even learned to manipulate people! That settles it - after the birthday party tonight, you're going straight back to boarding school!"

Hearing they still intended to send me away, I completely broke down.

No matter how much I begged and cried, not a single one of them believed me anymore.

I wanted to call the police, but then I remembered - they had taken my phone away a year ago.