Beyond the Family's Shadow

The call from the police station reached home before Elara did.

As she pushed open the heavy, carved oak doors of the Vane estate, she wasn't met with warm lights, but by her father's whip cracking across her face.

"Crack!"

The expensive crocodile leather belt lashed viciously across Elara's shoulder.

Blood instantly stained the bandages, soaking through the thin shirt.

"You dared to call the police?!"

"You want the whole world to laugh at the Vane family? And apply for restraining orders against Leo and me? You must be tired of living!"

Her mother sat on the leather sofa, tea in hand, watching with cold eyes.

"She's an ungrateful wretch. We should never have given birth to her!"

Serena huddled in her mother's arms, seemingly trembling, but a hint of subtle satisfaction and mockery played on her lips.

Another lash, cutting through the air.

Elara didn't dodge, didn't cry, not even a whimper.

She stood there, straight as a corpse devoid of pain, letting the belt fall.

"Speak! Admit you're wrong! Just admit it, and I'll stop!"

Her father roared, Elara's silence fueling his rage further.

"I'm not wrong."

Elara looked into his eyes. Even seeing her battered and bleeding, there wasn't a trace of fatherly love.

"You abused me, imprisoned me, exploited me, and stole my work. These are facts."

"You! Still playing tough!"

Her father’s veins bulged with anger, raising his hand to strike again.

"Enough!"

Dante finally came down from upstairs.

He rushed over, grabbing his father's wrist.

"Uncle, please, stop. You'll kill her if you keep hitting."

He turned, his gaze sweeping over the blood-soaked, swaying Elara. A heavy sigh escaped him, laden with a weariness for the situation and a flicker of pain for the girl he once knew.

"Elara, look at yourself. Just apologize, back down a little, and this can all be resolved. Why are you being so stubborn? You weren't like this before." His tone was laced with a subtle sorrow, as if remembering a gentler past.

"Apologize?" Elara looked at Dante, her eyes hollow like two black holes.

The hatred accumulated over two lifetimes reached its peak at this moment.

With her love gone, only endless disgust remained.

"Dante, you disgust me."

Dante's expression froze.

He had never heard Elara speak to him like this.

Her father seized the opportunity, broke free, and raised the belt high, this time aiming for Elara's face.

"You want to die? Ruin your face and see if you're still so stubborn! I'll grant your wish!"

Elara didn't flinch, staring directly at the belt about to fall.

"Kill me then. If you break the blood bag, Serena will die too."

The belt stopped abruptly in mid-air.

Her father's hand trembled. He was scared.

Not of Elara dying, but of losing the blood supply for his precious Serena.