In Labor, Yet Ordered to Wait

“So many people have come, and I hear they’re bringing treasures worth a fortune!”

Chloe Brown looked at me like I was nothing but filth.

“If you want to stay alive, you’d better learn your place.”

Her eyes brimmed with threats.

Martha Brown frowned. “Chloe, maybe we should drag this slut out first.”

“You need to show your face more. These people are all important. If one of them notices you, it could be your big chance…”

“But I heard they came to see a patient…”

“Who else? Your godfather and your godbrother haven’t been in good health. Of course, they came to visit them.”

“That makes sense.”

Chloe glared at me with pure disgust.

“I bet you sneaked in here on purpose today—not only to seduce my godfather and my brother, but also to cast your net wide, right?”

“Sluts like you, I’ve seen plenty. Do you know how many maids I’ve had to deal with before?”

She sneered and dragged me toward the backyard.

So that was it! I had asked Dad and Ethan to hire more maids, but they always said only Martha and Chloe remained—others quit mysteriously after a short time.

Now I understood. These two had been running rampant in our house all along!

I struggled and lunged at Chloe.

She looked down at her blood-stained dress and shrieked in horror.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at her pathetic act of forced elegance. A beast is still a beast—even dressed in the mistress’s clothes, it can’t hide its nature.

That only enraged her further.

“You bitch!”

“Somebody come! Grab this thief!”

“Sticky fingers, huh? Let’s see how clean I can make you.”

Martha struck me over and over with a stick.

My screams roused the dying white snake, which managed to break free. Just as the stick was about to smash down on my head, the snake bit Martha’s hand hard.

“Damn creature!” Chloe snatched up a knife and, with one swift motion, brought it down.

The snake’s head was severed.

“No, Mom…”

Despair washed over me as I trembled, cradling the broken body.

“If you care this much about this snake, calling it your mom…” Chloe sneered. Then, before my eyes, she chopped the body into several pieces.

“Tie this thief up in the backyard. If she loves snakes so much, cut off her hands and feet—let her crawl like one for the rest of her life.”

“No…” Terror gripped me. As a music student, if I lost my hands, I’d lose my future.

“Just one more thing…” Chloe’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she forced open my mouth.

The scissors cut. Salt and iron filled my mouth, and the pain drove me into darkness.

“Now you look like a snake.”

“Drag her away.” Chloe waved dismissively. “Dad and Ethan will be back soon. We need to prepare dinner. They say Dad’s been feeling better lately.”

Martha’s eyes flickered with shyness. “I’ll make sure to take good care of him. Who knows what could happen…”

Chloe looked at the snake pieces on the floor, a cruel smile tugging at her lips.

“They say snakes are earthly dragons—the most nourishing of all.”

A group of men dragged me into the backyard.

Only then did I realize that the old servants had already been replaced.

“This woman’s yours to deal with. Do whatever you want with her.”

“Make sure she learns her lesson.”