I clenched my fists tightly. I had to stay calm.

“Dad, I didn’t push Ethan. I was in my bedroom doing homework while Mom was watching Ethan on the second-floor balcony.” My voice carried just the right amount of trembling, sounding exactly like a frightened child.

Dad was holding the unconscious Ethan. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on me, like a wild beast on the verge of losing control.

Mary immediately rushed to speak first. “I clearly told Lucy to watch Ethan on the second floor, then I went downstairs to get some onions from Nancy next door. Nancy can testify for me!”

I sneered inwardly.

What a clever move. She had calculated Dad’s return time perfectly and deliberately gone to the neighbor to create an alibi.

Sure enough, Nancy, who had always been close with Mary, squeezed out of the crowd at once, her face full of righteous indignation.

“That’s right, Daniel. Mary just borrowed onions from me, saying she was going to cook your favorite fish. I personally watched her walk back into the yard!”

After that, she didn’t forget to point at me, adding painfully, “We saw your daughter standing on the second floor when we came over, just coldly looking down, with no reaction at all!

“Honestly, Lucy, how can you be so cruel? Last time something happened to Ethan, wasn’t it also because you deliberately didn’t close the yard gate?”

That single remark stirred up a storm.

The surrounding neighbors immediately started talking over one another.

“Exactly. That kid doesn’t look like a good one.”

“So young, yet already so jealous. What’ll happen when she grows up?”

Seeing this, Mary immediately covered her face and began to sob at just the right moment. Her body went limp as she leaned into Dad.

“Honey, don’t blame Lucy. What happened with the yard gate last time might’ve just been an accident. Maybe this time wasn’t intentional either…”

Those words, retreating on the surface, only nailed my guilt more firmly in place.

Dad’s gaze turned completely cold.

He had seen it—Mary anxiously rushing in from outside the yard, and me standing on the second floor like an indifferent bystander.

Seeing was believing.

“Last time, I saw you pull Ethan back, so I believed you,” Dad said hoarsely. “This time, I witnessed you pushing him down the stairs with my own eyes. What are you still trying to argue?”

The trust in his eyes shattered in an instant, replaced by disgust so thick that it couldn’t be dissolved.

“There isn’t a trace of fear on your face, Lucy. Was saving Ethan last time just an act you put on for me, too?”

I was so anxious that tears burst out immediately. I cried and shouted, “It wasn’t me! It was that man Mom brought home! The same one as last time! That’s why Mom had time to go find Nancy!

“Dad, don’t you believe me?”

Crying, I yelled with all the strength in my body, “Call the police! Call the police! The police on TV say that if you’re in trouble, you go to the police! Let them check the fingerprints on the wheelchair. They’ll definitely prove Lucy’s innocence!”

When I saw Dad’s arm around Mary loosen slightly, I knew my words had worked.

Choking back tears, my gaze fixed straight on the unconscious Ethan in his arms.

“Dad, if there really is a bad person hiding in our house who wants to hurt Ethan, what would he do?”

That sentence was like a needle, piercing straight into the softest part of Dad’s heart.

Mary’s face instantly turned pale. She bit her lip hard, then seemed to make up her mind. She suddenly lifted her head and looked at Dad through tear-filled eyes.

“That’s a question I should be asking you! Our family of three was living just fine. If this disaster weren’t here, how could our home ever know anything but peace?”

Her voice was full of sobs, every word squeezed out from deep in her chest.

“Honey, I followed you without asking for anything and gave birth to our son. How could I possibly harm our own flesh and blood?

“Every day I rack my brain cooking for you, keeping this house in perfect order. Have you forgotten all of that?

“Your misunderstanding of me doesn’t matter. What I’m afraid of is your being fooled by this ungrateful brat and regretting it for the rest of your life!”

Mary’s words were filled with sincerity, carrying all the grievance of a wronged wife.

Dad wavered.

He thought of the past few years, how Mary had kept her head low, managed the household perfectly, and obeyed him in everything.

How could a woman who was willing to give up everything to follow him and had given birth to his only son possibly harm her own flesh and blood?

Seeing his hesitation, Mary immediately pressed her advantage. Retreating to advance, her face filled with the resolve of someone whose heart had been completely shattered.

“Honey, if you want to investigate, then go ahead. But if it turns out like last time and you find nothing, what you’ll be hurting is my heart. You’ll be destroying the trust between us as husband and wife. And when that happens, I’ll take our son and leave. We’ll get a divorce!”

The word “divorce” hit Dad like two massive boulders, crashing down on his heart.

He believed her completely.

He thought Mary had truly been pushed to the brink by me, this vicious daughter of his, her heart utterly broken.

A neighbor, who had been watching the drama from the sidelines, hurried over to take Mary’s side.

“Mary, you mustn’t say something like that out of anger! Everyone in the neighborhood has seen how much you’ve given to this family. If you ask me, it’s this girl who’s jealous of Ethan. Her heart is rotten to the core!”

“That’s right. Hurry up and comfort your wife. A woman this good is impossible to find. If you really drive her away, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”

The neighbors’ noisy chatter became the final straw that crushed Dad’s remaining rationality.

He suddenly turned around, eyes blazing with fury as he stared straight at me.

“You won’t be satisfied until you turn this family upside down, will you? All those years of schooling, did you shove them straight into a dog’s stomach?!”

Before his words even finished, he turned and walked toward the toolbox by the wall, pulling out a dark, heavy whip.

It was the one our family used before, specifically to discipline a large dog when it didn’t listen. The whip was covered in tiny barbs, and at the tip, dried blackened flesh still clung to it, giving off a mixed stench of rust and blood.

“Since studying won’t make anything of you, then stay at home. I will personally teach you how to behave!”

“Smack!”

The whip sliced through the air and lashed hard across my back. The neighbors hypocritically called out, “Don’t go too far,” yet couldn’t help cheering.

“Well done! If a child won’t listen, they deserve to be beaten!”

Mary held Ethan in her arms, the corner of her mouth curling into a triumphant smile. Her gaze looked at me like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

“Dad, it really wasn’t me. Call the police and check the fingerprints…” I clenched my teeth as the taste of blood spread through my mouth.

However, Dad turned a deaf ear. With a flick of his wrist, what looked like a light pull caused the barbs on the whip to dig deep into my flesh, then tear out violently, bringing a ripping, agonizing pain.

I hated this!

I hated it so much that my whole body trembled!

Why, even after being given a second chance and planning every step so carefully, could I still not escape this ending?

I closed my eyes in despair, thinking history was about to repeat itself. Dad’s second whip was already raised high, this time coming straight for my eyes.

It was over.

At that critical moment, the Ethan who had been unconscious in Mary’s arms suddenly stirred and let out a weak sound.

“Don’t… don’t hit Lucy…”

Everyone froze.

Ethan struggled to open his eyes, using all the strength in his little body to cry out in a soft, childish voice.

“It was a man. A man who smelled like perfume pushed me down the stairs!”