As a group of adults looked at me questioningly, I pinched my thigh hard and cried louder than my brother.

"It's all my fault. Mom always told me that if Beth wanted to hit me, I should just stand still. If I had known, I would not have moved. Under such circumstances, my brother would not have kicked the table leg."

After I finished speaking, the adults looked at each other, and my mother became even more embarrassed.

I couldn't explain it clearly, but I still tried hard to do it.

"Zoe, you... What are you talking about? I've loved you since you were a child. Also, I always reminded your brother of taking care of you."

She added, "Your brother is still a child. He definitely didn't mean it."

I kept crying, and the woman called Dolcie who had been talking to me just now patted me on the back.

"Honey, don't cry. Your mother definitely doesn't mean that," she said so with a teasing smile.

I remembered that Dolcie and my mother had always been sworn enemies. They always competed with each other.

Especially, Dolcie's first child was a boy, but my mother gave birth to a daughter. Besides, she missed the opportunity to be promoted, while Dolcie got promoted.

Over the years, my mother and Dolcie had been competing with each other. But unluckily, she didn't have a boy all the time.

After my mother was finally delivered of a boy, she glowed with pride. Hence, she often showed off in front of Dolcie.

"Yes, yes, that's what I mean. Everyone always loves their own child, right?"

Unexpectedly, Dolcie then continued to say, "However, the girl is only 4 years old. How can she lie?"

"Dolcie, what you said is wrong."

My mother had a stern face, but she forced a smile while turning to look at me.

"Zoe, you know how I treat you."

Thinking of the piano that I had given up halfway in my prior life, I smirked and complained.

"But you didn't let me continue taking piano classes. You didn't buy me a piano."

She was so mean to me that I couldn't get a piano. It seemed like she would buy a cheap electronic organ for me. With that in mind, I decided to make her spend a lot of money.

I was just a kid anyway, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

"I just want the one I saw last time at the mall."

As Dolcie still stood there and saw the scene, my mother gritted her teeth and said, "Okay. I'll buy you whatever you want."

"Mom, you're so good to me."

Dolcie also echoed, "Carrie, you really love your child."

Under the urging of Dolcie, my mother had no choice but to pay for my interest classes and buy me a piano.

The painful expression on her face while paying the bill made me laugh.

Meanwhile, I had to pay the price for this. She ignored me at home and deliberately didn't give me food. So, I often felt dizzy and was weakened by hunger.

"Zoe, you're a naughty girl, so you'll be punished."

She wore a cruel smile, and I just gritted my teeth without saying a word.

My brother was even more shameless at this time. He showed off the snacks in his hand and made faces at me.

"I won't give you any."

As for my dad, he was indifferent about us, just concentrating on his work.

As a cold fish, he didn't care about other family members, as if he had no blood relationship with us. His indifference was also the push for my mother to become more cruel. My final outcome was closely related to him.

Feeling a deep hatred, I swore to get back at them.

I don’t know if it was to humiliate me, but after the meal, my mother threw the leftovers on the table to me with disgust.

"Now, eat it."

I turned my head away, remained silent, and protested it. It annoyed her even more, and she raised her hand and slapped me.

My face ached, and my head tilted to one side. My body even swayed and fell to the ground.

Tasting blood made me frown uncomfortably.

My mother then laughed and warned, "I always have a way to make you obedient."

Even if I was obedient, she would bully me at will. That was why she married me off in exchange for money.

"I don't accept it."

I straightened my back, stood up with difficulty, and glared at her.

It really annoyed her. She believed that I would be obedient after being beaten, but unexpectedly, I had such a strong spirit of resistance.

"You brat, how dare you?"

"Kill me if you can!" I provoked.

My brother encouraged my mother. "Mom, hit her quickly. She deserves a good beating."

When he spoke, his expression was exactly like my mother's. Realizing that they looked alike, I was so furious that I reached out and pushed him to the ground.

"I've been displeased with you for a long time."

He was younger than me, so he had no ability to fight back when I hit him. Furthermore, I was stronger than him. After I pushed him down, he was stunned and then cried loudly.

Seeing that I hit him, her darling, my mother couldn't stand it anymore. She slapped me in the face immediately. I felt dizzy, and my vision blurred.

"You are a child abuser."

"You're my child. Of course, I can beat you! If you have the guts, just sue me!"

She added, "Let me tell you. Since I give birth to you, I can beat you however I want. Nobody can stop me."

Later, she patted her butt and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Meanwhile, my brother took the opportunity to pat me on the head several times.

I struggled to get up from the ground and looked at myself in the mirror in the living room. I found that my face was swollen and there was blood at the corners of my mouth. Obviously, I had been bullied.

However, I was pleased because I kept evidence.

As nobody paid attention to me, I slipped out of the house and ran to the police station near to our community.

I shouted, "Sir, please save me. I'm being abused."

I was not even as tall as the counter, so the policeman laughed before he saw me.

"How old are you? Do you know what that means?"

Yet, the man was startled by my swollen face as he bent down.

The police took me to the Child Protective Service soon. They all looked solemn while seeing my swollen face.

A woman gently touched my face and asked, "Okay, sweetie. Can you tell me who hit you in the face?"

"It's Mommy."

The woman sighed and took me to the hospital to check my injuries.

Later, she and others took me home with the certificate issued by the hospital.

I witnessed that Carrie, my mother, who had originally looked indifferent while seeing me, suddenly put on a gentle smile after noticing others. However, due to the medical examination report, she was still taken away by the police.

Although I was injured, I didn't suffer a serious injury, so there was no way to file a case. Carrie was released after being detained for three days. Fortunately, people from the Child Protective Service warned her.

I thought that something interesting would happen, for I had asked someone to call Dolcie over early on.

As soon as the door was opened, I saw Dolcie standing next to my mother.

Carrie's expression immediately changed, and she held me in her arms lovingly while seeing the staff accompanying me.

"Thank you. I don't know how she got lost. It should be an accident. Thank you very much. I will definitely take good care of her in the future and not let her run around."

Dolcie came over quickly and pretended to care. "Carrie, what happened? Why is Zoe's face swollen?"

"You know. She is a naughty girl. It's normal for her to fall, and it just happens."

The staff member frowned, not expecting her to lie on the spot.

"Mrs. Floyd, your child has already told us that you beat her."

My mother looked unhappy, while Dolcie next to her tried to hold back a smile.

She said sarcastically, "Carrie, you always say how much you like your daughter, but I didn't expect you to beat her. Most importantly, you never abuse your son, right? You don't favor boys over girls, do you?"

"What do you mean? Are you trying to frame me? I always treat both of them equally. It's just because Zoe likes to run around."

Carrie lied without hesitation, and the staff's face immediately darkened.

"Mrs. Floyd, according to Child Protection Law, if you continue to abuse your daughter like this, we will prosecute you. Once the lawsuit is established, you'll be sentenced to several years in jail."

When it came to the law, my mother immediately became timid and explained obsequiously.

"I didn't mean it. She is my child. How could I bear to hurt her? I really didn't mean it."

Fearing that the staff of the Child Protective Service would be soft-hearted, I moved closer to them. The next moment, I pointed at my face and cried out in pain.

"Miss, my face still hurts."

The staff member became serious again, and then she warned my mother.

"We will make further follow-up visits. Once the little girl is beaten again, we will definitely sue you or deprive you of custody."

"That's right! She is your child, and you have to treat her well."

Long after, my mother finally sent them away. She then dragged me in with a stern face.

"How dare you! You even called the police. Do you think they can keep watching me all the time? Believe it or not, I will beat you up."

Just as I thought, my mother threatened me after they left. So, I opened the door and screamed.

"Help me! My mom is going to hit me again."

The Child Protective Service staff members returned by the same route suddenly. It shocked my mother.

The staff then contacted the people from the community. After that, the news that my mother abused me had been reported for a week.

Besides, the neighbors were asked to supervise my mother.

My mother, who was such a proud person, was completely humiliated. For a long time, whenever we appeared together, people who knew her would stare at her. Also, I could even hear them whispering to one another.

"That's her! Although she is an intellectual with a good job, she favors boys over girls and even beats the girl at home."

"Really? What a pity! Why does the girl have such a mother?"

My goal was achieved, and my mother was humiliated as I expected.

She hated me even more, and I also hated her very much. I decided to move to the second step to seek revenge.

With the Child Protective Service staff watching over her, my mother didn't dare hit me. Instead, she scolded me every day.

Every time this happened, I would deliberately run to my father's study room. It was because he wouldn't allow anyone to enter his study room and make loud noises.

Upon seeing me hiding behind my dad, my mother would shut her mouth immediately.

Although my father noticed me, he didn't take me seriously. He just stared at the computer. But in fact, he was not looking at documents but chatting.

He was seemingly working in the study every day; in fact, he was always chatting with his mistress.

In my prior life, I found out about my father's extramarital affair just before I died. At that moment, he divorced my mother and took half of our belongings. That was why my mother took advantage of me to make money.

Back to reality, I tried to lean towards the computer screen. To my surprise, I saw Dolcie's name on the screen.

It seemed like they were flirting with each other. There was their chat history, including the news they planned to go to the hotel.

My dad's mistress turned out to be Dolcie. I had known for a long time that she and my mom didn't get along, but I didn't expect that it would happen.

I took several photos through with the children's camera in my hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm playing."

My father was so nervous that he slapped me on the head and kicked me out.

Certainly, he couldn't imagine that a 4-year-old girl like me would take photos to gather evidence about their affair.

I didn't leave but sneaked back and squatted under the table, just in time to catch their chatting records.

Until now, I realized the reason why the door of the study was usually kept tightly closed. It turned out that my dad wanted to keep it a secret.