Julie cried even louder, screaming for help.
But we were far from the city, in a remote area where no one could hear her.
“Thanks to Miss Hollie for giving us such a good one.”
“Alright, just take her and go before anyone sees,” Hollie said, waving them off.
The couple agreed and dragged Julie into their car.
I followed them all the way to a remote mountainous area.
Julie tried to escape several times, but they always caught her.
I watched as they broke her leg and chained her to a room.
“Let me tell you, even if you manage to get back, it won’t matter. Mr. Smith won’t believe a word you say. And as for your beloved headmistress, she’s nothing but a neglected wife-replaceable and insignificant. But Miss Hollie? Mr. Smith adores her. So you’d better behave, or things will only get worse for you. I might even find you a good family if you’re lucky.”
Julie was too young to fully understand their words, but the pain kept her crying.
Watching her suffer, beaten and broken, tore my heart apart, yet I was powerless to help.
I regretted it all.
If I had never married Simon, would any of this have happened?
I hated him. I hated him for betraying me.
I hated him for destroying everything I had worked for!
—
During this time, Simon brought Hollie back home.
Everything that once belonged to me was replaced.
Even our wedding photo was swapped for a picture of Simon and Hollie.
They had matching toothbrushes, slippers-everything in the house had become Hollie’s.
Even the sunflowers I loved in the backyard were uprooted.
They flaunted their relationship everywhere, publicly displaying their affection in front of the cameras.
Rumors spread throughout our social circles that I had been unfaithful, which was why Simon ended up with Hollie.
“Mr. Smith, is it true you’re divorcing your wife?”
“Did your wife betray you first?”
” Is Hollie going to be your next wife?”
Question after question bombarded Simon, but he remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on a figure in the distance.
Suddenly, he rushed forward, grabbing the woman’s hand. “I knew you’d show up…”
But as the woman turned around, the smile froze on his face.
It wasn’t me.
It was a stranger.
Realizing his mistake, Simon awkwardly withdrew his hand.
At that moment, someone walked up to Simon and punched him square in the face before he could react.
It was James, his eyes red with fury as he glared down at Simon.
“Julie is dead!”
Both Simon and I froze.
Dead?
How could she be dead?
Julie had only had her leg broken, how could this be…?
I felt a lump in my throat.
All the other children from the orphanage had been sent to work in factories.
Only Julie had been adopted, so James had paid special attention to her.
While investigating the couple who adopted Julie, he discovered something was wrong-they were fugitives, human traffickers.
When James tracked them down to a remote village, he found Julie, barely alive, covered in blood.
She was rushed to the hospital but died despite their efforts to save her.
James clenched his teeth, saying, “That sweet child died in just one day…”
Simon spat out blood, glaring at James.
“What the hell are you talking about!”
“You don’t believe? Just come with me to the hospital!”