The flight from Hong Kong to Russia took a few more hours. Her heart raced in her chest as she alighted the plane.
The cold breeze welcomed her, brushing against her relentlessly, as if warning her to get away from here.
She shivered.
She would do just that, but she wouldn't be leaving alone; she would go with her mother.
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she imagined holding her, hugging her, feeling her warmth.
She would make up for all the times they had lost. She would take care of her with the money she had saved up over the years. It would be enough for them to relocate to a faraway country. She would get a job; everything was finally going to be okay. For once in her life, she would be happy.
She smiled, but it immediately faded upon her father's text:
'There's a white jeep waiting for you right outside the airport. Get in now.'
The happiness she once felt was soon replaced with anxiety and dread. She would meet her family again after three long years of being free from the clutches.
Her father, he was no short of a monster, and she would have to face him to get her mother.
Fear settled in her chest, but she reminded herself she had won a huge battle. She had divorced her husband.
She wasn't as helpless as she used to be. She refused to be. Everything would go according to her plan, just like it did before.
She stepped out of the airport, a brand new confidence growing within her with every step she took, and then she found him, the supposed driver her father had hired.
"Lilian Hart?" he called gruffly.
The last name hit her. She was no longer a Rune and now back to being a Hart. She despised the thought of going back to taking her father's last name, not when he never thought of her as a daughter, not when he tormented her mother for twenty-two long years.
She watched the driver stare at his phone for a moment, and then he looked back at her. "Get in," he ordered.
She was suddenly skeptical, but nevertheless she got in, and then he ignited the car and drove her out of the airport.
She squeezed the fabric of her dress, her heart thumping loudly as she neared the Hart residence.
Minutes later, they arrived. She suddenly felt her body turn cold, her eyes falling on the house that hadn't changed a bit. It was nothing extravagant, nor was it anything near Xavier's mansion, but it was a comfortable home.
She got down from the car; her body swayed as the memory of the hell she went through here flooded her mind.
She could hear her own painful screams in her head as her father whipped her back with all his might, not minding the fact she was already bleeding.
She tried hard to snap out of it. Now wasn't the time to cry or show weakness, and if she kept thinking of it, she would.
She dragged her trolley to the house, and immediately she stepped in. She saw everyone already waiting for her.
She stiffened, her eyes falling on her father, Yhuan, first, who stared at her with a strong hint of displeasure, his face grim.
And then her stepmother, Liah, who threw her a scornful look, eying the expensive dress she wore, a huge contrast to the rags she used to wear when she lived here.
"Looks like Cinderella has finally returned," her eldest sister, Amara, snorted.
And then she felt the harsh glare from her immediate elder sister, Nelly. "Looks like Mr. Rune has been taking good care of you, fattening you up and adorning you with the most expensive items."
She stalked towards her. Lilian stood her ground, and then Nelly walked past her, only to snatch her trolley.
"All these belong to me and Mara now. You won't be needing them anyways."
Lilian dug her nails into her flesh. She understood their hatred stemmed from jealousy. She looked much better than she used to; her skin no longer clung to her bones. But they were idiots to think she was coming here to resume the life of a maid.
Walking past her sisters, she stood right in front of her father, her body shook, not from fear but from anger.
Seeing him now, knowing what he had done, knowing how heartless he truly was…
"Where is my mother?" she seethed, digging her nails deeper into her palms.
"Have you no manners? Seems like being away for so long has made you forget who you are talking to, filthy bastard," her stepmother spat, but she wasn't even listening.
All Lilian wanted was for him to take her mother right this instant.
His hand suddenly shot to her shoulder, squeezing it in a bone-crushing grip.
Lilian winced at the immense pain, and then she let out a loud cry once he added more pressure.
"Want to know where your mother is, huh? Rotting somewhere in the ocean bed after I killed and discarded her body twenty-two years ago."
The pain on her shoulder suddenly turned non-existent, replaced by a sharp prick in her chest.
A tear fell without her control. Another followed, her vision blurring instantly.
"You're lying," Lilian shook her head in denial. "Tell me, where is my mother?!"
A painful slap suddenly met her cheek. She instantly fell hard on the ground.
"You dare speak with such disrespect?" her stepmother kicked her with all her might, but she held back her cry. In fact, her whole senses numbed.
He had… lied to her. Her mother wasn't alive? Her chest squeezed. Her heart combusted to pieces.
And before she could say one more word, she felt something extremely heavy hit her head.
She felt warm blood dripping down her neck. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but everything went blank instantly.
Her eyelids felt heavy as she forced them open. She could barely make out her surroundings.
She felt the cold ground beneath her frame, biting through her skin. She pushed herself up, her brows rumpling at the rusty iron bars in front of her.
Where was she? How did she get here? Was this a prison?
Her nose crinkled from the pungent smell of rusting iron and something rotten.
The last thing she remembered was speaking to her father, and then her memory restored all at once, and the sharp pain she felt in her chest returned double-fold.
Her mother wasn't alive? He had lied to make her divorce Xavier and then to lure her to this place.
Where was this place?
The sound of clicking shoes against the cemented ground cut through the silence, and then a figure came to stand in front of the iron bars.
Her father, Yhuan.
She forced herself to stand on her feet. He stared at her, his lips pulling up.
"Why did you have me locked here?" she demanded. Was this some hidden place in the house? Was this some sort of punishment?
Yhuan slowly nodded, his eyes taking in her surroundings. "For once, you are of great use to me."
Lilian failed to understand what he was saying, but she just let him continue.
"Mr. Rune needs a bride from my household. With the divorce which you issued, he'll have no choice but to take Nelly as his bride once I introduce her to him."
Her blood boiled from so much anger, and she could see herself ripping this human to pieces.
"Cut the long story short and tell me why you have me locked up in here," she gritted, her hands holding on to the iron bars, trying to pull them open, but they never budged.
"You won't get out of here that easily, Lilian," he chuckled, pleased by her misery.
Where was here? Her body shook from both pain and anger.
"I sold you to the Russian mafia slave establishment. Only death would grant you escape from this place."
The news hit her harder than waves.