Rewriting My Heart's Fate

Jack didn't understand why I would do what I did.

I scoffed. "What father would treat their daughter as something that could be exchanged for money? I assume your beloved wife and daughter had never once come to visit you, right?"

Elene and Ivy had seemed to be long gone. These two women were the truly smart ones.

Out of sight, out of mind. After Jack was thrown in prison, it was really the case for this mother-daughter duo.

Jack's eyes grew distant and bleary like he was looking through the fortress of time into the net that he had intricately woven but could not control.

"Did you think that I wanted this to happen?" he asked. "I tried to protect you two as well, but in this humongous chain of profit hierarchy, I'm nothing but a puny pawn."

I took a deep breath as I tried to calm the chaos in my heart. "What's the real secret, then? What's the scam that you had mentioned about?"

He was silent for a while, like he was contemplating something before he spoke again.

"The art gallery was just a tool those people used to launder money and to cover up for illegal transactions. I was unexpectedly caught in this mess and wasn't able to free myself from then on. Your mother might not have known about all of these, but her presence became my biggest weakness."

My heart constricted. The beautiful memories I had of my mother were shrouded by a dark shadow.

that

head, gentle flashed in

knew was that her husband was an artist, and her daughter inherited this talent. She protected our home in her own way, even when the

me? What role did I play in this scam?" I asked eagerly, anxious

laughed bitterly, and

be some truth in his words. "You? You're the leverage they use to threaten me. Your safety is my only weakness. They knew as long you were with me, I

out I was the one

said next, but I knew what he had said shook me to

for years had been a lie. It seemed like I was the

left prison. I quickly called Kevin. But, he didn't answer the phone. I wandered on the streets like a

lights emitted a yellow hue, casting a long, lonely

caressed my face, but it was almost like the air was also mocking

tightly onto my phone.

I

notification on

seemed to be mocking