Chapter 1

The sharp voice of a woman pierced the air. “Vixen! I’m starving! Hurry up and fix me something to eat!”

In hurried strides, Laura Yale made her way over to the cupboard on her petite legs, rifling through its contents.

A few moments later, she stood before her mom with a timid expression and mumbled, “Mommy… there’s no pasta left…”

Lilian Yale’s response was swift and harsh as she yelled, “If there’s no pasta, can’t you just go out and buy some?”

Laura’s ears rang from the loud noise, her face devoid of any emotion. “But I don’t have any money,” she managed to utter softly.

Lilian rolled her eyes, holding a cigarette between her teeth as she rummaged through her shabby red wallet in search of money. Her expression shifted as she flipped through the wallet’s contents.

A frown formed as she stared at the paltry 1 dollar in her hand. In a dismissive gesture, she tossed the coin at Laura as if discarding trash. “Go on and buy it! All you ever talk about is money! When are you ever going to earn some money for me?”

Laura did not respond. She picked up the meager coin and silently made her way out to the door.

As the door closed behind her, her stomach protested with a series of grumbles.

She hurriedly massaged her belly in an attempt to appease its grumbling, softly reassuring, “Calm down; it’ll be all right.”

Maybe she could treat herself to a bowl of leftover mushroom soup if she made her mom some pasta.

The fragrance of warm dried pasta never failed to soothe her.

With delicate and cautious steps, Laura climbed the aging staircase with her petite legs.

Even at her young age, she had long known that her mother, Lilian, was far from virtuous.

Lilian went straight to prison shortly after Laura’s birth. Laura had been raised within the confines of an orphanage, where the other children often taunted her as “the child of a criminal.”

Nonetheless, her heart always held onto the fervent hope of one day meeting her mom.

And that day finally arrived when she turned four. She finally met Lilian and immediately recognized her.

The aura Lilian exuded was undeniably familiar, as her beauty was a mirror image of how Laura imagined her mother to be.

However, Lilian had a bad temper, in stark contrast to the tales others had spun about how kind and gentle mothers could be. Lilian would call Laura a vixen whenever she laid eyes on her, never sparing the latter from a torrent of curses ever since the day Lilian brought Laura away from the orphanage.

During the six months she spent under her mom’s roof, Laura had heard the truth about her dad and another woman.

It was said that her father lived a good life, and was married with three sons. Laura, being the fourth child, was incessantly belittled to a position beneath anyone else.

She slept on the bare floor and ate whatever was left of her mom’s meals. And because her features bore a striking resemblance to her dad’s, her mom believed it was all right to mistreat her.

Nonetheless, Laura did not blame her mom.

After descending the stairs, Laura hastened to the mini-mart to buy the cheapest dried pasta available. Fearing her mom’s wrath, she dashed back home without delay.

She knew too well the consequences of arriving late.

As she approached the corridor outside her home, her mom was there as well.

Laura was just about to call out to Lilian, yet her voice caught in her throat.

Lilian was seen pestering a greasy middle-aged man, her lips curving into a sugary smile as she pleaded, “Harry, please. I’ve run out of money, and the rent is long overdue! I’m on the brink of starving!”

The middle-aged man wore a grin on his face as he fished out his phone, but just as he was about to make a transfer, a robust woman unexpectedly burst forth from the background, accusing, “You shameless woman, trying to seduce my husband again!”

A scuffle ensued, leaving Laura wide-eyed as she witnessed the woman fiercely clutching her mother’s hair.

An anguished groan escaped Lilian’s lips.

Laura’s instincts urged her to step in, but Lilian’s warning to avoid her affairs with other men held her back.

She stood there, powerless and helpless, watching the tumultuous scene play out before her eyes. The struggle intensified, reaching a peak as her panicked mom managed to break free, dashing toward the edge of the residential area.

The woman pursuing Lilian remained unyielding, her voice slicing through the air. “Stop running, you shameless woman!”

Laura hurried after them, clutching the packet of dried pasta in her hand. She called out desperately, “Mommy! Mommy!”

However, Lilian paid no heed, her red dress billowing like a flower in full bloom as she rushed toward the road.

Abruptly, the screech of tires shattered the moment; a car collided with Lilian’s figure.

Amidst the cacophony, Laura’s eyes widened in astonishment as she witnessed Lilian being hurled through the air before crashing down with a resounding thud.

Thump!

In a heartbeat, the scene erupted into chaos.

Some people pulled out their phones, hushed whispers spreading like wildfire, while others gathered around to observe with curiosity. The woman who had been in pursuit of Laura’s mom paled, seized by fear. She quickly grabbed the greasy man and hastened to flee the scene.

Laura’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion. She approached her fallen mom, squatting down beside her in a daze. “Mommy… Are you okay?” she stammered softly.

Lilian lay in a pool of blood, eyes wide but vacant, body twitching involuntarily.

Laura felt utterly lost. She spoke hesitantly, her voice quivering. “I brought back the pasta. Can we go home now? We can have dinner.”

Blood trickled from the corners of the woman’s lips as she struggled to speak.

Laura leaned in, straining to hear her mom’s feeble words. “What are you going to do… I’ve left you behind… What are you going to do?”

After uttering those words, the glimmer in her mom’s eyes abruptly dimmed.