Cuz am not yours

Rain wept against the mansion's windows, a steady, gray drumbeat that mirrored the storm raging in the heart of the girl named Yin Yin. The sound was drowned out by a voice sharp enough to cut glass.

"Yin! Where is my necklace?"

Ms. Yul stood there, a silhouette of fury in the opulent living room. Her eyes, usually cold with disdain, were now blazing with outright accusation. Yin Yin hurried in, her heart a frantic bird trapped in her ribs.

"Mother, I really don’t—"

"Is this your new method of frustrating me?" Ms. Yul advanced, cutting her off. "Ever since we said you should leave, things have been disappearing! Are you trying to steal from me so you have something to sell when you're finally out on the street?"

The words were physical blows. Yin Yin flinched, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. "I swear to God, I didn't take it," she pleaded, her voice a fragile thread. She looked from Ms. Yul to Ha Na, who stood just behind her mother, a mask of pretty concern poorly hiding the glee in her eyes.

"Who are you calling 'Mother'?" Ms. Yul sneered, her lip curling. "I never gave birth to someone as stupid and ungrateful as you. And I never will!"

Ha Na placed a gentle, condescending hand on her mother's arm. "Mom, don't be too hard on her," she said, her tone syrupy sweet. "Maybe she really needs it…" Her eyes, however, shot a silent, triumphant message to Yin Yin: You can't get out of this.

The front door opened, and Mr. Yul strode in, shaking water from his coat. "Yes, my darling? What's happening here?" he asked, his gaze landing on the tense scene.

"I can't believe it," Ms. Yul cried, her voice theatrical. "Yin Yin stole my necklace! The one worth over 2.5 million!"

Mr. Yul's face transformed from calm to thunderous. "WHAT!" he roared, the sound echoing in the high ceiling. He pointed a shaking finger at the floor before Yin Yin. "Before anything, kneel down here! You will confess today! If you don't, you are definitely leaving this house!" He yelled, spittle flying from his lips. "I can't believe after raising you for ten years, this is how you repay me."

Yin Yin fell to her knees, the hard floor a shock against her bones. "Dad, please," she begged, desperation clawing at her throat. "I did not take it. You have to trust me. In all my years in this house, nothing has ever been lost."

Ms. Yul scoffed. "So, you're saying I'm lying against you? Or that my daughter stole it? Why am I even asking? That's basically what you mean!"

"No, I don't mean it that way—"

The crack of the slap was louder than the rain. Yin Yin's head snapped to the side, a fiery pain blossoming on her cheek. "Dad…….." she whispered, the word a broken thing.

Ha Na feigned distress. "Dad, please forgive her! Maybe she didn't do it on purpose. Sis," she said, turning to Yin Yin with fake sympathy, "maybe you should just tell us where it is? Did you sell it already?"

Yin Yin could only stare, the world narrowing to the three hateful faces surrounding her. I really didn’t do it, she thought, the despair a cold weight in her stomach. So why? There's nothing I can do now. I can't win against these people.

"Hey! Are you still not admitting it?" Ms. Yul's voice was a whip. Another slap, hot and stinging, landed on Yin Yin's other cheek. "Do you think this is a joke?"

The fight left her body, draining away with her hope. Her shoulders slumped. "I…..I…..Am sorry, ma'am," she mumbled, the apology for a crime she didn't commit tasting like ash.

Mr. Yul looked as if he'd been struck himself. "WHAT!!!! You really did it! Oh, I can't believe I wasted ten years of my money on you."

"Dad, you have to trust me, pleaseeeeee…..I didn't," Yin Yin sobbed, the tears finally breaking free, tracing hot paths through the redness on her face.

"Ha Na," Ms. Yul commanded, her voice cold and final. "Go upstairs and bring Yin Yin's suitcase here. I want to check it. If I find anything that belongs to me inside, trust me, you are not leaving here alive."

Ha Na's face lit up. "Alright!" she chirped, skipping out of the room with a horrifying joy.

...A few moments later...

Ha Na returned, dragging the small, worn suitcase. You sly girl, she thought, a vicious satisfaction warming her from within. I am ready to chase you out. I've been suffering all these years, and you've been here enjoying my parents' money. With a flourish, she unzipped it and turned it over, dumping the contents onto the floor.

The entire Yul family stared, their mouths agape in unison. "WHAT…….???"

Yin Yin's blood ran cold. Littering the expensive rug were jewels, watches, and stacks of cash she had never seen before in her life. I’m really done for, she thought, her mind going numb with shock. What is all this? I haven't even seen most of these things in this house before.

Ms. Yul loomed over her. "Do you still have anything to say for yourself?"

"I……I really did not," Yin Yin whispered, her voice barely audible.

"You've disgraced me!" Mr. Yul bellowed. "I will no longer be responsible for you!" He drew back his foot and kicked her hard in the stomach. The air rushed from her lungs in a painful gasp.

"MAID MIA!" Ms. Yul shrieked. "Please get Cain for me!"

The sound of the maid's retreating footsteps was soon replaced by the heavy, ominous tread of the head of security, Cain. He held a thick, menacing rod.

"Stand up now," Ms. Yul ordered.

Yin Yin tried, her body screaming in protest.

"Stand up now and receive the punishment for your sins!" Ha Na echoed, her eyes alight with a terrifying fervor.

The first blow landed on her back. Then another. And another.

BEAT. BEAT. BEAT.

The world dissolved into a haze of pure, white-hot agony. The rain, the yelling, the hateful faces—it all blurred into a smear of pain. The blows were relentless, a storm of violence breaking upon her fragile body.

If I am your daughter, her mind whispered into the narrowing tunnel of her consciousness, will you still do this to me? Please, God, give me another second chance at life.

The world grew quiet. The pain began to recede, replaced by a terrifying numbness.

SILENCE………

"Stand up now," Ms. Yul's voice sounded distant.

Hana nudged her with a foot. "What happened? Why are you still pretending? Stand up!"

But Yin Yin couldn't. She was floating somewhere far away.

"Dad," Ha Na's voice was suddenly small, laced with genuine fear. "She's not responding."

Ms. Yul rushed forward, pressing fingers to Yin Yin's neck. Her face drained of all color. "What!! She is not breathing." Her eyes widened in horror and disbelief. "ARE YOU FOR REAL…..HAAAAA!"

But their panic was a distant echo. For Yin Yin, there was only darkness, and a single, dying ember of a wish for vengeance.

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