Her Dirty Secret

1 Six years ago, my mother escaped my father's abuse through a bitter divorce. Today, she's one of this city's most brilliant entrepreneurs, a guest on a prime-time true-crime talk show. On air, the host prodded her to confront her past, urging her to look into the camera and ask me, "Annie, why did you lie for that monster all those years ago? Why did you commit perjury to help him?" I was propped up in bed, the diagnosis in my hand—stage four bone cancer—crinkling in my grip. A dry, mocking laugh escaped my lips. "Tessa," I whispered to her image on the screen, "you deserved every last hit." I still remember my final words to her back then: "Don't you ever come back for us. If you do, my father and I—the two 'demons'—we'll make sure you don't leave alive." On the show, my mother let out a cold laugh, telling the entire nation, "I knew it from the start. She's a bad seed, born rotten. Just like her beast of a father." She'll never know. She'll never know that I traded my life for her ten years of peace. ... The broadcast ended. I stared at the static-filled screen for a long time before slowly getting out of bed. I walked to the cramped hallway and pulled out the small, smoky grill cart I used to sell food. Mrs. Gable from next door stepped out, rushing to help me. "Annie, dear, you're going out this late?" I gently pushed her hands away. "It's alright, Mrs. Gable. You've done more than enough for me over the years." She paused, her eyes welling up. "I saw the show, Annie. Are you really not going to tell your mother the truth? She's so wealthy now. If she knew..." "Mrs. Gable!" I cut her off, my voice sharp. "She doesn't need to know." "I can support myself with the cart. I'll pay back the money I owe you as soon as I can." With that, I summoned every ounce of strength I had and pushed the heavy cart away. My mother was a star that had fallen into the mud. She never belonged in this filthy world, and she didn't need to know its filthy secrets. Besides, the doctor said I had a week, at most. Soon, I'd take this secret with me to hell, right alongside that monster. The night market was a chaotic symphony of sights and sounds. I found my usual spot and laid out the skewers on the grill, the acrid smoke stinging my eyes. Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the noise. "There she is! Wreck it!" I looked up. Jasmine, my mother's adopted daughter and chosen heir, was striding toward me, flanked by bodyguards. "You little trash," she sneered. "Still have the face to be out here peddling your filth?" She kicked the grill over, sending hot coals scattering across the pavement. "If you hadn't lied on the stand, my mother wouldn't have suffered so much! You're a monster, just like him. Why don't you just die already!" Her palm cracked against my cheek. For a moment, all sound vanished from my right ear. The few customers at nearby stalls stared. Someone actually clapped. "So that's Annie Wei, the girl who defended her abusive dad! Serves her right!" Jasmine grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me to the ground. My knee landed on the searing hot coals. A scream tore from my throat as I thrashed against the agony. But ever since the cancer took hold, my bones had become as fragile as glass; the slightest knock could cause a fracture. Against Jasmine's assault, I was helpless. I could only lie there as she sat on me, raining down blow after blow. The scene felt sickeningly familiar, a replay of six years ago. Jasmine had bullied me for three years in school, cornering me in bathrooms, beating me until I was bruised and bloody. But I still preferred school. Because the beatings at home, from my father, were always worse. "Jasmine." A familiar, cool voice drifted from above. The fists stopped. Jasmine scrambled off me, turning to face my mother. Her expression instantly shifted to one of a wounded victim. "Aunt Tessa, what are you doing here?" My mother stood at the edge of the crowd. She wore a beige trench coat, her hair pinned back immaculately. Every gesture radiated the quiet confidence of a mature, successful woman. She didn't even spare me a glance. She took Jasmine's hand gently. "Does it hurt?" Jasmine whined, "Yes. Her skin is so tough, my knuckles are all red." My mother bent her head and blew softly on Jasmine's hand. "Let the bodyguards handle this sort of thing next time." I watched the tender scene unfold, my arms trembling as I tried to subtly wipe the blood from my mouth with my sleeve. Tessa had raised her daughter well. Charming and cute, with the perfect amount of a rich girl's entitlement. "Aunt Tessa, her little stand doesn't even have a permit! I already called my uncle at code enforcement. They'll be here to haul it away any minute!" A tremor of fear shot through me. This cart was my only source of income. After paying back Mrs. Gable, there was just enough left for painkillers. My nails dug into my palms as I forced myself to meet my mother's gaze. She looked at me, a long, deep look, and did nothing to stop it. A few minutes later, city officials arrived and confiscated everything. Jasmine was ecstatic. "Aunt Tessa, you're the best to me. Little vermin like her don't deserve a way to live!" I fought against the searing pain in my bones, managing only a pained smile. The word "Mom" rose in my throat, but I swallowed it back down. "Ms. Lu," I said, "Jasmine isn't the right choice." Jasmine's eyes flashed with anger. "What did you say? Who do you think you are to talk?" I ignored her, keeping my voice steady as I looked at my mother. "Her character isn't suited to be your heir. You should keep looking." My mother's eyes were fixed on my pale face. I saw her fist clench inside her coat pocket. Her voice was laced with scorn. "Who I choose as my heir is none of your damn business." A sharp sting filled my nose. All I could do was offer another weak smile as I watched my mother lead Jasmine away and climb into a Porsche. After a long moment, I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt over my head with a trembling hand, hiding the fresh bruises on my face. I cleaned up the mess amidst the pointing fingers and whispered insults, then limped back to my tiny apartment. Inside the Porsche, Tessa spoke quietly to her assistant. "Look into any and all contact between Jasmine and Annie Wei." Jasmine's eyes widened in disbelief. "Aunt Tessa, you're investigating me... because of something she said?!" She looked at my mother's cold profile, her lip trembling. "We're mother and daughter... Mom..." Tessa shot her a sideways glance. "Jasmine, you're overstepping. If you are qualified, you will become my successor. There is no need to bring our relationship into it." A dark cloud passed over Jasmine's face as she clenched her fists. 2 My mother was born into wealth. She cut ties with her family to marry my father, a simple fisherman named Rick. Rick was a monster, but he played the part of a loving husband just long enough for my mother to give birth. "Useless bitch, couldn't even give me a son! I'll beat you to death!" He never held back, raining fists and feet on my mother right in front of me. I never cried. I just watched. As a little girl, I didn't understand that crying was a way to show sadness or pity. I only knew that if Mom was crying, then I couldn't. Eventually, I learned the patterns of his rage. Whenever Rick went out drinking, I'd slip a sleeping pill into my mother's water. Then I'd go downstairs and wait for him. I would provoke him, and he would unleash all his drunken fury on me. And my mother would be safe. My sweet, naive mother. She had been so sheltered growing up. No matter how badly he hurt her, she would just hold me and cry, telling me to believe in love, to believe there was still good in the world. I would look at her, my heart a piece of ice. Mom didn't belong here. She was a golden phoenix fallen into a cesspool. No matter the cost, I had to lift her out. I woke from a nightmare and used the wall to steady myself as I made my way to the basement. Since the cancer had advanced, every bone in my body ached. They fractured at the slightest impact, and the wounds were slow to heal. Jasmine's beating today had left me with a limp. The damp, cold air sent sharp pains shooting up my ankle. Rick was chained to the wall. He heard me approach and lifted his head. His cloudy, ancient eyes widened in a mix of fear and rage. "You little monster! I raised you for over a decade, and this is how you repay me? Did you forget who took you to the clinic when that john broke your leg?" I looked at him, my expression blank. "And who sent me to that john in the first place?" He was momentarily stunned, then let out a cold laugh. "So what if it was me? If you didn't sell yourself, how was I supposed to get money for my gambling?" The chains rattled as he leaned closer. "You've been turning tricks for years. Did your mother ever come looking for you? What do you think she'd do if she knew her precious daughter started at fourteen? She'd probably puke." I watched his mouth open and close, feeling nothing. There was a time when his words would have cut me to the bone, left me bleeding with shame and hatred. But I was already dying. What did any of it matter now? I turned and picked up a pair of pliers from a nearby shelf, testing their weight in my hand. Rick's smile vanished. "What are you doing?" I grabbed his jaw, forcing his mouth open. I raised the pliers. "If you can't learn to speak like a human," I said coldly, "then you don't need these teeth." His eyes bulged in terror as a muffled scream escaped his throat. "Annie!" An inhuman shriek echoed through the basement. 3 The next morning, I got a fine from code enforcement. Two thousand dollars. Jasmine's revenge was vicious. I emptied every last cent I had to my name to pay it. Now I didn't even have money for painkillers, let alone what I owed Mrs. Gable. My body was deteriorating by the day. Time was running out. I turned down a waitress job a neighbor offered me. Instead, holding a flyer for a clinical research facility, I headed to the outskirts of the city. The lab was stark and bare. The pay was five thousand dollars a session. Your life was your own risk. I signed the contract and was led to a simple gurney. The needle in the doctor's hand gleamed under the fluorescent lights. I closed my eyes, one thought repeating in my mind. Pay back Mrs. Gable, then go to hell with that monster. It's worth it. My broken, worthless life for my mother's happiness. It's worth it. "Annie!" A vicious slap cracked across my face, so hard it sent me sprawling from the gurney to the floor. I coughed, blood sputtering from my lips. Dazed, I looked up. My mother was standing over me, her eyes blazing with a fury and terror I had never seen before. "Are you trying to kill yourself?!" She grabbed my wrist to haul me up. The second her fingers touched my arm, she froze. Beneath the thin layer of skin, there was only sharp, unyielding bone. Like a dead branch in winter, ready to snap. Her hand stayed there, suspended. After a moment, she looked at me, her lips trembling. "Why... why are you so thin?" Her eyes reddened, but the flicker of sorrow was immediately consumed by a deeper rage. She threw my arm down, her voice shrill. "Annie, look at you! Look at what you've become! You let them beat you, curse you, and you don't even fight back! And now you're here, selling your life for drug trials? Are you that pathetic?!" She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving. "How could I have a daughter like you? I can't believe it. I, Tessa Lu, raised a daughter who would let herself live like this!" Every word was a poisoned dart, striking me right in the heart. I lowered my eyes as a single tear hit the floor. Being scorned by my own mother... it hurt more than the cancer. Jasmine's assistant had appeared in the doorway. He whispered something in her ear. Jasmine's eyes lit up. She hooked her arm through my mother's, her voice dripping with fake concern. "Aunt Tessa, don't be angry. People like her aren't worth your energy." She looked down at me, her expression openly triumphant. "I bet you don't know how she's really been living all these years, do you, Aunt Tessa? By spreading her legs. Selling skewers by day, selling herself by night." She pulled a stack of photos from her purse and threw them. They scattered across the linoleum floor. They were pictures of me. In bed. With a series of different men. 4 My mother picked one up, her hand shaking uncontrollably. "Annie, are you that desperate for men? Are you that depraved?!" A crowd had gathered. I could hear their whispers. "She'll really sleep with anyone, won't she." "No wonder Ms. Lu disowned her. She's utterly shameless." The veins on the back of my mother's hand stood out as she gripped the photos, her gaze so intense it felt like it was peeling my skin off. "You're coming with me." She grabbed my arm, her grip so tight I thought the bone would shatter. "To the hospital! And then to the police station! You are going to turn yourself in and confess every sordid thing you've ever done!" She dragged me two steps before my bad leg gave out. I looked up at her taut, furious profile. "Mom." She stopped. My voice was a fragile whisper. "Having a daughter like me... does it bring you so much shame?" She turned, her eyes red-rimmed and raw. She ground the words out through her teeth. "If you needed money, why didn't you come to me? Would it have killed you to just apologize?" She shook me by the shoulders, her nails digging into my flesh. "Come with me and confess! I'll beg the police for leniency." I opened my mouth to speak, but froze. A familiar figure had appeared in the doorway. It was Rick. He was covered in filth and blood, a knife clutched in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared, his words slurred and indistinct, "Bitch! I'll kill you!" He charged toward my mother, the tip of the blade aimed straight for her heart. My mother stood frozen. He was too close. There was no time to move. Jasmine cowered in the distance, screaming at her assistant. "What did you do?! Why is he going after Aunt Tessa? If anything happens to her, I'll kill you!" But someone is always faster than a blade. Without a second of hesitation, I shoved my mother out of the way. The moment the knife sank into my chest, it didn't hurt. A warm liquid just gushed out, dripping from the hilt onto my mother's expensive coat. Security guards swarmed in, tackling Rick to the ground as he spat muffled curses. I fell backward, into my mother's arms. Her coat was so soft, and it smelled of a beautiful, clean perfume. I had spent my childhood wondering what it would feel like to be held by her like this. So this was it. Her heart was beating so, so fast. "Annie!! Annie!!" She was calling my name. I tried to keep my eyes open, to look at her. Her tears fell onto my face, warm against my cold skin. I tried to move my lips, to call her "Mom." But the word was trapped in my throat, and I couldn't get it out. My mother's eyes were wild, her voice cracking. "Annie! An ambulance! Somebody call an ambulance!" Jasmine, relieved, walked over and took my mother's arm. "Aunt Tessa, don't be so upset. Annie was no good anyway. If she dies, she dies. Just two dogs fighting..." My mother violently threw her arm off. Before Jasmine could react, a voice cried out from the doorway. "That's a lie!" Mrs. Gable stumbled into the room and fell to her knees beside me. She gathered me into her arms, her tears splashing onto my face. "Annie, you foolish, foolish child..." She looked up at my mother, her old, cloudy eyes filled with tears. "You people have no idea what the truth is. Tessa, the person you've wronged most in this life is Annie!"