The moment Evelyn stepped through the threshold, she was met by Mrs. Ward’s visage, contorted into a mask of feral rage. A shrill torrent of abuse followed: "You have the nerve to show your face? Why didn't you just die out there in the gutter!"

She lunged forward like a cornered beast, her jagged fingernails nearly grazing Evelyn’s nose. "This is all your fault, you useless brat! You couldn't even guard the house! If I’d known I was raising a parasite that only knows how to eat, I’d have smothered you in your cradle—or drowned you in the spittoon!"

Evelyn went deathly pale. She offered no defense. Tears fell silently like severed pearls, tracking through the dust on her cheeks. Under the dim, flickering light, her delicate features seemed fragile and ethereal, a stark contrast to the demonic silhouette of her mother.

"That’s enough, Mrs. Ward," an elderly neighbor called out from the courtyard, unable to watch the cruelty any longer. "A thief is like a shadow—you can't stop them if they’ve set their mind on you. Why are you taking your spite out on the girl?"

A murmur of agreement rippled through the onlookers. Evelyn’s forehead was still seeping blood, her body swaying as if she might collapse under the weight of the humiliation.

"Who else is there to blame?" Mrs. Ward shrieked, her eyes wild enough to swallow someone whole. "She was inside, yet the house was stripped bare! I say she was in on it! She’s an informant for the thieves, a traitor to her own blood! I’m going to the police—I’ll have them drag her out and put her before a firing squad!"

She grabbed Evelyn’s arm with a bruising grip, as if she truly intended to lead her daughter to the scaffold.

Evelyn wrenched her arm away, the dam of her suppressed fury finally breaking. "The police told you exactly why it happened! It was because you stood in the alley screaming such filth that they came back for revenge! You turned this home into an empty shell!"

Her voice trembled with a desperate, jagged edge. "Because of you, my savings are gone! My reputation is ruined, my job is lost, and my money is vanished! I haven't even asked who to blame yet, and you dare point at me?"

Mrs. Ward vibrated with a speechless, bone-deep fury. With a piercing scream, she lunged with clawed hands.

Evelyn nimbly ducked behind her father. Blinded by madness, Mrs. Ward didn't stop; her nails raked across Mr. Ward’s face, leaving deep, bloody furrows.

SLAP!

The sound of the strike echoed sharply against the courtyard walls. Mr. Ward backhanded his wife, sending her sprawling. Then, as if venting every ounce of his own frustration, he rained several more blows down upon her wailing form.

In his mind, two bicycles were just metal and rubber—lost, but replaceable. Did this woman really think her foul mouth could curse the thieves into returning the loot? If she hadn't invited disaster with her tongue, they wouldn't be standing in a house so empty there wasn't even a cloth left to hide their shame.

Chaos erupted as the couple brawled in the dirt. While Caleb scrambled to pull them apart, Evelyn wiped her eyes and slipped into the house unnoticed.

She surveyed the yard. Seeing no sign of the new bicycles, she knew they had been hidden away. Sure enough, in the corner of Caleb’s room, two gleaming, brand-new bikes stood in the shadows. Evelyn let out a cold, silent laugh. With a flicker of intent, she swept the Wards' final assets into her spatial void.

Tomorrow was her departure for the countryside. She had registered Caleb for a week later, but tonight, she was finished with this family.

"Evelyn!"

A soft voice called from the doorway. It was Sophia. she hurried over, her eyes brimming with maternal worry. "Are you alright? Has anyone looked at that wound on your head?"

Evelyn hadn't expected to see her again. They retreated from the din of the courtyard to the mouth of the alley, where the air was finally still.

"Aunt Sophia," Evelyn whispered. "I’m leaving."

Sophia’s heart tightened. She seized Evelyn’s hand. "Child, don't talk like that. Don't do anything rash! I know things are bad, but your father is still a director, and your brother is doing well in the army. Life will go on..."

"I’ve volunteered for the rural program," Evelyn interrupted quietly. "My train leaves at dawn."

Sophia froze, her shock turning to indignation. "You foolish girl! Something this big... did you even consult your parents?"

Evelyn remained silent, her gaze distant.

"No! I’m taking you to the office right now to cancel it!" Sophia moved to pull her along.

Evelyn didn't budge. She simply shook her head. "It’s too late, Auntie. There is no room left for me in this city."

Sophia’s eyes reddened. "I still think Julian has feelings for you. Perhaps you two could still—"

"On our wedding night," Evelyn said, her voice terrifyingly flat, "Julian stayed at the hospital. He spent the entire night at Seraphina’s bedside after her 'heart attack.'"

Sophia felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. The world seemed to tilt. Her own daughter... had seduced the groom on her best friend’s wedding day?

"That’s... that’s impossible. Seraphina is your best friend. She wouldn't..." Sophia’s voice trailed off into a tremble.

Evelyn let a single tear fall. "Julian’s parents confirmed it themselves, Auntie."

Sophia’s face went paper-white. As a mother, the realization of her daughter’s depravity was a physical blow.

"Auntie..." Evelyn’s voice was a broken thread.

Sophia’s heart twisted with a volatile mix of guilt and rage. "There must be a mistake... I’ll confront that girl. If this is true, I’ll make her crawl to you for forgiveness."

Evelyn shook her head with a tragic, beautiful smile. "The engagement is over. If she wants him, she can have him. I just... I can’t be her friend anymore."

"I promise you," Sophia hissed through gritted teeth, "if this is true, I will never let them be together. If she dares to marry into that family, I’ll disown her on the spot!"

Evelyn felt a complex pang in her chest. In her past life, Sophia had died shortly after this. If she had lived, perhaps there might have been a champion for Evelyn—a belated justice.

Sophia begged Evelyn to stay with her, but the girl refused. "I can’t bear to look at Seraphina," she said, before vanishing into the shadows of the night.

By the time the farce at the Ward house ended, the couple was exhausted. They lay on the cold, bare floor of their empty home, panting for breath. When Caleb went to find Evelyn to borrow medicine from the neighbors, he found her room vacant.

Used to her running away, they didn't give it a second thought. "The ungrateful bitch," Mrs. Ward muttered before succumbing to hunger and fatigue. That night, the Wards curled up on the hard ground in a room containing nothing but a ceramic spittoon, spending a night of profound misery.

Evelyn did not say goodbye to Adrian in person. The thousand dollars he had given her remained untouched, stacked neatly on the table of the apartment. She didn't want his charity; she didn't want their connection to be defined by a debt.

She left a short note of thanks, tucked the key under a flowerpot by the door, and walked toward the station with a single, simple bundle.

The whistle shrieked as the train groaned into motion.

"Evelyn! Evelyn!"

A cry came from the platform. Sophia was there, breathless and disheveled. Before the train could pick up speed, she shoved a heavy parcel through the open window into Evelyn’s arms.

"Watch out for thieves! Don't talk to strangers! Write to me the moment you arrive!"

The clattering of the tracks swallowed the rest of her words. Sophia chased the carriage for a few yards, her hand waving frantically. "Send me your address! I’ll send you supplies! Take care, child!"

As the figure blurred into the distance, Sophia felt a sudden, stabbing pain in her heart. Tears blurred her vision, and she couldn't understand why this goodbye felt so much like a final, permanent bereavement.

Evelyn leaned out the window, waving until her arm ached.

"You take care too..." she whispered into the wind, finally voicing the word, "...Mom."