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The ashes of lies
Chapter 1
We were having a family dinner.
Six–year–old Lily suddenly plunged her hand
into the scorching hot pot.
She was crying, begging me to stop.
“Mommy, my hand is hurt! I can’t do the
videos anymore…”
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“Please don’t hit me anymore, Mommy! I’ll be
good, I promise.”
Mark, my husband, went ballistic.
He snatched my phone.
L
He saw Lily’s pictures everywhere.
He beat me black and blue.
He warned me that if I ever did anything like
that again, he’d kill me.
Later, he had to leave for a business trip.
Lily clung to his leg, sobbing.
“Daddy, don’t go! If you go, Mommy will have
me kidnapped. She’ll break my legs and cut
out my tongue!”
Everyone thought she was just rambling.
But later, Lily’s legs were broken.
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Her tongue was cut out.
She wrote something on the floor in blood:
“Mommy did it. She wants to kill me.”
Mark was beyond furious.
He almost beat me to death.
His parents finally convinced him to divorce
- me.
I got nothing.
I staggered out onto the streets, bleeding.
Wild dogs eventually tore me apart.
Then, I woke up.
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I was back in that moment.
The moment Lily lied about me.
“Mommy, I want hot pot tonight!”
Lily’s sweet, innocent voice rang in my ears.
I shuddered.
I met her eyes.
They were cold.
It was like a cat playing with a dying mouse.
And I?
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I was the mouse.
Ice water filled my veins.
Last time, I’d listened to her.
I’d made hot pot.
That’s what gave her the opportunity to hurt
herself and blame me.
I remembered those dogs tearing me apart.
My whole body ached.
My heart hurt the worst.
She was my daughter.
Why would she lie like that?
Why would she want to hurt me so badly?
“My sweet girl wants hot pot? Grandma will
go get it for you!”
My mother–in–law held Lily, showering her
with affection.
I composed myself.
I forced a smile.
“Mom, Lily told me she had diarrhea at school
today. Maybe something light for dinner
tonight?”
That set Lily off.
She started screaming.
“Mommy’s lying! She says I’m a burden! I
don’t deserve good food!”
“She said she’s gonna break my legs and cut
out my tongue! Waaah!”
She was sobbing now.
She buried herself in my mother–in–law’s
arms.
My father–in–law looked up from his
newspaper.
“Your mom almost died giving birth to you!
You little ingrate! What are you talking
about?”
Lily clung tighter to Grandma’s neck.
“Grandma, I’m not lying!”
“I don’t want to be kidnapped! Grandma, help
me!”
My mother–in–law was all over her.
“Don’t worry, Grandma’s here.”
“Don’t yell at the child, Paul. She doesn’t
know any better. We just won’t take it
seriously.”
She turned to me.
“Okay, no hot pot. Why don’t you go get the
groceries, honey?”
I was about to agree.
Then I saw the smirk on Lily’s face.
I remembered.
Last time, going out for groceries gave Lily
the chance to set me up.
She cried that I was meeting with the
kidnappers.
Then everyone found those strange phone
numbers in my call history.
I grabbed my phone.
I ordered the groceries online.
“Mom, it’s raining out. Let’s just have the
delivery guy bring them.”
Disappointment flashed across Lily’s face.
She bit her lip.
I smiled.
No hot pot.
No going out.
Let’s see what she does this time.
That evening, Mark came home.
We all sat down for a nice family dinner.
Mark complimented my cooking.
His parents raved about it.
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But I was watching Lily.
She kept glancing around, like she was
planning something.
I checked the time.
Two minutes until she stuck her hand in the
hot pot last time.
I checked my phone’s photo gallery.
No weird pictures.
I relaxed a little.
I wasn’t going to let her get away with it this
time.
Then Lily threw her bowl on the floor
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She demanded hot pot.
I smirked inwardly.
I forced concern onto my face.
“But the teacher said you can’t eat that stuff.
Be good, okay?”
Lily shrieked.
“Mommy’s lying! She’s abusing me! She
wants me dead! Daddy, call the police and
arrest her!”
I looked at her, my face hardening.
“Fine. Call the police. Let’s see who’s lying!”
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Lily froze.
Her eyes flickered with panic.
She probably hadn’t expected me to react like
that.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
I thought I’d dodged a bullet.
Then Lily grabbed a fork off the table.
She started cutting her own face.
Everyone screamed.
She was covered in blood.
“Mommy, my face is hurt! I can’t do the
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videos for the uncles anymore…”
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“Please don’t hit me anymore, Mommy! I’ll be
good, I promise!”
She was lying again!
Mark exploded.
He slapped me across the face.
“What the hell is going on here?! You drove
your daughter to hurt herself!”
His parents were horrified.
They tried to calm him down.
Lily told them her story through sobs.
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Mark snatched my phone.
He started searching for the “evidence.”
I’d checked it recently.
I had nothing to hide.
But the more Mark swiped, the darker his
face got.
His parents saw him struggling to breathe.
They leaned in to look.
“Jennifer! How could you force your daughter
to do this?!”
“What did we ever do to you? Why would you
aughter like this?!!
