Chapter 34

Samantha grew up with her dad—just the two of them, leaning on each other to get by. But fate is cruel. When she was just seven or eight, her father died in a freak accident, leaving her all alone and dumped into an orphanage. With her yellow-toned skin so different from the pale kids around her, and that thin and frail frame, Samantha stuck out—and not in a good way. She became the one everyone bullied. Back then, she was scared out of her mind. She'd curl up in a corner and cry her eyes out when no one was looking. But over time, she realized something—being scared and crying did nothing. If she wanted to survive in that place, to stop being a punching bag, she had to be strong. So that's what she worked on. Later, she got moved into a foster home—a Calverian family. On the surface, they treated her well, polite even. But Samantha could feel it, that subtle kind of cold—from the way they always kept a distance. To them, she was just a paycheck, nothing more. Loneliness crept in early