My Buddhist Brother Sent Me Away; I Drowned, He Broke

In the fifth year after I was sent to the mountains, I finally found a chance to escape from the cowshed.

Dragging my broken leg, I knelt in front of the car of a businessman who had come to town to do charity work, begging him to save my life.

But the one who stepped out was my own brother.

He fingered his prayer beads with an air of noble compassionthen, after he saw my face clearly, he ground his heel into the back of my hand.

"Theresa Henson, running into me today is your karma."

He took out his phone and made a call:

"Your dog got loose and you didn't even think to look for it?"

...

01

It hadn't been long since he hung up.

Austin Lambert came running up with a few villagers.

When Austin saw Russ Henson, his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, kowtowing over and over.

"Mr. Henson! I'm so sorry! So sorry! I didn't fasten the chain tight enough last night, and this little wench got out and spooked your car!"

Russ took a disinfectant wipe from his assistant and wiped his fingers.

"Austin, I pay you a hundred thousand a year to keep this animal in line."

"You can't even keep a dog on its chain? Do you still want that money or not?"

The moment Austin heard his pay might be docked, he scrambled up from the ground and yanked the belt from his waist.

He didn't care that there were passersby around.

He swung his arm and lashed the belt across my back.

"You think you can run? You think you can run? I'll break your other leg today!"

The belt came down again and again, splitting my back open in bloody gashes.

I lay convulsing by the car wheel and lifted my head to look at my brother.

Russ watched the blood run down my back, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

Then he tossed the wipe onto my face.

"Drag her back. The ground here is filthy todaydon't let her die in front of my car."

The car window rolled up, and the car drove off.

Austin spat, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and looped the rope around my neck.

He tied me to the rail on the back bed of the tractor and dragged me back into the deep mountains.

My unset broken leg scraped along the gravel road, leaving a trail of blood.

Back at the cowshed in the village.

Austin locked a rusty iron chain around my neck and kicked me twice in the stomach.

"Damn it, you almost cost me my meal ticket! Starve her for three daysnobody gives her water!"

The gate was bolted from outside, and rats scurried in and out of the straw pile.

I curled up in the mud, like a dog that had lost all fight in it.

Night fell.

A gap was pushed open in the wooden boards of the cowshed's back wall.

Patsy Chavez from next door bent low and squeezed through.

She was carrying half a cracked bowl, with water and half a piece of cornbread in it.

"Such a sin... child, hurry, take a bite. If you don't make it through tonight, you'll be gone."

The old woman touched my forehead, tears falling.

I opened my mouth and swallowed the half piece of cornbread, grit and all.

As the water slid down my throat, some of my senses came back.

"That Mr. Henson seemed like such a good manhow could he stand by and watch someone die..."

Hearing Patsy's question.

I forced a bitter smile, and then the tears wouldn't stop.

Five years ago.

I was still the second daughter of the Henson family.

Back then my father had died in a car accident, and my mother sank into depression, locking herself in her room and refusing to eat all day.

I couldn't sleep at night, terrified that after losing my father, my mother would leave me too.

I heard the maple leaves on the back hill had turned redthat was where my father had proposed to her.

I took my mother to the edge of the cliff to see the red leaves, hoping to reawaken in her some hope to keep living.

At the edge of the cliff my mother stopped.

She turned to look at me, her eyes empty.

"Theresa, without your father, I really can't go on. Let me go."

With that she shook off my hand and fell backward off the cliff.

"Mom!!!"

I lunged to grab her, but caught only a scrap of her clothing.

I knelt at the cliff's edge and wept.

Camille Roman, who had been gathering herbs in the mountains, came running out.

My brother arrived with the search-and-rescue team and the police.

But they couldn't even recover my mother's body.

Camille dropped to her knees, pointed at me, and burst into tears.

"Mr. Henson, I saw it with my own eyes! She was saying something about wanting shares... and then she got into an argument with your mother..."

"I saw her push your mother off the cliff with my own eyes!"

My brother's eyes were bloodshot.

He rushed over and clamped his hands around my neck, squeezing harder and harder.

"You animal! She was your own mother! You'd kill your own mother for the family fortune!"

I clawed at his hands and cried out.

"I didn't! I don't know anything about any shares! I just couldn't hold on to Mom!"

He didn't believe me, and from that day on he hated me to the bone.

Russ thought prison was too easy on me.

He used his connections to hand me over to Austin Lambert, a man in the mountains who had beaten three wives to death.

He brought Camille, who had testified, back to the Henson home and kept her there like a benefactor.

My thoughts came back to the present as the old woman brought the water to my lips.

The wooden door of the cowshed was kicked open from outside.

Several bodyguards shone flashlights on my face.

Camille walked in, covering her nose.

She saw the water in the old woman's hand, kicked the bowl to pieces, and the water splashed across my face.

"You old wretch, who told you to feed this worthless dog?"

The old woman knelt on the ground, trembling all over.

"Miss, please, have mercy. If she doesn't get a drop of water, this girl is going to die..."

Camille lifted her chin toward the bodyguards behind her.

"Such a mouth on her. Throw this old thing out. I don't want her filth in my sight."

Two bodyguards stepped forward, hauled Patsy up, and threw her out of the cowshed. The wooden door swung shut.

Camille squatted down and looked at me.

"Theresa Henson, five years, and here you are, thrashing around in the mud. What a delightful sight."

I gritted my teeth and backed away, glaring at her.

"Camille, why did you frame me back then? I never did anything to you!"

She reached out and grabbed my hair, forcing my head up.

"Nothing to you? Why should you be born a rich young lady, chauffeured everywhere in luxury cars, while I'm stuck digging herbs in this miserable mountain gully, never even getting a full meal?"

She grinned and burst out laughing.

"I just made up a story on a whim, and that arrogant fool of a brother of yours believed every word."

"Not only did he bring me back to the city, he gave me your room, your clothes, and your whole identity as the young lady of the Henson family!"

I shook all over and spat out bloody foam.

"Russ will find out the truth sooner or later! He won't let you get away with it!"

Camille roared with laughter.

"Find out? He can't love me fast enough."

She leaned close to my ear and murmured.

"By the way, do you know why, every year for the past five years, your brother Russ has made such a grand show of coming to this poor backwater to do charity?"

I went still.

Camille patted my face with her handkerchief.

"He wasn't here to help the poor at all! He came specifically to check whether you were being tortured properly."

"Every lash Austin gave you, every rotten meal he fed you, every chain he locked you withall of it was ordered and approved personally by your brother Russ!"

"Your brother said, as long as you don't die, cripple you however he likes. The more wretched you are, the more satisfied he feels."

I held my breath, clenching my fists tight.

I had thought my brother was only deceived, that his anger would fade with time.

Every single instance of abuse I'd suffered these five years.

It was all directed by my own flesh-and-blood brother.

My chest felt as if it had been smashed with a sledgehammer.

I suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Accept your fate, Theresa. You'll spend your whole life here as an animal."

Camille let go and tossed the handkerchief on the ground.

"Behave yourself tomorrow. If you dare to wreck your brother's event, I promise I'll make you wish you were dead."

She left with her bodyguards, and the cowshed fell quiet again.

Half an hour later the lock rattled open.

Austin walked in, reeking of alcohol.

He came closer with a grin, holding a red string.

"You little brat, Boss Henson just took pity and gave the word... heh heh..."

"The boss says you turn eighteen this year. You're an adult now."

"Just beating you is boring. He told me to hurry up and put a seed in you. Tie you to this mountain with a kid for the rest of your lifedropping litters like a dog, day after day!"

I backed away.

My hands and feet were chained to the pillar; there was nowhere to go.

"Don't touch me! Get away! Don't come near me!"

I snatched up a shard of broken porcelain from the ground and pressed it to my neck.

"You touch me and I'll die right here in front of you!"

Austin stepped forward and kicked the shard out of my hand.

The porcelain cut open the back of his hand, drawing blood.

"Damn it! You still dare to fight back!"

He slapped me across the head.

The blow knocked my head sideways.

He tore at my clothes and pushed his face close to mine.

I opened my mouth, ready to bite off my tongue, when a pounding came at the door outside.

"Austin! Austin, get out here! Quit your damn sleeping!"

The village chief was shouting outside.

"Boss Henson's assistant is throwing a fit! He says the VIP tent at the venue is leaking and wasn't put up right! He wants you to grab some men and go fix it now! If it holds up tomorrow's groundbreaking ceremony, it'll cost our whole village our lives!"

Austin stopped and spat.

"Son of a bitch! What a buzzkill!"

He pulled up his pants and kicked my broken leg.

"Count yourself lucky. Once tomorrow's over, I'll come back and deal with you properly, you little bitch!"

The iron gate was locked again.

I clutched my torn clothes and curled up into a ball in the mud.

My tears had run dry.

And my heart, along with these five rotten years, had died completely.

I was woken by a basin of cold water thrown over me.

Austin Lambert grabbed my hair and hauled me up.

He threw a rough cloth garment in my face.

"Put it on! There's a big event at the village entrance today."

He grinned.

"Boss Henson dropped a whopping fifty million dollars to build a school! To win Camille over, he even named it the Camille-Grace Hope School. And it's going out on a nationwide livestream!"

"You keep your head down and go haul water and bricks over there. If you pull any stunts and embarrass me, I'll skin you alive when I get back tonight!"

I pulled the clothes on.

Limping, I was led toward the village entrance by the hemp rope in his hand.

The village entrance was covered with red carpet, cameras set up all around.

I stood in a corner hauling a case of bottled water.

Far off, on the makeshift host's platform.

Russ Henson wore his rosewood prayer beads, and Camille Roman stood beside him, smiling.

A reporter aimed a camera at them.

"Mr. Henson, you've funded poor mountain regions for five years running, and this time you've generously donated tens of millions to build a school. May I ask what inspired you?"

A reporter in the front row asked loudly.

Russ looked at Camille as he answered.

"Because I met a kind girl. Camille grew up in the barren mountains, yet she's kept the purest of hearts. I hope more good children like her can walk out of the mountains and change their fate."

Camille lowered her head and leaned against Russ's shoulder.

Applause broke out across the venue.

I carried the case past the steps, my body trembling.

Camille caught sight of me, the corner of her mouth curving up.

She bent down to smooth her skirt and stuck out her foot. My view was blocked, and I couldn't dodge in time.

I fell on the steps.

The case of water broke open, water spilling all over the ground and splashing onto Camille's skirt.

The crowd fell into chaos, and the reporter's camera swung toward me.

"Where's security?! Where did this beggar come from?!"

Austin ran out and kicked me in the back.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, Boss Henson! This crazy woman from the village is blind! I'll drag her away right now!"

I lay on the ground, spat out bloody water, and lifted my head to meet Russ's gaze.

He lowered his eyes, his fingertips slowly rolling the prayer beads.

"Everyone has their own fate. Since she strayed from her own path, she deserves to kneel in the mud for the rest of her life."

Russ spoke into the microphone, his voice carrying across the whole venue.

Camille took hold of his arm.

"Russ, let it go. She's rather pitiful too. Maybe living in these mountains was too much for her and it drove her mad."

"Camille, you're just too kind."

Russ patted the back of her hand and turned to look at me.

"For a murderer this vicious to the bone, there's no need for any sympathy at all."

He turned to face the camera and announced his decision.

"Friends from the media."

Russ Henson raised the microphone, interrupting the groundbreaking ceremony.

He pointed at me, lying on the ground vomiting blood.

"With millions of people watching the live stream online today, I'd like to take this opportunity to teach everyone a vivid lesson."

The room went quiet, and the cameras focused on the podium.

Russ pointed at me.

"Many of you may not know it, but this ugly, crippled woman who has suffered so much out in the village was once my own sister, Theresa Henson."

The crowd erupted, and the cameras swung to me on the ground.

"Five years ago, to fight for the enormous fortune our father left behind, she pushed her own mother, who suffered from depression, off a cliff, leaving her shattered to pieces with not even a body to recover!"

Russ hardened his tone.

"If Camille hadn't bravely come forward to testify, this tragedy would have stayed buried forever."

"I didn't call the police to have her arrested, out of respect for our blood ties."

"So I stripped her of everything, sent her here, and put her through the lowest, hardest labor to cleanse her sins!"

He walked down the steps and stopped in front of me.

"Theresa Henson, today we break ground on the Camille-Grace Hope School."

"I want you to kneel here in front of the whole nation's netizens and loudly confess to the crime of murdering your mother!"

"And kneel and thank Camille for exposing your crime!"

Austin Lambert pressed down hard on my neck from behind and spoke against my ear.

"Admit it now! You do whatever the boss tells you to do! Otherwise I'll kill you the second we get back tonight!"

My face was pressed to the stone slab, and I could barely breathe.

The look in my mother's eyes before she fell off the cliff flashed through my mind, along with the days and nights of beatings in the cowshed over the past five years.

If I confessed today, it would lock in the charge of killing my mother, with no way to ever overturn it.

If I didn't, endless beatings were waiting for me.

I twitched my lips, and blood spilled out.

"Fine... I admit it."

I spoke in a hoarse voice.

Russ frowned and waved his hand at Austin.

Austin let go and stepped back.

Russ tossed a spare microphone down beside my face.

"Climb up, face the camera, and say it loud."

Dragging my broken leg, using both hands and feet, I crawled up onto the three-meter-high groundbreaking platform.

There was no railing behind the platform, and below it ran the surging river.

Once I was steady, I gripped the microphone tight.

I looked at the crowd below.

Camille's lips curved up, and Russ stood in front, turning his rosewood prayer beads as he watched me.

I took a deep breath and pressed the microphone to my lips.

"I, Theresa Henson, swear here today, before the entire internet."

I raised my voice and spoke loudly.

"I did not kill my mother! I never did!!!"

"It was Camille Roman, that vain little bitch, who gave false testimony to take over my life for herself!"

"It was Russ Henson, that blind fool, who believed the slander and shoved his own sister into hell!"

"For five years you've stripped my bones and drunk my blood! Did you think you could beat a false confession out of me?"

The crowd erupted, and the reporters began talking among themselves.

Russ's face darkened.

He pointed at the platform and shouted.

"Cut off her microphone! Austin, drag this lunatic down here!"

Austin and several bodyguards charged up the steps.

I looked down at Russ and wept.

"Russ Henson! You're always saying the Buddha is merciful."

"But you're steeped in sin. Even if you snapped every one of the prayer beads in your hand, you'd never wash the blood off it!"

"Take my life. I'm giving it back to you. I owe the Henson family nothing anymore!"

The moment I finished, Austin lunged at me and grabbed for me.

I turned and jumped off the edge of the platform into the river.

The water swallowed me.

Screams broke out across the scene, and the crowd descended into chaos.

Russ stood where he was, clutching his prayer beads, staring blankly at the rolling river.

Camille pressed a hand to her chest and leaned in close.

"Russ, she killed herself out of guilt. Don't be sad over someone like her..."

The crowd along the perimeter was shoved aside, and Russ's executive assistant squeezed through, drenched in sweat.

He was shouting, a phone still connected to a call clutched in his hand.

"Mr. Henson... Mr. Henson! Something terrible has happened!"

"We just got an urgent call from a remote sanatorium out near Northport... Madam... Madam has woken up!"

Russ went still and looked at him.

"What did you say? My mother fell off that cliff years agowe never even found her body..."

"Madam was caught on a vine halfway down the mountain years ago. An herb farmer coming into the mountains rescued her, but she's been in a coma ever since! She just woke up today!"

The assistant dropped to his knees, held up the phone, and cried out.

"Madam says... she jumped down herself back then! The second young lady nearly fell to her death trying to pull her back!"

"Madam keeps crying and asking where the second young lady went; she wants to see Theresa!"