I stood there, motionless on the sidewalk, as people rushed past, seeking cover from the pouring rain. My body was soaked; my breathing, slightly ragged.

  "Services?" I whispered, a raspy ugh filled with bitterness escaping my throat. "Is that all I'm worth to you?"

  Suddenly, the fatigue drained from my body, as if the st drop of my dignity had been ripped away. I was nauseated. I felt like the worst trash in the world, a pathetic clown that anyone could trample upon.

  I had hit rock bottom.

  I walked aimlessly under the curtain of water, my gaze lost and my chest heaving violently. My shoes spshed heavily against the asphalt, but nothing mattered to me anymore.

  After who knows how long, I stopped in front of an old bridge I used to cross as a child.

  The concrete structure was worn by the passing years, and the rusted railings were barely visible under the rain. Below, the river surged in silence, dark and heavy, swallowing the light from the streetmps like a bottomless pit.

  The wind blew fiercely, and the rain struck my face mercilessly, but for some reason, that pce had always brought me a strange sense of calm. Carefully, I approached the edge, looking down at the murky water swirling slowly below.

  At that moment, my phone began to vibrate in my soaked pocket. I pulled it out slowly. The cracked screen, stained with water and grime, showed the name of the st person I wanted to see:

  [Bastard Shen]

  ?Shen Tian?, My cousin.

  As the phone vibrated, memories of my mother blurred with the sound of the ringtone. I saw her again: her pale, withered face, colpsing against the floor of that damp room when I was only five years old. She, who was once a jewel of high society, ended up crawling and begging before the family that turned its back on her.

  My grandfather, Shen Mo, was perhaps the only one who showed me a shadow of favor. Maybe he was trying to redeem the soul of the daughter he despised in life, but that protection was merely a house of cards that colpsed the day of his funeral. As soon as my uncle, Shen Ao, took the reins of power, my status changed drastically: I stopped being a favored grandson and became Shen Tian's official punching bag.

  I slid my finger across the screen with a sense of total defeat. I had no choice. I knew that if I refused to answer, that animal would not hesitate to fulfill his threat to desecrate my mother's grave and throw her remains into the river.

  "What do you want…?" I managed to say, my voice hoarse.

  "My, my…" a mocking voice responded on the other end. "Is that the tone servants use to speak these days?"

  I grit my teeth.

  "I have nothing to talk about with you," I said curtly.

  "Lin Feng! Were the blows the hotel guards gave you not enough?" he spat with biting sarcasm.

  My heart skipped a beat. "How…?"

  A shrill ugh erupted on the other side. "Come on, cousin… don't tell me you're that stupid."

  Apreté el teléfono con tanta fuerza que mis nudillos se marcaron bajo tenue luz. "?Qué hiciste...?", grité.

  "No hice nada", respondió Shen Tian con falsa inocencia. "Solo presenté a algunas personas, facilité una peque?a reunión de negocios... y dejé que s cosas siguieran su curso natural".

  Mientras habba, su tono se tornó cada vez más burlón. "?Sabes?", continuó con cinismo. "La se?orita Su siempre fue ambiciosa. Cuando supo que el joven amo Qin podría estar interesado en 'invertir', aceptó sin pensarlo dos veces".

  Sentí un escalofrío en espalda. "?Qué le hiciste?", pregunté, alzando voz.

  —No seas grosera —rió suavemente—. ?De verdad crees que alguien como yo tendría que caer tan bajo? Se fue por voluntad propia.

  Mis dedos tembban ligeramente mientras escuchaba.

  —Pero tú… eres divertidísima —a?adió con desprecio—. ?No te parece divertidísimo haber aparecido en el momento perfecto? En el piso 130. ?Verdad? ?Menuda coincidencia!

  Se me revolvió el estómago. Todo estaba preparado para apu?arme por espalda.

  "Tú... bastardo..." murmuré entre dientes.

  "No deberías maldecirme; al contrario, deberías estar agradecido: te dejé ver un buen espectáculo", rió. "Ahora... escúchame bien, basura. Sé que Su Liang'er te dio dinero. Ven al Club Imperial ahora mismo. Necesito que pagues cuenta de mis amigos y mía. Si te das prisa y nos haces reír un poco, quizá te deje dormir en s habitaciones de criada".

  —?Cálte! ?No me voy, cabrón! —rugí.

  "??Qué dijiste!?" El tono de Shen Tian se volvió cortante. "Recuerda que aún tengo los pagarés de medicina que usó tu madre. Si no vienes a pagar, ma?ana por ma?ana haré que desentierren sus huesos y los tiren a una alcantaril. Tienes treinta minutos, perro."

  [Hacer clic.

  La lmada se cortó.

  El silencio del puente regresó, interrumpido solo por un trueno lejano. Miré al cielo, dejando que lluvia enjugara s lágrimas que finalmente se me escaparon de los ojos.

  "Mamá... lo siento", susurré, completamente destrozada. "Perdona a este hijo desleal..."

  El mundo era injusto y ya no tenía fuerzas para seguir siendo un juguete.

  Guardé el teléfono por instinto. Cerré los ojos. Y me dejé caer en s aguas turbulentas del río.

  Continuará...