Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 60: Clarissa – I’ll Escape

Alpha Will’s grip around my throat stole the air from my lungs.

I no longer felt pain in my neck or arm. There was only panic, balanced on the thin line between life and death.

When his hand finally released me, my body hit the floor with a dull thud.

My vision blurred. Through it, I saw Luna Eileen kneeling at Alpha Will’s feet. She was crying, begging.

Yes. That was all she could do.

Instead of using her authority to search for the truth, instead of fixing everything from the beginning, she chose to cry beneath her mate’s feet. As if only her husband had the power to set things right.

I remembered Luna Eileen the first time we met, when she saved me from Fani. Back then, she looked elegant, dependable.

It turned out she was just a wife who couldn’t speak in front of her husband, and a mother who didn’t know her own children.

Through sobs, she pleaded, "I won’t bring up Shannon anymore. Please forgive Clarissa. I beg you!"

Alpha Will gestured to Larry, and Larry immediately helped Luna Eileen to her feet.

That bastard said coldly, "Don’t you dare compare her to Shannon again."

Hearing that, I sneered hoarsely without thinking.

"If I didn’t know Shannon was adopted, I would’ve thought she was your daughter with another woman, and Luna Eileen was just the stepmother."

I didn’t mean to drag Shannon into this. I was just sick of Alpha Will.

Three pairs of eyes turned to me at once.

Larry looked at me with an unreadable expression.

Luna Eileen stared blankly, as if my words hadn’t reached her at all.

Only Alpha Will was furious. He walked up to me and slapped me again.

As I fell backward, he began kicking me mercilessly.

I curled up, protecting my body, praying nothing would break. Alpha Will didn’t hold back at all.

As my consciousness faded, I saw Larry trying to stop him and getting hit in the process, while Luna Eileen’s cries grew louder, piercing my ears—

Then everything went dark.

...

When I woke up, I was surrounded by darkness.

That bastard had locked me in the basement again.

A month of suffering in this place had carved deep trauma into me.

I hugged myself and leaned against the damp, mossy wall. I didn’t want to touch the floor or anything else in this basement.

Click.

The door opened slightly. Light seeped in.

I scrambled to my feet and ran toward it.

Thud.

Before I reached the stairs, the door slammed shut. A food box fell to the floor.

I collapsed in front of the door, unmoving, crying silently.

The food box had fallen somewhere. I had to grope around to find it. I didn’t want to touch whatever was on the floor.

I didn’t want to feel this humiliation again.

"Waiting until I’m eighteen?" I whispered shakily. "Even if it’s only two more months, I can’t endure this anymore. I will leave."

Better to die bitten by wild beasts in the forest than to stay with this family.

Entering this family was the same as willingly stepping into hell.

...

I was released from the basement after one week.

The wound on my arm had festered. Luna Eileen immediately called a doctor.

After bathing and being wrapped in bandages, Luna Eileen came to speak with me.

"Clarissa, mother wants to apolo—"

"Enough," I cut her off coldly.

Before she could cry, my expression softened into something pitiful.

"Mother..." I called weakly.

Her eyes lit up at the word. Pain crossed her face instantly. "What is it, my dear? Does it hurt?"

Looking at her pleadingly, I said, "May I ask for one thing?"

She nodded immediately. "Not just one. Even a hundred. Say it, sweetheart."

I took her hand and showed her my bandaged fingers. During my time in the basement, my hand had been cut by something while searching for food. Rats, drawn by the smell, had even bitten me.

Her face twisted in pain. She almost cried.

But, my words pulled the tears from her eyes. "My only request... is to let me go. I want to leave this place."

Luna Eileen froze. Her lips pressed together.

Tears streamed down my face. This was the first time I cried openly before her.

"Please let me go. I can’t survive in this house anymore. If you need an excuse for outsiders, make up whatever story you want. Please."

I got out of bed, ignoring the pain, and bowed before her.

Luna Eileen snapped out of her shock. "Have we... treated you that badly?" she murmured.

"Please... please..." I begged at her feet, like a slave pleading not to be killed.

Her face was confused, sorrowful, disbelieving. Perhaps she truly hadn’t realized how deeply she had hurt me.

As she began to reflect—

Click. The door opened.

Edwin appeared, wearing a smug, contemptuous grin.

"Mother, don’t listen to her."

He stood beside Luna Eileen, looking down at me like filth.

Luna Eileen turned to him, desperate and uncertain, clearly needing someone else to think for her.

However, Edwin was the last person who would lead her toward the truth.

"She’s acting," Edwin said arrogantly.

"She won’t leave the house, Mother. Deep down, she’s hoping you will apologize and compensate her. That’s always how it goes, right? She causes trouble, father punishes her, and in the end she asks you for compensation."

He scoffed while I continued begging.

I didn’t care what Edwin said.

If Luna Eileen had even a little sense, she would ask me. At least notice how broken I already was.

Edwin rubbed his ear, annoyed by my crying, and pulled Luna Eileen away. "Come on, Mother. Don’t listen to her anymore."

Just like that, Luna Eileen left with Edwin.

The woman who always called herself my ’mother’ walked away, swayed by a single word from her son.

I laughed weakly at myself.

Before, I thought Luna Eileen was just foolish.

Now I knew better. Deep down, she had never truly believed me.

A thought settled firmly in my heart.

’Luna Eileen... cannot be considered innocent in all of this.’

With that, my resolve hardened.

’If they won’t let me leave, I’ll escape on my own. I don’t need their permission.’

...