He Framed Me, So I Laughed At His Fake Lov

Chapter 4

When I saw my parents—the people who had loved and cared for me since childhood—standing at my door, a ridiculous flicker of joy rose in my heart.

"Dad, Mom, come in and have some water."

As I spoke, I ushered them inside.

My father only glared at me and said coldly, "We wouldn't dare drink water poured by a murderer!"

Leaning against the doorframe, my mother looked exhausted.

"Nora, what you did back then is indeed unforgivable. But you can't keep making the same mistakes. We're begging you—Vivi truly loves Adrian. You and Adrian divorced years ago, so stop clinging to him. Vivi is considerate. There are some things she can't bring herself to say, so we'll say them for her. Leave Seabridge as soon as possible. If you refuse, don't blame us for making you leave."

My mother's voice was still as gentle as ever.

That voice had once soothed me to sleep whenever I was sick. But now, every word carried a threat that cut painfully into me.

I stared at them in disbelief. "Dad, Mom, have you never believed me? What if I told you that everything I suffered was Vivian's doing...?"

Before I could finish, my father raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

"You ungrateful wretch! Now you dare to slander Vivi!"

Adrian, who had come to drop something off, happened to witness the scene. He rushed over in a panic, trying to explain.

Just then, his phone rang. It was his assistant.

"Mr. Lawson, something has happened! Ms. Lane fainted. She's been rushed to the hospital!"

The moment they heard that, Adrian and my parents panicked. No one paid any more attention to me. They turned and hurried away together.

I watched them leave and laughed until tears streamed down my face.

No matter how badly I was hurting, it still meant less to them than Vivian pretending to faint once.

I thought that was the end of it.

After all, the past 8 years had already taught me one thing—stop expecting anything from my parents or Adrian.

But I hadn't expected my parents to move so quickly.

That day, I went out to buy some daily necessities. The moment I entered a quiet alley, several victims' family members rushed out from the shadows. They pulled a sack over my head and dragged me into a van.

When I woke up, I found myself in an abandoned cold-storage facility.

Cold air seeped in from every direction. My hands and feet were bound, and a rag had been stuffed into my mouth, leaving me able to make only muffled sounds.

The man leading them kicked me hard in the stomach.

"You cold-blooded killer! You still dared to come back!"

His words ignited the others' fury.

"Give me back my son's life! He was only 6 years old. He had just celebrated his birthday! You monster!"

"You bought cheap, moldy ingredients and poisoned my wife to death. You have to pay with your life!"

They surrounded me and began kicking and punching me.

I tried to explain, but with my mouth gagged, all I could make were incoherent sounds.

When they grew tired, the man in charge crouched down, yanked the rag from my mouth, and took out several pieces of moldy food.

"Aren't you supposed to be such a great cook?" His voice was ice-cold. "Our loved ones died after eating your food back then. Today, I'll let you taste it yourself."

He grabbed a handful of the moldy food and tried to force it into my mouth.

I shook my head frantically and gritted my teeth.

But two men beside me gripped my jaw and forced my mouth open.

They shoved the moldy food into my mouth again and again. I choked until tears ran down my face, my throat swallowing against my will.

The revolting taste made my entire body tremble.

"Eat it! Swallow it!"

They forced me to eat until I collapsed on the ground, dry-heaving and unable to swallow another bite.

Only then did they stop.

"You think this is over?" the man panted as he crouched in front of me. "Now that you've eaten that, let's see how you like the cold."

They stripped off my coat, leaving me in only a thin sweatshirt. Then they dragged me to the back of the cold-storage facility and chained my wrists to a rack fixed to the wall.

The iron door slammed shut with a deafening bang. A few moments later, I heard the chain outside rattle into place.

The facility had long been abandoned, and its refrigeration unit no longer worked. Yet cold still seeped from the walls and floor, stabbing deep into my bones.

My stomach began to ache violently.

The moldy food and freezing air tortured my body at the same time. I couldn't tell whether the pain came from my stomach or the cold.

Layer after layer of cold sweat broke out over my skin, only to turn icy almost immediately.

Curled up in the corner, I couldn't stop my teeth from chattering. My breath formed white mist in front of my eyes.

At first, my fingertips stung. Then they went numb. Finally, I couldn't feel them at all.

Gradually, my body stopped shivering. I felt strange warmth.

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and my consciousness slowly faded. All I wanted was to let myself sink into the darkness.

Maybe that was for the best. My life had been too difficult, too exhausting. Let me rest here.

Just as my consciousness was about to disappear completely, the iron door was forced open.

A beam of flashlight cut through the darkness. Then someone rushed to my side. He tore away the chains, shrugged off his coat to wrap around me, and lifted me into his arms.

"Nora! Hang in there! Stay with me!"