- 5 hours ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I was eight years old when I watched my father butcher my mother, piece by piece.
00:07Then, he sold her as venison.
00:10Mom's dying words?
00:12Find Uncle Thomas.
00:14The biggest rancher in the state, ex-cavalry.
00:17She said he'd feed me, for blood's sake.
00:20But when I cornered him on Main Street, he was on horseback,
00:23holding my little cousin Becky, staring down at me like I was dirt.
00:28Why don't you just drop dead, you little rat?
00:31You want money?
00:32Tell your whore mother to come beg me for it himself.
00:35He rode off, walked right into the jeweler, bought Becky a pair of silver bracelets.
00:41I'd never seen anything so beautiful.
00:44Gleaming against her pale wrist, Thomas glared at me.
00:49What are you staring at?
00:50You think you deserve our things?
00:52Keep looking, and I'll gouge your eyes out.
00:55I stood there, frozen, gripping my hollow stomach.
00:58Mom was wrong.
01:00Thomas wouldn't give me anything.
01:01He could drop a fortune on silver without a second thought,
01:04but he wouldn't spend a cent to feed me,
01:07because Mom was dead, butchered, sold as meat.
01:11The Main Street was bustling with people,
01:13but the sky turned gray, and a cold drizzle began to fall.
01:17I huddled in an alley, rolled up my sleeves,
01:20stared at the jagged scars covering my wrists.
01:22If I wore silver like Becky, my dirty blood would just ruin it.
01:26But if I had it, I could trade it for bread.
01:29Fresh, warm bread.
01:31Mom used to say fresh bread was soft, sweet, the best thing in the world.
01:35I licked my cracked lips.
01:37I was starving.
01:38Two days without food.
01:40I had to sell myself to survive.
01:41I tried the general store.
01:43The owner chased me out immediately.
01:47Get lost, beggar!
01:48You're bad for business!
01:49I walked through the rain.
01:50Numb.
01:51Shop after shop.
01:53No one wanted me.
01:54Even for just a bite to eat.
01:56Only the shady casino and brothel at the edge of town didn't kick me out.
02:00Smiled.
02:01Margaret, the madam, pinched my hollow cheeks.
02:04Good bone structure.
02:06Feed her up, she'll be a stunner.
02:08She slid a paper across the table.
02:10Told me to stamp my thumb.
02:12Thought I couldn't read.
02:13Mom taught me.
02:14It was an indentured servant deed.
02:16The smell was intoxicating.
02:18What choice did I have?
02:25Cheap little tramp.
02:27Just like Marion.
02:29Playing the victim.
02:30Selling yourself to a brothel.
02:32You're worse than your mother.
02:35Come on.
02:36Take me to her.
02:38I was blacking out from hunger.
02:40So, before the darkness took me, I lunged.
02:43Bit a chunk of flesh right out of his arm.
02:45And swallowed it raw.
02:47Kicked me in the chest.
02:48I slammed into the dirt.
02:50Everything went black.
02:52At least I finally tasted meat.
02:54Even if it tasted like garbage.
02:55I woke up to ice water in my face.
02:58A lavish bedroom at the ranch.
03:00A maid pinched my nose.
03:02Shoved cold, sour oatmeal down my throat.
03:04Then, I was dragged into the parlor.
03:07Thomas was in the parlor.
03:08Talking to a doctor.
03:11So, she bit me because she was starving?
03:14Yes.
03:16One more hour, and she'd be dead.
03:20I was dragged in front of him.
03:22His face was dark.
03:23His wrist wrapped in white gauze.
03:25He looked at me like I was a diseased rat.
03:28He turned away, disgusted.
03:30Starving to death?
03:31And you couldn't open your mouth to ask?
03:34Or was this just revenge?
03:38Sir, the first thing I said to you was,
03:41I'm starving.
03:42Spare a penny for bread.
03:45What happened to uncle?
03:47I looked down.
03:48I called him uncle before.
03:50But I didn't want to call him that anymore.
03:52He tipped my chin up with his boot.
03:54Cat got your tongue.
03:56Want food?
03:57Take me to your mother.
04:00Let's see what's so damn great out there
04:02that she stayed away for nine years.
04:06Broke now?
04:07Sent you crawling back for handouts?
04:11Give me bread, and I'll take you.
04:14Fresh bread.
04:16Not that cold, rotting slop she just fed me.
04:19It'll make me sick.
04:21The maid behind me turned pale.
04:23She stepped back, gripping her apron.
04:25Head down, her voice shaking.
04:27Sir, I swear.
04:30I fed her hot oatmeal.
04:33Thomas glared at me with pure disgust.
04:35Just like your mother.
04:37Manipulative trash.
04:39I didn't argue.
04:40I looked at the maid,
04:42shoved two fingers down my throat,
04:44gagged,
04:44and puked that cold, sour slop
04:46right onto his floor.
04:48See?
04:48It sat in my stomach,
04:50but it's still cold.
04:51My stomach isn't an icebox.
04:54He stared at the mess.
04:55The stench hit him.
04:56How could fresh food smell like rot that fast?
04:59He turned to the maid.
05:01She was on her knees,
05:02shaking uncontrollably.
05:03It was obvious.
05:05Who the hell gave you the nerve
05:06to play games behind my back?
05:08The maid opened her trembling mouth to speak,
05:10but a cold voice cut through the hall.
05:12I gave the order.
05:15Marian's spawn.
05:16Sour slob is more than she deserves.
05:20Aunt Ruth stepped into the parlor,
05:21dripping in silk and jewels.
05:23I froze.
05:24For a split second,
05:25I almost called her mom,
05:27but it wasn't her.
05:28They had the same face,
05:30but mom was broken,
05:32hollowed out.
05:33Looks just like Marian.
05:36A little tramp.
05:37Where is that whore anyway?
05:39The one who tried to sleep with my husband?
05:41Give me food.
05:43I'll take you.
05:45You think you can negotiate with me?
05:47But Thomas frowned.
05:49He signaled a servant for fresh bread.
05:52Eat.
05:54I don't want a corpse in my parlor.
05:57Don't tell me you pity this little bastard.
06:00Thomas didn't answer.
06:01He just stared at me.
06:02His eyes dark and unreadable.
06:05I was starving.
06:06I grabbed the bread and shoved it into my mouth.
06:09But I stopped.
06:10I took the remaining crusts
06:12and stuffed them deep into my torn, filthy sleeves.
06:15Thomas watched me.
06:16Marian didn't take care of you?
06:18She gave me all the good scraps.
06:20Then why do you look like a feral rat?
06:22Still playing the victim?
06:26Let's go.
06:27Let's go.
06:28I'll take you to her.
06:57Ruth ordered the carriage prepped, but she barred me from it.
06:59She told me to read.
07:11She told me legends of the caste family empire.
07:13Until she was framed.
07:15Until her legs were shattered, leaving her a cripple.
07:18She wanted to end it a thousand times.
07:21But pure, unadulterated hatred kept her breathing.
07:25Thomas rode at the front of the convoy.
07:27Can you ride?
07:34What the hell did Marian even teach you?
07:38Are you completely useless?
07:40He was right.
07:42I was useless.
07:43I dropped my gaze.
07:45All I could see was Dad hacking Mom apart,
07:47slicing through her bones,
07:49offering me a bloody piece.
07:51And I, the useless bastard,
07:53couldn't save her.
07:56Cast blood.
07:57And you turn out like this pathetic rat.
08:00Do me a favor.
08:02Don't ever call me your uncle in public.
08:05Okay.
08:07He glared at me, frustrated.
08:10Finally, he ordered one of his ranch hands to take me on his saddle.
08:13The cowboy didn't dare refuse the boss.
08:16He just pulled his bandana tight over his nose,
08:19trying to block out my stench.
08:21But halfway down the trail,
08:22he leaned over his horse
08:24and threw up.
08:29How the hell does a little girl smell like a rotten corpse?
08:32He booked a room at the nearest roadside inn.
08:35He ordered his personal maid, Della,
08:37to scrub me down.
08:38Della locked the door.
08:40She peeled off my filthy, blood-crusted rags,
08:43and she screamed.
08:45Thomas was standing guard outside.
08:46He heard the shriek.
08:47He booted the door off its hinges and stormed in.
08:52Della, what's wrong?
08:54Sir, please,
08:57have some mercy on this child.
09:01What child?
09:03Her?
09:03Then he saw my bare back.
09:05He froze.
09:06It was covered in jagged knife slashes,
09:09deep, blackened burns from my father's fireplace poker.
09:13Della touched my skin gently,
09:15sobbing.
09:17She smells cause her flesh is rotting.
09:23She's burning up with a fever.
09:26Thomas stared,
09:27stunned.
09:28He quickly turned his back,
09:30taking a sharp breath.
09:31His voice was tight,
09:33strained.
09:34Clean the wounds.
09:36I'll get a doctor.
09:39No need.
09:40Mud fix it.
09:41Always does.
09:42I just forgot to put some on for the road.
09:44How can you use mud?
09:46Thomas walked out.
09:48Della carefully scrubbed the rod away
09:50and applied a cooling ointment.
09:53Why are we wasting time and medicine on her?
09:56She's playing you, Thomas,
09:57just like Marion used to.
09:59Thomas reached out to pick up Becky.
10:01He slowly pulled his hand back.
10:03Uncle Tommy,
10:05pick me up.
10:06Ruth glared at him.
10:07What is wrong with you?
10:08Pick up your niece.
10:10I'm tired.
10:12He walked over to me.
10:13He was massive.
10:15That was the only way I could meet his eyes.
10:18Did Marion do this to you?
10:22Mom was good to me.
10:24She took more beatings than I did.
10:28What?
10:29No.
10:31You're lying.
10:32Did she tell you to say that to make me feel sorry for her?
10:35I stared at him.
10:37Mom used to tell me he was a brilliant cavalry commander,
10:40a tactical genius.
10:42Mom was wrong.
10:44He wasn't a hero.
10:46He was just stupid.
10:47My hollow, judging stare must have gotten under his skin.
10:51He scoffed.
10:52He loved doing that.
10:54Lead the way.
10:56Let's see what kind of game she's playing.
10:58This time, he didn't hand me off to one of his riders.
11:02He grabbed me by the waist and hauled me onto his own saddle.
11:05I sucked in a sharp breath of pain.
11:08He remembered my shredded back.
11:10Can't you speak?
11:11If it hurts, open your damn mouth.
11:13I clenched my jaw.
11:15The pain was blinding.
11:16I just pretended I didn't have a mouth.
11:18His warhorse was fast.
11:21My two-day walk took half a day.
11:23We reached Blackstone Valley.
11:25Dad was still at the entrance of the village,
11:28standing behind his butcher block, selling his venison.
11:31He saw the armed convoy, the velvet carriage.
11:34He panicked.
11:35He kept his head down.
11:37Everyone in the valley knew the rules.
11:40You don't make eye contact with big ranch bosses.
11:43You'd lose your life.
11:45Bet I didn't look away.
11:47That's my dad.
11:49And he's selling my mom.
11:55Thomas's face darkened.
11:56That butcher is your father?
11:58And he's selling Marion?
11:59Marion, you lie through your teeth, you know that?
12:01I felt like all I did was sigh around him.
12:04Talking to him was exhausting.
12:05Where did mom get the idea he was a genius?
12:08I tried to slide off the saddle,
12:10but Thomas locked his arm around my waist.
12:12I couldn't move, so I just yelled,
12:14Dad, I'm back!
12:16Dad's head snapped up, his eyes feral.
12:19But when he saw me sitting on a warhorse, he froze.
12:23He scanned the armed riders, the velvet carriage.
12:26He dropped his meat cleaver instantly.
12:28He pasted on a sickeningly sweet smile.
12:31Sweetheart, where have you been?
12:35Daddy's been looking all over for you.
12:37Thomas stared at his ugly, weathered face.
12:40His expression went pitch black.
12:42His eyes boiled with something terrifying,
12:44something I didn't understand.
12:46He gripped my waist tighter.
12:48He kept me pinned to the saddle.
12:50That is your father.
12:51I nodded.
12:52Yeah.
12:52Dad stepped up to the horse,
12:54practically glowing with greed.
12:55Sir, you fancy my girl?
12:58She's a good one.
12:59Takes a beating without making a peep.
13:02Give me 20 bucks, and she's yours.
13:05Thomas let out a cold laugh.
13:07Is that right?
13:08And you just said he was selling your mother?
13:11Dad cut in immediately.
13:12Kids talk nonsense, mister.
13:14Her mother ain't for sale.
13:16She stays right in my bed.
13:18Instead, I just pointed at the meat stall,
13:20at the chopped pieces.
13:21Mom is right there.
13:23He chopped her to pieces and sold her as meat.
13:27He even boiled bones into broth
13:30and tried to force-feed me.
13:32It made me sick, so I ran.
13:34Look at that piece.
13:36It's from her arm.
13:38Mom said it was the cast family crest.
13:40What the hell are you talking about,
13:42you little wretch?
13:42You ungrateful brat!
13:44Thomas didn't say a word.
13:45He just stared at the piece of meat.
13:47I could feel his muscles tense up
13:49and a slight tremor running through him.
13:51Seeing Thomas staring at the meat,
13:52Dad blinked guiltily.
13:54He put on a flattering smile.
13:56Prime mountain venison, sir.
13:58Smooth skin.
13:59Don't listen to her nonsense.
14:01Just then, Aunt Ruth poked her head out
14:03from the carriage behind.
14:05She sounded annoyed.
14:06What is the hole-hole?
14:07Are we there yet?
14:09Dad looked over at the sound.
14:10The moment he saw Aunt Ruth's face,
14:12his legs gave out,
14:13and then he turned and bolted.
14:15He was a massive butcher with plenty of stamina.
14:17But Thomas' riders were actual military men.
14:20He barely made it a few steps before they caught him
14:22and pinned him to the ground.
14:24Thomas finally lifted me off his saddle.
14:26He walked over to the bloody butcher block in dead silence.
14:30Slowly picked up that chunk of meat.
14:32Della stepped up beside him.
14:34Her eyes turned red.
14:35Sir, the muscle fibers end in the battlefield.
14:38It's human.
14:38Just like what we saw on the battlefield.
14:40Dad was smart.
14:42He had two real deer carcasses hanging there.
14:45He just deboned Mom,
14:47dicing her up to throw in as extra weight for his customers.
14:50To the untrained eye,
14:51it was just venison scraps.
14:54Aunt Ruth walked over with Becky in her arms.
14:56She looked at Thomas and the meat stall in confusion.
14:59Are we here or not?
15:01Where is Marion?
15:02Thomas didn't answer.
15:04Two riders dragged Dad back,
15:06his hands bound tight with thick rope.
15:08I took off my coat
15:09and started picking up the pieces of my mother,
15:12one by one,
15:13wrapping them in my coat.
15:14It was late autumn.
15:15The freezing air kept the meat from rotting completely.
15:18But it had been two days.
15:20She didn't look fresh anymore.
15:22Thomas watched me, dead silent.
15:24Then, he let out a cold scoff.
15:26You put on a hell of a show, don't you?
15:28Take me to her,
15:29or I will put a bullet in your head.
15:31I cradled my mother's flesh against my chest,
15:33nodded,
15:34and led them down the dirt road into the valley.
15:37Along the way,
15:38the local women gave us weird looks.
15:40One of the braver ones called out to me,
15:42Sarah, what's going on?
15:43Why is your dad pinned down?
15:45I thought for a second.
15:46Then I told them,
15:47Because he butchered mom and sold her.
15:50If you bought scraps from him today,
15:52please bring them back to our house.
15:53I need to bury her.
15:55The woman gripped the fence,
15:56gabbing violently.
15:57She shrieked.
15:59Wayne, you sick bastard!
16:00I gotta tell my husband,
16:03Wayne threw in an extra pound for free today.
16:06Dad's face turned even uglier.
16:09He glared at me,
16:10looking like he wanted to eat him alive.
16:12Too bad Thomas' men had shoved a dirty rag into Dad's mouth.
16:16Thomas followed me,
16:17his lips pressed tight,
16:18not saying a word.
16:19Aunt Ruth trailed behind.
16:21Her eyes kept darting around,
16:23occasionally flashing a mocking, smug look.
16:25We reached the front gate.
16:26I stared at the yard I grew up in.
16:28It felt strangely foreign.
16:30I'd only been gone for two days,
16:32but somehow,
16:32things felt different.
16:34I gently pushed the gate open,
16:36looking at the exact same layout inside.
16:38I clutched the bundle of flesh tighter against my chest.
16:41The freezing meat pressed against my skin,
16:44sending a biting chill through me.
16:46In the yard, I looked at Della.
16:48Please, could you make some food in the kitchen?
16:51It's been a long walk.
16:52Everyone is hungry.
16:53Della didn't agree right away.
16:55She instinctively looked at Thomas.
16:57Thomas nodded.
16:58Only then did she head to the kitchen.
17:00I grabbed a lantern,
17:01led Thomas and Aunt Ruth to the barn entrance,
17:03and pushed the wooden doors open.
17:05A strong stench of blood hit us immediately.
17:08I pointed at the pitch black tunnel on the ground.
17:11Mom is down there in the tunnel.
17:13That's where she lived.
17:14Thomas looked murderous.
17:16He ordered his men to drag my father down into the dark.
17:19Ruth hovered near the entrance, clutching Becky.
17:22She took in the gruesome yard,
17:23the two massive butchering blocks,
17:25the layers of dried black blood caked into the dirt.
17:29She gritted her teeth and forced herself down the stairs.
17:32It was a root cellar, deep underground.
17:34Every family in the valley had one.
17:36But ours didn't just sit under the house.
17:38Wayne dug it straight into the mountainside.
17:40He used to say it was for soundproofing,
17:43so no one could hear a thing.
17:44It was a massive, damp cavern,
17:47scattered with broken pots and a rusted cot.
17:50Right beside the bed,
17:51my mother's skeleton hung bolted to the stone wall.
17:54She was completely hollowed out.
17:56No flesh, no organs, just bone.
17:59The only thing he left intact was her head,
18:01but nine years of pure hell had rotted away her features.
18:04You could no longer tell she was Ruth's twin sister.
18:07I dropped the bundle of chopped meat at her skeletal feet.
18:10Then I lifted the kerosene lantern high,
18:12let the yellow flame hit her rotting face.
18:15I whispered,
18:17See? Here she is.
18:19I wasn't lying.
18:20Ruth slapped a hand over Becky's eyes.
18:22She gagged, spun around, and bolted for the stairs.
18:25But before her foot hit the first step,
18:28two heavy slabs of granite crashed shut,
18:30sealing the cellar from the outside.
18:32Thomas' men shoved against the heavy stone doors.
18:35They didn't budge.
18:37Ruth shrieked,
18:38What's going on?
18:39Then realization hit her.
18:41She spun around and glared at me viciously.
18:44You!
18:44You lured us down here!
18:46What the hell do you want?
18:48Before she could finish,
18:49a wave of dizziness hit her.
18:50Her knees buckled.
18:52She collapsed onto the damp dirt floor.
18:54Becky hit the ground hard.
18:55She burst into wails.
18:57Thomas lunged to grab her.
18:58But his legs gave out too.
19:00He crashed to the floor.
19:02He could only watch helplessly
19:03as Becky's cries faded into silence.
19:05He and Ruth lay there, unable to move,
19:08their eyes wide with absolute terror.
19:10I looked down at them.
19:12A faint smile crept onto my face.
19:14Relax.
19:16The dose was just too heavy for a kid.
19:18She's just passed out.
19:20She's not dead.
19:22I stared at the three of them lying in the dirt.
19:24Lantern light flickered on the wet stone,
19:26stretching Mom's skeletal shadow across the cavern wall.
19:30It looked like a solitary bird spreading its wings,
19:33guarding this dark, damp corner for nine years.
19:36I crouched down and gently traced my finger
19:38over Mom's wrist bone.
19:40There was a faint carving there.
19:42She scratched it in with a small knife years ago
19:44to teach me how to write her name, Marion.
19:48She had said to me,
19:49Sweetheart, Marion means beloved.
19:52My whole life, I just wanted someone to love me.
19:55Why is it so hard?
19:57I was too young back then.
19:58I didn't understand the sorrow in her eyes.
20:01I just remembered her hands were warm,
20:03and the mark on her bone looked like a tiny flower.
20:06Now, that little flower stayed with her skeleton,
20:09weeping silently in the cellar.
20:11I looked back at the man on the dirt floor,
20:13passed out cold.
20:14The man I called Dad.
20:16When he butchered Mom,
20:17did it hurt so much she couldn't even scream?
20:20Was she this silent?
20:21I remembered those nights in this exact cellar.
20:24After he was done beating her,
20:25she'd hold me tight in the dark,
20:27whispering through bruised lips.
20:29Hold on, Sarah, just hold on.
20:31As soon as I get the chance, we're running.
20:33We'll find Uncle Thomas.
20:34He'll save us.
20:35But Thomas never came.
20:37I stood up and walked the darkest corner of the cellar.
20:40I grunted, dragging the heavy wooden box from the shadows.
20:43Mom's only treasure.
20:44The rough wood scraped against the dirt.
20:46It was covered in dust and locked tight.
20:48But I knew exactly where the key was.
20:50It was hidden deep in a crack under the mattress.
20:53She used to call it her last piece of hope.
20:55I squeezed my fingers into the gap,
20:57fished it out, turned the lock.
20:59Inside, resting on faded blue silk,
21:01lay a stack of yellowed letters and a silver brooch.
21:04It was engraved with a single magnolia,
21:07like the ones she'd trace in the dirt from me.
21:08I picked up the top envelope
21:10and held it up to the flickering lantern.
21:12It was addressed to Thomas.
21:14Her handwriting was elegant,
21:16but the ink wavered where her hand had shaken.
21:19Thomas, I know you hate me,
21:22but I swear to God I never touched her husband.
21:25Ruth set me up.
21:26She couldn't stand that Dad called me
21:28the pride of the cast family.
21:29She couldn't stand that you always had my back.
21:32So she got him drunk, slipped into his bed,
21:35made sure Dad caught them,
21:36and pinned the whole thing on me.
21:38I didn't do it, Thomas.
21:40I didn't.
21:41Dad disowned me.
21:43He threw me out like trash,
21:45said I ruined the family name.
21:47I had nowhere to go.
21:48I fled to Heather Valley,
21:50only to be sold to this butcher,
21:52Wayne.
21:52He's a monster, Thomas.
21:54He beats me every single day.
21:56But I refuse to die.
21:58I have Sarah now.
22:00I have to keep her alive,
22:02take her back to the estate.
22:04She needs to know her mother was never a whore.
22:07A teardrop hit the paper,
22:09smudging the ink.
22:10She never lied to me.
22:12Not a tramp like Thomas claimed,
22:13and not a homewrecker like Ruth swore.
22:16She was framed,
22:17thrown to the wolves by her own flesh and blood.
22:20And Thomas?
22:21The hero she idolized?
22:23He bought their lies without a second thought,
22:25hated her for nine years,
22:26and never even gave her a chance to speak.
22:29A low groan broke the silence.
22:31Wayne's eyes cracked open, still groggy.
22:33But the second they locked onto the skeleton
22:35hanging in the shadows,
22:37all the blood drained from his face.
22:39A ghost.
22:40Oh God, it's a ghost!
22:42He scrambled backwards, trying to stand.
22:44I slammed my boot into his chest,
22:46pinning him to the dirt.
22:47Look closely, Dad.
22:49I whispered, my voice dead cold.
22:50That's not a ghost.
22:52That's Mom.
22:53The woman you hacked to pieces and sold as venison.
22:56His whole body shook violently,
22:58pure terror in his eyes.
23:00No.
23:01No, Sarah, listen to me.
23:02Don't let them fill your head with lies.
23:05Your mother, she got sick.
23:07She died of a fever.
23:08He was still lying through his teeth,
23:10just like when he spoon-fed me that foul stew
23:12and told me to eat up.
23:13Sick?
23:15I let out a laugh,
23:16tears spilling down my cheeks.
23:18Then tell me, Dad,
23:19why is her skeleton strung up on your wall?
23:21Why did the meat scraps in your block bed
23:23cast family tattoo?
23:25And that stew you need to eat,
23:27why did it reek of copper and rot?
23:29I dropped into a crouch,
23:31grabbed a fistful of his greasy hair,
23:32and shoved his face against the bleached bones.
23:35Look at her!
23:36Open your damn eyes and look!
23:38That's her skull!
23:39Those are her hands!
23:41The fingers she used to teach me how to write.
23:43You took your cleaver and chopped them off,
23:46one by one, didn't you?
23:48Wayne's screams echoed off the damp walls.
23:50He thrashed his head wildly,
23:51teeth chattering in pure panic.
23:52He shrieked.
23:54I didn't mean to!
23:55She wouldn't listen!
23:56Always trying to run back to the carts!
23:58I beat her,
23:58but she never begged!
23:59I had no choice!
24:01So you slaughtered her?
24:03Just because she wanted out?
24:04Because she wanted me to live?
24:06I picked up the heavy iron poker,
24:08the exact same one he used to brand my spine.
24:10The metal was still stained with black soot.
24:13Remember this, Dad?
24:14I held the iron tip over the lantern flame
24:16and watched the metal heat to a furious red.
24:18When you held this to my back,
24:21you told me I was a filthy whore.
24:23Just like Mom said I needed to learn my place.
24:26Now it's your turn to taste it.
24:29Wayne completely lost his mind,
24:31thrashing in the dirt, begging for his life.
24:33Sarah, I'm sorry!
24:35I swear to God, I'm sorry!
24:37Please!
24:38I'm your father!
24:39You can't do this!
24:41I scoffed.
24:42Father, is that a joke?
24:44When she was alive,
24:45you beat her to a pump.
24:46When she died,
24:47you chopped her up for spare change.
24:49I starved for two days
24:50and begged you for a crust of bread
24:51and you threw me out on the street.
24:53You call yourself a father.
24:56I tuned out his pathetic whining,
24:58gripped the searing iron,
24:59plunged it straight into his arm,
25:01a thickening sizzle.
25:02The stench of burning flesh filled the cellar,
25:05just like my own skin all those years ago.
25:08Wayne shrieked like a slaughtered pig,
25:10but I didn't blink.
25:11I didn't stop.
25:12I pressed the iron down,
25:13again and again,
25:15until his arm was nothing but charred meat,
25:17until his vocal cords gave out completely.
25:20Enough!
25:21A hoarse shout broke through the dark.
25:23Thomas was awake.
25:24He struggled to stand up,
25:26but the drug was still in his system.
25:28His legs gave out
25:29and he collapsed back into the dirt.
25:30He stared at me,
25:32eyes wide with shock and pure anger.
25:34Sarah!
25:35What the hell are you doing?
25:36He's your father!
25:37I turned to face him,
25:39a twisted smile on my lips.
25:41Father?
25:42Don't forget uncle.
25:44This slaughtered your own sister,
25:46chopped her up and sold her as meat.
25:48You hated mom so much,
25:49thought she was a disgrace to the cast name.
25:52But look around.
25:54Who's the real disgrace here?
25:55It's you,
25:57the blind,
25:57arrogant brother.
25:58Ruth,
25:59the sister who framed her,
26:00and this of peace shit father of mine.
26:02Ruth was awake now too.
26:04She covered her nose.
26:05Her eyes swept the cellar,
26:07taking in the blood-soaked dirt,
26:08the bleached skeleton hanging in the corner,
26:11and Wayne's smoking,
26:12charred arm.
26:13Her face twisted with fear and pure disgust.
26:16She shrieked.
26:17You little freak!
26:18How dare you do that to your dad!
26:20And Marion?
26:21Even dead's still a disgusting mess.
26:23This is sickening!
26:24That's sickening.
26:25I walked right up to her
26:26and threw mom's letter right in her face.
26:29Read it, Ruth!
26:30Read how you framed your own sister.
26:32Read how you made Thomas hate her
26:33for nine damn years.
26:35Right up until her last breath,
26:36she actually thought you loved her,
26:38thought she could clear her name.
26:40But you?
26:41You just wanted her dead.
26:43Ruth snatched the letter.
26:44The further she read,
26:45the paler she got.
26:46Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
26:48No, that's a lie.
26:50Marion was a slut!
26:51She threw herself at my husband!
26:53This letter is a fake!
26:55She was still lying through her teeth,
26:57like a rabid dog backed into a corner.
27:00Fake?
27:01I pointed straight at the skeleton.
27:02Are those bones fake?
27:03Is Wayne's confession fake?
27:05Are the villagers blind?
27:06You thought you covered your tracks,
27:08but you forgot the cast family tattoo on her skin.
27:11You forgot the bone fragments
27:13and the meat he sold.
27:14Thomas picked up the second letter from the dirt.
27:16It was addressed to the patriarch of the cast family.
27:19It laid out exactly how Ruth set her up
27:21and every piece of hell Mom endured in Heather Valley.
27:24The further he read,
27:26the darker his face turned.
27:27His knuckles went white, gripping the paper.
27:29Ruth, was it really you?
27:32No!
27:33Thomas, don't listen to that little psycho!
27:36She's trying to tear us apart.
27:38She just wants revenge!
27:40Ruth shrieked and lunged at me,
27:41throwing a wild slap at my face.
27:43I dodged it easily.
27:45Mom had taught me how to throw a punch.
27:47I wasn't great at it,
27:48but against a pampered rich woman?
27:50More than enough.
27:51Becky woke up.
27:52She took one look at the bloody cellar
27:54and burst into tears.
27:55She threw herself into Ruth's arms.
27:57Mommy, I'm scared!
27:59I want to go home!
28:00I want Uncle Thomas!
28:03Ruth clutched her tight,
28:04tears streaming down her face.
28:06Not out of guilt,
28:07but pure, selfish terror.
28:09Shh, Becky, it's okay.
28:12Mommy's gonna take you home.
28:14Right now.
28:15Thomas, get us out of here!
28:18That little freak is insane!
28:20She's gonna kill us!
28:21Thomas didn't say a word.
28:23He walked slowly toward the skeleton,
28:25lowered his head,
28:26and dropped to one knee in the dirt.
28:28Marion, I'm so sorry.
28:31His voice broke completely.
28:33Tears fell onto the bleached bones.
28:35I believe they're lies.
28:36I never came looking for you.
28:38I left you here to suffer.
28:40Still kneeling, he reached out.
28:42His trembling fingers brushed against the bone.
28:44His voice shook.
28:46I promise you, Marion,
28:47I will make them pay,
28:50and I will clear your name.
28:52He stood up.
28:52The grief in his eyes hardened into steel.
28:55He looked down at Wayne and Ruth.
28:57Wayne, you butchered my sister.
28:59I'll make sure you die a slow, agonizing death.
29:02And Ruth, you destroyed her life with your lies.
29:06I'm locking you in a convent.
29:07You'll spend the rest of your miserable life repenting.
29:10Wayne slumped in the dirt, paralyzed by fear.
29:13He couldn't even speak.
29:14No! Thomas, you can't do this to me!
29:17Ruth shrieked.
29:18I'm your sister!
29:19Becky is just a little girl!
29:21She needs her mother!
29:22Oh, so Becky needs her mother?
29:24I cut in, my voice dead flat.
29:27What about me?
29:28I grew up without mine.
29:30Beaten by my own father.
29:31Treated like trash by my uncle.
29:34Seen as a filthy bastard by all of you.
29:37What the hell did I ever do to deserve that?
29:39Right then, heavy pounding rattled the cellar doors above.
29:43Thomas' men had finally found him.
29:45A muffled voice shouted.
29:47General!
29:48Are you down there?
29:49We're getting you out!
29:50Thomas took a deep breath.
29:52He shouted up at the heavy doors.
29:54I'm fine!
29:55Stand down!
29:56Nobody comes in until I give thee the order!
29:59The pounding stopped.
30:01Thomas turned back to me.
30:03Sarah.
30:04I know nothing I do can ever fix what I did to you.
30:07Or to her.
30:08But please, give me a chance to make this right.
30:11Tell me what you want.
30:12Money?
30:12Power?
30:13Your rightful place as the cast heir?
30:15Name it.
30:16And it's yours.
30:17I shook my head.
30:18I looked back at her bones in the dim light.
30:21I answered softly.
30:23I don't want anything.
30:25I just want her to rest in peace.
30:28And I want the people who did this to pay.
30:31Thomas nodded.
30:32Done.
30:32I'll make sure Marion gets a proper burial.
30:35And Wayne and Ruth will get exactly what they deserve.
30:40But after that, come home with me.
30:43He looked at me, his eyes pleading.
30:44Let me raise you as my own.
30:47Give you the best education.
30:48Let me make you a true daughter of the cast family.
30:51I hesitated.
30:52Mom's dying wish was for me to go back.
30:54To know I wasn't some filthy bastard.
30:56To know I had cast blood in my veins.
30:58But just thinking about that family made my skin crawl.
31:02Thomas's cold, dead eyes.
31:04Ruth's pure, vicious lies.
31:07I finally gave my answer.
31:09I need to stay with Mom right now.
31:12Once she's laid to rest, I'll figure out what's next.
31:17Thomas didn't push it.
31:18He just nodded.
31:20All right.
31:20I respect that.
31:22But whenever you're ready, the cast gates are always open for you.
31:29Over the next few days, Thomas's men cleared out that hellhole of a Kellan.
31:34Wayne was dragged off to the county jail.
31:39Thomas gave the guards strict orders.
31:42No food.
31:43Let him starve to death in a dark cell, exactly what he did to me and Mom.
31:48Ruth was hauled off to a secluded convent, stripped of her silk dresses, forced into a
31:54habit for the rest of her life.
31:57She'd never ruin another life again.
32:00They carefully gathered Mom's remains.
32:04Thomas ordered the finest oak coffin money could buy.
32:08Every bone, every scrap they could find, all carefully laid to rest inside.
32:15The truth spread through the valley like wildfire.
32:18The whole town showed up for the funeral.
32:21Martha held my hand, tears running down her wrinkled face.
32:25She lived through absolute hell, Sarah.
32:28Now she can finally rest.
32:29We buried her on the ridge behind Heather Valley.
32:32The view up there was beautiful.
32:34You could see the entire valley.
32:36Thomas set the headstone himself.
32:38Carved into the granite was,
32:40In loving memory of Marion Cast.
32:42And right below it, in tiny letters,
32:45Mourned by her brother, Thomas, and sister, Ruth.
32:49I stayed by her grave for three months.
32:51Thomas came to visit constantly.
32:53He brought me food, warm clothes, and supplies.
32:56He even sent his own men to train me.
32:58They taught me how to read, shoot, and ride.
33:01He told me Mom used to be the brightest star of the Cast family.
33:05Brilliant with a pin, deadly with a gun.
33:07He wanted me to carry on her legacy.
33:10So I pushed myself to the breaking point.
33:12Because I knew that's exactly what she wanted.
33:15I remembered her whispering to me in that dark cellar.
33:18Learn everything you can, Sarah.
33:20Get strong, so nobody can ever step on you again.
33:24Now, I finally had the chance to make her proud.
33:26Three months later, a convoy arrived from the Cast estate.
33:30It was the patriarch of the Cast family, my grandfather.
33:34He was ancient, with white hair and a white beard,
33:37leaning heavily on a wooden cane.
33:39But his eyes?
33:40They were sharp as a hawk's.
33:42He looked at me.
33:43Tears filled his old, weathered eyes.
33:45Child, you've been through hell.
33:48Your mother went through hell.
33:49And it's all my fault.
33:51I swallowed Ruth's lies.
33:53I failed her.
33:54He reached out and handed me a silver coin.
33:56Stamped right in the center was the Cast family crest.
34:00This belongs to the true heirs of our bloodline.
34:03He wanted me to come home.
34:05To take my rightful place and inherit the Cast estate.
34:08I looked back at Mom's grave.
34:10I whispered,
34:11Mom, grandfather is here for me.
34:14Do you want me to go back?
34:16A gentle breeze swept across the ridge.
34:19The leaves rustled in the quiet air.
34:22It felt exactly like her voice answering me.
34:25Go back, Sarah.
34:27Take back your life.
34:28Make me proud.
34:30I took a deep breath and nodded.
34:32Followed them home to the Cast estate.
34:35The Casts were old money.
34:36Their estate was massive.
34:38It made Thomas' townhouse look like a shack.
34:41The patriarch threw a lavish welcome banquet.
34:43He wanted the whole world to know.
34:46I was Marion's daughter.
34:47The true, legitimate Cast heir.
34:50The grounds were lit up like a festival the day I arrived.
34:53High society guests packed the halls.
34:56They stared at me, some with curiosity,
34:58some calculating, and others with outright awe.
35:01I stood before them in a gorgeous silk dress.
35:04The Cast family crest pinned right over my heart,
35:07but my skin crawled.
35:09I was used to the rough rags of Heather Valley,
35:12used to the dark, damp cold of that cellar.
35:14All this extreme wealth felt entirely alien.
35:17This is my granddaughter, Sarah.
35:20Her mother was Marion, the daughter I failed the most.
35:23From this day on, she is Sarah Cast,
35:27the rightful heir to this family.
35:29Anyone who crosses her, crosses me!
35:32The crowd erupted in applause and cheers.
35:35But I wasn't blind.
35:37I saw the quiet sneers,
35:39the subtle looks of pure disgust.
35:41They still remembered.
35:42To them, I was just the bastard from the valley,
35:45the filthy little beggar,
35:47beaten by her father,
35:49rejected by her uncle.
35:50But I didn't give a damn.
35:52I was going to survive.
35:53For her,
35:54my new life at the estate was relentless.
35:57Reading, writing, and shooting
35:59every single day.
36:00An old scholar tutored me through dense, heavy books,
36:04teaching me how to write and speak like a true cast.
36:07One of Thomas' veterans drilled me
36:09in writing and marksmanship.
36:11He was incredibly strict.
36:12A total dead shot.
36:14At first, it was pure hell.
36:16The thick books made my head pound.
36:19The endless drills left my bones aching.
36:21But I never quit.
36:23I just thought about that dark, damp cellar.
36:26I remembered every drop of blood Mom shed for me.
36:29And it kept me pulling the trigger.
36:32Thomas came by constantly.
36:34The ice in his eyes was completely gone.
36:37Replaced by a heavy, silent guilt.
36:39He started coaching my aim himself.
36:42And he finally told me stories about her youth.
36:46She was the pride of this family.
36:49At 15, she rode into battle with your grandfather.
36:54She was fearless.
36:56Her aim put mine to shame
36:58until Ruth destroyed it all.
37:00I'm so sorry, Sarah.
37:03I never should have listened to Ruth's lies.
37:05I never should have left you there.
37:07My mother wasn't just some victim in a cellar.
37:10She was an absolute warrior.
37:12If I had just bothered to look for you,
37:15Marion would still be alive.
37:17And you wouldn't carry those scars.
37:22It's in the past.
37:24Deep down, I still blamed him.
37:26If he had just believed her,
37:28if he had just spared us a single crust of bread,
37:31Mom wouldn't be dead
37:32and I wouldn't have lived through hell.
37:34But holding on to hate fixes nothing.
37:36It only eats you alive.
37:39Days turned into months.
37:41I adapted to life at the estate.
37:43My mind grew sharp.
37:44My riding and shooting became absolutely deadly.
37:47The patriarch was proud.
37:49He said I was exactly like Marion in her prime.
37:52Thomas looked at me differently now, too.
37:54He called me the future of the caste family.
37:57But I knew exactly why I did it all.
37:59For Mom.
38:00I was going to reclaim the life they stole from her.
38:02I was going to prove them all wrong.
38:05Marion's daughter wasn't some filthy bastard.
38:07And she wasn't trash.
38:09She was a force to be reckoned with.
38:11One day, Thomas brought me the news.
38:13Wayne had starved to death in his cell.
38:15He died miserable.
38:16Like a stray dog.
38:18I didn't feel sad.
38:19I didn't feel happy.
38:21I felt absolutely nothing.
38:23It was exactly what he deserved.
38:25Years passed.
38:26I came of age.
38:28The patriarch handed me control
38:29of a portion of the caste estate.
38:31I ran it flawlessly.
38:34Even outperforming Thomas.
38:37I returned to Heather Valley often.
38:39Always visiting her grave on the ridge.
38:41I always brought fresh baked cornbread.
38:43Her absolute favorite.
38:45The very thing I used to beg for as a starving kid.
38:48I'd sit by her headstone and talk.
38:50Telling her about my life.
38:51Everything I had learned.
38:53And how the family finally treated me right.
38:56One afternoon in the valley,
38:57I ran into an old villager.
38:59One of the men who bought her meat
39:01all those years ago.
39:03Sarah.
39:05I'm so sorry.
39:08I swear to God,
39:09I didn't know it was Marion.
39:11I would have died before I bought it.
39:14I reached out and steadied his shaking hands.
39:18It's in the past.
39:20Mom wouldn't blame you.
39:22Honestly,
39:22I knew the townspeople were innocent.
39:24Wayne deceived them all.
39:26I only made them return the remains for one reason.
39:29So I could bury my mother whole.
39:32So she could finally rest in peace.
39:35Shortly after I returned from Heather Valley,
39:38the news arrived.
39:39Ruth had completely lost her mind.
39:42Locked away in that secluded convent.
39:45Screaming Marion's name every single day.
39:47Always coming.
39:48Raving that mom's ghost had returned for revenge.
39:51I never visited her.
39:53She got exactly what she deserved.
39:54She ruined my mother's life.
39:56And in the end,
39:57the guilt drove her insane.
39:58A few years later,
40:01the patriarch fell ill.
40:02My grandfather was dying.
40:04Sarah,
40:06my time is up.
40:08The caste estate
40:11is yours now.
40:14No matter what happens,
40:16be like your mother.
40:18Strong.
40:20Fearless.
40:22I nodded.
40:23I will, grandfather.
40:24I promise.
40:25He smiled faintly,
40:27closed his eyes for the last time.
40:28After grandfather passed,
40:30Thomas handed me the reins.
40:32I became the head of the caste family.
40:34I controlled the massive estate
40:36and every single asset to its name.
40:39I completely tore up the old rules.
40:41Under my watch,
40:42the estate's profits soared.
40:44But I didn't stop there.
40:45I built a women's militia.
40:47I brought in girls
40:48who had survived pure hell,
40:50just like me.
40:51I gave them rifles
40:52and a chance to finally fight back.
40:55My name commanded absolute respect.
40:58Whispers spread about the iron-willed,
41:00new head of the castes.
41:02But I knew the truth.
41:04Every single ounce of my power
41:05came from my mother.
41:07Then,
41:08a letter arrived from the frontier.
41:09It was from Thomas.
41:11The border was under heavy attack.
41:13He had to lead the cavalry out himself.
41:15He needed me to secure the estate.
41:18I didn't hesitate for a second.
41:20I wrote him back immediately.
41:22The estate is secure.
41:24Focus on the war.
41:25After he wrote out,
41:26I kept the estate running like clockwork.
41:28But I kept a close eye on the reports
41:30from the front lines.
41:31Months later,
41:32word arrived from the frontier.
41:34Thomas had crushed the enemy.
41:36He was coming home.
41:37I led our people to the gates
41:39to meet his cavalry.
41:41Seeing him ride through the gates alive,
41:43a massive weight
41:44finally lifted off my chest.
41:46Thomas locked eyes with me.
41:48He looked exhausted,
41:49but immensely proud.
41:51You held the line, Sarah.
41:54I protected our home.
41:56That night,
41:57the estate threw a victory banquet.
41:58Tonight,
41:58I toast my niece, Sarah.
42:00If she hadn't held the home front,
42:02my men wouldn't have survived out there.
42:04You are the pride of the cast family, Sarah,
42:06and you are your mother's greatest legacy.
42:08I stood up,
42:09raised my own glass,
42:10and looked past the crowd,
42:11thinking of her.
42:12Do you see this, Mom?
42:13I knew exactly what he was up against out there.
42:16He couldn't afford to worry about the home front.
42:19I actually did it.
42:20I took back the life they stole from you
42:23and cleared your name forever.
42:24The banquet ended.
42:26I stood alone in the courtyard,
42:27bathed in pale moonlight.
42:29I rolled up my sleeve,
42:30stared at the jagged scars on my wrists.
42:33They were like the rings of a weathered tree,
42:35branded into my skin,
42:37burned into my soul.
42:39Every mark told a story
42:40of pure hell and survival.
42:42They were my badges of honor,
42:44reminding me where I came from
42:45and exactly who I am now.
42:47My mind drifted back
42:49to Wayne butchering Mom,
42:51to Thomas turning a blind eye,
42:52to Ruth spitting her venom.
42:54Those memories won't fade.
42:56They are permanently etched into my bones.
42:58But the hatred is gone.
43:00Holding onto it fixes nothing.
43:01It only poisons you from the inside out.
43:03I let it go.
43:05I look ahead.
43:06Carrying my mother's hope,
43:07wearing my scars with absolute pride.
43:10I am going to thrive.
43:11Late autumn arrived.
43:12I rode back to Heather Valley.
43:14Weeds had overgrown her grave.
43:16I crouched down in the dirt,
43:18pulled them out by the roots,
43:20and laid down a fresh bouquet of magnolias.
43:23They were her absolute favorite.
43:25A breeze swept across the ridge.
43:27The leaves rustled around me.
43:29It felt exactly like her smiling down at me.
43:32I stood up,
43:33looked out over the vast valley,
43:35bathed in the warm sunlight.
43:37I have a long road ahead,
43:39but I'm not scared anymore,
43:41because I know she's right here with me,
43:43in the scars on my wrists,
43:45in my heart.
43:46She is never leaving.
43:48I turned away from the grave,
43:49walked away without hesitation.
43:51I am Marion's legacy.
43:53Fierce.
43:54Unbreakable.
43:55I'm going to carve out my own path,
43:57and those who tried to break us
43:58will never dare to look down on us again.
44:01A brutal blizzard hit that winter.
44:03The valley was buried in white.
44:05Snow piled heavy on the roofs of the cast estate.
44:08I was in my study,
44:08going over the ledgers.
44:10Sarah?
44:11There's a girl at the gate.
44:13Says she's from Heather Valley.
44:15Show her in.
44:16A minute later,
44:17Della led her inside.
44:18She was skin and bones,
44:20barely dressed for the freezing cold,
44:21and couldn't be older than 14.
44:24Miss Sarah?
44:26My name is Lucy.
44:28Martha meant me.
44:30Martha.
44:31The only woman in that hellhole
44:33who actually had a heart.
44:35Why did she send you, Lucy?
44:36Are you in trouble?
44:38My dad,
44:38he lost everything at the poker tables.
44:40He's selling me to a brothel
44:41to clear his debts.
44:43Martha said,
44:44she said you could save me.
44:45I don't want to go with them.
44:47I just want to go to school.
44:48I just want to live.
44:49I stared at her like looking into a mirror,
44:53seeing myself huddled in that freezing alley,
44:55starving to death.
44:56It was the exact same helplessness,
44:59the same desperate plea for a lifeline.
45:01I stood up and walked over,
45:03took off my heavy wool cloak,
45:04and draped it over her shaking shoulders.
45:06It was a gift from my late grandfather.
45:09Don't be scared.
45:10You're at the cast estate now.
45:13Nobody is ever going to force you into anything again.
45:16I had my staff set up a warm room for Lucy,
45:19brought in a doctor to patch up her bruises,
45:21and hired a tutor to teach her how to read.
45:23But a few days later,
45:24my house manager pulled me aside.
45:26The family elders were furious,
45:29saying I had no business taking in a stray
45:31and wasting cast money,
45:32saying I still acted like a wild,
45:35unrefined mountain girl.
45:36Sarah.
45:37That afternoon,
45:38they cornered me outside the estate office.
45:39The castes are a prestigious family.
45:43We do not run a charity for strays.
45:45We know nothing about her.
45:47If she brings trouble to our gates,
45:50who pays the price?
45:52I stood at the top of the stairs.
45:54The freezing wind whipped at my dress.
45:56The scars on my wrists throbbed with a dull ache.
45:59I looked down at them,
46:01seeing the doubt in their eyes,
46:02the absolute disdain.
46:03It was the exact same look they gave me years ago,
46:07when they all thought I was just a filthy bastard.
46:09But I wasn't that helpless little beggar anymore.
46:12Simus, Lucy, isn't a stranger.
46:15She's a survivor from Heather Valley,
46:16just like me.
46:18Our ancestors built this empire.
46:22But the cast name stands for protecting the weak.
46:25If just one person had offered my mother a hand,
46:28she wouldn't have died in that cellar.
46:30I got these in Heather Valley.
46:32I know exactly what it means to starve.
46:35To be beaten to a pulp.
46:37To have absolutely no way out.
46:38Now I have the power.
46:40I'm throwing a lifeline to girls just like me.
46:42Isn't that what a true cast should do?
46:45Lucy is sharp.
46:46She learned to read in a matter of days.
46:48She will be an absolute asset to this estate.
46:51Money spent saving a life is never a waste.
46:53As for trouble,
46:55if anyone dares to bring a fight to our gates,
46:58they answer to me, Sarah Cast,
47:01and I will crush them myself.
47:04I'm not leaving this valley until I have justice.
47:07And that's not up to you.
47:09My voice wasn't loud,
47:10but it was pure steel.
47:14I'm not asking you to leave.
47:17Fine.
47:18You run the cast date now.
47:20Do as you see fit.
47:21Once they cleared out,
47:23Della brought me a hot cup of tea.
47:24Miss,
47:25the way you handled them just now,
47:27you looked exactly like Marion.
47:29I held the tea,
47:31letting the heat soak into my fingers.
47:33A bittersweet pang swelled in my chest.
47:35Look, Mom,
47:36I can finally protect people,
47:38just like you fought to protect me.
47:40Time went on.
47:41Lucy came out of her shell.
47:43She devoured every book in the library
47:45and picked up riding and shooting
47:46faster than anyone expected.
47:49Then,
47:49word spread.
47:50More battered women found their way to the estate gates.
47:53Some were running from brutal husbands.
47:55Some had been cast out by their own families.
47:58I didn't turn a single one of them away.
48:01I recruited them all into the women's militia,
48:04taught them how to handle a rifle
48:06and how to hold their ground.
48:08I gave them the power to protect themselves
48:10and the chance to fight for the cast family.
48:13Spring arrived.
48:14I rode back to Heather Valley.
48:16But this time,
48:17I wasn't alone.
48:19Lucy and a handful of my women's militia
48:21rode with me.
48:22I laid the fresh bouquet against the headstone.
48:24Mom,
48:25I brought some sisters to see you.
48:27They survived,
48:28just like me.
48:29They have a real home now
48:31and they know how to fight back.
48:33Lucy and the girls stepped forward.
48:34They stood at attention
48:36and bowed their heads in deep respect.
48:38Thank you, Marion.
48:40Your daughter gave us a second chance at life.
48:43A gentle breeze rustled the trees.
48:45White petals drifted down over us.
48:47I knelt in the dirt,
48:48tracing the carved letters with my fingers.
48:50My mind drifted back
48:52to her teaching me to write,
48:53to her holding me tight,
48:55whispering,
48:56Be strong, Sarah.
48:57And to her dying breath,
48:59begging me to find Thomas.
49:01I didn't just survive that cellar.
49:03I became the woman she prayed I'd be.
49:05I didn't let the hate eat me alive.
49:08I chose a different path.
49:09And I took every single ounce of that pain
49:12and turned it into my armor.
49:14Shortly after we returned,
49:16a scout rode in hard from the frontier.
49:18The Northern Raiders had returned.
49:20And Thomas' cavalry was completely pinned down
49:23at the Rocky Mountain Pass.
49:25Panic swept through the cast estate.
49:27The elders fell into absolute chaos.
49:30Some begged to negotiate a surrender.
49:32Others wanted to pack up and flee.
49:35I sat at the head of the heavy oak table,
49:38watching them argue like cowards.
49:40My mind was dead calm.
49:42I remembered what Thomas told me before he left.
49:47Secure the home front, Sarah.
49:49I thought about my mother
49:50riding fearlessly into battle.
49:52The unspoken rule of our bloodline.
49:54Cast women fight just as hard as the men.
49:57I stood up.
49:58My voice cut right through the shouting.
50:03Quiet!
50:04The Rocky Mountain Pass is a natural fortress.
50:07Thomas is a brilliant tactician.
50:10Being trapped doesn't mean he's dead.
50:12We don't panic.
50:13We send supplies.
50:15And we send backup.
50:21Open half the estate's grain snails.
50:23Load the supply wagons.
50:26Then, I went to my women's militia.
50:28I handpicked 100 of my absolute best sharpshooters.
50:31I mounted my horse and led them into battle myself.
50:36Before riding out, I stopped by her grade.
50:41Mom, I'm heading to the frontier.
50:44Thomas needs backup.
50:46Don't worry.
50:47I'll protect the estate.
50:49I'll protect our home.
50:50The morning we rode out, the sun was blinding.
50:53A massive supply convoy rolled out the gates.
50:56I sat tall in the saddle, wearing my mother's old leather riding jacket.
51:00I ran my fingers over the worn leather.
51:03I could practically feel her right there with me.
51:06The scars on my wrist throbbed with every gallop.
51:09But they weren't just pain anymore.
51:11They were my power.
51:13I knew exactly what I was riding into.
51:16The Rocky Mountain Pass was a deadly trap.
51:19But I didn't feel an ounce of fear.
51:21Because mom was watching me.
51:24And every woman I pulled out of the dirt was watching me too.
51:28Every jagged scar told a story of absolute hell.
51:32But they forged the woman I am today.
51:35I'm not that helpless little beggar anymore.
51:38I am Sarah Kast.
51:40The head of this family.
51:41A woman stepping up to defend her home.
51:44The road ahead was going to be brutal.
51:47I was going to show the world exactly what a Kast woman is made of.
51:51To prove to my mother that I kept my promise.
51:53That I stood tall.
51:55I would fight to my last breath.
51:57To protect this family and to make absolutely sure.
52:00No woman like me ever gets dragged into the dark again.
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