- 2 weeks ago
Scars Into Sunlight Ep 2026
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I was 8 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,
00:24holding 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?
00:33Tell your whore mother to come beg me for it himself.
00:36He 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.
01:02He 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.
01:42I tried the general store.
01:44The owner chased me out immediately.
01:47Get lost, beggar!
01:48You're bad for business!
01:49I walked through the rain, numb, shop after shop.
01:53No one wanted me, even 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.
02:05Good bone structure.
02:07Feed her up, she'll be a stunner.
02:09She slid a paper across the table,
02:11told me to stamp my thumb, thought I couldn't read.
02:13Mom taught me.
02:14It was an indentured servant deed.
02:16The smell was intoxicating.
02:19What 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, so before the darkness took me, I lunged, bit a chunk of
02:44flesh right out of his arm, and swallowed it raw.
02:47Kicked me in the chest.
02:49I slammed into the dirt.
02:50Everything went black.
02:52At least I finally tasted meat, even if it tasted like garbage.
02:56I woke up to ice water in my face.
02:58A lavish bedroom at the ranch.
03:00A maid pinched my nose, shoved cold, sour oatmeal down my throat.
03:04Then I was dragged into the parlor.
03:07Thomas was in the parlor, talking to a doctor.
03:11So, she bit me because she was starving?
03:15Yes.
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?
03:35Or was this just revenge?
03:37Sir.
03:39The first thing I said to you was, I'm starving.
03:43Spare a penny for bread.
03:45What happened to Uncle?
03:47I looked down.
03:48I called him Uncle before, but 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 that 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.
04:28Sir, 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, shoved two fingers down my throat, gagged, and puked that cold, sour slop right onto
04:47his floor.
04:48It sat in my stomach, but it's still cold.
04:52My stomach is in an icebox.
04:54He stared at the mess.
04:55The stench hit him.
04:57How could fresh food smell like rot that fast?
04:59He turned to the maid.
05:01She was on her knees, shaking uncontrollably.
05:03It was obvious.
05:04Who the hell gave you the nerve to play games behind my back?
05:08The maid opened her trembling mouth to speak, but a cold voice cut through the hall.
05:13I gave the order.
05:15Marion's spawn.
05:17Sour slob is more than she deserves.
05:19Aunt Ruth stepped into the parlor, dripping in silk and jewels.
05:23I froze.
05:24For a split second, I almost called her mom.
05:27But it wasn't her.
05:28They had the same face, but mom was broken, hollowed out.
05:34Looks just like Marion.
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?
05:48But Thomas frowned.
05:49He signaled a servant for fresh bread.
05:52Eat.
05:55I 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 and stuffed them deep into my torn, filthy sleeves.
06:15Thomas watched me.
06:17Marion 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.
06:27I'll take you to her.
06:57Ruth ordered the carriage prepped, but she barred me from it.
07:25Thomas wrote at the front of the convoy.
07:27Can you ride?
07:34What the hell did Marion 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, slicing through her bones, offering me a bloody piece.
07:51And I, the useless bastard, couldn'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.
08:06Okay.
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, trying to block out my stench.
08:21But halfway down the trail, he leaned over his horse and threw up.
08:29How the hell does a little girl smell like a rotten corpse?
08:33He booked a room at the nearest roadside inn.
08:35He ordered his personal maid, Della, to scrub me down.
08:38Della locked the door.
08:40She peeled off my filthy, blood-crusted rags, and she screamed.
08:45Thomas was standing guard outside.
08:47He heard the shriek.
08:48He booted the door off its hinges and stormed in.
08:52Della, what's wrong?
08:54Sir.
08:57Please, have some mercy on this child.
09:02What child?
09:03Her?
09:04Then 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.
09:14Della touched my skin gently, sobbing.
09:17She smells because her flesh is rotting.
09:23She's burning up with a fever.
09:26Thomas stared, stunned.
09:28He quickly turned his back, taking a sharp breath.
09:31His voice was tight, strained.
09:35Clean 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.
09:47Della carefully scrubbed the rod away and applied a cooling ointment.
09:53Why are we wasting time and medicine on her?
09:56She's playing you, Thomas.
09:58Just 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?
10:09Pick 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.
10:25She took more beatings than I did.
10:29What?
10:29No.
10:30She...
10:31You're lying!
10:32Did she tell you to say that to make me feel sorry for her?
10:36I 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.
10:48My 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.
10:59This 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.
11:06I 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.
11:19His 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,
11:30selling his venison.
11:31He saw the armed convoy,
11:33the velvet carriage.
11:34He panicked.
11:36He 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' face darkened.
11:57That butcher is your father?
11:58And he's selling Marion?
12:00You 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!
12:17Dad's head snapped up, his eyes feral.
12:19But when he saw me sitting on a war horse,
12:21he 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.
12:53Dad stepped up to the horse,
12:54practically glowing with greed.
12:56Sir, 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.
13:15Her 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.
13:22Mom is right there.
13:24He chopped her to pieces,
13:26and sold her his meat.
13:27He even boiled bones into broth,
13:30and tried to force feed me.
13:32It made me sick, so I ran.
13:35Look 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,
13:53Dad blinked guiltily.
13:54He put on a flattering smile.
13:56It's prime mountain venison, sir.
13:58Smooth skin.
14:00Don't listen to her nonsense.
14:01Just then,
14:02Aunt 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
14:16with plenty of stamina,
14:17but Thomas' riders
14:18were actual military men.
14:20He barely made it a few steps
14:21before they caught him
14:22and pinned him to the ground.
14:24Thomas finally lifted me
14:25off his saddle.
14:26He walked over to the bloody butcher block
14:28in dead silence,
14:30slowly picked up that chunk of meat.
14:32Della stepped up beside him.
14:34Her eyes turned red.
14:35Sir,
14:36the muscle fibers end
14:37in the battlefield.
14:38It's human,
14:38just like what we saw
14:39on the battlefield.
14:41Dad was smart.
14:42He had two real deer carcasses
14:44hanging there.
14:45He just deboned Mom,
14:47dicing her up
14:47to throw in as extra weight
14:49for his customers.
14:50To the untrained eye,
14:51it was just venison scraps.
14:54Aunt Ruth walked over
14:55with Becky in her arms.
14:56She looked at Thomas
14:57and the meat stall
14:58in 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
15:07with thick rope.
15:08I took off my coat
15:09and started picking up
15:10the pieces of my mother,
15:12one by one,
15:13wrapping them in my coat.
15:14It was late autumn.
15:15The freezing air
15:16kept the meat
15:17from rotting completely.
15:18But it had been two days.
15:20She didn't look fresh anymore.
15:22Thomas watched me,
15:23dead silent.
15:24Then,
15:25he let out a cold scoff.
15:26You put on a hell of a show,
15:28don't you?
15:28Take me to her,
15:29or I will put a bullet
15:30in your head.
15:31I cradled my mother's flesh
15:32against my chest,
15:34nodded,
15:34and led them down the dirt road
15:36into the valley.
15:37Along the way,
15:38the local women
15:39gave us weird looks.
15:40One of the braver ones
15:41called out to me,
15:42Sarah,
15:42what's going on?
15:44Why is your dad pinned down?
15:45I thought for a second.
15:46Then I told them,
15:47Because he butchered Mom
15:49and sold her.
15:50If you bought scraps
15:51from him today,
15:52please bring them back
15:53to our house.
15:54I need to bury her.
15:55The woman gripped the fence,
15:56gabbing violently.
15:58She shrieked,
15:59Wayne,
15:59you sick bastard!
16:01I gotta tell my husband,
16:03Wayne threw in
16:04an extra pound
16:05for free today.
16:07Dad's face turned
16:08even uglier.
16:09He glared at me,
16:10looking like he wanted
16:11to eat him alive.
16:12Too bad Thomas' men
16:14had shoved a dirty rag
16:15into 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
16:24a mocking,
16:24smug look.
16:25We reached the front gate.
16:27I stared at the yard
16:28I grew up in.
16:29It felt strangely foreign.
16:30I'd only been gone
16:31for two days,
16:32but somehow,
16:33things felt different.
16:34I gently pushed
16:35the gate open,
16:36looking at the exact
16:37same layout inside.
16:38I clutched the bundle
16:39of flesh tighter
16:40against my chest,
16:41the freezing meat
16:42pressed against my skin,
16:44sending a biting chill
16:45through me.
16:46In the yard,
16:47I looked at Della.
16:48Please,
16:49could you make
16:50some food in the kitchen?
16:51It's been a long walk,
16:52everyone is hungry.
16:53Della didn't agree
16:54right away.
16:55She instinctively
16:56looked at Thomas.
16:57Thomas nodded.
16:58Only then did she
16:59head to the kitchen.
17:00I grabbed a lantern,
17:01led Thomas and Aunt Ruth
17:02to the barn entrance,
17:03and pushed the wooden doors open.
17:06A strong stench of blood
17:07hit us immediately.
17:08I pointed at the pitch black
17:10tunnel on the ground.
17:11Mom is down there
17:12in the tunnel.
17:13That's where she lived.
17:14Thomas looked murderous.
17:16He ordered his men
17:17to drag my father
17:18down into the dark.
17:19Ruth hovered near the entrance,
17:21clutching Becky.
17:22She took in the gruesome yard,
17:24the two massive
17:24butchering blocks,
17:26the layers of dried
17:27black blood
17:28caked into the dirt.
17:29She gritted her teeth
17:30and forced herself
17:31down the stairs.
17:32It was a root cellar,
17:33deep underground.
17:35Every family in the valley
17:36had one,
17:36but ours didn't just
17:37sit under the house.
17:38Wayne dug it straight
17:39into the mountainside.
17:40He used to say
17:41it was for soundproofing,
17:43so no one could hear a thing.
17:45It was a massive,
17:46damp cavern,
17:47scattered with broken pots
17:48and a rusted cot.
17:50Right beside the bed,
17:51my mother's skeleton
17:52hung bolted to the stone wall.
17:54She was completely hollowed out.
17:56No flesh,
17:57no organs,
17:58just bone.
17:59The only thing he left intact
18:00was her head,
18:01but nine years of pure hell
18:03had rotted away her features.
18:04You could no longer tell
18:05she was Ruth's twin sister.
18:07I dropped the bundle
18:08of chopped meat
18:09at her skeletal feet.
18:10Then,
18:11I lifted the kerosene lantern high,
18:13let the yellow flame
18:14hit her rotting face.
18:16I whispered,
18:17See?
18:17Here she is.
18:19I wasn't lying.
18:20Ruth slapped a hand
18:21over Becky's eyes.
18:22She gagged,
18:23spun around,
18:24and bolted for the stairs.
18:26But before her foot
18:27hit the first step,
18:28two heavy slabs of granite
18:29crashed shut,
18:30sealing the cellar
18:31from the outside.
18:32Thomas' men
18:33shoved against
18:34the heavy stone doors.
18:35They didn't budge.
18:37Ruth shrieked.
18:38What's going on?
18:39Then,
18:40realization hit her.
18:41She spun around
18:42and glared at me viciously.
18:44You!
18:45You 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
18:53onto the damp dirt floor.
18:54Becky hit the ground hard.
18:56She burst into wails.
18:57Thomas lunged to grab her.
18:59But his legs gave out too.
19:00He crashed to the floor.
19:02He could only watch helplessly
19:03as Becky's cries
19:04faded into silence.
19:06He and Ruth lay there,
19:07unable to move,
19:08their eyes wide
19:09with absolute terror.
19:11I looked down at them.
19:12A faint smile
19:13crept onto my face.
19:15Relax.
19:16The dose was just
19:17too heavy for a kid.
19:18She's just passed out.
19:20She's not dead.
19:22I stared at the three of them
19:23lying in the dirt.
19:24Lantern light flickered
19:25on the wet stone,
19:27stretching Mom's skeletal shadow
19:28across the cavern wall.
19:30It looked like a solitary bird
19:32spreading its wings,
19:33guarding this dark,
19:34damp corner for nine years.
19:36I crouched down
19:37and gently traced my finger
19:39over Mom's wrist bone.
19:40There was a faint carving there.
19:42She scratched it in
19:43with a small knife years ago
19:45to teach me how to write her name,
19:47Marion.
19:48She had said to me,
19:50Sweetheart,
19:51Marion means beloved.
19:52My whole life,
19:53I just wanted someone to love me.
19:55Why is it so hard?
19:57I was too young back then.
19:58I didn't understand
19:59the sorrow in her eyes.
20:01I just remembered
20:02her hands were warm
20:03and the mark on her bone
20:04looked like a tiny flower.
20:06Now,
20:07that little flower
20:08stayed with her skeleton,
20:10weeping silently in the cellar.
20:11I looked back at the man
20:12on the dirt floor,
20:13passed out cold,
20:14the man I called Dad,
20:16when he butchered Mom.
20:17Did it hurt so much
20:18she couldn't even scream?
20:20Was she this silent?
20:21I remembered those nights
20:23in this exact cellar.
20:24After he was done beating her,
20:26she'd hold me tight in the dark,
20:27whispering through bruised lips,
20:29Hold on, Sarah.
20:30Just hold on.
20:31As soon as I get the chance,
20:32we're running.
20:33We'll find Uncle Thomas.
20:34He'll save us.
20:36But Thomas never came.
20:37I stood up
20:38and walked the darkest corner
20:39of the cellar.
20:40I grunted,
20:41dragging the heavy wooden box
20:42from the shadows.
20:43Mom's only treasure.
20:44The rough wood
20:45scraped against the dirt.
20:46It was covered in dust
20:47and locked tight.
20:48But I knew exactly
20:49where the key was.
20:50It was hidden deep in a crack
20:52under the mattress.
20:53She used to call it
20:54her last piece of hope.
20:55I squeezed my fingers
20:56into the gap,
20:57fished it out,
20:58turned the lock.
20:59Inside,
20:59resting on faded blue silk,
21:01lay a stack of yellowed letters
21:03and a silver brooch.
21:04It was engraved
21:05with a single magnolia,
21:07like the one she'd trace
21:08in the dirt from me.
21:09I picked up the top envelope
21:10and held it up
21:11to the flickering lantern.
21:12It was addressed to Thomas.
21:14Her handwriting was elegant,
21:16but the ink wavered
21:17where her hand had shaken.
21:19Thomas?
21:20I know you hate me,
21:22but I swear to God
21:23I never touched her husband.
21:25Ruth set me up.
21:26She couldn't stand
21:27that Dad called me
21:28the pride of the cast family.
21:29She couldn't stand
21:30that you always had my back.
21:32So she got him drunk,
21:33slipped 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.
21:42Dad disowned me.
21:43He threw me out like trash,
21:45said I ruined the family name.
21:46I had nowhere to go.
21:48I fled to Heather Valley,
21:50only to be sold
21:51to this butcher, Wayne.
21:53He'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
22:06her mother was never a whore.
22:08A teardrop hit the paper,
22:09smudging the ink.
22:10She never lied to me.
22:12Not a tramp,
22:13like Thomas claimed,
22:13and not a homewrecker
22:15like Ruth swore.
22:16She was framed,
22:17thrown to the wolves
22:18by her own flesh and blood.
22:20And Thomas,
22:21the hero she idolized?
22:23He bought their lies
22:24without a second thought,
22:25hated her for nine years,
22:27and never even gave her
22:28a chance to speak.
22:29A low groan broke the silence.
22:31Wayne's eyes cracked open,
22:33still groggy.
22:33But the second they locked
22:35onto the skeleton
22:35hanging in the shadows,
22:37all the blood drained
22:38from his face.
22:39A ghost.
22:40Oh God, it's a ghost!
22:42He scrambled backwards,
22:43trying to stand.
22:44I slammed my boot
22:45into his chest,
22:46pinning him to the dirt.
22:47Look closely, Dad.
22:49I whispered,
22:49my voice dead cold.
22:51That's not a ghost.
22:52That's Mom.
22:53The woman you hacked
22:54to pieces
22:55and sold as venison.
22:56His whole body
22:57shook violently,
22:58pure terror in his eyes.
23:00No.
23:01No, Sarah,
23:02listen to me.
23:03Don't let them
23:03fill your head with lies.
23:05Your mother,
23:06she got sick.
23:07She died of a fever.
23:08He was still lying
23:09through his teeth,
23:10just like when he
23:11spoonfed me that foul stew
23:12and told me to eat up.
23:14Sick?
23:15I let out a laugh,
23:16tears spilling down
23:17my cheeks.
23:18Then tell me, Dad,
23:19why is her skeleton
23:20strung up on your wall?
23:21Why did the meat scraps
23:23in your block
23:23bear the cast family tattoo?
23:25And that stew
23:26you need to eat,
23:27why did it
23:28reek of copper and rot?
23:29I dropped into a crouch,
23:31grabbed a fistful
23:31of his greasy hair,
23:33and shoved his face
23:34against the bleached bones.
23:35Look at her!
23:36Open your damn eyes
23:37and look!
23:38That's her skull!
23:39Those are her hands!
23:41The fingers she used
23:42to teach me how to write.
23:44You took your cleaver
23:45and chopped them off.
23:46One by one,
23:47didn't you?
23:48Wayne's screams
23:48echoed off the damp walls.
23:50He thrashed his head wildly,
23:51teeth chattering
23:52in pure panic.
23:53He shrieked.
23:54I didn't mean to!
23:55She wouldn't listen!
23:56Always trying to run
23:57back 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?
24:05Because she wanted me to live?
24:06I picked up the heavy iron poker,
24:08the exact same one
24:09he used to brand my spine.
24:11The metal was still stained
24:12with black soot.
24:13Remember this, Dad?
24:14I held the iron tip
24:15over the lantern flame
24:16and watched the metal heat
24:17to a furious red.
24:19When you held this to my back,
24:21you told me I was a filthy whore,
24:23just like Mom
24:24said I needed to learn my place.
24:26Now it's your turn
24:27to taste it.
24:29Wayne completely lost his mind,
24:31thrashing in the dirt,
24:32begging 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
24:48for spare change.
24:49I starved for two days
24:50and begged you
24:51for a crust of bread
24:52and you threw me out
24:52on the street.
24:53You call yourself
24:54a father.
24:55I tuned out
24:57his pathetic whining,
24:58gripped the searing iron,
25:00plunged it straight
25:00into his arm,
25:01a thickening sizzle.
25:03The stench of burning flesh
25:04filled the cellar,
25:05just like my own skin
25:06all those years ago.
25:08Wayne shrieked
25:09like 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
25:16was nothing but charred meat,
25:17until his vocal cords
25:18gave out completely.
25:20Enough!
25:21A hoarse shout
25:22broke through the dark.
25:23Thomas was awake.
25:24He struggled to stand up,
25:26but the drug
25:27was still in his system.
25:28His legs gave out
25:29and he collapsed
25:30back into the dirt.
25:31He stared at me,
25:32eyes wide with shock
25:33and pure anger.
25:34Sarah!
25:35What the hell are you doing?
25:36He's your father!
25:38I turned to face him,
25:39a twisted smile
25:40on my lips.
25:41Father?
25:42Don't forget uncle.
25:44This slaughtered
25:45your own sister,
25:46chopped her up
25:47and sold her as meat.
25:48You hated mom so much,
25:50thought she was a disgrace
25:51to the cast name.
25:52But look around.
25:54Who's the real disgrace here?
25:56It's you,
25:57the blind,
25:57arrogant brother.
25:58Ruth,
25:59the sister who framed her,
26:00and this of peace shit
26:02father of mine.
26:03Ruth was awake now too.
26:04She covered her nose.
26:05Her eyes swept the cellar,
26:07taking in the blood-soaked dirt,
26:09the bleached skeleton
26:10hanging in the corner,
26:11and Wayne's smoking,
26:12charred arm.
26:13Her face twisted
26:14with fear
26:15and pure disgust.
26:16She shrieked,
26:17you little freak!
26:18How dare you do that
26:19to your dad!
26:20And Marion?
26:21Even dead,
26:22still a disgusting mess.
26:23This is sickening.
26:25Sickening.
26:25I walked right up to her
26:27and threw mom's letter
26:28right in her face.
26:29Read it, Ruth.
26:30Read how you framed
26:31your own sister.
26:32Read how you made
26:33Thomas hate her
26:33for nine damn years.
26:35Right up until her last breath,
26:37she actually thought
26:37you loved her,
26:38thought she could
26:39clear 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!
26:52She threw herself
26:52at my husband!
26:53This letter is a fake!
26:55She was still lying
26:56through her teeth,
26:57like a rabid dog
26:58backed into a corner.
27:00Fake?
27:01I pointed straight
27:02at the skeleton.
27:02Are those bones fake?
27:04Is Wayne's confession fake?
27:05Are the villagers blind?
27:07You thought you covered
27:08your tracks,
27:09but you forgot
27:09the cast family tattoo
27:10on her skin.
27:11You forgot the bone fragments
27:13and the meat he sold.
27:14Thomas picked up
27:15the second letter
27:16from the dirt.
27:17It was addressed
27:17to the patriarch
27:18of the cast family.
27:19It laid out exactly
27:20how Ruth set her up
27:22and every piece of hell
27:23mom endured
27:23in Heather Valley.
27:24The further he read,
27:26the darker his face turned.
27:27His knuckles went white
27:28gripping the paper.
27:30Ruth,
27:30was it really you?
27:32No!
27:33Thomas,
27:34don't listen to that
27:34little psycho!
27:36She's trying to tear us apart.
27:38She just wants revenge.
27:39Ruth shrieked
27:40and lunged at me,
27:41throwing a wild slap
27:42at my face.
27:43I dodged it easily.
27:45Mom had taught me
27:46how to throw a punch.
27:47I wasn't great at it,
27:48but against a pampered
27:49rich woman,
27:50more than enough.
27:51Becky woke up.
27:52She took one look
27:53at the bloody cellar
27:54and burst into tears.
27:55She threw herself
27:56into Ruth's arms.
27:57Mommy,
27:58I'm scared.
27:59I want to go home.
28:01I want Uncle Thomas.
28:03Ruth clutched her tight,
28:04tears streaming down her face.
28:06Not out of guilt,
28:07but pure,
28:08selfish terror.
28:09Shh.
28:10Becky,
28:11it's okay.
28:12Mommy's gonna take you home.
28:14Right now.
28:15Thomas,
28:16get 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
28:24toward the skeleton,
28:25lowered his head,
28:26and dropped to one knee
28:27in the dirt.
28:28Marion,
28:30I'm so sorry.
28:31His voice broke completely.
28:33Tears fell onto
28:34the 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,
28:41he reached out.
28:42His trembling fingers
28:43brushed against the bone.
28:45His voice shook.
28:46I promise you, Marion,
28:48I will make them pay,
28:49and I will clear your name.
28:52He stood up.
28:53The grief in his eyes
28:54hardened into steel.
28:55He looked down
28:56at Wayne and Ruth.
28:57Wayne,
28:58you butchered my sister.
29:00I'll make sure you die
29:01a slow,
29:01agonizing death.
29:03And Ruth,
29:04you destroyed her life
29:05with your lies.
29:06I'm locking you
29:07in a convent.
29:07You'll spend the rest
29:08of your miserable life
29:09repenting.
29:10Wayne slumped in the dirt,
29:12paralyzed by fear.
29:13He couldn't even speak.
29:15No!
29:15Thomas,
29:16you 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!
29:23Oh,
29:23so Becky needs her mother?
29:25I cut in,
29:25my voice dead flat.
29:27What about me?
29:28I grew up without mind,
29:30beaten by my own father,
29:32treated like trash
29:32by my uncle,
29:34seen as a filthy bastard
29:36by all of you.
29:37What the hell did I ever do
29:38to deserve that?
29:39Right then,
29:40heavy pounding
29:41rattled the cellar doors above.
29:43Thomas' men
29:44had 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
29:53at the heavy doors.
29:54I'm fine!
29:55Stand down!
29:56Nobody comes in
29:57until I give thee the order!
29:59The pounding stopped.
30:01Thomas turned back to me.
30:03Sarah,
30:04I know nothing I do
30:05can ever fix
30:06what I did to you.
30:07Or to her.
30:08But please,
30:09give me a chance
30:10to make this right.
30:11Tell me what you want.
30:12Money?
30:12Power?
30:13Your rightful place
30:14is the cast heir.
30:15Name it,
30:16and it's yours.
30:17I shook my head.
30:18I looked back at her bones
30:20in the dim light.
30:21I answered softly,
30:23I don't want anything.
30:25I just want her
30:26to rest in peace.
30:28And I want the people
30:29who did this to pay.
30:31Thomas nodded.
30:32Done.
30:32I'll make sure Marion
30:33gets a proper burial.
30:35And Wayne and Ruth
30:37will get exactly
30:38what they deserve.
30:40But after that,
30:42come home with me.
30:43He looked at me,
30:44his eyes pleading.
30:45Let me raise you
30:45as my own.
30:46Give you the best education.
30:48Let me make you
30:49a true daughter
30:50of the cast family.
30:51I hesitated.
30:52Mom's dying wish
30:53was for me to go back.
30:54To know I wasn't
30:55some filthy bastard.
30:56To know I had
30:57cast blood in my veins.
30:59But just thinking
31:00about that family
31:00made my skin crawl.
31:02Thomas' cold,
31:03dead eyes.
31:04Ruth's pure,
31:05vicious lies.
31:07I finally gave
31:08my answer.
31:09I need to stay
31:10with Mom right now.
31:12Once she's laid
31:14to rest,
31:15I'll figure out
31:16what'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,
31:24the cast gates
31:25are always open for you.
31:29Over the next few days,
31:31Thomas' men cleared out
31:32that hellhole of a Kellan.
31:34Wayne was dragged off
31:36to the county jail.
31:39Thomas gave the guards
31:40strict orders.
31:41No food.
31:43Let him starve to death
31:44in a dark cell,
31:45exactly what he did
31:46to me and Mom.
31:48Ruth was hauled off
31:49to a secluded convent,
31:51stripped of her silk dresses,
31:53forced into a habit
31:54for the rest of her life.
31:57She'd never ruin
31:58another life again.
32:00They carefully gathered
32:01Mom's remains.
32:04Thomas ordered
32:05the finest oak coffin
32:06money could buy.
32:08Every bone,
32:09every scrap they could find,
32:11all carefully laid
32:13to rest inside.
32:15The truth spread
32:16through the valley
32:17like wildfire.
32:18The whole town
32:19showed up for the funeral.
32:21Martha held my hand,
32:23tears running down
32:24her wrinkled face.
32:25She lived through
32:26absolute hell, Sarah.
32:28Now she can finally rest.
32:30We buried her on the ridge
32:31behind Heather Valley.
32:32The view up there
32:33was beautiful.
32:34You could see
32:35the entire valley.
32:36Thomas set the headstone himself.
32:38Carved into the granite
32:39was
32:40In Loving Memory
32:41of Marian Cast.
32:42And right below it,
32:44in tiny letters,
32:45mourned by her brother,
32:46Thomas,
32:47and sister, Ruth.
32:49I stayed by her grave
32:50for three months.
32:51Thomas came to visit
32:52constantly.
32:53He brought me food,
32:55warm clothes,
32:56and supplies.
32:56He even sent his own men
32:58to train me.
32:59They taught me how to read,
33:00shoot,
33:01and ride.
33:01He told me mom used to be
33:03the brightest star
33:03of the cast family.
33:05Brilliant with a pin,
33:06deadly with a gun.
33:07He wanted me to carry on
33:09her legacy.
33:10So I pushed myself
33:11to the breaking point
33:12because I knew
33:13that's exactly
33:14what she wanted.
33:15I remembered her whispering
33:16to me in that dark cellar,
33:18learn everything you can,
33:19Sarah.
33:20Get strong
33:21so nobody can ever
33:22step on you again.
33:24Now,
33:24I finally had the chance
33:26to make her proud.
33:26Three months later,
33:28a convoy arrived
33:29from the cast estate.
33:30It was the patriarch
33:31of the cast family,
33:32my grandfather.
33:34He was ancient,
33:35with white hair
33:36and a white beard,
33:37leaning heavily
33:38on a wooden cane.
33:39But his eyes,
33:40they were sharp
33:41as a hawk's.
33:42He looked at me.
33:43Tears filled
33:44his old,
33:45weathered eyes.
33:45Child,
33:46you'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.
33:53He reached out
33:55and handed me
33:55a silver coin.
33:56Stamped right in the center
33:58was the cast family crest.
34:00This belongs
34:01to the true heirs
34:02of our bloodline.
34:03He wanted me
34:04to come home,
34:05to take my rightful place
34:07and inherit
34:08the cast estate.
34:09I looked back
34:09at Mom's grave.
34:11I whispered,
34:11Mom,
34:12grandfather is here for me.
34:15Do you want me
34:16to go back?
34:17A gentle breeze
34:18swept across the ridge.
34:19The leaves rustled
34:21in the quiet air.
34:22It felt exactly
34:23like her voice
34:24answering me.
34:25Go back, Sarah.
34:27Take back your life.
34:28Make me proud.
34:30I took a deep breath
34:31and nodded.
34:32Followed them home
34:33to the cast estate.
34:35The casts were old money.
34:37Their estate was massive.
34:38It made Thomas' townhouse
34:40look like a shack.
34:41The patriarch
34:42threw a lavish
34:43welcome banquet.
34:44He wanted the whole world
34:45to know.
34:46I was Marion's daughter,
34:48the true,
34:49legitimate cast heir.
34:50The grounds were lit up
34:52like a festival
34:52the day I arrived.
34:54High society guests
34:55packed the halls.
34:56They stared at me,
34:57some with curiosity,
34:58some calculating,
35:00and others with outright awe.
35:01I stood before them
35:03in a gorgeous silk dress.
35:04The cussed family crest
35:06pinned right over my heart,
35:07but my skin crawled.
35:09I was used to the rough rags
35:11of Heather Valley,
35:12used to the dark,
35:13damp cold of that cellar.
35:14All this extreme well
35:16felt entirely alien.
35:18This is my granddaughter,
35:19Sarah.
35:20Her mother was Marion,
35:22the daughter I failed the most.
35:23From this day on,
35:25she is Sarah Cast,
35:27the rightful heir
35:28to this family.
35:29Anyone who crosses her
35:31crosses me.
35:32The crowd erupted
35:34in applause and cheers,
35:35but I wasn't blind.
35:37I saw the quiet sneers,
35:39the subtle looks
35:40of pure disgust.
35:41They still remembered.
35:43To them,
35:43I was just the bastard
35:45from the valley,
35:46the 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
35:56was relentless.
35:57Reading,
35:58writing,
35:59and shooting
35:59every single day.
36:00An old scholar
36:01tutored me
36:02through dense,
36:03heavy books,
36:04teaching me how to write
36:05and speak like a true cast.
36:07One of Thomas' veterans
36:08drilled me
36:09in writing
36:10and marksmanship.
36:11He was incredibly strict,
36:12a total dead shot.
36:14At first,
36:15it was pure hell.
36:17The thick books
36:18made my head pound.
36:19The endless drills
36:20left my bones aching.
36:21But I never quit.
36:23I just thought about
36:24that dark,
36:25damp cellar.
36:26I remembered
36:27every drop of blood
36:28mom shed for me.
36:29And it kept me
36:30pulling the trigger.
36:32Thomas came by constantly.
36:34The ice in his eyes
36:35was completely gone,
36:37replaced by a heavy,
36:38silent guilt.
36:39He started coaching
36:41my aim himself
36:42and he finally
36:43told me stories
36:44about her youth.
36:46She was the pride
36:47of this family.
36:49At 15,
36:51she rode into battle
36:52with your grandfather.
36:54She was fearless.
36:56Her aim put mine
36:58to shame
36:58until Ruth
36:59destroyed it all.
37:00I'm so sorry,
37:02Sarah.
37:03I never should have
37:04listened to Ruth's lies.
37:05I never should have
37:06left you there.
37:07My mother wasn't
37:08just some victim
37:09in a cellar.
37:10She was an absolute warrior.
37:12If I had just bothered
37:13to look for you,
37:15Marion would still be alive
37:17and you wouldn't
37:18carry those scars.
37:22It's in the past.
37:24Deep down,
37:25I still blamed him.
37:26If he had just
37:27believed her,
37:28if he had just spared us
37:29a single crust of bread,
37:31mom wouldn't be dead
37:32and I wouldn't have
37:33lived through hell.
37:34But holding on
37:35to hate fixes nothing.
37:37It only eats you alive.
37:39Days turned into months.
37:41I adapted to life
37:42at the estate.
37:43My mind grew sharp.
37:44My riding and shooting
37:45became absolutely deadly.
37:47The patriarch was proud.
37:49He said I was exactly
37:50like Marion in her prime.
37:52Thomas looked at me
37:53differently now too.
37:55He called me
37:55the future of the
37:56caste family.
37:57But I knew exactly
37:58why I did it all.
37:59For mom.
38:00I was going to reclaim
38:01the life they stole from her.
38:02I was going to prove
38:03them all wrong.
38:05Marion's daughter
38:05wasn't some filthy bastard
38:07and she wasn't trash.
38:09She was a force
38:10to be reckoned with.
38:11One day,
38:11Thomas brought me the news.
38:13Wayne had starved to death
38:14in 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
38:24what he deserved.
38:25Years passed.
38:26I came of age.
38:28The patriarch handed me
38:29control of a portion
38:30of the caste estate.
38:32I ran it flawlessly.
38:34Even outperforming Thomas.
38:37I returned to Heather Valley
38:38often, always visiting
38:40her grave on the ridge.
38:41I always brought
38:42fresh-baked cornbread,
38:43her absolute favorite,
38:45the very thing I used
38:46to beg for as a starving kid.
38:48I'd sit by her headstone
38:49and talk, telling her
38:50about my life,
38:52everything I had learned,
38:53and how the family
38:54finally treated me right.
38:56One afternoon in the valley,
38:58I ran into an old villager,
38:59one of the men
39:00who 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
39:13before I bought it.
39:14I reached out
39:15and steadied his shaking hands.
39:18It's in the past.
39:20Mom wouldn't blame you.
39:22Honestly,
39:22I knew the townspeople
39:24were innocent.
39:24Wayne deceived them all.
39:26I only made them
39:27return the remains
39:28for one reason,
39:29so I could bury
39:30my mother whole,
39:32so she could finally
39:33rest in peace.
39:35Shortly after I returned
39:37from Heather Valley,
39:38the news arrived.
39:39Ruth had completely
39:40lost her mind.
39:42Locked away
39:43in that secluded convent,
39:45screaming Marion's name
39:46every single day,
39:48raving that mom's ghost
39:49had returned for revenge.
39:51I never visited her.
39:53She got exactly
39:53what she deserved.
39:54She ruined my mother's life.
39:56And in the end,
39:57the guilt drove her insane.
39:59A few years later,
40:01the patriarch fell ill.
40:02My grandfather was dying.
40:04Sarah,
40:06my time is up.
40:08The cast estate
40:09is yours now.
40:14No matter what happens,
40:16be like your mother,
40:18strong,
40:20fearless.
40:22I nodded.
40:24I will,
40:24grandfather.
40:24I promise.
40:26He smiled faintly,
40:27closed his eyes
40:28for the last time.
40:29After grandfather passed,
40:30Thomas handed me the reins.
40:32I became the head
40:33of the cast family.
40:34I controlled
40:35the massive estate
40:36and every single asset
40:38to its name.
40:39I completely tore up
40:40the 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
40:49who had survived
40:49pure hell,
40:51just like me.
40:51I gave them rifles
40:53and a chance
40:53to finally fight back.
40:55My name commanded
40:57absolute respect.
40:59Whispers spread
40:59about the iron-willed
41:00new head of the castes.
41:02But I knew the truth.
41:04Every single ounce
41:05of my power
41:05came from my mother.
41:07Then,
41:08a letter arrived
41:09from the frontier.
41:10It was from Thomas.
41:11The border was
41:12under heavy attack.
41:13He had to lead
41:14the cavalry out himself.
41:16He needed me
41:17to secure the estate.
41:18I didn't hesitate
41:19for 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
41:27running like clockwork.
41:28But I kept a close eye
41:30on the reports
41:30from the front lines.
41:31Months later,
41:32word arrived
41:33from the frontier.
41:34Thomas had crushed
41:35the enemy.
41:36He was coming home.
41:38I led our people
41:38to the gates
41:39to meet his cavalry.
41:41Seeing him ride
41:42through the gates alive,
41:43a massive weight
41:44finally lifted
41:45off my chest.
41:46Thomas locked eyes
41:47with me.
41:48He looked exhausted,
41:50but immensely proud.
41:51You held the line, Sarah.
41:54I protected our home.
41:56That night,
41:57the estate
41:57threw a victory banquet.
41:58Tonight,
41:58I toast my niece, Sarah.
42:00If she hadn't held
42:01the home front,
42:02my men wouldn't
42:03have survived out there.
42:04You are the pride
42:05of the cast family, Sarah,
42:06and you are your mother's
42:07greatest 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?
42:14I knew exactly
42:15what he was up against
42:16out there.
42:16He couldn't afford
42:17to worry about the home front.
42:19I actually did it.
42:21I took back the life
42:22they stole from you
42:23and cleared your name
42:24forever.
42:25The banquet ended.
42:26I stood alone
42:26in the courtyard,
42:27bathed in pale moonlight.
42:29I rolled up my sleeve,
42:30stared at the jagged
42:31scars on my wrists.
42:33They were like the rings
42:34of a weathered tree,
42:35branded into my skin,
42:37burned into my soul.
42:38Every mark told a story
42:40of pure hell
42:41and survival.
42:42They were my badges
42:43of honor,
42:44reminding me where I came
42:45from and exactly
42:46who I am now.
42:48My mind drifted back
42:49to Wayne butchering mom,
42:51to Thomas turning
42:52a blind eye,
42:53to Ruth spitting
42:53her venom.
42:54Those memories
42:55won't fade.
42:56They are permanently
42:57etched into my bones.
42:58But the hatred is gone.
43:00Holding onto it
43:01fixes nothing.
43:01It only poisons you
43:02from the inside out.
43:04I let it go.
43:05I look ahead.
43:06Carrying my mother's hope,
43:07wearing my scars
43:08with absolute pride.
43:10I am going to thrive.
43:11Late autumn arrived.
43:13I rode back
43:13to Heather Valley.
43:15Weeds had overgrown
43:16her grave.
43:17I crouched down
43:18in the dirt,
43:19pulled them out
43:19by the roots,
43:20and laid down
43:21a fresh bouquet
43:22of magnolias.
43:23They were her
43:23absolute favorite.
43:25A breeze swept
43:26across the ridge.
43:27The leaves rustled
43:28around me.
43:29It felt exactly like
43:30her smiling down at me.
43:32I stood up,
43:33looked out over
43:34the vast valley
43:35bathed in the
43:36warm sunlight.
43:37I have a long
43:38road ahead,
43:39but I'm not scared
43:40anymore,
43:41because I know
43:42she's right here
43:43with me,
43:43in the scars on my wrists,
43:45in my heart.
43:46She is never leaving.
43:48I turned away
43:49from the grave,
43:49walked away
43:50without hesitation.
43:51I am Marion's legacy.
43:53Fierce.
43:54Unbreakable.
43:55I'm going to carve out
43:56my own path,
43:57and those who tried
43:58to break us
43:58will never dare
44:00to look down on us
44:01again.
44:01A brutal blizzard
44:02hit that winter.
44:03The valley was
44:04buried in white.
44:05Snow piled heavy
44:06on the roofs
44:07of the cast estate.
44:08I was in my study,
44:09going over the ledgers.
44:10Sarah?
44:12There's a girl
44:12at the gate.
44:13Says she's
44:14from Heather Valley.
44:15Show her in.
44:16A minute later,
44:17Della led her inside.
44:19She was skin and bones,
44:20barely dressed
44:21for the freezing cold,
44:22and couldn't be
44:22older than 14.
44:24Miss Sarah?
44:26My name is Lucy.
44:29Martha meant me.
44:30Martha.
44:31The only woman
44:32in that hellhole
44:33who actually had a heart.
44:35Why did she send you,
44:36Lucy?
44:36Are you in trouble?
44:38My dad?
44:39He lost everything
44:40at the poker tables.
44:40He's selling me
44:41to a brothel
44:42to clear his debts.
44:43Martha said...
44:44She said you could save me.
44:46I don't want to go with them.
44:47I just want to go to school.
44:48I just want to live.
44:50I stared at her,
44:51like looking into a mirror.
44:53Seeing myself huddled
44:54in that freezing alley,
44:56starving to death.
44:56It was the exact
44:58same helplessness.
44:59The same desperate plea
45:00for a lifeline.
45:01I stood up and walked over,
45:03took off my heavy wool cloak,
45:04and draped it
45:05over her shaking shoulders.
45:07It was a gift
45:07from my late grandfather.
45:09Don't be scared.
45:11You're at the cast estate now.
45:13Nobody is ever going to
45:14force you into anything again.
45:16I had my staff
45:17set up a warm room
45:18for Lucy,
45:19brought in a doctor
45:20to patch up her bruises,
45:21and hired a tutor
45:22to teach her how to read.
45:24But a few days later,
45:25my house manager
45:25pulled me aside.
45:26The family elders
45:28were furious,
45:29saying I had no business
45:30taking in a stray
45:31and wasting caste money.
45:33Saying I still acted
45:34like a wild,
45:35unrefined mountain girl.
45:36Sarah...
45:37That afternoon,
45:38they cornered me
45:38outside the estate office.
45:39The castes are a prestigious family.
45:43We do not run a charity
45:44for strays.
45:45We know nothing about her.
45:48If she brings trouble
45:49to our gates,
45:50who pays the price?
45:52I stood at the top
45:53of the stairs.
45:54The freezing wind
45:55whipped at my dress.
45:56The scars on my wrists
45:57throbbed with a dull ache.
45:59I looked down at them,
46:01seeing the doubt
46:01in their eyes,
46:02the absolute disdain.
46:04It was the exact same look
46:06they gave me years ago,
46:07when they all thought
46:08I was just a filthy bastard.
46:09But I wasn't that
46:10helpless little beggar anymore.
46:12Simus,
46:13Lucy isn't a stranger.
46:15She's a survivor
46:16from Heather Valley,
46:17just like me.
46:19Our ancestors
46:20built this empire.
46:22But the cast name
46:23stands for
46:24protecting the weak.
46:25If just one person
46:27had offered my mother a hand,
46:28she wouldn't have died
46:29in that cellar.
46:30I got these in Heather Valley.
46:33I know exactly
46:34what it means to starve,
46:35to be beaten to a pulp,
46:37to have absolutely
46:38no way out.
46:39Now I have the power.
46:40I'm throwing a lifeline
46:41to girls just like me.
46:42Isn't that what
46:43a true cast should do?
46:45Lucy is sharp.
46:47She learned to read
46:47in a matter of days.
46:49She will be an absolute
46:50asset to this estate.
46:51Money spent saving a life
46:52is never a waste.
46:53As for trouble,
46:55if anyone dares
46:56to bring a fight
46:57to our gates,
46:58they answer to me,
47:00Sarah Cast,
47:02and I will crush them myself.
47:04I'm not leaving this valley
47:06until 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 state now.
47:20Do as you see fit.
47:22Once they cleared out,
47:23Della brought me
47:23a hot cup of tea.
47:24Miss,
47:25the way you handled them
47:27just now,
47:27you looked exactly
47:28like Marion.
47:29I held the tea,
47:31letting the heat
47:31soak into my fingers.
47:33A bittersweet pang
47:34swelled in my chest.
47:36Look, Mom,
47:36I can finally protect people,
47:38just like you fought
47:39to protect me.
47:40Time went on.
47:41Lucy came out of her shell.
47:43She devoured every book
47:44in the library
47:45and picked up riding
47:46and shooting
47:46faster than anyone expected.
47:49Then,
47:49word spread.
47:50More battered women
47:51found their way
47:52to the estate gates.
47:53Some were running
47:54from brutal husbands.
47:55Some had been cast out
47:56by their own families.
47:58I didn't turn
47:59a single one of them away.
48:01I recruited them all
48:02into the women's militia,
48:04taught them how to
48:05handle a rifle
48:06and how to hold
48:07their ground.
48:08I gave them the power
48:09to protect themselves
48:10and the chance to fight
48:12for the cast family.
48:13Spring arrived.
48:14I rode back to Heather Bally.
48:16But this time,
48:17I wasn't alone.
48:19Lucy and a handful
48:20of my women's militia
48:21rode with me.
48:22I laid the fresh bouquet
48:23against the headstone.
48:24Mom,
48:25I brought some sisters
48:26to see you.
48:27They survived,
48:28just like me.
48:29They have a real home now
48:31and they know
48:32how to fight back.
48:33Lucy and the girls
48:34stepped forward.
48:35They stood at attention
48:36and bowed their heads
48:37in deep respect.
48:38Thank you, Marion.
48:40Your daughter gave us
48:41a second chance at life.
48:43A gentle breeze
48:44rustled the trees.
48:45White petals
48:46drifted down over us.
48:47I knelt in the dirt,
48:48tracing the carved letters
48:49with my fingers.
48:50My mind drifted back
48:52to her teaching me
48:53to write,
48:54to her holding me tight,
48:55whispering,
48:55be strong,
48:57Sarah,
48:57and to her dying breath
48:59begging me to find Thomas.
49:01I didn't just survive
49:02that cellar.
49:03I became the woman
49:04she prayed I'd be.
49:05I didn't let the hate
49:07eat me alive.
49:08I chose a different path
49:09and I took every single
49:11ounce of that pain
49:12and turned it
49:13into my armor.
49:14Shortly after we returned,
49:16a scout rode in hard
49:17from the frontier.
49:18The Northern Raiders
49:19had returned
49:20and Thomas' cavalry
49:22was completely pinned down
49:23at the Rocky Mountain Pass.
49:25Panic swept
49:26through the cast estate.
49:28The elders fell
49:29into absolute chaos.
49:30Some begged
49:31to negotiate a surrender.
49:33Others wanted
49:34to pack up and flee.
49:35I sat at the head
49:36of the heavy oak table,
49:38watching them argue
49:39like cowards.
49:40My mind was dead calm.
49:42I remembered what Thomas
49:44told me before he left.
49:47Secure the home front, Sarah.
49:48I thought about my mother
49:50riding fearlessly
49:51into battle.
49:52The unspoken rule
49:53of our bloodline.
49:54Cast women fight
49:55just as hard as the men.
49:57I stood up.
49:58My voice cut right
50:00through the shouting.
50:03Quiet!
50:04The Rocky Mountain Pass
50:05is a natural fortress.
50:07Thomas is a brilliant tactician.
50:10Being trapped
50:11doesn'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
50:22grain slales.
50:24Load the supply wagons.
50:26Then, I went to
50:27my women's militia.
50:28I handpicked 100
50:29of my absolute best
50:31sharpshooters.
50:31I mounted my horse
50:33and led them
50:34into battle myself.
50:36Before riding out,
50:38I stopped by her grade.
50:41Mom,
50:42I'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,
50:52the sun was blinding.
50:53A massive supply convoy
50:55rolled out the gates.
50:57I sat tall in the saddle,
50:58wearing my mother's
50:59old leather riding jacket.
51:01I ran my fingers
51:02over the worn leather.
51:03I could practically
51:04feel her right there
51:05with me.
51:06The scars on my wrist
51:08throbbed with every gallop.
51:09But they weren't
51:10just pain anymore.
51:11They were my power.
51:13I knew exactly
51:15what I was riding into.
51:16The Rocky Mountain Pass
51:18was a deadly trap.
51:19But I didn't feel
51:20an ounce of fear.
51:22Because Mom
51:23was watching me.
51:24And every woman
51:25I pulled out of the dirt
51:26was watching me too.
51:28Every jagged scar
51:30told a story
51:31of absolute hell.
51:32But they forged
51:33the woman I am today.
51:35I'm not that helpless
51:36little beggar anymore.
51:38I am Sarah Kast.
51:40The head of this family.
51:42A woman stepping up
51:43to defend her home.
51:45The road ahead
51:46was going to be brutal.
51:47I was going to show
51:48the world exactly
51:49what a Kast woman
51:50is made of.
51:51To prove to my mother
51:52that I kept my promise.
51:54That I stood tall.
51:55I would fight
51:56to my last breath.
51:57To protect this family
51:58and to make absolutely sure
52:00no woman like me
52:01ever gets dragged
52:02into the dark again.
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