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