The Shoeshine Girl and Her Godfather Father Chapter 07

The Shoeshine Girl and Her Godfather Father Chapter 07

I traced my fingers over my mother’s shattered smile, the broken glass still in my hand.

And then I laughed. “Mom… I found it. A place Dad will never find us.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I raised the shard.

Without hesitation, I slashed it across my throat. Blood burst out.

My body went limp. I collapsed onto the floor.

For one brief second, everything outside went silent.

Then came the pounding—louder, and louder, and louder—against the door.

Before darkness swallowed me, I heard my father screaming my name.

Then the door crashed down. He rushed inside.

The moment he saw me lying in a pool of blood, his face twisted in horror. “Sophia!”

I spent three days in the ICU.

When I finally woke up, everything was washed in gray.

The smell of disinfectant filled the room. I hated that smell.

It always dragged me back to the day my mother died. The day I couldn’t save her.

I struggled to sit up. My father immediately pressed me back onto the bed.

His beard was unshaven. Dark shadows pooled beneath his eyes.

“Sophia, you’re awake.”

“The doctor said the wound was deep. You almost didn’t make it.”

“Don’t move—you’ll tear the stitches.”

His voice dripped with concern and guilt. The act made me sick.

My voice came out hoarse and broken.

“We already promised we’d never bother you and your wife again. What else do you want from us?”

“Stop pretending. This whole act… is disgusting.”

The color drained from his face. His lips trembled.

He looked at me for a long time. His eyes were bloodshot with regret.

“I’m sorry, Sophia.”

“The doctors told me about your leg. I thought you were lying to me—you and your mother.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

My palm cracked across his face, fueled by years of hatred.

“You didn’t know?” I let out a bitter laugh.

“All it would’ve taken was a single phone call. A single check.”

“You just didn’t care. You never cared how Mom and I were living.”

“She’s been dead for three years! You never even checked on her once! You don’t care about either of us.”

“So stop pretending you’re some devoted family man. It makes me sick.”

The room spun. My chest seized with anger. For a moment, my vision went black.

I grabbed the bedrail to steady myself.

My father turned his face away. A bright red handprint stood out on his cheek.

His shoulders trembled. His throat worked, but no sound came out.

A low, broken sob escaped him. “I’m sorry…”

I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw hurt.

I hated him. Hated him enough to tear him apart.

“Do you know what it would have taken to save her?” My voice broke.

“Two hundred thousand dollars. That’s all.”

“Less than what you probably spend on a single accessory.”

“And my mother would still be alive.”

I looked straight into his eyes.

“You killed her.”

His expression changed instantly. Confusion filled his face.

“Two hundred thousand? I gave it to you.”

I grabbed the glass from the nightstand and hurled it at him.

It struck his forehead and shattered on impact. Blood immediately started running down his face.

My scream echoed through the hospital room.

“That card was empty! There wasn’t a single dollar on it!”

Regret, fear, and rage flashed across his face in rapid succession.

Then he pulled out his phone. His voice was terrifyingly calm.

“The card I gave Sophia. Why was it empty?”

On the other end of the line came Renata’s lazy laugh.

“What gives her the right to our money? That’s marital property.”

Her tone was casual. Almost amused.

“I was teaching her a lesson. Making sure she understood what was and wasn’t hers to claim.”

“So they’d stop bothering you forever.”

The color drained from my father’s face.

Then rage flooded his features, disbelief twisting into horror.

His voice exploded through the room.

“Have you lost your mind? Do you realize you killed Lena?”