Chapter 72: Not an ordinary resentment

Clara could clearly see the hatred Gen carried for the man who was, by blood, her own father.

It wasn’t ordinary resentment. It ran much deeper.

Yet something about it didn’t add up.

According to the information Dominic had uncovered, Gen had killed her mother in a fit of rage and attacked her father when he tried to stop her from escaping.

If that was true...

Then why did Gen’s emotions feel so different?

There was grief.

There was anger.

But there wasn’t the guilt of a murderer.

Nor the fear of someone trying to hide a crime.

Instead...

It felt like the pain of someone who had spent years carrying an injustice.

Clara remained silent, allowing Gen the space to speak.

Gen took a slow, shaky breath before lifting her eyes to meet Clara’s.

"I know you’ve probably learned everything about me by now."

A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"Every report... every accusation... every record."

"They all point to the same conclusion."

She lowered her head for a brief moment.

"So I don’t expect you to believe me."

"But..."

She looked at Clara once again.

"...I’ve come to trust you."

"And because of that..."

"I don’t want to keep you in the dark anymore."

Clara didn’t interrupt.

She simply listened.

"The truth is..."

Gen’s fingers tightened around the water bottle.

"...I didn’t kill my mother."

The words hung heavily between them.

"I was falsely accused."

"When I was fifteen..."

"I was sent to juvenile detention for a crime I never committed."

Clara’s expression remained calm.

There wasn’t even a flicker of surprise on her face.

Gen noticed.

"...You’re not shocked?"

Clara smiled faintly.

"I’ve been waiting for you to tell me your side of the story."

Gen blinked.

"When you first walked into my bakery asking for a job..."

Clara continued gently,

"...I looked into your eyes."

"They didn’t belong to someone who had given up."

"They belonged to someone carrying far too much pain."

She looked toward the children playing in the park before turning back to Gen.

"I knew you were hiding something."

"I just didn’t think it was my place to force it out of you."

"So..."

She smiled reassuringly.

"I’m listening now."

"For as long as you need."

For the first time since they’d met...

Gen felt that someone wasn’t looking at her as a criminal. But as a person.

The memories Gen had buried for years slowly resurfaced. Her voice became quieter.

"I was fifteen..."

[Flashback]

Fifteen-year-old Gen sat at the small desk in her bedroom, surrounded by textbooks and neatly written notes.

Her final exams were only a few days away. She couldn’t afford any distractions.

Outside her room, the aroma of freshly cooked food drifted through the house.

In the kitchen, Raine hummed softly while stirring a pot on the stove.

Despite the hardships of life, she had secretly prepared a simple birthday dinner for her daughter.

It wasn’t extravagant. Just Gen’s favorite dishes.

She wanted, at the very least, to give her daughter one happy memory. However, it all shattered when the front door slammed open.

Bang!

A heavy smell of alcohol filled the house. Thomas staggered inside, barely able to stand straight.

His shirt was wrinkled, his hair a mess, and his bloodshot eyes wandered around the room.

Raine’s smile disappeared instantly.

"Thomas," she sighed in disappointment. "How many times have I told you not to come home drunk?"

She glanced toward Gen’s bedroom before lowering her voice. "What kind of example are you setting for your daughter?"

This wasn’t unusual. Thomas drank almost every night. He gambled away whatever little money he earned and always returned home demanding more.

Meanwhile, Raine worked tirelessly to support the family. She wanted Gen to study, graduate, and escape the miserable life she herself had endured. But Thomas always found a way to ruin that dream.

Thomas glared at her. "Money."

His words slurred together. "I need money."

Raine’s expression stiffened. Her heart skipped a beat. She immediately knew why he had come home.

Another gambling debt.

She shook her head. "No. I don’t have any."

"Liar."

Thomas took an unsteady step toward her.

"I know you’ve been hiding money."

"It’s for Gen," Raine said firmly. "Her school fees. I’m not giving you another cent."

Thomas’s expression twisted with rage.

Without warning, his hand struck her across the face.

Smack!

Raine stumbled sideways, grabbing the edge of the dining table for support.

"You think you’re better than me?" Thomas shouted.

"I said give me the money!"

"I don’t have it!" She refused again, and the answer only fueled his anger.

He grabbed her by the arm and shoved her violently.

Raine cried out as she crashed against a chair.

"Thomas, stop!"

Instead, he struck her again. And again. The sound of breaking dishes echoed through the house.

Inside her bedroom, Gen looked up from her books. Her heart began pounding.

"M-Mom?" She rushed toward the door.

Outside, the argument had become terrifying. Raine tried to push Thomas away.

"Please... Gen is here. Don’t do this."

"I said..." Thomas roared, "...give me the money!"

With all his strength, he shoved her.

Raine lost her balance and stumbled backward.

Time seemed to slow as her body collided with the glass coffee table.

Crash!

The tabletop shattered beneath the impact. A jagged edge of broken glass caught the back of her head.

Her body fell motionless onto the floor. Blood slowly spread across the shattered glass.

The house became eerily quiet as Thomas stared in horror.

"N-No... I... I didn’t..."

His drunken haze vanished in an instant.

Just then the bedroom door flew open.

"Mom!"

Gen ran into the living room. The sight before her made her freeze.

Her mother lay in a pool of blood. Fragments of glass surrounded her.

"M-Mom..." She dropped to her knees beside Raine, her trembling hands reaching for her mother’s shoulder.

"Mom..."

There was no response. Tears streamed down her face. She then looked up at Thomas.

"Dad..." Her voice broke. "Why isn’t Mom saying anything?"

Thomas stood rooted to the spot, his entire body shaking.

"I... It..." He couldn’t form a sentence. His eyes darted between Raine’s lifeless body and his frightened daughter.

Panic completely consumed him.

If the police find out... I’ll go to prison.

His gaze fell upon the broken glass scattered across the floor.

Then... something inside him snapped. He picked up one of the sharp shards. Without hesitation, he dragged it across his own palm.

Blood immediately poured from the wound.

Gen stared at him in disbelief.

"Dad..." Before she could understand what he was doing, Thomas rushed toward the front door.

He threw it open and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Help! Someone help! My daughter killed my wife! She’s trying to kill me too!"

His desperate cries echoed through the neighborhood.

One by one, lights turned on. Neighbors rushed outside. Within minutes, people crowded the entrance.

They looked inside and saw Raine lying in blood. Then they saw Thomas clutching his bleeding hand. And they saw fifteen-year-old Gen kneeling beside her mother, her hands stained red from trying to wake her.

The whispers began immediately.

"Oh my God..."

"She killed her own mother?"

"What kind of child does that?"

Gen frantically shook her head.

"No!"

"No, I didn’t!"

"My father—"

"She’s lying!" Thomas shouted, pointing a trembling finger at her.

"She pushed her mother! When I tried to stop her... She attacked me!"

The sound of approaching sirens filled the air.

Police officers hurried inside. Gen desperately looked from one face to another.

"No..."

"Please... I didn’t do it. Please believe me!"

But no one listened.

As the officers gently but firmly escorted the sobbing fifteen-year-old out of the house, she twisted around one last time, her tear-filled eyes fixed on her mother’s motionless body.

It was her birthday. The day that was supposed to end with a simple family dinner.

Instead... it became the day she lost everything.