Chapter 7 Get Down on Your Knees to Apologize!

• I realized that it was dangerous to stay on because I was quite aware of these three people’s personalities. They had framed me, caused my imprisonment, and tried to trick me into accepting the job at the mine. They had done all this quite nonchalantly and it came so naturally to them. Now that we had fallen out with each other, I knew that they no longer had any reservations and would resort to anything at all to target me.
• I grabbed the bag and turned around to leave but my father suddenly wrapped his arms around me from behind. "You’re allowed to leave but put down the bag!"
• I struggled to get out of his arms but he tightened his grip on me. At that point, I clenched my fist and spoke coldly, "Don’t force me into taking drastic measures. Dad, Mom, I won’t go and expose you guys in court for framing me and causing my imprisonment back then and that’s my repayment for you raising me. If you continue to stop me from leaving, don’t blame me for being heartless!"
• As soon as I said that, my father signaled repeatedly to my mother and she instantly caught on to his meaning. She dropped to the ground and clutched my thigh while wailing loudly. She shamelessly wailed while apologizing repeatedly and she kept mentioning that she had indeed failed me all of these years.
• At that moment, I knew that it would be foolish of me if I chose to trust their words. The four years I had spent in prison taught me an important lesson of being perceptive to what was going on plus gauging the situation and taking action accordingly. This was clearly a plot against me to stall time until Henry got back. I could tell quite clearly. Besides, I was already aware of their actual plans.
• I took a deep breath and lifted my head before saying, "Alright, I’ll stay on. But don’t blame me for doing anything drastic if you guys plot anything against me once again."
• After I said that, I went back to the dining table and reached into the bag to get Henry’s phone, which was inside. I took it out of the bag and secretly sent a text message under the dining table.
• My father was puffing on his cigarette and his facial muscles trembled slightly. I could tell that he was terrified. After all, if everything went according to their plan, I would be sent off to Seafield to work in the mines by the recruiters. They would then be rid of me forever and at the same time, I was going to generate income for them. However, there was a twist to the situation and everything was no longer within his control.
• Furthermore, I was quite confident that they would definitely find a way to send me away today. Henry had gone out to do this.
• Shortly after that, Henry came back into the room all flustered. Although there was a menacing look in his eyes, he revealed a fake smile and came over to me in a rush. He patted me on the shoulders and said, "We’re a family so we really shouldn’t let things get to such an awkward state. Those items belong to you anyway so you can have them if you really want them. Take them as my compensation for you."
• Clearly, he was not a compassionate person and only a fool would trust his nonsense so I took a sip of tea from my cup as he hastily mentioned, "Let’s not waste time staying here. We’ve finished eating and I’ve paid the bill so let’s go."
• "I’m not in a hurry. You guys have finished eating but I haven’t." I took my spoon and purposely stalled for more time. At that moment, I glanced outside the window from the side of my eyes and noticed that there was a large van currently parked in front of the entrance to the restaurant.
• If my guess was right, the people in that van should be the human traffickers impersonating as the recruiters in this situation. If I went downstairs right now then there was a high chance that I would be pushed into the car and carted off.
• "Annon, what do you want from us, huh? Do you want to sever all ties with your family?" Henry was quite angry and he admonished me by playing the character of my elder brother.
• However, I was unperturbed by his words and I continued to savor the dishes slowly. "Henry, you owe me an apology. I took the rap for your offense back then while you took my place for university so don’t you think this is something that we should clear the air about?"
• At that point, Henry suddenly clenched his teeth and balled his hand into a large fist but he didn’t end up losing his temper. After all, he had to keep up this facade to trick me into heading downstairs. He did not dare to turn against me completely until he achieved his goal.
• "Okay, Annon. I made a mistake in the past and it was my fault. I’m sorry." Henry snorted coldly and he sounded quite insincere.
• "Are you the only one at fault?" I glanced from the side of my eye at my parents.
• Instantly, my father banged his fist on the table and scolded me with clenched teeth while pointing a finger at me, "You f*cking b*stard! Who do you think you are, huh?"
• In response, I turned my face in the other direction and took a sip of tea before saying, "If you don’t apologize, then I won’t walk out of this restaurant! I’ll even seek a job washing the dishes here and won’t step foot out of this door!"
• As soon as Henry heard my words, he suddenly became flustered and he punched my father on the shoulders before speaking through clenched teeth. "F*ck! Do you have any idea what’s going on right now? Stop putting on airs and just apologize to him!"
• My father was significantly startled and he shot a meek look at my brother before turning in my direction quite unwillingly. Subsequently, he squirmed and stammered, "Annon, we’re at fault and we’ve hurt you in the past. Don’t take it to heart."
• "You’re insincere in your apology! You should be begging me for forgiveness." I looked at them coldly before lifting my hand. "You guys are exempted because you’re my parents. It would reflect badly on me if you actually begged me. On the other hand, Henry, you’re just my older brother. You’ve been a tyrant since young and you’ve tormented and punched me all this while so you have to get down on your knees to apologize!"
• "You!" His body stilled for a moment and he looked as if he was about to lose his temper.
• "Go down on your knees and beg for forgiveness!" I stared at him coldly. I needed this ritual to avenge the sufferings I had gone through all these years. It was only then that I would be able to let go of the past.
• Besides, Master Campbell was right. Being brave enough to stand up for oneself was not as terrifying as I had expected. Right now, I had stood up for myself bravely and the other party ended up being the one afraid of me.
• Henry was indeed great at adapting to every situation and though his reddened eyes were quite ferocious-looking, he continued to smile as he spoke, "Alright, my darling little brother. You’ve improved tremendously after being imprisoned for five years. I’ll go down on my knees as an apology."
• As soon as he said that, he knelt down and stared at me while apologizing, "Annon, I’ve made a mistake in the past. I promise not to bully you ever again. How does that sound? Can you forgive me now?"
• Although Henry apologized to me, there was a hint of threat in his tone of voice. It felt as if I would be ripped to pieces once I walked out of the restaurant.
• I made a mental calculation in my mind and figured out that ten minutes had gone by since I sent the text message so the timing was about there. As such, I grabbed the bag and slung it over my shoulders before patting Henry on his shoulders. "I’m done with my meal. Let’s go."
• He instantly got up from the ground and I could hear the rattling sound of him clenching his teeth as he strode off in front.
• I knew that at the moment, they must despise me very much and once they got their way, they would definitely rip me apart.
• Nonetheless, I was definitely going to foil their plan.
• As soon as we walked out of the restaurant, Henry instantly waved at the van, and subsequently, four to five men streamed out of the car. They headed straight in my direction. Meanwhile, Henry grabbed my arm and held me captive.
• "Henry, you’re forcefully trying to sell me off, huh?" I did not struggle at all but I merely found the situation a farce. I was going to let you guys off the hook but you guys seem to insist on seeking a path of destruction.
• My father was afraid that I would get away so he helped Henry grab my clothes too. The men rushed in our direction and took out some handcuffs to place around my wrist. Subsequently, they tried to shove me into the car roughly.
• Halfway through their plan, the sound of sirens blasted through the streets and several plain-clothed policemen rushed to the front of the car to take custody of the men. At the same time, the police helped to drag me out of the car too.
• There was another policeman behind with a video recorder in his hand and he had recorded the entire scene from earlier.
• I’d sent the text message when I was in the room to lodge a police report and I knew that the police would arrive within ten minutes for a crime committed in the town area. My parents, who were country bumpkins, and Henry, who was a clueless hot-head, were basically clueless and they didn’t realize that we were living in a society conformed by laws. As such, they had no inkling that they were breaking the law. They had assumed that things were the same as in our village and they could do whatever they wanted toward me.