After Melody Summers left, Joyce Lawson clutched the taser in her hand, her heart pounding with anxiety.

She had wanted to go with Melody to 1603, but Melody had refused, no matter what, insisting on going alone.

Before she left, Melody Summers had warned her again and again to stay put at home and not go anywhere.

Joyce Lawson paced back and forth in the living room for a while, periodically peering out through the peephole. She started to feel cold, so she went back to the bedroom and sat anxiously on the bed.

On the floor, Mason Lawson had stopped struggling. He just stared at Joyce with hateful eyes, his gaze an accusation, demanding to know why she wouldn’t untie him.

Joyce gave him a cold look, the hatred in her eyes no less than his.

Just then, Joyce’s grandmother, who had been unconscious on the floor, suddenly stirred. A groan escaped her lips.

She was awake.

Under Joyce’s icy gaze, her grandmother slowly climbed to her feet.

She ripped the tape from her mouth and looked around, bewildered, then saw Joyce sitting on the bed, watching her without expression.

She froze, frowning instinctively. "Are those robbers gone? ...Why are you the only one here? ...Where’s your brother, Gregory?"

Joyce continued to watch her coldly, without saying a word.

Joyce’s grandmother’s brow furrowed as the memories from before she passed out flooded back into her mind...

Recalling what happened before she passed out and feeling the excruciating pain in her right hand, she was instantly enraged. ’I’ll beat this granddaughter of mine to death right here and now!’

She took two steps forward, lunged at Joyce, and grabbed her by the collar. "You good-for-nothing girl!" she roared. "How dare you break my fingers! I’m going to beat you to death!"

With that, she raised her hand and swung a vicious slap toward the side of Joyce’s face—

But to her surprise, Joyce didn’t just swallow her anger and endure it like she always had.

Joyce caught her grandmother’s descending hand. Then, to the old woman’s astonishment, Joyce retaliated with two backhanded slaps, striking her hard across the face!

SLAP! SLAP! The two sharp sounds echoed through the empty room.

Joyce’s grandmother was completely stunned.

Her face was a mask of disbelief. She pointed a trembling finger at Joyce as she staggered backward, crying out, "You... you... you actually dared to hit me..."

Not watching her feet as she backed away, she tripped over Mason Lawson. Losing her balance, she fell right on top of him!

"OOF!—"

"AGH!—"

Joyce’s grandmother and father cried out at the same time.

When she saw that the person beneath her was her own son, Mason Lawson, the grandmother was shocked. "Son, you... why are you still tied up?!"

Her hands trembling, she quickly began to untie the ropes binding her son.

As she worked on the ropes, she muttered nonstop, "Oh, Son, did those bandits take your wife, Mona Lawson, away? Sigh, you have to look on the bright side. Mom will find you a new wife... Oh, and where did our Gregory run off to? Is he in the bathroom? How come the only one left in the room is that good-for-nothing girl Joyce..."

"Son, you saw that, right? That good-for-nothing Joyce, she dared to lay a hand on me! That’s utterly rebellious! You have to teach her a harsh lesson. Better yet, just beat her to death. We’d save some food that way..."

Hearing this, Joyce shot up from the bed.

In just a few strides, she was in front of her father and grandmother. As they watched in astonishment, she faced her grandmother, who was still untying the ropes, reached out, and gave her a hard shove—

Unable to dodge in time, the grandmother was sent sprawling backward, landing flat on her back on the floor!

"Agh—" the grandmother cried out, staring at Joyce in disbelief. "You wretched girl!" she yelled. "You’ve really decided to raise hell tonight!"

As she struggled to get up, she berated Joyce. "You wretched girl, you good-for-nothing! You dare to push me?! You... you... you have a death wish, don’t you?!"

Joyce’s eyes blazed with indignant fury. "You call me a good-for-nothing?" she demanded. "The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the roof over your head, everything you use... which one of those things didn’t I buy?! Who else in this family makes money besides me?! How do you have the nerve to call me a good-for-nothing?!"

For as long as Joyce could remember, her grandmother had called her a "good-for-nothing." Those three words were like a nightmare that had haunted her entire life.

Joyce truly didn’t understand. She was the one earning money to support the entire family now, so why was she still being called a good-for-nothing by them?!

Hearing this, Joyce’s grandmother snorted. "You’re a girl, and of course girls are good-for-nothings! It’s only right that you provide for the family! You’re repaying your debt!"

Joyce stared in disbelief. "What’s wrong with being a woman? Aren’t you a woman yourself? Why would you say such things? What gives you the right?!"

The grandmother rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips, and said self-righteously, "I may be a woman, but I gave birth to a son! Once you give birth to a son, your debt is repaid!"

Those words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing all of Joyce’s anger.

Joyce suddenly realized it was pointless to argue with someone like her grandmother. ’They have their own brand of logic,’ she thought. ’It’s utterly ridiculous, but in its own way, it’s internally consistent.’

Joyce didn’t want to continue the conversation.

Under her grandmother’s gloating gaze, Joyce sighed. "...All of you, just get out."

Her grandmother froze, as if she hadn’t understood. "...What did you say?" she blurted out.

Joyce watched her grandmother calmly and enunciated each word. "I said, get out. Take your ’precious treasure’ with you and get out of my house! Otherwise... don’t blame me for what happens next!"

Hearing Joyce’s words, her grandmother reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, practically leaping into the air.

She pointed a finger right in Joyce’s face and began to curse. "You good-for-nothing! This is Gregory’s house! If anyone’s leaving, it’s you!"

Just then, Mason Lawson, who was still on the floor, finally managed to work the gag out of his mouth.

The moment his mouth was free, Mason Lawson yelled to his mother, "Mom, the little bitch has lost her mind! Stop talking to her! Hurry up and untie me! Let me teach her a lesson! I’m throwing her out the window tonight!"

Mason glared viciously at Joyce as he spoke. Thinking about everything she had done that night, he ground his teeth in pure hatred.

He made a silent vow. ’This daughter cannot be allowed to live!’

Joyce’s actions tonight were a warning to him. ’If I let her live,’ he thought, ’she’ll cause endless trouble in the future!’

Hearing her son’s words, the grandmother nodded quickly and hurried over to continue untying him.

Joyce said nothing, simply staring straight at her father. In his eyes, she saw a deep, venomous hatred.

After they locked eyes for a few seconds, Joyce took a few deep breaths, tightened her grip on the taser, and walked toward her father and grandmother...