Twisted paths

Chapter 3: The Abuse

It was scarcely 5 am when Ryan abruptly jolted awake, jolted by the harsh canes striking his back. "Who educated you? Did your mentors at the orphanage not instruct you to rise before 4 am?"

Ryan could barely utter a word, as he still wasn't able to understand what was going on.

"I am asking you, you wretched child," Anna sneered and struck him again.

"Now listen attentively to me, you little brat. This is not your maternal or paternal abode. If you wanted to misbehave, then maybe you should have died along with your parents. But you don't come to my house, enjoy my shelter and clothing, and still feel you can wake up anytime you want to. Understood!?" she screamed.

Ryan was just at one corner, overcome with fear and sobbing uncontrollably from the pains of the strokes of the cane.

"We merely plucked you from that orphanage to offer you assistance," Anna declared sternly. "You ought to be exceedingly grateful! Now get out of that bed immediately," she commanded, this time with so much anger in her voice.

She summoned all the domestic staff once more.

"Now listen carefully," she asserted authoritatively.

"Starting today, Ryan will be responsible for all the household chores, including cooking meals, tending to the dogs, washing, and vacuuming. Every single chore. Is that clear!?"

"Yes, ma'am," everyone replied in unison, with shock in their voice.

"But he's just a ten-year-old," her assistant, Rose, interjected. "How can he possibly cook a proper meal?"

Anna shook her head in disbelief, approached Rose, gave her a defiant stare, hissed, and said, "I will forgive you this time, solely because you are my assistant.

But mark my words, the next time you dare to utter your filthy opinion, you will lose your job!"

"If he cannot cook, then he must learn. Now, get out of my sight!"

Mr. Carter had already departed for work while all of this was transpiring. He was always busy and hardly stayed at home.

He owned approximately 10 oil companies and refineries and was currently partially financing the construction of THE CARTER'S REFINERY, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

He also owned the largest real estate company you could ever think of.

Mr. Carter stood as the fifth wealthiest man in his country and the twentieth globally. He was the object of envy among his peers.

People often derided him, claiming that if he hadn't inherited his wealth, he would have been just another impoverished struggler.

Nevertheless, they all failed to acknowledge his commendable feat of building and preserving his wealth to this extent.

Ryan's cries echoed loudly, and everyone attempted to console him.

He began by washing the dishes, then progressed to boiling rice as it was the only dish he knew how to prepare.

Next, he diligently cleaned the living room, followed by the dining area.

When it came time to vacuum his bedroom, his legs quivered, and his eyes betrayed him. As he rose from the bed to start, he accidentally struck his head against the wall and suddenly lost consciousness.

Upon hearing the anguished voices, Anna hastily rushed out of her room. By the time she reached the scene, they had already managed to revive him.

"What's happening here?" Anna asked, puzzled. "We came into the room and found him unconscious, so we helped him wake up," the maids explained.

Anna's face twisted with disgust as she walked up to Ryan and slapped him hard.

"How could you disturb the peace of this house, you ungrateful child?" she scolded.

"I brought you here to a comfortable place, and you should be thankful. Have you ever had a room with an air conditioner before? I took you out of that heat and even made sure you had three meals a day, something you would never have had without me. But no, you still choose to disrupt my peace!"

In anger, Anna rushed to her room and grabbed her cane to hit Ryan once again.

Then Anna went back to her room, brought out her dirty clothes, and threw them in Ryan's face. "Now go and do the laundry!" she ordered harshly.

Ryan felt weak and tired. He was used to a difficult life, but this was on a different level. Every day at the orphanage, he envied the children who got adopted, praying that his turn would come. But now he understood that things aren't always as good as they seem.

Just 30 minutes after he started washing the clothes, he felt another cane strike his back.

"You, foolish child, is washing the only thing you're going to accomplish today? I knew you were good for nothing, but I never knew you were lazy," Anna criticized.

"Now go to the garden and trim all the flowers. And remember, don't touch the 'yellow trout lilies'; they are delicate and don't last long."

Suddenly, Mr. Carter walked in. "My son!" he exclaimed happily. "Daddy!" Ryan shouted, running to him and giving him a tight hug. Ryan burst into tears.

"What happened? Why do you have all these cane marks on your body? Who did this to you, my son?" Ryan was still sobbing uncontrollably, unable to hold back his tears.

"Mummy hates me," Ryan finally managed to say. "I don't know what I did wrong. She told all the maids not to do any housework and said I was going to do it all alone," he narrated. "Please, sir, I just want to go back to where I came from. I even fainted today."

"What! You passed out today?" Mr. Carter exclaimed in shock. "Oh my goodness!" Anna," he called out with disgust in his voice. "Anna!" He repeated her name three times before she sluggishly walked out of her room.

"What is this I hear about you hitting our child?" Mr. Carter asked angrily. "He's only been here for two days. Is this how you treat our child?"

Anna remained silent, seeming indifferent. "I'm very sorry, my love," she finally said. "I've been having mood swings today."

"Oh, Anna, stop with that excuse. Do you realise how serious this is? Your mood swings don't justify hurting our new child!" Mr. Carter exclaimed.

"You will not go unpunished," Mr. Carter declared, his voice filled with anger.

He immediately called his assistant and instructed him not to give Anna her monthly allowance. "Next time something like this happens, Anna, I won't stop at just withholding your allowance. I will involve the police," he warned.

In his annoyance, Mr. Carter threw away the flowers he had bought for Anna earlier. He then took Ryan in his arms and comforted him. "I'm so sorry," he said. "Please don't wish to go back."

Anna glared at Ryan with intensity. She couldn't believe she wouldn't receive her monthly allowance because of him. She thought manipulatively, "I said you would regret ever coming into this family, but this time, I will make you regret ever being born, you brat!"