Chapter 1 - The Broken Doll
The bright winter morning sunlight poured through the large patio doors of the suburban living room, illuminating a towering Christmas tree covered in sparkling garlands. But the festive atmosphere inside the grandparents' home was thick with cold, deliberate cruelty.
Three-year-old Alina stood patiently near the tree. She wore a sparkly red holiday dress, crisp white tights, and tiny brown boots, her soft brown curls bouncing as she looked up with bright, hopeful eyes. In her small hands, she proudly held a handmade Christmas ornament wrapped in delicate tissue paper—a gift she had spent hours painting for her grandmother.
Her grandmother, Evelyn, sat in the center of the room. In her early 60s, with neatly styled blonde-gray hair, a burgundy blouse, and gold earrings, Evelyn looked like a picture of high-society elegance.
But there was no warmth in her eyes as she looked down at her three-year-old granddaughter.
Evelyn reached beside her chair, picked up a single, unwrapped item, and casually dropped it into Alina’s small, waiting hands.
It was a cheap, heavily scratched plastic doll. It was covered in dirt smudges, its hair was matted into a knot, and its left leg was completely snapped off at the hip.
Alina turned the broken doll over, her small brow furrowing in quiet confusion. She didn't cry. She just looked up at her grandmother.
"Where’s her other leg?" Alina asked softly.
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Evelyn offered a chilling, dismissive smile. "Your mother disappointed us," Evelyn said, her voice dripping with venom. "This is what you get."
👉 How will Alina's mother react to seeing her innocent toddler punished for a family grudge?
