Natalie and her group watched the scene unfold, feeling emotional. When they first arrived here, the girls in this vige had not reacted like this.


    Back then, their faces had been filled with fear, hesitation, and numbness.


    But in less than two years, they had learned to think for themselves, to be brave, to stand their ground, and to fight for their own future.


    This kind of change might seem simple, but the hardship behind it was beyond imagination.


    "Mom, you''re a woman too. You were once a girl. Do you think the way Grandpa raised you was normal?"


    Lte stared at her mother with teary eyes as she spoke, "Mom, you lived this way, so does that mean I have to live like this too? And in the future, will my daughter be forced to endure the same fate?


    "No. This is not the life I want. I won''t let my daughter be a sacrifice. What makes men so great? Just because they have one extra body part, does that make them superior to us?


    "We know exactly what you''ve been nning. We don''t have 10,000 dors right now. We don''t have the means. But we can sign an IOU with Natalie and her people. 10,000 dors to cut ties with you and to break free from this ce is worth it.


    "Mom, think about it. If I end up just like you, will that be happiness?"


    As she spoke, Lte pulled out the pre-written IOU and severance agreement. Without hesitation, she signed her name, then bit her finger and pressed a blood- red fingerprint onto the paper.


    "Dad, sign it.


    "Sign it, and the 10,000 dors is yours."


    Her eyes were still red, but her voice was firm. She refused to waver or back down.


    Natalie held her weapon, aiming it directly at Maverick. In the worst-case scenario, she would use force again. But she believed that most people in the vige wouldn''t dare to break the fragile bnce.


    Then again, it wasn''t up to them anymore-because that bnce was about to be shattered.


    With Lte, Sue, and Ann taking the lead, and with Una pulling Dossie and Tressa to stand behind them, the expressions of the vigers grew darker and darker.


    This was especially true of the women-the ones who were both daughters and mothers—who had just heard Lte''s words. Their faces flickered with emotion. "Mom, you may be willing to ept your fate, but we''re not," Lte said again. "I will never let my daughter be traded away for a so-called son or to be sold like livestock. Never."


    Lorraine could no longer keep herposure. She nced at Martin, then at Sue, Ann, and Lte standing across from her. For the first time, she hesitated.


    "We won''t ept it either." Sue and Ann chimed in.


    "Men aren''t any more special than we are. They can''t carry on the family name without women. Without us, what lineage do they think they''re continuing?


    "The gender of a child is determined by the father, yet we''re the ones med, scolded, and beaten for it. We will never give birth to daughters who will be turned into knives that stab us in the back."


    Ann''s eyes welled up with tears, and she started shouting as tears rolled down, "We''re all human! What makes them more valuable than us? Why do they get to sit at the table and eat first while we wait for their leftovers?


    "Why don''t they have to work? Why do they get to eat, drink, and y while we do endless chores, dig herbs in the mountains, yet still have to cook and clean for them? Just because they have a few extra ounces of flesh?"


    Her voice was hoarse. "Without us, they''re nothing. They wouldn''t even survive on their own. And these useless men sell us off just to bring home another woman to be used the same way.


    "You are the ones who are despicable. You are the ones who are wrong! Why can''t we go to school? Why do we have to give you 10,000 dors? Is it because you have no shame?"


    Ann suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream as her tears fell uncontrobly. She had held these words back for far too long.


    The three of them had spent countless nights worrying about this, terrified that their parents would ruin their one chance to study.


    Lte had said that they had to fight for themselves no matter what this time.


    Natalie and her people could only help them for so long. They couldn''t change everything.


    These vigers were poor, narrow-minded, greedy, andzy.


    Meanwhile, the girls here were the


    cheapest, most disposable


    vel


    sacrifices. If they didn''t stand up for


    themselves, they would never


    escape this prison, this abyss.


    "Did you give birth to us just so you could drain us dry?" Ann screamed. "You don''t


    deserve to be parents. You don''t deserve us!"


    "This is outrageous!"


    Maverick bellowed, "I told you from the start that we should never have let these outsiders in! But no one listened! Now look-our daughters are turning against us!


    "Why are you all just standing there? Get them! Kill Natalie and her people! Kill these disobedient little brats! Go now!"


    Maverick lunged forward, and the other vigers followed.


    Marcus grabbed Natalie and pulled her behind him. Then, he kicked Maverick square in the stomach without hesitation.


    The force of the blow sent Maverick flying through the air, crashing into the vigers behind him like a ragdoll.


    Marcus stepped forward and threw a punch at the next person who charged at them.


    "Elijah, protect Mrs. Holden!"


    "Yes, Mr. Holden!"


    Elijah shielded Natalie, but she shoved him away. "Elijah, protect the girls instead."


    Natalie was never one to hide behind others. She had faced this kind of situation back when she first arrived.


    She wasn''t afraid. In fact, she felt a spark of exhration.


    "Elijah, keep Sophia safe," Zachary ordered as he pulled Sophia behind him. Then, cracking his knuckles, he stepped forward to join Marcus.


    None of them had touched the weapons Natalie had brought. They didn''t need them and just fought with their bare hands.


    Zane hurriedly shoved Connie toward Elijah before rushing into the fight as well. The schoolyard erupted into chaos.


    Taylor and his people eventually joined the fray as well.


    These vigers caused trouble all the time. If words weren''t enough to get through to them, then force was the only option. After all, not everyone knew when it was time to take the easy way out.


    "Don''t be afraid. I''ll protect you," Elijah reassured the girls as he gathered them


    into a corner.


    Sophia and Connie weren''t fighters, so they didn''t jump into the brawl. Instead,


    they focused onforting the terrified girls.


    Natalie quickly fought her way to Marcus'' side.


    His face was dark with fury. "Nat, be careful."


    "With you by my side? No problem." She shed him a sweet smile, then turned


    and punched a viger square in the face.


    "Natalie, watch out!" Lte shouted. Then, she grabbed a hoe and charged forward without hesitation.


    "Girls! Let''s fight for ourselves and our future daughters! We don''t need parents who don''t deserve us!"


    With those words, Lte ran straight at Martin.