Sue and Ann didn''t say anything. They simply took a step closer to Natalie.

    The three of them had discussed this in private for a long time and hade to one conclusion. If they gave in to their parents this time, they would face endless demands andpromises in the future.

    This was their only chance to leave, and they had to seize it.

    Their parents favored sons over daughters. They were narrow-minded and insatiably greedy.

    Natalie and the others didn''te here asking for anything in return. They only saw how pitiful the children were, especially the girls, and decided to help.

    She had already done more than enough for them. If they didn''t have the strength to stand up for themselves, or if they continued to be soft-hearted and confused, then they would be trapped in this ce for the rest of their lives, drained dry by their own families.

    They were human beings too, just like the men in their families. Why should they be treated as lesser just because men had a couple more pounds of muscle?

    They could live colorful, fulfilling lives, just like the girls Natalie and Taylor had told them about.

    They didn''t have to stay here, reduced to mere tools for bearing sons, nothing more than a source of blood for their families to leech off.

    If they missed this chance, they would never meet another group of kindhearted people like Natalie and her team again.

    "Dad, Mom, we''ve made up our minds. Call us ungrateful or heartless if you want. You''ve been calling us ''money-draining burdens'' all our lives anyway. Now that we can help you earn 10,000 dors, you should beughing all the way to the bank."

    Sue''s eyes welled up with tears as she said in a trembling voice, "If you''re worried about not being able to find wives for your sons, then work harder, make money, and move out of this ce. Stop talking about how you can''t leave this ce. I''ve had enough of that nonsense.

    "This ce is a wastnd nobody cares about. Life here is miserable, ignorant, and backward. People here are selfish and greedy. We''ve had enough."

    If they had never seen the light, maybe they would have been content living in the dark. But now that they had seen it, they wanted to chase it.

    They were only fighting for the right to choose a different path in life. They weren''t doing anything wrong.

    Ann spoke up as well. "Dad, Mom, if you consider us as your daughters, then let us go."

    "Yes! Let us go!"

    Lte stepped between Sue and Ann, reaching out to hold their hands. "We will leave and go to school. We have the right to decide what we want and choose our own path instead of following your unreasonable and selfish arrangements."

    "Lte, how can you be so selfish?" Martin stepped forward. "This is how our vige has always been. Women exist to serve the men. If you all leave, how are we supposed to get wives?"

    "Then, die." Lte''s eyes were bloodshot as she red at Martin. "You''re a grown man with hands and feet. Instead of working hard to earn money, all you do isze around and suck me dry.

    "Martin, do you even qualify as a man? How do you have the nerve to exist in this world?

    "And you, you, and you!" Lte pointed at the men standing behind Martin. "Other than leeching off your sisters, have you ever thought about relying on yourselves? You''re nothing but a pack of bloodsucking leeches. Shameless, greedy parasites!

    "Listen to me, Martin. I am leaving this time, no matter what. I would rather die than stay here, drained dry by selfish, shameless men like you."

    "Yes! We won''t stay either!" Sue and Ann raised their hands and shouted, "We refuse to be blood bags! We refuse to be used by you!

    "You''re just a bunch of shameless parasites-always taking and never giving. Disgusting! We''re leaving, and no one can stop us."

    Lte stood tall and firm, her eyes bloodshot. In the end, she couldn''t hold back her tears, and they fell inrge drops down her face.

    Maverick was trembling with rage. "You ungrateful little wretches! I should never have agreed to let those peoplee here and build that damn school!

    "Just because you learned a few words, you think you''re better than us? Do you think you can be sessful after leaving here? Dream on!"

    He jabbed a finger at Lte''s face and roared, "You are my daughter! If I say you can go to school, then

    can go. I say you''re getting

    Bal

    married, then you''re getting married!

    You will never leave this ce as

    long as you live!"

    Una stepped forward, holding the hands of her two younger sisters. Her voice was

    soft but unwavering. "Lte, we support you."

    She added, "Sue, Ann, Dossie, Tressa, and I support you."

    Una was still young, but she already understood that they would likely follow the same path her parents hadid out.

    But the girls from the Zanders had shown her that women could resist. And when they did, other paths could open up before them.

    Natalie and her people had treated them with more kindness than even their own parents.

    Strangers had given them warmth and care, asking for nothing in return, only hoping they could have a better life.

    But their own parents only wanted to drain them dry and keep them trapped forever.

    Natalie showed them kindness without expecting anything in return.

    Their parents, on the other hand, were unwilling to let them leave.

    That kind of suffocating despair was unbearable.

    Una took Dossie''s and Tressa''s hands and stepped behind Lte, Sue, and Ann without hesitation.

    "Lte," she called. "Sue, Ann, Dossie, Tressa, and I support you."

    Una''s voice was childlike but filled with determination. "We support you!"

    "Yes! We support you." Dossie and Tressa didn''t fully understand, but they knew that Una loved them most. Their parents often scolded them and didn''t let them eat their fill, but Una always saved food for them.

    So whatever Una said, they would follow.

    "We support you too."

    From behind Maverick, more girls stepped forward and stood behind Lte and

    the others, joining Una, Dossie, and Tressa.

    "We all support you."

    One by one, every girl in the vige ran to the other side, standing behind Lte, Sue, and Ann.

    "This is madness! Madness!" Maverick was shaking with rage. "All of you have lost your minds!"

    "Natalie, take us with you!" Lte

    turned to look at Natalie with unwavering determination. "We will study hard. We will work hard and eney. We want to change this vige and the way people think."

    "We do too!"

    More and more girls joined in, their voices growing louder and louder.

    They weren''t just standing up for Lte and the others. They were fighting for their own futures.