The Boss Behind the Mask Was My Father Chapter 01

The Boss Behind the Mask Was My Father Chapter 01

My mom and I were accidentally pulled into a survival game called “Desolate Village Escape”.

The system told us we could only go home if we defeated the game’s final boss.

To stay alive, my mom and I hid in a pigpen full of manure for two whole years, scavenging scraps of food and fighting off stray dogs every single day.

The slightest resistance would earn us severe punishment.

We would be dunked headfirst into water vats and subjected to harsh punishment.

After every torment, Mom would hold me tight and whisper, trying to keep me going.

“Dad will come rescue us soon. Just hold on a little longer… He’s on his way.”

Those words became our only ray of hope in the endless despair.

Then one day, I came down with a high fever that triggered a heart attack.

I collapsed twitching in the muddy mire. Mom dropped to her knees, frantically kowtowing and begging for help.

That was when I saw the so-called final boss take off his mask—revealing Dad’s face.

“This is the consequence of what happened to Ivy,” my dad, Teddy Payson, said coldly. “I warned you there would be consequences.”

“These past two years have been a lesson to teach you some manners.”

I watched mom slump to the ground, her face drained of all color. A line of text floated above our heads: Quest failed. Elimination Sequence Initiated.

……

“Cut!”

The director shouted, thrilled. “Perfect! Absolutely flawless! That look of utter

despair couldn’t have been acted more naturally!”

As his voice rang out, a crowd of crew members emerged from all directions.

They stripped off their costumes and walked past my mom and me, their faces twisted with disgust.

I stared at their backs as they busily moved props away, a bitter ache swelling in my chest.

Had everything we feared for so long been nothing but stage props?

I dragged myself over to Mom, desperate to curl up in her arms—only to touch skin cold as ice.

The onlookers burst into laughter at my pitiful state.

“Mr. Payson really went all out. To get the exact effect Ms. Gibson wanted, he actually used his own wife and daughter as real actors.”

“Right! The performance was so convincing. Those two had no idea what was really going on.”

“They genuinely thought they’d been transported into a game. I bet they still think that so-called system is real!”

Ivy Gibson leaned against Teddy’s shoulder, giggling flirtatiously. “Teddy, your idea worked wonderfully. The footage looks incredibly realistic. But Mabel’s expression at the end was a bit too ugly, though. We’ll have to scrap this take.”

Teddy didn’t even glance at Mom and me lying helpless in the mud.

His eyes were fixed solely on Ivy. “As long as you’re happy, Ivy. We can keep reshooting until you’re satisfied.”

I froze, my blood turning icy cold. We’d never been transported into a game at all.

Every bit of pain, grievance and torture over the past two years had never been an accident. It was deliberate punishment, planned by my own father and Ivy.

I stared down at myself kneeling in the muck.

A bitter dampness lingered at the corner of my mouth, unseen by all the people nearby.

Teddy frowned, his tone sharp and impatient as he looked at Mom’s rapidly cooling body. “Mabel Gibson, stop faking it. It was only a punishment. Are you really going to play dead over this?”

My throat was raw and my voice trembled as I struggled to speak. “Help… please help Mom. She’s getting weaker… Someone help Mom…”

Teddy’s expression hardened, and he strode over to us, still refusing to believe the truth. “Mabel, stop this nonsense. Everyone knows you were just punished for bullying Ivy. It’s over now. Let’s go home.”

Mom coughed weakly, but refused to utter a single word.

Just as Teddy reached down to pull her up, Ivy darted forward and linked her arm through his.

Her voice was soft and sweet, feigning concern. “Teddy, are Mabel and Nadia still upset? It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have held a grudge…”

The flicker of hesitation on Teddy’s face vanished instantly, replaced by icy disdain. “After two years, you still refuse to learn your lesson.”

“Two years ago, you stole Ivy’s thunder and faked an illness to make me miss her graduation ceremony. That left her emotionally devastated. All this was just a small price to pay.”

Ivy’s eyes welled up with tears as she spoke gently. “Teddy, I’ve already forgiven them.”

Teddy shot Mom a ruthless, cold stare. “Since you love acting so much, keep doing it. Let’s leave them here.”

He turned and walked away without another glance, wrapping his arm around Ivy as they faded into the distance.

I clung desperately to Mom’s arm, tears streaming down my face

uncontrollably.

He had no idea the game world was fake—but the system was real.

Mom was truly fading away.