The day I found out I was pregnant, my unborn baby’s inner voice was suddenly exposed to the world. *[Stupid old hag, what are you looking at? Once I’m born, the first thing I’ll do is dump you in a nursing home! Your retirement savings will be perfect for buying my organic formula and designer baby gear!]* My mother, Helen, who had been crying tears of joy for me just a second ago, froze. The smile on her face completely shattered. Within days, she packed her bags, returned to her cottage upstate, and took an overdose of her medication, ending her own life. She left me a suicide note with only one sentence: “My daughter doesn’t want me anymore.” My husband was about to comfort me when he, too, heard the baby’s telepathic voice: *[Silly Daddy, why are you still smiling? Mommy and Grandma both have terrible hereditary diseases that cost a fortune to treat! Mommy only married you to scam your money and pay for Grandma’s medical bills!]* My husband gasped, freezing in shock. Before he could even process it, my best friend, Serena, showed up “right on cue” with a medical folder in her hand. With a look of sheer “reluctance,” she handed the report to my husband. “Austin, I couldn’t keep this from you anymore… I pulled some favors and found this. Chloe’s mother really does have a severe genetic illness. The treatment is a bottomless financial pit. Chloe… she might have been lying to you from the very beginning.” Right on cue, the baby’s inner voice chimed in, as if stamping Serena’s words with confirmation: *[Oh no! Aunt Serena leaked Mommy’s secret! Daddy is going to find out!]* Austin filed for divorce on the spot, demanding I pack my bags and get out. The shock was too much. I went into severe hemorrhaging on the operating table, dying in agonizing pain. Until I woke up, reborn. And once again, I heard that child’s voice.

“Chloe, congratulations! You’re officially pregnant! You’re going to be a mom!” A familiar voice echoed in my ears. I snapped my eyes open. Looking at the ultrasound report in my best friend Serena’s hand, I finally realized I had been reborn. Hearing the news of my pregnancy, Austin showed no joy. He merely cast a cold, detached glance my way. My mother, Helen, wiped the happy tears from her eyes, squeezing my hand. “This is wonderful, sweetie. I’m finally going to be a grandma.” But in the next second, the baby’s voice rang out from my womb: *[Old bag, who wants you as a grandma? Your genetic disease is a financial black hole. Mommy said once we drain you of your last penny, we’re going to dump you in some cheap suburban nursing home to rot!]* Helen’s face instantly drained of color. Her hands began to tremble violently. It was exactly like my past life. The moment my mother heard that voice, the light in her eyes died. Next, Serena would “accidentally” reveal that my mother had a family history of genetic illness that would cost millions to treat. Under the influence of the baby’s voice, Austin would become fully convinced that I only married him to scam his money for my mother’s treatment. Seeing the familiar despair in my mother’s eyes, I immediately grabbed her hand tightly. “Mom! Don’t listen to that absolute nonsense! I don’t want this baby anymore! You are the only person who matters to me!” My mother gasped, her tear-filled eyes wide with confusion. “Chloe, sweetie, what are you saying…” Beside us, Serena panicked. “Chloe, have you lost your mind? Why on earth would you abort a perfectly healthy baby?” Austin also spoke up, his voice freezing cold. “Yeah, why abort it? Are you trying to cover something up?” Looking at the suspicion in Austin’s eyes, I sneered inwardly. It seemed he could already hear the voice too. To prevent the tragedy of my past life, I had to get rid of this child. “Austin, you have to trust me this once. We cannot keep this baby!” The moment the words left my mouth, the baby kicked me hard in frustration: *[Mommy! How can you be so cruel? Just because you’re scared Daddy will find out about Grandma’s genetic illness, and that you married him for money, you’re going to abort me to silence me?!]*

That voice sounded like a curse, dragging me back into the horrors of my past life. Back then, after my mother cut off all contact with me out of guilt, I spent every day crying. Austin had looked at me with pure disgust. “Stop acting. Didn’t you and your mother just marry me for my money? Now that she’s sick, you expect me to be the sucker who pays for it?” I thought he was just speaking out of anger and tried to explain that my mother was perfectly healthy. But he threw a forged medical report in my face. My mother’s name was printed in bold black and white, complete with a signature from a specialist Serena had “helped” find. After that, Austin secretly transferred all his assets and kicked me out of the house. Just like right now, Austin was quietly listening to the baby’s voice: *[Grandma’s illness costs hundreds of thousands a year! Mommy already calculated all of Daddy’s assets. She’s just waiting for Grandma to get sick so she can drain him dry!]* *[Once Daddy is broke, Mommy will take me and Grandma to find my real dad. He’s a rich heir!]* To be honest, I had absolutely no idea who this “rich heir” was. I had never done anything to betray Austin. But Austin’s face grew increasingly dark, his gaze turning incredibly sharp as he stared at me. “Are you so eager to abort this baby because you have a guilty conscience?” “I can promise you, neither my mother nor I have any genetic diseases! If you don’t believe me, we can take her for a comprehensive health check right now!” I proposed, interrupting him before he could accuse me further. Seeing my absolute confidence, his brows softened slightly. “Chloe, it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just…” Sensing the tense atmosphere between us, Serena quickly stepped in to play peacemaker. “Oh, you two! It’s just a health checkup. I have connections in the hospital system. I can arrange the most comprehensive exam for Helen. I promise it’ll be fast and accurate!” I looked at her with a cold smile. “Thanks for the offer, Serena, but I’d rather go to a different hospital.” “No!” A flash of panic crossed Serena’s face. “I mean… my trusted specialist is at our hospital. Why go through all the trouble of going elsewhere? Don’t you trust me?” I really didn’t. After all, in my past life, she was the one who forged my mother’s medical reports, framing me as a gold-digging fraud. In the end, I was forced to walk away from the divorce with nothing. She, using the baby’s voice to guide her, successfully took my place and married Austin. As the ultimate beneficiary of the entire tragedy, there was no way I was going to believe she had nothing to do with this “mind-reading” baby. So, I played along, putting on a righteous act for Austin. “A full health checkup is a big deal. Serena is my best friend. To ensure absolute fairness and transparency, Austin, would you really feel comfortable letting Serena handle everything?” Just as Austin was about to agree with me, the baby’s voice chimed in with mock admiration: *[Mommy is so brilliant! Daddy would never guess that Mommy already bribed the doctors. No matter which hospital we go to, the report will say Grandma is perfectly healthy!]*

Was this child determined to drive me to suicide again? I forced down the rising rage in my chest and threw the decision back to Austin. “You decide where we do the checkup. There are dozens of hospitals in this city. Pick any one you want!” Austin rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. “Never mind. Let Serena arrange it. We’ll monitor the whole process. There shouldn’t be any issues.” I thought about it and agreed. If we watched every step, nothing could go wrong. Serena looked incredibly uncomfortable, but she had to play along, taking my mother through the entire panel of tests. A few days later, the detailed medical reports arrived. Seeing that every single index was perfectly normal, I let out a massive sigh of relief. Although I didn’t know why the baby’s voice was trying to ruin me, the black-and-white paper proved my mother was healthy. That was an undeniable fact. Serena forced a relieved smile. “See? Helen is perfectly healthy. You guys were just worrying over nothing!” But the moment she finished speaking, the baby’s voice rang out loud and clear: *[Mommy is so incredibly charming. She actually got Aunt Serena to throw away her professional ethics just to forge this fake medical report!]* Austin snapped. He grabbed Serena’s arm in a vice grip. “Serena! Do you swear on your medical license that this report is real?” Serena looked deeply hurt, biting her lip without saying a word. Her silence made it look like I had indeed begged her to forge the report. I opened my mouth to explain, but the baby seemed even more anxious than I was: *[Mommy, quickly tell Daddy to let go of Aunt Serena!]* *[Oh no! If Daddy looks at Aunt Serena’s Snapchat, he’ll see the texts where Mommy and Grandma discussed how to fake the illness and scam his money! Then the whole marriage fraud will be exposed!]* I had never plotted any of this! We met at a college party and married for love. After marriage, I never coveted his money. I even offered to sign a prenup, but he was the one who insisted we didn’t need one. We had been married for six years… I thought he wouldn’t doubt me over some bizarre, baseless voice in my womb. Yet, he impatiently snatched Serena’s phone right out of her hand. When he opened her Snapchat and saw the meticulously forged text messages—detailing how my mother and I planned to fake an illness, demand exorbitant medical fees, and drain his bank accounts—his hand began to shake violently. “What is the meaning of these messages?” Serena nervously tried to claw her phone back, casting a sorrowful look at me. “Austin, that was years ago. What’s the point of bringing it up now?” “I want answers!” Austin roared, his eyes bloodshot. Serena squeezed out a couple of tears, looking miserable. “When Chloe first approached you, it was indeed because of your family’s money… She told me her mother was sick and needed a lot of cash, so…” “You’re lying!” I screamed, shaking with rage. “Austin, don’t listen to her! Those texts are fake!” I grabbed Austin’s arm, begging him to believe me. But he shoved me away in disgust. “Chloe, I never realized you were such a conniving, cold-blooded snake!”

The force of his shove sent me crashing to the floor. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, and hot blood began to pool beneath me. My mother gasped in horror, trembling as she tried to pull me up. “Ah! It hurts!” I screamed. Hearing my cry of pain, Austin and Serena finally looked over. Panic set in, and they rushed to lift me, wheeling me straight into the emergency room. I stared at Serena with pure, unadulterated hatred. “If I die, you are a murderer. I will haunt you for the rest of your life!” Austin defended her, snapping at me, “You’re the one who scammed me first, and you still have no remorse! I don’t even care whose baby that is anymore! Once you’re out of surgery, we are getting a divorce!” Hearing his words, my heart turned to ash. I closed my eyes in despair. The surgery lasted an entire hour, and the baby’s voice mocked me for that entire hour. Except this time, he was speaking directly to me: *[Hehehe, so much for your husband’s grand love!]* *[You evil woman, trying to abort me? I’m telling you, you will never get rid of me!]* *[Once you’re discharged, I’ll make sure your precious mother leaves you too. You’ll end up completely alone and abandoned!]* What a malicious creature. He was my own flesh and blood, yet he was calculating my ruin as if I had committed some unforgivable sin against him. Before slipping into unconsciousness, I couldn’t help but ask him why he hated me so much. But he didn’t answer. When the anesthesia finally wore off, the doctor handed me a cup of water. “Fortunately, the baby is extremely resilient. He’s out of danger, but you’ll both need to stay under observation for a while.” Staring at the clear water in the cup, a sudden realization hit me like a bolt of lightning! I finally understood what this baby’s “inner voice” actually was. Over the next few days, I lived in absolute peace. The baby still tried to provoke me from time to time, desperately trying to get me angry enough to induce a miscarriage. But I refused to give him what he wanted. I ate well, slept well, and let him grow healthy and strong in my womb. When Austin’s lawyer delivered the divorce papers, I didn’t cry or beg. I simply picked up a pen and signed my name with a flourish. Within days of our divorce, Austin proposed to Serena. On the day they set their wedding date, Serena called me. “Chloe, I’ve already told Austin that you and Helen have a genetic disease. I told him I only forged the fake report out of pity for our old friendship.” “For Austin’s sake, I suggest you abort that bastard immediately. Otherwise, we will make your marriage fraud public and turn you into a social pariah!” Facing her threat, I casually agreed over the phone. But behind her back, I took my prenatal vitamins, ate expensive supplements, and nurtured the baby until he was plump and healthy. As my due date neared, Serena’s wedding day finally arrived. Right in the middle of her wedding reception, I FaceTime-called her. “Hey! Happy wedding! Wishing you a lifetime of bliss!” Seeing my heavily swollen belly through the screen, horror washed over her face. In the next second, she threw down the wedding ring, abandoned Austin at the altar, and rushed into my hospital room within fifteen minutes, throwing herself onto her knees. “Chloe! Why haven’t you aborted this baby yet?!” “There’s no time left! I beg you, abort him now! If you do, I’ll give Austin back to you immediately!”

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After my boyfriend’s sister, Chloe, was sexually assaulted and committed suicide, everyone accused me of protecting the monster who did it. His mother collapsed on my doorstep, sobbing and begging for answers, but I shut the door in her face. The internet doxxed me. Angry mobs poisoned my only companion, my cat Casper. Ten years later, as I lay on my deathbed, my ex-boyfriend, Lucas, returned. He was now a tech billionaire, powerful and ruthless. The first thing he did upon returning to the city was drag me onto the Memory Judgement Platform—a futuristic trial reserved only for death row criminals. “Elena, you absolute monster! You protected a rapist! Chloe and I were blind to ever call you a friend!” “Chloe has been dead for ten years, and you let her attacker run free for a decade!” “Today, I’m going to use my memory extractor to show the entire world exactly who you’ve been protecting!” But when the face of the attacker finally appeared on the giant screen, Lucas’s face went dead white.

Lucas made a massive public spectacle out of my trial. The plaza in front of his Silicon Valley headquarters was packed to the brim with media and angry crowds. Reporters set up their cameras, broadcasting the live feed to every major social media platform. My organs were failing. Kept alive only by IV drips and heavy medication, I was dragged onto the platform like a convicted criminal. Chloe’s grandfather, Arthur, lunged forward, grabbing my collar and screaming in my face: “Elena! Why did you protect him?!” “You piece of trash! Why aren’t you the one who’s dead?!” He choked me so hard I could barely breathe. My vision started to go black. The crowd instantly erupted into a frenzy: “Look at this heartless bitch! Her best friend gets assaulted, she knows who did it, and she stays silent!” “When Chloe drowned herself in the ocean, her poor mother collapsed at Elena’s door. She begged, she screamed, she banged her fists until her knuckles bled, and this monster never opened the door!” “She even let her cat scratch an old man who came to ask for justice! She is pure evil!” The overwhelming tide of insults washed over me. Lucas stood to the side, his brow furrowed, his face masked with deep, icy resentment. In this world, Chloe’s family hated me to my very bones. But out of everyone, the person who hated me most was him. Ten years ago, Chloe, Lucas, and I were inseparable. We were best friends, and Lucas was the love of my life. But after Chloe was assaulted at the Cole family estate and subsequently took her own life, my relationship with Lucas shattered into pieces. All because Chloe’s suicide note mentioned that I had seen the attacker. Overnight, I became the accomplice. And the truth was… I did protect the killer. Lucas walked up to me. His face was cold, his voice devoid of any warmth: “Elena, I’m giving you one last chance.” “Confess now. Tell the police who it was. It’s not too late…” “Once this memory extractor starts, the high-frequency neural pulses will make you feel like every bone in your body is being crushed inch by inch. You won’t have a chance to beg for mercy then!” My face turned pale. I struggled against my restraints and screamed: “Lucas, stop! You can’t do this!” “You cannot extract my memories!” Lucas grabbed my wrists, his eyes flashing with hatred. “Scared now?” “You don’t get a choice!” “I am getting justice for Chloe!” I wept, begging him through my tears: “Lucas, listen to me! My memories cannot be made public! You will regret this!” Lucas let out a harsh, mocking laugh, leaning in close, his eyes bloodshot. “Regret?” “The only thing I regret is ever loving you!” Two beefy security guards immediately pinned me down onto the steel chair. Cold metal cuffs locked around my wrists and ankles. Ignoring my violent struggles, they forced my head back and clamped the heavy, freezing helmet onto my skull. In an instant, thousands of micro-needles pierced my scalp, drilling directly into my nervous system. I screamed as my body went into violent spasms. It felt like my very soul was being ripped apart.

Even as I screamed in agony, the crowd below and the live comments on TikTok and YouTube were ruthless. They kept throwing insults, celebrating my pain. “Evil ex-best friend! Accomplice! Go to hell, bitch!” On the massive screen above, my memories began to play in reverse. The first memory appeared. The screen showed the third day after Chloe’s death. I was at the absolute center of a massive cyberbullying storm. Thousands of people online were demanding I name the killer. They doxxed my home address, sent me death threats, and spammed my phone with terrifying calls. My personal information was leaked everywhere. I was fired from my job. The sheer malice of the internet crushed me. I was blacklisted from society, unable to find any work. I fled my apartment, desperately trying to escape the endless harassment in real life and online. The screen showed a montage of my eviction notices. I had nowhere to go. With no options left, I took my cat, Casper, and fled to a sketchy, cheap, run-down neighborhood on the edge of the city. But the internet mob still found me. Right in front of my eyes, they poisoned Casper, the only living being I had left. I held Casper’s stiff, cold body in my arms, crying until my voice was completely gone. That year, with my grandmother already dead, I was only twenty-two years old and completely alone. Lucas stared at my tear-stained face on the screen, letting out a cold sneer. “Elena, you brought this on yourself. Don’t act like a victim.” “If you hadn’t protected the rapist, none of this would have happened. You think you deserve sympathy?” “You are the last person on earth who gets to feel victimized! You chose to protect a criminal, this is your karma!” The crowd chimed in: “How shameless! Is she really trying to make us feel sorry for her?” “Using pathetic memories to gain sympathy? Joke of the century! An accomplice is just as guilty as the rapist. Burn in hell!” “How does she have the nerve to play the victim? Chloe’s family was destroyed! Her daughter died, her mother collapsed, everyone suffered more than her!” Right then, a girl’s clear, bright laughter echoed from the screen. “Chloe! Slow down!” A young, innocent Chloe appeared on the giant screen. She was running toward me on a beautiful, sunny beach, her face glowing with a bright smile. “Catch!” She tossed a beach ball toward me. “My sweet girl!” Arthur, her grandfather, sobbed, throwing himself toward the screen. Looking at Chloe’s radiant smile on the screen, the old man, who had aged decades in the last ten years, broke down completely. Since Chloe’s suicide, he had gone to the police station every single day, asking: *Have you caught him yet?* And every single time, the detectives could only shake their heads in pity. The security cameras at the estate had conveniently glitched that night. The party had been crowded with guests. Nobody knew who had followed Chloe out to the backyard. And the only person who knew the truth was me. On screen, after playing on the beach, I stopped in front of a quiet little chapel by the sea, silently making a wish: *Dear God, please keep my friends safe and happy. Let our friendship and love last forever…* Seeing my prayers on screen, Lucas couldn’t contain his rage any longer. “Elena, you hypocritical liar! You ungrateful snake!” He stormed over, pointing a finger at me, his voice trembling with anger: “How dare you bring up our past! Are you trying to disgust me?” “For ten years, you haven’t said a single word of truth. Do you really think you’re worthy of being our friend, of being my lover?” And then, the screen showed a scene of me secretly throwing away a bracelet Chloe had gifted me. The crowd went wild: “Unbelievable! She threw away her friend’s gift behind her back!”

“Lucas and Chloe treated her so well, and look how she treated them! She’s just a selfish, cold-blooded bystander!” Lucas knew I had disliked the style of that bracelet. But he didn’t explain that to the crowd. He just stood there, letting them mock me: “She probably never expected Lucas to return as a billionaire to settle the score!” “Keep going, Mr. Cole! We can’t wait to see the face of the monster she’s protecting!” Prompted by the crowd’s anger, the memory on the screen shifted again. Lucas’s desperate, heart-wrenching scream echoed through the speakers: “Chloe! No! Don’t leave me!” It was the day Chloe’s body was pulled from the ocean. It was a cold, rainy day. Lucas and I fell to our knees beside her body. He clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood, his entire body shaking. Her body was bloated and freezing cold. She looked nothing like the beautiful, laughing girl I knew. On screen, I walked back to my empty apartment like a ghost, curling up in a corner and sobbing hysterically. “Ahhh!” I beat my chest on screen, the pain of losing my best friend ripping me apart. On the trial platform, I kept my eyes closed as tears streamed down my face. On screen, my broken voice cried out: “Chloe! Why did you do it? Why did you leave me?” My tears wouldn’t stop, my digital self completely drowned in endless grief. Seeing my genuine heartbreak on screen, the crowd fell into a hushed confusion. “What’s going on?” “She looks genuinely devastated… How could she…” Arthur, Chloe’s grandfather, suddenly screamed in fury: “Crocodile tears!” With tears streaming down his face, his hand shook violently as he pointed at me: “My daughter, Eleanor, collapsed at her door! Her voice went hoarse from begging, she banged on that door with everything she had, and this girl didn’t even flinch!” “She even let her cat attack us! Does a person like that deserve to be Chloe’s friend?!” The crowd’s anger flared up once again. Lucas’s face turned pale, then red with anger. He rushed over, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me violently, his eyes bloodshot and filled with rage: “Elena, look! Look at the tragedy your silence caused!” “Your parents died early, and your grandmother passed away. Chloe and I pitied you, we loved you like family, and this is how you repay us?!” He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. “Are you still trying to get sympathy?!” “You destroyed Chloe! Do you think these memories will make me soft?” His chest heaved violently, his eyes red and brimming with tears. His voice was cracked with grief. “Chloe is dead!” “But the one who truly killed her was you! You, Elena!” He shook me, his eyes filled with a hatred that wanted to tear me to pieces. To him, Chloe’s death was a devastating tsunami that had wiped out his world, leaving nothing but a cold, wet, permanent emptiness. Suddenly, Lucas stood up straight and wiped his face with the back of his hand. In an instant, his grief was replaced by absolute, chilling coldness. “Elena, let me tell you something. I will not stop until I find the killer!” “And once I find him, I will drag both of you straight to hell!” He turned to the technician, his face grim. “Increase the extraction depth.” He had no patience left for my “act.” The technician hesitated, then stepped forward to adjust the controls. The red needle on the monitor spiked. The micro-needles in the helmet drove even deeper into my skull.

“Ahhhhh!” I let out a blood-curdling scream. A massive surge of electricity shocked my brain, and white light exploded behind my eyelids. My body convulsed violently, my hands and feet straining against the steel cuffs. Blood began to trickle down from my hairline, dripping onto the cold metal chair. The images on the screen started flickering erratically. One second it was a college lecture hall, the next it was a shopping mall, then a road trip. They were all happy memories of the three of us—Lucas, Chloe, and me. But there was absolutely nothing from the night of the assault. The crowd grew restless, and the live chats were spamming questions: “Where is the memory of the night she was assaulted?” “I thought she saw the attacker?” Lucas frowned and turned to the technician, his voice deep and threatening: “What’s happening?” “Why can’t you find the memory of the assault?!” The technician wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stammering: “Mr. Cole… she… she seems to be fighting the system…” “She is actively blocking that specific memory from being extracted!” “What? Fighting the system?” Lucas was shocked. He glared at me with dark, menacing eyes. He slammed his hand on the control desk, roaring: “Elena! Even now, you are still protecting him?!” “Who could possibly be worth your life? He is a rapist!” Ten years ago, Lucas had asked me the exact same thing, screaming in my face. When Chloe’s suicide note was made public, I became public enemy number one. It took less than twenty-four hours for Lucas to go from believing in my innocence, to doubting me, to utterly hating me. He was the only one who knew where I was hiding with Casper. The night Casper was poisoned, Lucas had broken the window of my hideout in a fit of rage, and the flying glass had sliced my forehead open. Blood had instantly blurred my vision. He had looked at me with pure disgust: “Elena, we were together for three years. Chloe loved you like a sister. What did we mean to you?” “For a rapist, you threw away the people who loved you most!” That night, I was almost beaten to death by an angry mob. Eleanor, Lucas’s mother, had dragged her raging son away. Two days later, the Cole family moved abroad, never to return. Now, Lucas stared at me with eyes colder than ice. He waved his hand dismissively, his voice sharp and final: “Force the extraction deeper! I don’t care what it takes!” The technician hesitated. “But, Mr. Cole, her body is extremely weak, and her mind is fighting back hard. If we force it…” “She might not survive the shock!” Lucas let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Not survive?” “I spent years and poured all my resources into developing this technology just to find the truth!” “I don’t give a damn if she lives or dies!” “A piece of trash like her deserves to die anyway!” With those words, the terrified technician cranked up the dial. The machine let out a high-pitched, deafening whine. The needles drove deep into my brain. “Ahhhhh!” My agonizing scream shattered the quiet of the plaza. Blood began to pour from my nose, ears, and the corners of my eyes. It felt like my chest was on fire, my body twitching uncontrollably in the chair. The technician’s hands were shaking violently. “Mr. Cole… should we stop?” “She’s… she’s going into shock!” Lucas stared at the screen, his expression dark and unreadable. “Keep going,” he whispered, his voice completely devoid of emotion.

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My “best friend,” Vivian Shelby, was planning to drug me. She wanted to film an explicit video of me to use as blackmail. Fortunately, a classmate overheard her plotting with my boyfriend, Marcus Carter, and posted a warning on our university’s anonymous Instagram gossip page: [Urgent! Looking for Chloe Vance. Someone warn her!] I saw the post. And I quietly poured the drug into the drinks I prepared for them. My Instagram DM inbox was blowing up. Everyone was telling me to watch out for my boyfriend and my “bestie.” With trembling hands, I tapped on the chat with an account called CampusWatch. It was a repost of a warning thread: [Spread the word. Looking for a girl named Chloe Vance, Literature major. Your boyfriend and roommate are plotting something sick.] At first, I didn’t want to believe it. But looking at the blurry spy-shot attached to the post, I recognized Marcus and Vivian instantly. Marcus was wearing the jacket I bought him. Vivian had my limited-edition designer watch on her wrist. I couldn’t deny it. I stared in shock at Vivian, who was out on our apartment balcony, laughing as she made a phone call. I couldn’t believe our four years of friendship and trust had just evaporated. Vivian and I had been roommates and best friends for four years. We shared everything. Because her family struggled financially, I constantly helped her out, buying her meals and clothes under the guise of “sharing.” And Marcus was my boyfriend of three years. I wasn’t codependent, nor was I stupid. It was just that they were incredible actors. Marcus always acted like a hardworking, humble guy in front of my parents. Vivian played the role of the sweet, grateful, and fiercely loyal best friend. Whenever Vivian was around me, she always put on a proud but slightly insecure front. She took on part-time jobs, claiming she wanted to stand on her own feet and couldn’t rely on my charity forever. Occasionally, she would gift me small things—a lipstick, a hair clip—proudly stating she bought them with her own hard-earned money. Sometimes it was a coffee she went out of her way to buy; other times, it was a limited-edition collectible figurine she had saved up for months to get me. She used to say, “Chloe, you’re so good to me. I have to be even better to you.” Marcus played his part perfectly, too. He kept a respectful distance from Vivian whenever I was around, making it seem like I was the only woman in his universe. They performed a flawless duet. One played the devoted boyfriend; the other played the caring bestie. He acted like a loyal partner. She acted like a sister who relied on me completely. They were so good that, until today, I hadn’t noticed a single crack in their masks. Last month, my father privately expressed his concerns about Marcus’s background. He made it clear that if we were to continue our relationship, Marcus would have to sign a prenuptial agreement. When Marcus found out, his face turned incredibly ugly. That, no doubt, was the trigger. Vivian must have egged him on, planning this drugging scheme to get dirty material on me. They had spent three years acting, waiting, and plotting, only to realize they might end up with nothing. So Vivian went mad. She dragged him into her sick plan to destroy me in the most vicious way possible, hoping to blackmail my parents and steal everything they coveted. But I wasn’t going to let them win. Marcus was trash at his core. He belonged in the gutter, and that was exactly where I was going to leave him.

I remembered when I first got close to Vivian two years ago. She was always cheerful, with a touch of cautious flattery. Once, just to try on my new designer watch, she held her wrist out to me. “Chloe, look, this looks so good on you. I just want to wear it for a second to see how it feels.” I didn’t think much of it. I just laughed and told her she could wear it longer if she liked. Marcus was there too. He frowned slightly but said nothing. On the surface, he kept a polite and distant boundary with Vivian. Vivian was also very sensible. She never crossed the line again, content to just be my loyal best friend. For two years, she was always grateful and considerate. I never doubted her. He was the loyal boyfriend. She was the sweet bestie. They put on a beautiful show. I never saw it coming.

Vivian ran up to me excitedly, grabbing my arm. “Chloe! I booked a private VIP booth at the campus lounge this weekend. We haven’t hung out in forever! Let’s invite a few people. Bring Marcus too, the more the merrier!” I looked at her face. Her smile was flawless. I nodded. “Sure. You set it up.” “Awesome! Saturday at eight!” She shook my arm playfully before turning around to make a call. That night, when Marcus dropped me off at my apartment, he casually brought it up. “So, Vivian mentioned something about a lounge party this weekend?” “Yeah. She said it’s a get-together. She wants you there too.” He scratched his head, showing a perfect touch of reluctance. “Alright, babe. I don’t have plans anyway. I’ll go with you.” On Saturday night, I arrived at the lounge with the “special drinks” I had prepared. I pushed open the door to the VIP booth, and the booming bass hit me instantly. There were already five or six guys inside. Aside from Vivian, it was entirely male. They were crowded around the table, playing drinking games and throwing dice. Marcus, sitting near the edge, stood up immediately when he saw me. “Chloe’s here!” Vivian squeezed through the crowd, pulling my arm affectionately. “We were waiting for you! Come, let me introduce you to my friends…” The guys stopped what they were doing, their eyes locking onto me. A guy with bleached blonde hair and a vape in his mouth blew a cloud of smoke and smirked. “Vivian, so this is the rich, pretty roommate you were talking about? Not bad.” The others laughed, their greasy gazes lingering on my body. Marcus frowned. “Hunter, cut it out.” The guy named Hunter grinned, leaning closer. “Just a joke, Marcus. Don’t be so tense. What are you having, beautiful? Next round is on me.” I ignored him and looked at Vivian. “This is the ‘friends’ hangout’ you talked about?” Vivian gave a dry laugh. “They’re just playing around, Chloe. They don’t mean anything.” She grabbed a few beers from the table. “Come on, let’s have a drink first. Don’t just stand there.” “No need,” I said, placing a luxury shopping bag on the table and pulling out two bottles of high-end whiskey. “I brought my own.” Hunter glanced at the bottles and sneered. “Rich girls and their fancy taste.” I ignored him, handing one of the bottles to Marcus. “I brought this for you.” Marcus took it, his expression slightly complicated. “Thanks, babe.” Vivian seized the opportunity to grab the bottle opener. “Oh, let’s all drink! I’ll pour for everyone!” She poured drinks for everyone. When it was my turn, she poured a glass of my whiskey. As she handed it to me, her finger brushed against the rim of the glass in a barely noticeable motion. I took it but didn’t drink. I set it on the table. “Why aren’t you drinking, Chloe?” Vivian stared at me. “My stomach feels a bit upset suddenly,” I said, covering my mouth. I picked up the glass and forced it into Marcus’s hand. “Drink this for me, babe. Don’t let it go to waste.” Marcus froze. “Oh, making the boyfriend drink for you?” Hunter jeered. “Marcus, you gotta show her some love and chug it!” Marcus looked at me. I gave him a sweet smile. He tilted his head back and drank the whole glass. Vivian’s face stiffened. She quickly poured another drink and handed it to me. “Then have this one. It’s low alcohol. You won’t get drunk.” I looked at the tiny, un-dissolved bubbles in the clear liquid and took the glass. “There we go!” Vivian’s smile beamed again. Under the watchful eyes of several people, I raised the glass. I pretended to take a sip, but right before the rim touched my lips, I winced and covered my mouth. “I can’t… the smell of alcohol is making me gag,” I said, slamming the glass onto the table. I turned toward the exit. “I need to use the restroom!” “Chloe!” Marcus tried to follow. “Don’t follow me!” I snapped without looking back. I rushed out of the booth and straight into the restroom. I locked myself in a stall and immediately forced myself to throw up the tiny bit of liquid I had purposely held in my mouth. I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my icy reflection in the mirror. The drug would kick in within ten minutes. The hidden spy camera I had tucked behind the frame of the painting in the VIP booth should already be rolling. I fixed my face, opened the door, but didn’t go back to the booth. Instead, I slipped down the fire exit and quickly left the lounge. The show was about to begin.

I contacted Sienna, the girl behind CampusWatch. She was already waiting for me at the campus gates. For safety, we had been on a call the whole time, but she didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until I got into her car. Sienna looked quiet and delicate, but she had a fiery personality. “Let me tell you, Chloe, if I wasn’t afraid of blowing your cover, I would have beaten that trashy couple up myself,” Sienna said. “What is wrong with those disgusting people? To use such a cheap, illegal trick. I despise gold-digging guys who try to climb the social ladder through women, and fake besties who stab you in the back. They can play nice all they want, but trash is trash. Greedy bastards. I hope they rot.” Her words were harsh, but she wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Sienna realized how worked up she was and stopped. “Sorry, I got carried away.” “It’s fine. It felt good hearing you call them out.” She gave an awkward smile, then turned to me. “So, what’s the plan now?” I leaned back against the seat, feeling a bit exhausted. “Let’s find a motel for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll bring the dean and campus security to the lounge and make a massive scene. Let’s destroy their reputations first.” Sienna slammed her hand on the steering wheel. “Deal! I’ll call some friends to back us up tomorrow.” She dropped me off at a local motel and promised to pick me up in the morning. I took a shower, lay down on the bed, and opened the live feed from the hidden camera on my phone. Inside the VIP booth, bottles were scattered everywhere. Marcus was gone—presumably searching for me in a panic. But the drug had kicked in, and the alcohol had amplified it. The crowd in the booth had lost all sense of reality. Soon, Marcus burst back into the room, panting heavily. “She’s gone! Stop drinking, everyone, and help me find her!” But who in that room was sober enough to listen? Before Marcus could finish his sentence, a flushed figure stumbled forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind. It was Vivian. Her face was bright red, her eyes glassy from the drug. “Marcus… forget about her…” her voice was slurred as she clung to him. Hunter and the other guys, their eyes vacant and unfocused, didn’t stop them. Instead, they laughed and cheered. The scene quickly degenerated into utter chaos.

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“Who is this? Who are you looking for?” I thought it was a spam call or a wrong number and was just about to hang up when a hesitant, nervous voice came through the receiver. “Um… hi. Is Chloe there? I’m looking for Chloe.” If you’re looking for Chloe, just say so. Why are you sounding so damn shy? I was confused for a second, but then it clicked. This must be Chloe’s latest boy toy calling the house. As her *lawful* husband, I figured it was time to teach this kid some manners. After all, he was the first one bold enough to call our home phone. “This is Chloe’s… father.” A wicked idea popped into my head, and I forced myself to swallow the word *husband*. Hearing that I was Chloe’s father, the guy on the other end became even more stiff and polite. “Oh! Sir! Hello, Mr. Miller. I’m Ethan… Chloe’s boyfriend.” Ha. If you’re her boyfriend, then who the hell am I? “Oh? Chloe has never mentioned you before. Is there something you need?” “Nothing urgent, sir. It’s just that Chloe is away on a business trip, and I haven’t been able to reach her.” I looked up at the wall clock, sneering in my mind. Chloe was probably busy having a wild night with someone else, which was why she wasn’t answering his calls. After hanging up on the poor, clueless kid, I held my warm phone and fell into deep thought. I couldn’t even remember how angry I was when I first found out Chloe was cheating on me. Back then, one of her flings actually showed up at our door, demanding I divorce her. I was so furious that I beat the guy half to death. But when Chloe came home, she screamed at me, calling me an ungrateful loser. I was naive enough to go to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, demanding they talk some sense into their daughter. Instead, they completely ignored my pain. They told me to self-reflect and ask myself why Chloe cheated. They asked if it was because I was too useless to keep my own wife happy. I had never seen people defend an affair with such self-righteous arrogance. Since that day, Chloe stopped hiding it. She insulted me and hit me whenever she pleased. On her bad days, she would scream at me for hours. Back then, I was too terrified and weak to fight back. When I was bullied, I would just drown my sorrows in cheap beer. But as the years passed and my own career finally took off, I learned how to fight back. Or rather, I learned to gather evidence quietly, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal blow to Chloe and avenge years of humiliation.

When Chloe returned from her business trip, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner for her. Seeing how relaxed she was, I knew my “new son-in-law” hadn’t told her about our phone call. Perfect. I wasn’t going to ruin the surprise. I knew she was cheating, and now, I had her lover’s direct contact info. Chloe threw herself onto the sofa, looking absolutely exhausted. I poured a warm glass of milk, set it in front of her, and gently massaged her temples. “Honey, a woman at my office was caught having an affair. Her husband made such a huge scene that now the whole company knows.” Chloe pushed my hands away impatiently. “Then her husband should look in the mirror and figure out what’s wrong with him instead of blaming others.” I wondered if she was talking about me. I nodded submissively. “But still, cheating is wrong.” Chloe opened her eyes and slapped my hand away. “Wrong? Who cares about right or wrong? Are you trying to imply something to me, Mark?” “No, of course not,” I quickly denied. Chloe nodded in satisfaction, looking down at me. “If you have this much free time, think about how to make more money and improve my quality of life. Stop gossiping about other people. What does someone else’s affair have to do with you?” I nodded meekly. “You’re right.” I had already anticipated her reaction, but a small, foolish part of me had still hoped to test her. Now, I realized there was absolutely no need to spare her any dignity. In her eyes, I was nothing but a cowardly, useless dog. After dinner, while she was in the shower, I opened my Snapchat and looked at Ethan’s profile. My “new son-in-law” had just sent me a photo. It was a picture of workers renovating a house. It looked like the cozy home Ethan had promised to build for my “daughter.” It looked quite warm and inviting. I acted like a stern, distant father-in-law and replied with a single word: “Okay.” I wanted him to think he was still under my strict evaluation. Sure enough, Ethan took the bait. He immediately sent a long paragraph. He promised he would give Chloe the best life possible and begged me to trust him. I sneered. Trust him? Oh, I trusted him. But whether he would trust Chloe in the end was a different story. That night, I posted a Snapchat story hidden from everyone except Ethan. The caption read: “The wine rack is empty. Time to fill it up.” The photo was a picture of an empty wine cellar I found on Google. My dad’s 60th birthday bash was coming up in two days, and I was stressing over what gift to buy. Now, a perfect sponsor had delivered himself right to my door. It would be a waste not to use him. After all, I was letting him lease my wife. Charging a little “rental fee” was only fair.

Two days later, a package arrived at my door. When I opened it, I found a crate of ultra-premium vintage Scotch. I had to admit, my “new son-in-law” was far more filial than my actual wife. In all our years of marriage, Chloe had never bought a single thing for my father. It was always me bending over backward to please her parents. As long as she didn’t roll her eyes and embarrass my dad in public, it was considered a miracle. After receiving the gift, I sent Ethan a simple “Thank you” and told him I saw great potential in him. I told him that as long as he treated my daughter well, I would be completely satisfied. That evening, when Chloe came home from work and saw the expensive crate of Scotch in the living room, her face immediately darkened. “Why the hell did you buy such expensive liquor? Do you honestly think you’re worthy of drinking this?” I wasn’t. But your little boy toys certainly thought they were. “It’s not for me,” I said quietly. Chloe frowned, waving her hand dismissively. “Then send it to my dad’s house.” This was bought by *my* son-in-law to honor *me*. Why would I give it to your arrogant father? Why didn’t you ever think of giving anything to my dad to show some respect? I watched Chloe take off her makeup at her vanity. I decided to test her one more time. “Honey, do you remember what day it is in two days?” Chloe didn’t even look at me, her voice dripping with irritation. “How should I know? Whatever day it is, it has nothing to do with me.” As expected, she had completely forgotten about my dad’s 60th birthday bash. I came from a poor, small-town background. My family didn’t have money back then, so Chloe had always looked down on me, and she despised my parents even more. But it didn’t matter. Soon, I wouldn’t have to deal with her disgust anymore. I kept quiet and posted another Snapchat story, visible only to Ethan: “Got the drinks, now I just need a good buddy to share a glass with. Any takers?” Right on cue, Ethan messaged me within seconds. “Sir, I happen to be free tonight. I’d love to take you out for dinner. I promise I won’t tell Chloe. Would that be okay?” His words were so earnest, it was almost touching. “Well, I wouldn’t want to trouble you,” I replied with a cold grin. The kid was desperate to meet the parents so he could fast-track the marriage.

To make sure I didn’t ruin the disguise, I went to a professional theatrical makeup artist and got an SFX “elderly makeup” look. I put on my dad’s old, slightly oversized tweed jacket, looking exactly like a man in his late fifties, before heading to the restaurant. When I arrived, Ethan was already waiting. He was wearing a sharp suit, his hair slicked back, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Indeed, he was exactly Chloe’s type. Over the years, every single guy she cheated on me with looked exactly like this. She had absolutely no range. When Ethan saw me, he stood up quickly and jogged over, looking incredibly nervous. “Mr. Miller! Hello, sir. Wow, you look so young. You barely look older than me.” I nodded and smiled, playing along. Of course I looked young. I was only three years older than Chloe. “Thanks. Men don’t really do skin care, I just got lucky, I guess.” I kept my words brief and my voice low. The gap between thirty and fifty-eight is quite wide, and my SFX makeup wasn’t flawless. If he looked too closely, the game would be up, and I needed to keep the surprise alive for Chloe. Fortunately, Ethan was a young guy who didn’t know anything about makeup. He was too nervous to notice the details, and I managed to completely fool him. The kid was young and naive. He probably thought he had found a wealthy, sophisticated older woman who could help his career while giving him a passionate, tender romance. “It must be your great mindset, sir. That’s why you look so youthful. Honestly, with the way you carry yourself, if we walked down the street together, people would think you’re in your twenties. No wonder Chloe is so beautiful.” After saying this, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, wondering if his flattery was too obvious. “You’ve got a quick tongue, kid,” I laughed. He blushed, calling me “sir” with every sentence. Once we sat down, he pulled two boxes of premium Cuban cigars from his bag and presented them to me sheepishly. “I didn’t know if you smoked, sir, but I brought a little something. I hope you like it.” Fantastic. Another premium addition to my dad’s birthday gifts. My joy was genuine. I waved my hands, pretending to refuse. “Oh, no, no, I can’t take this. Only Chloe’s grandfather smokes in our family. I don’t smoke at all.” Hearing this, Ethan practically forced the cigars into my hands. “Then please give them to Granddad, sir! Just tell me what you like, and I’ll get it for you next time. Please don’t be polite with me. This is the least I can do. Once Chloe and I get married, I’ll take care of you and Mrs. Miller like my own parents.” “You’re a sincere kid. Alright, I won’t be polite. If I keep refusing, you might think I don’t approve of you.” I had to play my role perfectly—not too cold, but not too eager either, to avoid raising any suspicion. The show was just beginning, and I couldn’t afford to ruin it. This was going to be the grandest birthday gift for my dad. Seeing me accept the cigars, Ethan was over the moon. “Thank you, sir! I promise I will make Chloe the happiest woman in the world.” Suddenly, I felt a pang of pity for this idiot. He was going to such lengths for a washed-up, married woman. Did he have any idea what kind of monster Chloe really was? When she got bored of him, she would discard him without a single shred of mercy.

By the time I got home, Chloe was already there. Seeing me stumbling in smelling of alcohol, she marched over and slapped me across the face. “You didn’t come straight home after work? Where the hell were you fooling around, dressed like a pathetic old man? If you want to embarrass yourself, do it somewhere else! Don’t ruin my reputation!” I cupped my stinging cheek and took off my jacket, which reeked of alcohol. I pulled out the boxes of premium cigars from my bag and smiled. “A friend gave me these. Look how nice they are.” Chloe scoffed in disgust. “What class of friends could a loser like you possibly have? They probably gave you these cheap toys to beg you for a favor. As if a worthless piece of trash like you could ever get anything done.” Anger flared hot in my chest. What made Chloe think she was so superior? She had always looked down on my family and my friends, acting as if being poor was a heinous crime. The only reason I had tolerated her for so long was because her parents had helped me get my foot in the door at my current job. Otherwise, who would want to serve this spoiled princess? She was harder to please than royalty. But tonight was a massive win. Chloe had no idea about the expensive Scotch or the Cuban cigars. My “new son-in-law” had kept his word and hadn’t mentioned a thing to her. He had bought all of this out of his own pocket to impress his future “father-in-law.” This was getting highly entertaining. The day of Chloe’s public humiliation was drawing near.

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After seven years by Ethan Sinclair’s side, I had mastered the art of hiding my emotions. After a night of passion… Ethan casually said, “I’m getting engaged next month.” I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat and forced a breezy smile. “Oh, that’s great. Coincidentally, I’m getting married too.” Ethan’s smile turned icy. “Do you honestly think you can find a better man than me?” He thought I was joking. But when I officially announced my wedding… He completely lost his mind. I had been with Ethan for seven years. Over those seven years, we became so in sync we felt like real lovers. But we weren’t. I was Ethan’s executive assistant by day, and his secret, hidden lover by night. Nobody knew about our relationship. And of course, nobody knew just how wild and possessive the brilliant, cold CEO of Sinclair Enterprises could be behind closed doors. Right now, I was bending over to organize some files on his desk. Ethan wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, pulling me flush against his chest. His hot kisses trailed down my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I turned around, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him back. Looking at his handsome, chiseled face and dark, bottomless eyes, I comforted myself. Even without a title, staying with a man like this wasn’t a bad deal. But even though our bodies were tangled together, there was always an invisible distance between us. He was right there, yet he felt like sand slipping through my fingers.

I always knew Ethan and I belonged to different worlds. But after being together for so long, even a heart of stone would melt. I cared about him. I kept lying to myself, hoping I could stay by his side forever. I wondered if seven years could turn into a lifetime. But every sweet dream has an expiration date. Late at night, the balcony was bathed in dim light. I walked over quietly holding his bathrobe, wanting to remind him not to catch a cold since he had just recovered. But as I drew closer, I heard his voice. He was on the phone with his family, talking about how little I meant to him. “Chloe is just convenient. I’m used to her, so I don’t want to replace her.” “She’s been with me since college. She’s as clean as a blank sheet of paper. Isn’t that perfect for someone with my standards, unlike those wild girls in our social circle?” “Don’t worry, I’ll be back for the engagement next month.” “Chloe is obedient. She won’t make a scene.” I thought I could handle it. But hearing those words still made my heart ache intensely. I walked into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. Long, straight black hair. No makeup. Submissive. Obedient. I was exactly what he wanted me to be. But I wasn’t who I wanted to be. It was time. Let today be the final day of our seven years.

The night before his business trip. I went back to his penthouse to pack his bags. For seven years, I had always packed for his trips. I was used to it, and so was he. I took his shirts and suits from the closet, and organized his stomach medicine into a travel pillbox. I couldn’t help but nag him: “Leo is going with you this time, so I’ll stay behind. By the way, I finalized the details on the Dynatech contract. Tell Leo to bring the file tomorrow morning so you can sign it directly.” Ethan chuckled, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “My little manager. I’m realizing I really can’t live without you.” I patted his hand, gently slipped away, and continued packing. Once everything was done, I took a soft breath. “All set.” Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you don’t want to come? The hotel has a private hot spring. We can relax together after the meetings.” A hint of desire flickered in his dark, usually cold eyes. I kept my eyes down and smiled. “No, thanks. Let Leo go.” I stepped forward to loosen his tie. Everything felt normal, yet everything had changed. “What’s wrong with you tonight?” I looked up into his eyes. “Ethan, we’ve been together for seven years.” Ethan’s lips curved into a smirk. He patted his thigh, signaling me to sit. I didn’t move. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his lap. “Are you mad because I forgot our anniversary?” As soon as he spoke, I felt a cold touch on my collarbone. He had clasped a stunning, diamond-encrusted star necklace around my neck. Ethan kissed my earlobe, his hands sliding down my hips. “Do you like it? I bought it at an auction in London last week. It looks great against your fair skin.” “So, can I touch you now?” He pushed me down onto the sofa. At that moment, he probably thought a luxurious, expensive gift could buy my eternal devotion. Love? He didn’t have any, and in his eyes, I didn’t need it anyway. But he was wrong. I was done living a life where I felt like an afterthought. “Ethan, let’s break up.” Ethan frowned, his handsome brow furrowing. “Do you even know what you’re saying?” I turned and looked him dead in the eye. “I’m twenty-eight. I’m not young anymore. I want to go back home, find a nice man, and get married.” Ethan let go of me. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Through the swirling gray smoke, his face looked incredibly cold. When he finished, he crushed the cigarette butt and stood up. “Chloe, do you know what happens when you cross the line? I can let this little tantrum slide once, but never twice.” “I know.” Ethan gave me a mocking look. “Fine. If you want to break up, let’s break up. Coincidentally, I’m getting engaged next month anyway.” I forced a smile. “Oh. Then let me congratulate you in advance.” His eyes were freezing cold. But I had made my choice, and I wouldn’t look back. As he grabbed his coat and turned to leave, I called out to him. Ethan looked back over his shoulder. “Chloe, if you take back what you said before I walk out that door, I’ll pretend this never happened.” He thought I was just throwing a tantrum. But I wasn’t. I carefully took off the diamond necklace and placed it in his palm. “I won’t be needing this. And don’t worry, Mr. Sinclair. Once you walk out that door, I will never bother you again.” Ethan clenched his fist tightly. He didn’t look back. Instead, he threw the necklace into the trash can and slammed the door behind him. The moment he left, my composure crumbled. Tears streamed down my face. It felt like a giant hole had been carved out of my chest. The pain was excruciating. I knew that if I hadn’t made a scene tonight, I could have kept living here. We could have kept this arrangement going… Sweet, warm, but ultimately hollow. Because Ethan was going to get married. And I refused to be his mistress or destroy another woman’s family. It had to end.

Since I had decided to walk away, I wasn’t going to drag things out. That night, I packed my few belongings and wrote my resignation letter. The next morning, I handed it in. Since my role was specifically dedicated to assisting Ethan, there wasn’t much to hand over. Because Leo was still away on the business trip with Ethan, I just sent Leo a long, detailed handoff email on WhatsApp. Leo didn’t reply, probably because he was busy in meetings. It didn’t matter anymore. I went back to my desk and packed up my personal items. My coworkers were shocked that I was resigning. After all, I had been working for the notorious devil-boss for seven years, and I was the only one who could tolerate his temper. “Chloe, are you really leaving?” I smiled and nodded. “If you leave and the boss throws a fit… the entire assistant pool is going to suffer!” “But why? Sinclair Enterprises offers the best pay in the industry. You won’t find a better package elsewhere.” I gave them the honest truth. “I’m getting older. After grinding for so many years, I just want to settle down, marry a nice guy, and focus on family.” I said my goodbyes, held my cardboard box, and took the elevator down. In the lobby, I bumped right into a very pissed-off Ethan and a terrified Leo. I gave a polite, professional nod. “Goodbye.” Leo looked at me with deep regret. “Chloe, do you really have to go? Can’t you… reconsider?” Ethan cast a cold, indifferent glance at me. I gave a firm, polite smile. “No, thank you.” Ethan let out a cold snort and walked straight into the private elevator. Leo hurried after him. After leaving Sinclair Enterprises, I went back to my hometown. It wasn’t a massive metropolis like New York, but it was a beautiful, thriving college town. Thanks to Ethan, during those seven years of working all day and catering to him at night, I had saved up a hefty sum of money. While I wasn’t filthy rich, I had more than enough. Even with my mother’s medical bills, I was financially secure. Before, I lived to work. Now, I wanted to actually live. I took a teaching and research position at my alma mater. My old advisor had reached out to me a while back, asking if I wanted to join his research project. I was too busy being Ethan’s assistant back then, but now, I could fully commit to it. My new life became a peaceful routine: home, campus, lab. I was so busy I barely had time to think about Ethan. By mid-autumn, the department organized a faculty social event—essentially a mixer for the unmarried staff to mingle. We met at an upscale lounge downtown. My colleague from the department nudged me with her elbow. “Chloe, aren’t you single? You should keep your eyes open tonight.” “Yeah, a gorgeous girl like you deserves the best…” Before she could finish, the crowd started whispering excitedly, “Professor Vance is here!” “Oh wow, the competition is going to be fierce tonight. Julian Vance is a total catch… handsome, wealthy, and already a rising star in academia!” My colleague pushed me forward. “Chloe, go get him!” I looked up at the man walking toward us. Wait. Wasn’t that Julian, the boy next door from my childhood? I remembered Julian had gone to an Ivy League school and then vanished from my social circle after we lost touch. An old friend. A reunion. Julian was just as warm and gentle as he used to be. “Chloe, it’s been a long time.” “Julian, long time no see.”

Our colleagues immediately started teasing us. “Childhood sweethearts? What kind of fairytale is this? Kiss! Kiss!” “Chloe, if you miss out on a guy like this, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life! Go for it!” The girls playfully pushed me toward Julian. Tipsy from the wine, my foot slipped, and I stumbled. Alcohol always gets in the way. Julian gentlemanly reached out to steady me, but someone else beat him to it, gripping my arm with bruising force. “Ouch.” I looked up dazed, meeting a gaze cold enough to kill. Julian tried to pry me away from the man’s grip, but the intruder had absolutely no intention of letting go. “Who are you? Let her go!” “Ethan?” I stared at him in confusion. For a second, it felt like we were back in our private bubble, with only him and me. Ethan was flanked by a group of wealthy elites. Anyone could see he was someone powerful and not to be messed with. Ethan pulled me toward the exit. “She’s drunk. I’m taking her home.” At that moment, a pathetic part of me wanted to go with him. But I couldn’t. Swallowing my tears, I slowly pried his fingers off my arm. I turned and wrapped my arm around Julian’s, smiling brightly. “No need to trouble yourself, Mr. Sinclair. I already have a ride.” Ethan’s face darkened like a storm. He turned and walked into a private VIP room. Once he was gone, everyone finally let out a breath and began to gossip. “Oh my god, was that… Ethan Sinclair, the billionaire heir?” “Chloe, you know Ethan Sinclair? Are you guys close?” my colleague whispered curiously. “I used to work at Sinclair Enterprises. I was his assistant.” Everyone looked shocked. “Wow, he looks so intimidating. You’re amazing for surviving working under him.” “Seriously, rumor has it he has a terrible temper.” “Oh, by the way, I heard some gossip about him. Apparently, he has a childhood sweetheart who went abroad, some sort of first love. He hasn’t gotten married all these years because he was waiting for her… and she’s supposedly coming back soon.” “But didn’t the paparazzi snap photos of him with some mystery woman before? Well, billionaires keep their flings separate from their marriages. They only marry social peers. The women on the side are just toys they throw away. Right, Chloe? As his former assistant, you must know a lot, right?” I lowered my eyes, a bitter taste in my mouth. To Ethan, I was a secret lover, an employee, but never a partner or a wife. I used to be like a moth drawn to a flame, but now the fire was out. It was over. The party ended late. Julian drove me back and, worried about my safety, insisted on walking me to my door. “Thanks, Julian. It’s late, so I won’t invite you in for tea, but next time for sure.” Julian smiled and waved. “Don’t be so polite with me. Get some rest. Call me if you need anything.” “I will.” Once Julian left, I slumped against the door, completely exhausted. I thought I could remain unfazed when seeing Ethan again, but after all this time, I still couldn’t. The feeling of being controlled by my emotions made me feel suffocated and helpless. I decided to take a hot shower to wash away the day’s stress. Just then, the doorbell rang. Was Julian still here? I opened the door without thinking, only to be pulled into a burning, rock-hard embrace. I instinctively struggled…

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On his way home from collecting soda cans for recycling after school, my son was bitten by a stray dog. To save money, he tried to patch up the nasty wound himself with super glue and duct tape before coming home. With tears streaming down my face, I rushed him to a local urgent care clinic for a basic bandage. Leo looked at me, his eyes filled with guilt. “I’m sorry, Mom. The co-pay was ten dollars. That’s our food budget for the day.” But as we walked out, we saw my husband, Austin, at the luxury pet boutique next door. He was swiping his black card for his ex-girlfriend’s dog. “Mr. Miller is so sweet to his wife! He comes in every week to get the VIP spa package for Coco!” “I know, right? It costs thousands of dollars each time. He really spoils her.” Leo and I froze, staring at Austin in disbelief. He didn’t notice us. Holding the dog, he turned and got into a luxury car with Hailey. Leo pulled at my sleeve. “Didn’t Dad say his investments failed and he owes millions? Why is he spending so much on a dog?” I forced myself to calm down, desperately hoping there was some mistake. I walked into the pet shop to ask. But the clerk’s words threw us straight into an ice bath. “Are you asking about Mr. Miller? He’s our black card VIP. A few thousand dollars is pocket change to him.” “Even the pedigree French bulldog Mrs. Miller is holding is worth over a hundred thousand dollars.” I let out a bitter laugh and led Leo away, remaining silent the entire way home. Once inside, as I looked at his poorly bandaged wound, my tears finally spilled over. Leo also realized Austin had been lying. He looked incredibly confused. “Mom, if Dad is so rich, why did he lie to us?” “Does he not want us anymore?” Austin had never revealed his true financial background to me. Even when we got married, he only said he was doing some investments. Shortly after our wedding, he claimed his investments had crashed, leaving him with a seven-figure debt. To an ordinary family like ours, that was an astronomical sum. Yet, instead of leaving him, I took on three jobs to support us. Leo had been sensible since he was a toddler. Every day after school, he would collect cans to help ease my burden. Even when his classmates bullied and excluded him for it, he never regretted it. “If we save money fast enough, Dad can pay off his debts, and we can finally have a good life!” But now, I was being told that Austin had been playing broke all along. My son and I lived a life that wasn’t even as good as the dog owned by his ex-girlfriend! Pulled back to reality, I choked out a question to Leo, “If things change, do you want to live with Dad or Mom?” His eyes dimmed, and his voice trembled with fear. “Can Dad please not abandon us? I promise I’ll be good. I don’t want us to split up.” “Mom, can we give Dad one more week? I’ll talk to him!” Seeing how heartbroken my son was, I had no choice but to agree. Just then, the front door opened, and Austin walked in. Seeing us standing in the living room, he frowned slightly. “What’s going on? Why do you both look so miserable?” Leo spoke first. “Dad, I got bitten by a dog today. It hurts so bad…” He held up his hand. But seeing how raw and ugly the wound looked, Austin’s immediate reaction was disgust. “How could you be so careless? Did you waste more money at the clinic? Your mom and I work so hard. Can you stop being such a burden?” “No dinner for you tonight. Let this be a lesson.” I clenched my fists. “Your son is injured! If you don’t care, that’s one thing, but how dare you ban him from eating? Do you even care about this family?!” Austin had never seen me this angry. Once he recovered from his shock, he snapped back. As we stood there glaring at each other, Leo quickly stepped between us, pulling at my hand. “Mom, it’s fine. I’m not that hungry anyway.” “Dad is right. I caused trouble. I’ll go to my room and do my homework.”

Perhaps because the disappointment on Leo’s face was too obvious, Austin’s expression softened slightly. “Alright, Leo. How could I actually starve you?” “I had a business dinner today and brought home some leftovers. Take them to your room.” With that, he pulled a plastic container of leftover fish from his bag. It was fish. The one food Leo hated the most. Watching my son’s face fall even further, I snatched the container and threw it straight into the trash can. “Enough, Austin. We can make our own dinner. We don’t need your charity.” Austin’s brow furrowed deep. “Chloe, what the hell is wrong with you today? What did I do to trigger you?” “I brought that back specifically for you guys! That fish cost over a thousand dollars at the restaurant!” “Oh, so I should thank you?” I let out a cold laugh. “Do you even remember that Leo is deathly allergic to seafood?!” “For seven years, you haven’t contributed a single cent to this house. Every time I ask, you say you’re networking for clients. Has a single one of your deals actually succeeded?” Leo’s lower lip trembled, tears falling like broken pearls. But Austin didn’t even look at him. He turned toward the door, his voice dripping with disdain. “I knew you were just a gold-digger. Now you’re even using Leo’s allergy as an excuse to complain about money! If you look down on me that much, I’ll just leave.” Even at this point, he still thought I was just mad because he wasn’t giving me money. The anger in my chest was so sharp that it physically hurt. I bent over on the sofa, taking several minutes to catch my breath. Leo wiped away my tears. “Mom, don’t be sad. Dad is just angry.” Even though he was hurting, he was still trying to defend Austin just to keep the family together. He was such a sweet boy. I couldn’t bear to let him suffer in silence. I rubbed his head and forced a smile. “I know, sweetie. Mom is going to make you some delicious pasta now, okay?” Leo let out a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously. Once dinner was ready, he took my phone to send a Snapchat voice note to Austin. “Dad, Mom made pasta. Are you coming home to eat?” After sending it, Leo stared anxiously at the screen, waiting for a reply. But we finished our entire dinner, and all Austin sent back was a cold, brief text: “Busy.” I sighed and sent Leo to his room. Just as I was about to text Austin, I received a friend request on Snapchat. It was from Hailey. The moment I accepted, she sent over several videos. So, this was why Austin was “busy.” He was too occupied feeding Hailey’s dog to reply to his own son. In the videos, Austin was incredibly gentle and patient—a stark contrast to the cold man who had stood in our living room this afternoon. “Chloe, so what if you snatched him up and married him back then? His heart still only belongs to me.” “You can never beat me, and you don’t deserve to.” It was true. Back then, after Austin and Hailey broke up, he had suffered from severe depression. He had even tried to jump into a river to end his life. I had been secretly in love with him for a long time. I happened to be passing by and jumped in to save him without a second thought. When he woke up, he proposed, saying he wanted to take responsibility for me. At the time, I wasn’t sure if he was over her, so I rejected him. But Austin insisted. “Don’t worry. After facing death, I realize I just want to be with someone who truly loves me.” He made so many promises that I eventually agreed to be with him. We had been married for seven years. I had no idea when they had reconnected. I didn’t reply to Hailey. Instead, I quietly called a lawyer friend of mine. “Hey, Serena. Help me draft a divorce agreement.”

Serena asked in utter disbelief, “Chloe, you’ve finally woken up? You’re actually leaving that toxic man after sacrificing everything for him?” It turned out my friends had seen the truth much clearer than I had. I gave a quiet “Yeah.” Serena’s voice instantly turned ecstatic. “That is amazing! Chloe, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted you to get out of that miserable marriage. Don’t worry, I’ll have the divorce papers drafted as fast as humanly possible!” Hearing her excitement, my feelings remained incredibly complicated. Before marrying Austin, I had my own life. Back then, I was successful, bright, and full of life. But during these seven years with Austin, it felt like I had completely lost myself. I had given up my career, distanced myself from my friends and family, and dedicated every waking hour to him. I poured all my love and energy into him. Only to end up with nothing, living like a hollow shell of a person. I chatted with Serena for a few more minutes before hanging up. The moment I looked down at my phone, the screen lit up with more notifications from Hailey. She had sent a barrage of videos and photos to mock me. She bragged about how attentive Austin was. “See this? Austin always brushes my dog’s coat so gently. He even prepares warm water to massage my feet.” There were dozens of similar texts. I wanted to ignore them. But when I thought about how my son was injured today while his father was playing house with another woman, the anger inside me boiled over. I opened the chat and fired back. “If he loves you so much, why hasn’t he divorced me yet? Do you enjoy being a homewrecker that much?” “If you send me one more of these pathetic brag posts, I will post them all over Instagram and make sure everyone knows exactly what you are.” She didn’t reply. I assumed she was fuming. Just as I let out a sigh of relief, I heard a sound behind me. I turned around to see Leo. I didn’t know how long he had been standing there. But it was obvious he had heard everything. He knew I was going to divorce Austin. Children aren’t good at hiding their emotions, but Leo tried his best to be strong. His little face was pale, and though he held back his tears, his voice shook. “Mom… are you really never going to forgive Dad?” Looking at the faint hope in his eyes, my heart ached. A child his age shouldn’t have to face the pain of his parents splitting up. I felt incredibly guilty. Even though Leo was so young, he had worked so hard to make this family happy. I knelt down and pulled him into a tight hug. “Don’t worry, baby. I remember my promise to you. We’ll give him one more week.” If, after a week, he still hadn’t changed, I would take Leo and leave. Leo hugged me back tightly, full of love. We comforted each other before heading to our respective rooms to sleep. For once, I didn’t stay up waiting for Austin. I knew he wouldn’t be coming back tonight anyway. To my surprise, in the middle of the night, a loud noise came from the front door. Austin had stumbled home, completely drunk. The moment the door opened, he almost collapsed. I caught him out of instinct. Instantly, a sweet, sickly perfume filled my nose. I knew that scent—it was Hailey’s. A wave of nausea hit my stomach. While the door was still open, I dragged Austin right back out into the hallway. Then I slammed the door shut and locked it. The whole process took less than five seconds.

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My mother was a pathological liar. She loved playing the victim, and she always used me as her scapegoat. When I was a kid, she stayed out late at her poker games and forgot to cook dinner. In front of the whole family, she slapped me hard across the face. “This brat ran off somewhere, and I had to spend hours looking for her! That’s why dinner isn’t ready!” As a punishment, I was locked out in the freezing backyard all night. During middle school, before a crucial exam, the teacher repeatedly reminded parents to pack all the required materials. But Mom didn’t pack anything for me. Afterward, she stood in front of my classmates and lied. “I packed everything for her. She just didn’t want to take the test, so she threw them away on her way to school!” For the rest of my school years, I was completely isolated by everyone. When I grew up, she would often cry to me late at night. “Your father has abused me for so many years. I only stayed in this marriage for you.” Out of pity, I advised her to get a divorce. But she turned around, twisted my words, and ran straight to my father. “Your daughter is begging me to divorce you! She said she doesn’t want a loser father like you! I couldn’t bear to listen to her, so I had to tell you!” My father flew into a violent rage. In the heat of the moment, he pushed me down the stairs. I died instantly. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day my mother first cried to me about my father…

“Chloe, your father is a monster…” “If it weren’t for you, I would have left him a long time ago.” My mother’s familiar voice echoed in my ears. I gasped, my eyes flying open. I saw my mother sitting on the edge of my bed, tears streaming down her face. Hearing the exact same words from my past life, I finally realized—I had been reborn. “My life has been so miserable…” She held my hand, her tears falling onto my skin. Just like in my past life, her act was incredibly convincing. This time, I didn’t rush to comfort her. I just quietly wiped her tears off my hand. “Mom,” I said softly, “Dad… can really be too much sometimes.” Sensing that she had found an outlet, she cried even harder. “He doesn’t care about this family! He keeps all the money to himself! He makes us live like beggars!” “Last week, I told him I wanted a new dress, and he screamed at me like I was trash!” I listened quietly, mocking her in my mind. Last week? Last week, Dad literally bought her a gold necklace. She had bragged about it to her poker friends, claiming she bought it with her own secret savings. “And yesterday!” She sniffled. “I just wanted to have a steak, and he threw his fork, calling me wasteful!” Yesterday, Dad was away on a business trip and didn’t get home until midnight. I reached out and gently patted her back. “Mom, don’t make yourself sick over this.” She immediately grabbed my hand like a lifeline. “You understand me! Only you understand me!” Her tears flowed on command. Her acting was flawless. “I can’t live like this for another day! If it weren’t for you, I would have…” She stopped abruptly, her eyes secretly scanning my face to see my reaction. In my past life, I had fallen for it. I had said: “If it weren’t for me, you would have divorced him, right? I’m so sorry you had to suffer for me, Mom…” I thought it was a warm moment of mother-daughter bonding. But she immediately twisted my words and painted me as the ungrateful daughter who tried to break up her parents’ marriage. In this life, I would never make the same mistake. “Mom,” I interrupted her, my voice remaining calm and gentle. “This is between you and Dad. You are both adults. Whatever you choose to do, it’s your decision.” My mother froze. Her crying stopped instantly. A flash of confusion crossed her face. She clearly hadn’t expected this response. In my past life, I would have already been raging alongside her. “Chloe, what… what do you mean by that? Isn’t Mom doing all of this for you?” “For me?” I looked at her, my eyes calm. “Mom, I’m an adult now. Your happiness shouldn’t be tied to me.” My mother’s eyes began to dart around. She let go of my hand and hurriedly wiped her tears. “Are you… are you tired of me? Do you think I’m annoying?” “No,” I shook my head. “I just think this is a marital issue. As your daughter, it’s not appropriate for me to interfere.” Look at her. She didn’t want a divorce at all. She just needed the “sacrificing for my child” excuse to gain sympathy, making all her complaints and demands seem justified. I sneered inwardly and spoke slowly. “Mom, I’m a bit tired.” My mother froze, staring at me as if trying to figure out if I was lying. She opened her mouth, wanting to say more. But I beat her to it. I lay down and turned my back to her. “Mom, you should get some rest too.” It was quiet behind me for a moment. Finally, I heard her stand up and walk toward the door. “Fine. Go to sleep then.” By midnight, there was no sound outside. I finally relaxed, thinking she didn’t suspect anything. But the next second, a faint voice coming from the crack of the door made my blood run cold. My mother was sneaking around in the kitchen, making a phone call. Her voice was filled with an excitement she couldn’t hide. “Don’t worry, she didn’t suspect a thing… Wait for my next move.”

The next morning, my mother woke me up as if nothing had happened. “Chloe, wake up! I made you some fried eggs.” She smiled too lovingly. A chill ran down my spine. Something felt off. Dad was sitting at the table reading the newspaper, not even looking up. “Mark, eat more,” my mother said, pushing the milk toward him, her voice sickeningly sweet. This unusual harmony was even more alarming than her crying yesterday. What was going on? Did she find out something? After breakfast, my mother affectionately held my arm. “Chloe, can you come to the bank with me? Something is wrong with my debit card. You’re young and understand this stuff. Help me check it.” My heart skipped a beat. This didn’t happen in my past life. Why was she suddenly asking me to go to the bank? To keep her from suspecting anything, I forced a smile and nodded. “Sure.” At the bank, my mother dragged her feet at the counter. “Oh dear, I forgot my password again…” The bank teller looked annoyed. My mother suddenly grabbed me. “Chloe, did you bring your Social Security card and ID? Let’s just open a new account under your name for now to handle this. I’ll transfer the money back later.” The desperation in her eyes wasn’t because she forgot her password. She was waiting for me to take the bait. I suddenly remembered that in my past life, around this time, she had asked for my SSN and ID under the guise of “helping me invest.” A month later, a massive fraudulent loan was taken out in my name. “I didn’t bring them,” I said apologetically. “Mom, why don’t you go home and find Dad’s ID instead?” My mother’s face instantly darkened, but she quickly forced a creepy smile. “You silly child, always so forgetful…” On the way back from the bank, she was silent. When we got close to our apartment, she suddenly stopped. “Chloe, look. Is that Mrs. Davis over there?” I looked in the direction she pointed. The entrance of the building was completely empty. “Where? I don’t see Mrs. Davis.” As I turned back, my heart plummeted. I saw my mother’s hand quickly pulling away from my coat pocket. She had put something in my pocket. “Maybe I saw wrong,” she said casually, walking ahead. I forced myself to stay calm and reached into my pocket. My fingers touched a small, hard, rectangular object. It wasn’t money. I pretended to tie my shoelace, pulled it out, and took a quick glance. It was a strange, unregistered SIM card. My heart stopped. Why did she want my ID and this unregistered SIM card? Was my tragic death in my past life connected to this? Come to think of it, the balcony railing just happened to break at that exact time, causing me to fall. Something was definitely wrong. That night, while taking a shower, I flushed the SIM card down the drain. When I stepped out of the bathroom, my mother was standing at the door with a glass of milk, smiling warmly. “Chloe, drink some milk before bed. It helps you sleep.” I stared at the white liquid. In my past life, she was always this “thoughtful.” “Thanks, Mom.” I took the glass. I walked back into my room and poured the milk straight into a potted plant. Late at night, I was awakened by a faint sound. Under the crack of my door, the light from the living room was partially blocked. Someone was standing right outside my door. I held my breath. I heard my mother’s whispered, amused voice, speaking to someone on her phone: “Everything is set… This time, I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong.” “After all, she failed the test last time, didn’t she?”

The blood in my veins completely froze. Test? What did she mean by that? The footsteps outside faded, but I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. The next morning, my mother was busy in the kitchen again. “Chloe, I made your favorite pasta.” She blew on it and brought it to my mouth. “Here, eat it while it’s hot.” I looked at her and didn’t move. Her eyes welled with tears. “I know you’ve been stressed lately, but you have to eat.” I took the bowl. “I’ll do it myself.” I pretended to take a bite, but deliberately flipped my wrist, spilling the hot pasta all over my clothes. “Oh my god!” my mother shrieked, jumping up. A flash of intense disappointment crossed her eyes. It wasn’t concern. It was… anger because her plan had failed. She quickly switched back to a worried mother. “Did you get burned? Oh, sweetie, how could you be so careless!” She rushed over, frantically wiping me down, but her nails dug painfully into my arm. Half an hour later, my stomach began to cramp violently. I rushed to the bathroom and threw up everything. My mother stood at the door. There was no panic in her voice, only a chilling, expected calmness. “See? That’s what happens when you don’t eat breakfast. Your stomach is ruined.” My vision blurred, and cold sweat soaked my clothes. Dad came out of his room, hearing the noise. “What’s going on?” My mother immediately began her performance, pointing at me dramatically. “Your daughter is such a picky eater! She refuses to eat anything I make! She claims my cooking is trash and now she’s given herself food poisoning!” The next second, she patted my head gently, pretending to be understanding. “Forget it, I shouldn’t argue with a child.” “Quick, Mark, drive her to the hospital!” In the emergency room, the doctor took one look at my symptoms and diagnosed me. “Food poisoning. We need to pump her stomach.” The nurse brought over a consent form. “She needs to fast completely before the procedure.” I nodded weakly. My mother suddenly grabbed the nurse’s hand. “No way! She hasn’t eaten anything. How can she survive on an empty stomach!” “Ma’am, this is hospital policy…” “What policy! My daughter is about to collapse!” She turned around, holding a bowl of noodles from God knows where. “Chloe, listen to Mom. Just take one bite!” The fork was shoved forcefully against my lips. I clamped my mouth shut and turned my head away. “Mom… the doctor said… I can’t eat…” “What do doctors know! I’m doing this for your own good!” her voice cracked with fake tears. “Are you trying to starve yourself to death?” She grabbed my shoulders roughly. I kept my lips sealed. The hot sauce smeared on my face, burning my skin. “The patient must fast!” the nurse tried to stop her. My mother shoved her away. “She’s my daughter! I decide!” The room fell into utter chaos. The doctor rushed in, his face grim. “What is going on with this family?” My mother immediately let go of me. She took a step back, her tears falling instantly. She pointed at me and cried to the doctor: “Doctor, please talk to her! She was crying because she was so hungry and insisted on eating. I… I had no choice but to feed her…” Lying on the bed, watching her performance, I felt completely cold. The doctor frowned. “She clearly refused to eat just now.” My mother’s crying stopped abruptly. She widened her eyes, looking at the doctor and then at me in disbelief, as if she was the one who had been deeply wronged. “Chloe… how… how could you lie? You were the one who begged me for pasta!” She turned to the other patients in the room, seeking validation. “This child is just so stubborn… even when she’s sick, she has to torture me…” The doctor didn’t have time for her drama. He pushed my bed straight into the procedure room and started the stomach pump. The moment the tube was inserted down my throat, I stared blankly at my mother’s silhouette outside the glass door. Standing in the shadows of the hallway, the corner of her mouth seemed to… curve upward.

The moment the procedure was over and the doctor left the room, my mother rushed to my bedside. “Chloe, I know it hurts.” Her tears were fast and convincing. “It’s all my fault for not taking good care of you…” Dad stood by the side, his face dark. My mother suddenly turned to him, her voice trembling. “Mark, Chloe was murmuring things while she was half-conscious…” My heart tightened. I didn’t know what kind of trick she was playing now. The next second, she grabbed my hand tightly, her voice full of grievance. “She said… she said she can’t stand this family anymore. She begged me… begged me to divorce you!” Dad glared at me instantly. “She said you’re a loser, and she’d rather not have you as a father!” “Bullshit!” I struggled to sit up, but my throat felt like it was on fire. My mother held me down, sobbing hysterically. “Mark! She’s in this state, why would I lie! She said it herself!” Dad’s chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot. “You ungrateful brat!” He shoved my mother aside and lunged at me. “Dad! She’s lying!” My mother grabbed Dad’s waist from behind, screaming at me, “Chloe, run! Your dad is going to kill you!” She looked like she was holding him back, but she was actually pushing him toward me. Triggered by her actions, Dad completely lost control. He grabbed a glass cup from the table and threw it at me. I rolled over to dodge. Shattered glass flew everywhere. “You rebellious brat!” Dad broke free from her grip, lunging at me like a madman. I ran out of the room and headed for the stairs. “Stop her! Don’t let her do anything stupid!” my mother screamed from behind, her voice laced with hidden excitement. Dad’s heavy footsteps chased close behind. Weakened from the stomach pumping, I couldn’t run far before Dad grabbed my arm. He dragged me to the car and locked me inside. No matter how much I begged, he only replied coldly: “Just wait until we get home.” The front door of our apartment was kicked open. I was thrown violently onto the living room floor. “I am going to beat some respect into you today!” He grabbed my hair and dragged me toward the balcony. “Weren’t you trying to force your mother to kill herself? You can go first!” My mother rushed over, grabbing Dad’s arm, her voice shrieking, “Mark! No! That’s your daughter!” But her body was strategically blocking my path back to the living room. Dad threw me onto the balcony. My back slammed against the railing. The rusted metal gave a sharp creak, shaking slightly. Dad approached me, his knuckles cracking. “Dad! Look at Mom! Look at what she’s doing!” I screamed hoarsely. With bloodshot eyes, Dad couldn’t hear a word. My mother was crouching slightly behind Dad, her hands resting weakly on the railing, pretending to cry and beg. “Mark, please, don’t do this to her…” But in Dad’s blind spot, her right hand was hidden under her palm, quickly turning the loose screw at the base of the railing, turn after turn. Her movements were practiced and completely silent. In my past life, at this exact moment, that screw had been loosened the exact same way. Why did my mother want me dead so badly? Was I destined to die the same tragic death in this life too? No, I refused to accept this. I stared at my mother’s face, watching her flawless performance, and suddenly, everything clicked. I finally understood! I finally figured out why she needed me dead!

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My parents used to love me more than life itself. Because I loved figure skating, they built a massive, professional-grade ice rink right on our estate. My mother, who had never done a day of manual labor in her life, learned professional sports massage therapy just for me. My father personally cooked all my meals and stayed up all night watching me practice. I believed I was the luckiest girl in the world. Until my parents had Lily. Lily was born with severe congenital cognitive delay. One day, she sneaked onto the ice by herself and fell hard. Just as I was rushing to help her up, my mother grabbed my hair and slapped me hard across the face. “We gave you everything, and this is how you treat Lily? You tried to kill her!” My father looked at me with deep disappointment and ordered me to apologize to Lily. But my mother screamed hysterically, “An apology? How is a wicked brat like her ever going to learn her lesson from just an apology?” “Since you love figure skating so much, you can skate out there until you rot!” My mother stripped me of my warm clothes and forced me onto the ice. My bare skin immediately stuck to the freezing ice. Every single move I made tore at my flesh, causing agonizing pain. I held back my tears, not daring to make a sound or stop. I had to keep dancing. I had to skate until my parents loved me again.

“Mom… Chloe is so cold…” My voice trembled, and my breath smelled of copper and blood. My parents used to tell me that this ice rink was built by top-tier professionals and that the temperature could be adjusted. But now, to punish me, Mom had turned the temperature down to minus thirty degrees. Whenever I used to come in here, they would bundle me up like a marshmallow. But now, my nearly bare body was shaking violently. And someone had filled my skates with thumbtacks. Every single step was a sharp, piercing torture. Still, I told myself that Mom loved me. If I just apologized properly, she would forgive me. But across the heavy glass door, my mother’s angry scream shattered my last hope. “Shut up! Lily was only wearing a t-shirt today. Did you strip her jacket off?” “Lily knows when she’s cold! You must have taken it off her, you wicked girl! How dare you complain about being cold? You deserve to freeze to death!” I wanted to tell her it wasn’t me. But then I remembered the time I went to make Lily’s baby formula, and she accidentally swallowed an eraser from my desk. Mom had made me kneel outside in the freezing wind all night. I had cried and said it was an accident. But Mom had slapped me. “Lily doesn’t know any better! You must have put it there on purpose to choke her!” “Why are you so malicious? Have we not been good to you? Do you have to kill her to be satisfied?” “Don’t try to manipulate me with your tears! I despise your fake innocence!” I swallowed my explanations along with my tears. Once, when I was younger, I accidentally broke my late grandmother’s vintage vase. But Mom had rushed over to check if I was hurt first. When I cried out of guilt, she gently wiped my tears away. “Nothing in this world is more important than my Chloe.” “When you cry, my heart breaks.” I didn’t want Mom’s heart to break. And I didn’t want Mom to hate me. If I just kept skating, she would forgive me. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up from the ice. My burning skin was stuck to the frozen surface. The moment it tore away, the pain almost made me pass out. The tacks dug deep into the soles of my feet, but I forced myself to keep moving, keep dancing. Until my body grew completely stiff. My teeth chattered uncontrollably, and my feet refused to take another step. Through the glass, I heard Mom’s voice. “Sweetheart, Lily, Mom is going to take you out for some delicious pancakes.” The footsteps of my mother and Lily faded away. I panicked and screamed toward the door. “Mom! Don’t leave! Mom…” The footsteps grew quieter and quieter. Mom had completely forgotten about me. My heart felt frozen solid, cold and aching. I collapsed onto the ice, curling into a tight ball. “It’s okay. Mom loves Chloe. She’ll come back for me.” I whispered to comfort myself, and eventually, I drifted off to sleep. It felt so warm, like I was back in my parents’ loving embrace. I was still their precious little girl. I smiled in my sleep, and then I saw Dad coming home. He was carrying my favorite strawberry cake in his hand. “Where’s Chloe? I was too harsh on her last night. I bought her favorite cake.” Hearing Dad’s words made my chest tighten. My heart ached, like it was being gently scratched by a kitten. “Dad…” I ran over to hug him, but my arms passed straight through his body. I couldn’t touch him at all. I looked down at my transparent hands. Slowly, the realization hit me. Chloe was dead. Would Mom and Dad finally forgive me now?

“Harsh?” Mom let out a cold laugh. She pulled up Lily’s sleeve, revealing the fresh bandages underneath. “We’ve been more than good to her! And how does she repay us? By hurting Lily! I only gave her a little punishment. How is that harsh?” Mom was right. I had already received so much. It was fine if I didn’t get to eat the cake. I shouldn’t be so selfish. Yet, when Mom cut the cake, she still subconsciously left the biggest slice for me. Dad smiled softly. “Alright, I know how much you love both of our girls.” “Go call her down for dinner. You’ll be the one crying if she goes hungry.” Mom pursed her lips but didn’t argue. I floated behind Dad as he walked up to my room. “Chloe, dinner’s ready.” He opened the door, but the room was empty. He searched room after room, but I was nowhere to be found. His expression grew tense as he walked toward the private ice rink. My heart instantly leaped into my throat. I knew what I looked like right now. My body was frozen solid, covered in blood. It was too ugly. I didn’t want Mom and Dad to see me like this. I stood in front of the door, trying desperately to block him. But just as his hand touched the doorknob. Lily accidentally bumped her head in the living room and started crying. Dad froze. He turned around anxiously. “What happened to Lily?” Mom cradled Lily in her arms, shushing her. “Lily is hungry! How long are you going to keep looking for that ungrateful brat?” “She probably ran off to one of her friends’ houses. She can’t handle the slightest bit of discipline. Lily has it a hundred times harder than her!” My parents always said that it was a miracle Lily even survived. They told me to look after her, to love her just as much as they loved me. So, I learned how to prep her baby formula and change her diapers. I learned to give Lily the first bite of everything, and I washed her clothes. Chloe had tried so hard. Why did Mom still call me an ungrateful brat? Dad sighed. “Honey, I know taking care of Lily is exhausting for you.” “But Chloe has always been a good kid. She would never leave without saying anything.” He pulled out his phone and called my friend Audrey’s mother. “Is Chloe over at Audrey’s place?” Audrey’s mom laughed on the other end. “Didn’t Audrey say she was having a sleepover at Chloe’s tonight? You guys didn’t know?” The call ended. Dad’s knuckles turned white as he gripped his phone. My gentle father was angry for the first time. “She left without a word, and now she’s staying out all night!” Mom smirked, as if she had expected this all along. “I told you, that girl is rotten to the core. So young, and already lying and sneaking out.” “Forget about her. Let’s eat.” I didn’t lie. I really didn’t. Audrey and I weren’t even real friends. She loved to bully me, but she always turned it around and told everyone I was the bully. At first, my parents believed me. But then Audrey’s mom came over and showed them a video of me allegedly hitting Audrey. They made me get on my knees and beg Audrey for forgiveness. Audrey said she forgave me and still wanted to be my best friend. My parents praised her for having a good heart. But they never noticed the tiny AI watermark in the bottom corner of the video. After that, Audrey used my name as an excuse whenever she snaked out to party. And if I dared to tell the truth, she would have her friends beat me up even harder. I wanted to scream the truth, but no one could hear me. Helplessly, I sat by the corner of the dining table, watching my parents feed Lily. My slice of the cake was tossed into the trash can by my mother. I reached out to grab it. But I couldn’t reach the cake. And I could never reach their trust again.

After dinner, Mom dressed Lily in a beautiful outfit. Dad warmed up a bottle of milk and put it in his pocket. “Lily said she wanted to go to the amusement park. Let’s go.” The amusement park. Chloe wanted to go, too. In the past, no matter how busy Dad was, he would always make time for me. Mom would always pack my favorite snacks. But later, Dad was always “too busy.” And Mom would sneer, “Why would a wicked girl like you deserve to go to an amusement park?” But now, my soul was tethered to them, dragged along as they walked out the door. Mom, look! I get to go to the amusement park with you now. Along the way, whatever Lily wanted to eat or buy, my parents immediately got it for her. It made my chest feel tight. Like I had eaten a hundred sour lemons. But it was okay. I patted myself. As long as they were happy, it was okay. After they got off the carousel, the three of them took a family photo. Dad stared at the picture on his phone for a long time, silent. “Next time, let’s bring Chloe too.” Mom’s expression soured, but she didn’t say no. As they were heading over to watch the fireworks, they ran into Audrey, who was hanging out with a group of older boys. But I wasn’t with her. Dad frowned, confused. “Audrey, isn’t Chloe with you?” Whenever Audrey snuck out with boys, she used my name. This time was no different. Her eyes darted around quickly, and she put on a fake, worried face. “Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller… please don’t tell Chloe I told you… but she’s actually off with her boyfriend.” “She asked me to cover for her.” Mom’s body began to shake with rage. Her face turned bright red, and she gritted her teeth. “That cheap girl! Sneaking out to be with boys at her age!” “How did I raise such a shameless creature?!” Dad’s fists clenched tightly. He couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure about this, Audrey?” Audrey exchanged a glance with the boys behind her and nodded solemnly. “It’s true! Her boyfriend is a bad guy who steals money from other kids and bullies people. Chloe does it too, and she even smokes.” “And whenever she took Lily out, she would pinch her. Lily probably still has the bruises on her arms.” Mom’s eyes widened in horror. She immediately pulled up Lily’s sleeves. Sure enough, there were dark, purple bruises scattered across her skin. But Audrey was the one who did that! Audrey had sneaked into our house, cornered Lily, and pinched her. When I tried to stop her, Audrey called her friends to beat me up. They had pushed me into the freezing lake on our property. If Dad hadn’t come home early that day, I would have drowned. I was only trying to protect Lily! I didn’t do those things! I never did! Audrey did all of it!! “Mom, Dad, I didn’t!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, floating right in front of their faces, but they couldn’t hear a thing. Their eyes grew colder and colder. Even Dad, who had always tried to believe in me, clutched his chest in agony. He gasped for air, his face turning pale. “How… how did I raise such a monster?” “Is she really just born wicked?!” Dad’s voice cracked. His heart condition was flaring up. I panicked, circling around him, but my ghostly hands couldn’t do anything to help. Mom’s hands shook as she fed him his nitro pills while trying to calm a crying Lily. “Robert, we need to go to the hospital…” “This is all because of that cursed girl. She scared Lily, and now she’s giving you a heart attack.” “She wanted to freeze Lily to death… what did I do to deserve a daughter like her?!” Once he stabilized, Dad shook his head. He closed his eyes in deep exhaustion. “Let’s go home.” They said goodbye to Audrey and drove back with Lily. Once Lily was asleep, Mom marched into my bedroom and began smashing everything in sight. “Bitch! Monster! You don’t deserve to be my daughter!” She tore my photos off the wall and trampled on my face with her heels. “You don’t deserve me! You don’t!” The letters I wrote her, the drawings I made. And the trophies I had bled and cried to win. Everything was destroyed. I stared blankly at the ruins of my room, feeling as if my own heart had been trampled into pieces. It hurt so bad. Mom, please don’t hate Chloe, okay? I couldn’t bear to watch anymore. I floated down to the ice rink where Dad was standing. He had called a crew of workers over, his voice cold. “Demolish the ice rink.” Dad once told me that even if I grew tired of figure skating. They would keep this rink for me forever. Because I would always be their precious girl. But now, they believed I was a monster who hurt my own sister. Even Dad hated me now. My tears fell, splashing onto the cold floor, but I couldn’t wipe them away. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… I’m sorry…” The construction crew worked quickly. They brought in heavy machinery to break up the thick ice. And with it, my frozen, brittle body was shattered into pieces. “Wait, did we hit something?” One of the workers frowned, looking at the dark red blood spreading across the cracked ice. It was my leg. It had been severed by the drill. And my neck. I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to scare you. I wish Chloe could have died a bit cleaner. I curled up in the corner. It was so, so cold. The workers turned pale and immediately called the police. One of them ran to get my parents, his voice trembling. “You… you guys! There’s a dead body in your ice rink!”

Mom had just finished bathing Lily and was putting her to bed. Hearing the worker’s words, she snapped, screaming in anger, “What the hell are you talking about? Say something that cursed again and I’ll have you fired!” “My child is sleeping! If you scare her, I’ll sue you!” The worker, getting yelled at for no reason, lost his temper too. “Sue me? I don’t even want this cursed job! You’ve got a dead body in there and you didn’t even know!” Dad gently patted Mom’s back to calm her down. He tried to keep his voice polite. “There must be a misunderstanding. No one has used the rink in days.” The last time anyone was in there was three days ago. After Lily fell, they had locked the doors. And since they assumed I was just a rebellious brat staying out late. They never would have guessed it was me. Instead, Mom seemed to realize something. She let out a bitter, mocking laugh. “It must be that little bitch!” “She’s so malicious. I bet she threw a dead stray cat in there just to spite me!” “How did I give birth to someone so disgusting?” The worker stared at her in utter disbelief. “Do you think I can’t tell the difference between a human corpse and a cat?!” But Mom wasn’t listening. In her mind, I was already the epitome of evil. No matter what the worker said, she just waved her hand dismissively. “Just get back to work.” Dad frowned, a sudden chill running down his spine. “When did Chloe actually leave the rink that night?” Mom sighed, annoyed. “With her spoiled attitude? She probably couldn’t last five minutes before she ran out.” Dad wanted to say more. But Lily started crying inside. The two of them rushed back into the house. Just a few feet away from my shattered body, they chose to walk in the opposite direction. The worker spat on the ground, furious. “What kind of parents are they? Absolute psychopaths!” “I’m out of here!” He was angry on my behalf. I sniffed and whispered softly, “Thank you, sir.” But honestly, rather than my body being found. I wished it would just disappear so it wouldn’t scare anyone. And since my parents hated Chloe so much, they probably didn’t want to hear about my death anyway. This was fine. But a short while later. The police arrived, knocking loudly on the front door. Mom, highly stressed, opened the door with a glare. “What do you want?” The officer showed his badge. “We received a report of a deceased body inside your private ice rink.” “We need to go in and inspect the premises immediately.” Mom glared at the construction worker standing behind the police, her teeth clenched. “I told you it was a stray cat! Was it really necessary to call the cops?” “What if you wake up my daughter?” The worker didn’t even look at her. He turned to Dad. “You guys can find someone else to demolish this place. We don’t deal with dead bodies!” Dad rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. He apologized to the police and tried to explain, “Our oldest daughter is just playing a prank.” “There can’t be a body. It’s late, please leave.” But the officers pushed past them, entering the estate. “Please do not obstruct our investigation.” Mom was furious, but she couldn’t stop them. “Fine! Go look! Let’s see what kind of joke you find!” Lily had been woken up by the noise, so Mom had to carry her along. I floated in front of them, trying to block Lily’s eyes. She was so little. What if she had nightmares? But no matter how frantic I was, I couldn’t touch them. As they passed my bedroom door, Lily tugged on Mom’s sleeve. Mom kissed her forehead gently. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you scared of Chloe?” “It’s okay, baby. Chloe isn’t here. She can’t hurt you anymore.” Lily kept shaking her head, but Mom didn’t understand what she meant. Instead, one of the officers turned and asked, “Where is your other daughter?” Before Mom could start screaming insults about me. Dad quickly interrupted. “She’s staying over at a friend’s house.” I knew why. Dad’s career was on the rise. He didn’t want the police to know that Chloe was a delinquent. So, Dad lied. Mom muttered under her breath, “It’s all because of that curse of a girl, seriously…” Before she could finish her sentence. The heavy doors to the ice rink were pushed open. The overwhelming stench of iron and blood filled the air, making Mom gag. A young officer inside gasped, his voice cracking. “Chief! The body… it’s a young girl!”

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Just because my little brother, Liam, tripped while we were out, my mother forced me to spend the night alone in the pouring rain in the remote forest trail. I never expected to be targeted by a serial killer. As my life slipped away from over a dozen stab wounds, I called my mother, sobbing and begging her to save me. But she only answered with sheer disgust. “Stop acting, Ethan! You’re just doing this because you can’t handle a little hardship and want attention.” “How did I give birth to a monster like you? You pushed Liam on purpose, and now you’re playing the victim! I wish you were dead! Just looking at you makes me sick!” She didn’t know that I wasn’t lying. But when she finally saw my cold, mutilated corpse, she completely lost her mind. Five minutes after my death, my soul drifted uncontrollably back to my mother’s side. Right now, she was holding Liam’s hand, looking incredibly anxious. “Don’t be scared, Liam. Mom is right here. You’ll be fine. Let’s get the doctor to examine you in a minute to make sure you didn’t get hurt from that fall.” The worry and tenderness on her face were so intense they practically overflowed. It was a side of her I had spent my entire life trying to see, but never did. Whenever she faced me, she was always cold, her voice filled with nothing but complaints and accusations. Liam gripped her arm tightly, looking up with wide, innocent eyes. “Mom… why did Ethan push me? Did I do something wrong?” As he spoke, big tears welled up in his eyes. He looked incredibly pitiful. My mother could never stand to see him cry. Every time he shed a tear, regardless of the truth, she would punish me severely. Sure enough, the moment she heard my name, her expression twisted with rage. “You did absolutely nothing wrong, sweetie! It’s all because of your ungrateful wretch of a brother. How dare he lay a hand on his own brother!” “I only kicked him out to the woods to spend the night as a lesson, and he actually had the audacity to call and lie about dying. That deceitful brat!” The more she spoke, the angrier she got. Finally, she slammed her hand heavily on the table. She was taking all her anger out on the table, treating it as if it were me. Hearing her words, I thought I wouldn’t feel anything anymore. I was dead, after all. But a sharp, phantom pain pierced through my chest, as if a real knife had been driven deep into my heart. It hurt so bad that my ghostly pale form trembled, almost collapsing. My mother didn’t look like she was talking about the child she carried for nine months. She looked like she was talking about her worst enemy.

My mind drifted back to the moments before my death. The moment my mother saw the scratch on Liam, she threw a massive tantrum. She pointed a finger at me and screamed, “Why didn’t you take care of Liam? Did you do this on purpose? You heartless parasite! What are you even good for? If anything happens to Liam, I swear I’ll beat you to death!” Hurts and tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to explain that Liam had tripped on his own. But before I could even open my mouth, he spoke up. With those wide, innocent eyes, he whimpered, “Mom, don’t blame Ethan. It was my fault for not listening. That’s why he punished me.” I stood there, my hands and feet turning ice-cold from fear, staring at him in utter disbelief. What followed was my mother dragging me out to the car. She drove me to a remote, deserted state park and kicked me out into the dark woods. It was pouring rain. I was only wearing a thin t-shirt. The freezing cold turned my lips blue in minutes. Shivering in the dark forest, I kept telling myself that the night would pass quickly. I just needed to survive until morning. Unfortunately, a strange man stepped out of the shadows, shattering my naive hope. After he stabbed me over a dozen times, I used the last ounce of my strength to dial my mother’s number, begging her to save me. But all I got was an impatient sneer. “Have you had enough of your little drama? A serial killer? You can lie with a straight face now, can’t you? I don’t have time for this. If you want to die, go die somewhere far away. Don’t bother me to pick up your corpse.” She hung up on me. When I tried to call back, I realized she had blocked my number. Despair, terror, and agonizing pain. These emotions crashed over me like a tidal wave, drowning me. My hand slipped, and the phone fell into the mud. Maybe death was a better escape for me. I finally didn’t have to live in a house filled with hatred and abuse. That was actually nice.

Soon, only Liam and my mother were left in the spacious hospital room. Looking around this private suite—which my mother had pulled endless favors to get—with its cozy furniture and comfortable bed, everything screamed how much my parents pampered him. I couldn’t help but remember when I had a fever of 103 degrees. I was so delirious I could barely speak, and I begged my mother to take me to the doctor. Fearing she would reject me, I hesitantly whispered that I would just get a quick shot and leave, and that I wouldn’t waste the family’s money. In the end, she dragged me to a shady, run-down urgent care clinic. The nurse who gave me the IV was an inexperienced trainee and missed my vein four or five times, leaving my arm bruised and bloody. Tears streamed down my face from the pain. My mother just stood there, crossing her arms with a sneer. “Stop crying. How bad can a little needle hurt? You’re just a drama queen!” “This clinic is already too good for you. If I wasn’t afraid you’d die in the house and get your father and me into legal trouble, I wouldn’t even have brought you here.” I wanted to explain to her that I wasn’t acting, that I was genuinely in agonizing pain. But before I could speak, her phone rang. Liam had a stomachache at school. My mother rushed out of the clinic immediately, not forgetting to call the city’s best pediatrician on her way to book an emergency appointment for Liam. Liam was her golden child. She wouldn’t let him suffer even a scratch. I was abandoned once again. During the next few days of my illness, I had to take the bus for hours by myself to get my treatment. No one ever asked how I was doing. No one cared about the boy who was delirious with fever. My parents truly didn’t love me. I realized this fully as I stared at the dark bruises swelling on my arms. Back in the present, under the warm hospital light, Liam and my mother were sharing a sweet moment, laughing together. It was a beautiful picture of a happy family. And there I was, like a dirty sewer rat spying on someone else’s happiness, hiding in the corner with a sad, envious smile.

Liam took a bite of the apple my mother had peeled for him, then asked with fake concern, “Mom, is Ethan really going to be okay? I heard him call you. Shouldn’t you go check on him?” My mother let out a cold laugh. “Liam, you’re just too sweet. Your brother is perfectly fine. He’s just putting on a show. He’ll stop at nothing to drag me away from you.” “I don’t know who taught him to be such a liar at his age, but he actually learned to use death to threaten me. If I give in now, what’s next? Will he run this household?” Liam still looked uneasy. “But what if Ethan comes back and takes his anger out on me? Every time he…” As if realizing he had said too much, he quickly covered his mouth, looking guilty and terrified. But I knew it was all an act. He just wanted to make my mother feel sorry for him. Thinking about all the times my mother had beaten and screamed at me because of his lies, my ghostly chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. Predictably, my mother’s face flushed with fury. “What? That little bastard dared to touch you? Don’t worry, Liam. When he crawls back, I will personally beat him half to death to make it up to you!” She meant it. Every time I displeased her even a little, she would beat me until I was covered in bruises. Later, I learned to be obedient. I yielded to Liam in everything. But he still found ways to trip me up every few days. I didn’t understand. We were both her children. Why did she never believe me, not even once? Was I truly worthless in her eyes?

Liam didn’t actually have any serious injuries, so after resting in the hospital for a few days, he couldn’t wait to be discharged. During this time, my mother stayed by his side 24/7, catering to his every whim. Both of them completely forgot about me, who had been missing for days. To prevent Liam from getting upset upon seeing me after his discharge, my mother took him straight to the new suburban house they had bought behind my back. Looking at the luxurious villa and my father who was waiting anxiously at the door, I felt a world away. No wonder my parents always used business trips as an excuse not to come home. No wonder Liam kept saying he liked “the other house.” It turned out they had another home all along. A home that didn’t include me. My father rushed forward the moment he saw Liam. “How is my boy? Are you feeling any better?” Before Liam could say anything, my mother rolled her eyes. “He would have been fine if it weren’t for your other worthless son. He had to throw a jealous fit and make Liam suffer!” My father, of course, looked disgusted. “We spoiled him too much. We should kick him out permanently so he can clear his head. If he doesn’t fix his rotten attitude, I’ll beat him to death myself.” Those words felt like a bullet straight through my heart. Indeed, every time they beat me, they did it with brutal force. If killing wasn’t illegal, I probably would have died by their hands a long time ago. I remembered one time when I couldn’t take the abuse anymore. For the first time in my life, I yelled back: “I told you I didn’t do it! Why can’t you believe me! I’m your child too!” They only paused for a second before sneering in disgust: “You? A worthless piece of trash like you doesn’t deserve to be our child. We’d rather raise a dog than you!”

The painful memories flashed by, ending as quickly as they came. In the blink of an eye, my parents were happily chatting in the kitchen, preparing dinner. The dining table was filled with Liam’s favorite dishes. How ironic. Not only did they not know what I liked to eat, but they didn’t even care that I was severely allergic to some foods. The difference between being loved and being hated was truly vast. As the food in Liam’s bowl piled up like a small mountain, my parents showed no signs of stopping. Liam finally blocked his bowl with a helpless laugh. “Okay, okay, that’s enough, guys. You’ve given me too much.” But my parents ignored him, using their forks to pile even more food onto his plate until there was physically no room left. They smiled warmly at Liam. “Eat up, Liam. You’re recovering. You’re always so scared of your brother. Now that he’s finally not around, the three of us can have a peaceful family dinner.” “The three of us.” So, from beginning to end, I was never considered family. What “recovery”? Liam only had a tiny scratch, yet they made such a massive scene out of it. Meanwhile, my body was lying mutilated and rotting in a deserted ravine. Did anyone care? Liam nodded, looking around the house with a hint of worry. “But Ethan will find out about this house sooner or later. What if he throws a tantrum? You guys work so hard, and I hate to see you stressed…” He choked up, grabbing my mother’s hand as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. My mother’s heart melted instantly. She quickly comforted him, “Don’t worry, sweetie! Even if he finds out, there’s nothing he can do. I’m going to transfer the deeds of both houses to your name. That parasite won’t get a single penny.” Hearing this, a flash of pure excitement shot through Liam’s eyes, so fast he barely managed to hide it. “Really?” My mother smiled, patting his hand. “When has Mom ever lied to you?” Liam was ecstatic, his filial act completely vanishing in his excitement. I stood there, watching him, a cold sneer forming in my ghostly heart. They ignored the son who genuinely cared for them, yet cherished the one who only saw them as ATMs. I just wanted to leave this suffocating room.

After dinner, the family snuggled on the couch watching TV. My mother finally remembered me, whom she had abandoned in the wild. Frowning, she opened Snapchat. It was filled with old messages I had sent her. [Mom, it’s getting cold. Please dress warmly.] [Mom, I bought you some vitamins. Remember to take them.] [Mom, I cleaned the whole house. You don’t have to worry about anything.] But all this care and warmth was met with only one cold response from her. [You are so annoying. Can you stop texting me? Don’t you have your own life? Stop bugging me every day.] That was our very last chat. For days, I hadn’t sent her a single text. My mother tossed her phone in front of my father, laughing mockingly. “Look at your precious son. Quite the attitude, isn’t he? Just because I scolded him a bit, he stops texting me to throw a silent tantrum. He hasn’t even graduated yet, and he’s already acting like this. What will happen when he grows up?” She typed a few angry words, mocking me for being unfilial and having a big ego. But before sending it, she deleted the draft with a look of disgust. “He’s just trying to force me to text him first. In his dreams! What a pathetic trick. Who does he think he is?”

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I had a beautiful daughter. She had just turned eighteen. Her closet was filled with all kinds of beautiful dresses, but because of a little monster, she would never have the chance to wear them again. The little monster stood there, flipping me the middle finger with a smug grin. “Your daughter’s life was cheap anyway. She got what she deserved! We’re minors. Our age is a get-out-of-jail-free card.” Marcus went mad. He grabbed a kitchen knife, wanting to trade his life for that bastard’s. But I held him back with all my strength. “One death is too easy for him. Both he and his mother must go to hell!” I had an eighteen-year-old daughter named Chloe. Her name meant blooming and full of life. She loved wearing dresses. Her closet was packed with them, all bought by Marcus and me. Marcus was the ultimate girl-dad, spoiling her every chance he got. But all of that was gone now. Chloe lay in the dirt, her torn white dress covered in mud and blood. She was frozen in time, forever eighteen. We realized Chloe was missing an hour after school ended. Marcus had came home holding a giant princess plushie, excited to surprise her. He waited and waited, but when she didn’t show up, he got anxious and told me to look for her. I hadn’t wanted Chloe to go out in the first place. The weather was terrible, and the sky was pitch black. “Mom, I promise I’ll be back in half an hour. I’ll definitely beat Dad home!” “I already made plans with Bella. You don’t want your daughter to be a liar, do you?” She had looked up at me with her innocent face, shaking my arm and begging. “No lies. The weather is bad today. Just play for a bit and come straight back!” I couldn’t say no to her. Chloe was smart. Whenever she pouted, Marcus and I would melt instantly. But an hour passed, and Chloe still wasn’t home. I decided to check their “secret hideout.” I knew the place well. It was a wooded area right next to the community park. Chloe and Bella had decorated it like a fairytale forest, pretending they were princesses living there. But when I arrived, no one was there. The decorations they had carefully set up were trashed, looking like they had been maliciously vandalized. “Chloe! Chloe!” I screamed her name, but there was only silence. Panic set in. I ran around the subdivision, shouting Chloe’s name over and over. By the time dusk fell, I went to Bella’s house. I knocked on the door for a long time before it finally opened. “Bella came home early. She was exhausted and already fell asleep,” Sarah, Bella’s mom, said. She only opened the door a crack, blocking my view. Before I could ask more, she hurriedly shut the door in my face. I completely lost it. Chloe never wandered off on her own, and she would never disappear for this long. I called 911, but the dispatcher told me they couldn’t do anything since she hadn’t been missing for 24 hours. Marcus arrived shortly after, and we rushed to the security office to check the cameras. The security guard, who usually bragged about “safety first,” acted like we were making a big deal out of nothing. He reluctantly logged into the system and slowly scrolled through the footage. “Sir, please, can you speed it up?” I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. Beside me, Marcus clenched his fists, his jaw tight. “What’s the rush? A girl that age doesn’t just vanish. She probably went to a party or something.” The guard’s careless attitude snapped my last nerve. Just as I was about to scream at him, Marcus grabbed my arm. “Sir, you’re a parent too. I’m sure you understand how we feel,” Marcus said, forcing a polite smile as he pulled two hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and slipped them into the guard’s pocket. “Ah, right. Yeah, parent to parent, I get it. Let’s see… is this the right time?” The guard’s eyes flickered. He smoothly pocketed the cash and quickly set the timestamp to 6:00 PM. On the screen, Chloe was skipping along, holding Bella’s hand as they entered the woods. Twenty minutes later, Bella ran out of the woods alone, looking terrified. The guard pulled up the cameras from all four surrounding angles, but Chloe was nowhere to be seen. A wave of dizziness hit me. I turned to Marcus. “I went to Bella’s house. Her mom said she was asleep and wouldn’t let me in.” Marcus’s voice shook. “Bella knows something. We have to make her talk.”

“I told you, she doesn’t know anything! Stop coming here. My kid has school tomorrow.” Sarah wouldn’t look me in the eye, still refusing to open the door. “Can we just talk to Bella for a second? I promise we won’t scare her. Just a few questions,” I begged, tears streaming down my face. “Just leave. She’s asleep. We don’t know anything.” She bit her lip, and right before slamming the door, she muttered, “It’s about to pour. You should ask someone who actually knows those woods.” Someone who knows those woods? “Mrs. Higgins!” Marcus said with absolute certainty. If anyone knew every corner of this neighborhood, it wasn’t the security guards or the HOA. It was Mrs. Higgins, the community’s head housekeeper. She knew every piece of gossip and every resident’s business. She knew the park area like the back of her hand. By the time we found Mrs. Higgins, Chloe had been missing for three hours. “Near the park woods?” Mrs. Higgins looked surprised. “There are only trees there. The cameras should have caught her leaving.” Could a living, breathing person just vanish? My legs gave out, and I could barely breathe. “Wait…” Mrs. Higgins suddenly gasped. “Are you sure you searched everywhere? Even the places off-camera?” When we nodded, she hesitated, her voice trembling. “There is one place… follow me.” Mrs. Higgins led us back into the dark woods. I stared at a massive, ancient oak tree with a hollow trunk. My mind went blank. Marcus, panting heavily, brushed aside the thick branches blocking the hollow. He froze. His eyes went wide, and then… “Ah! No! No!” He let out a guttural, agonizing scream, like a dying beast. He clawed at his hair, stumbling backward until he collapsed into the mud. “Marcus, it’s not Chloe, right? Tell me it’s not her,” I forced a laugh, trying to stay sane. But Marcus didn’t answer. He tried to stand up several times but kept falling. Finally, he crawled on his hands and knees toward the tree, sobbing hysterically. “Chloe… baby… Chloe…” It was my daughter. I stumbled forward and fell to my knees, paralyzed by the horror in front of me. My daughter, my sweet Chloe, was curled up in the hollow of the tree. Her torn white dress was covered in dirt. Her face, usually so full of smiles, was pale and stiff. Her fingernails were caked with dirt, showing how desperately she had clawed at the ground in fear. Her pink cartoon underwear was dragged down to her ankles… “Baby… Chloe… Mom is here. Let me hold you…” But the police officers who had just arrived dragged me back. They said they had to preserve the crime scene. They forced Marcus and me into separate rooms at the station to calm us down. But even though the scene was secured, it started to pour that night. The rain washed away almost everything. I couldn’t understand. Who would do this to my baby? Marcus and I were peaceful people. We never fought with our neighbors. I even bought food for the neighborhood stray cats. Chloe was a good girl. She only had a few close friends and never got into trouble. Her friend. Bella! I went back to Bella’s house, this time accompanied by the detectives. When Sarah opened the door, a flash of pity crossed her eyes, but she quickly hid it. She offered her condolences but insisted Bella came home early and knew nothing. She claimed we were traumatized and accusing an innocent child. Bella herself screamed and hid in her bedroom when she saw me.

The police had a duty to investigate, but they couldn’t force a child to speak without evidence. After a long standoff, I stared at Sarah. “Sarah, you’re a mother too. I know you can understand what I’m going through.” I paused, tears dripping from my chin. “My daughter was only eighteen. Her birthday was in a few days. I raised her with everything I had, and now…” I knew I looked pathetic, my eyes swollen shut, but I forced myself to lock eyes with her. “I’m begging you, help me. What happened? Why did Bella run out of the woods so terrified? Please, help a grieving mother.” Sarah looked away, her eyes darting around. She repeated the same cold line. “I’m sorry, Claire. We really don’t know anything.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Marcus snapped. He lunged forward, grabbing Sarah’s shoulders and shaking her violently. “You know! You damn well know! Tell me who did it! Who!” “You have a daughter too! If this was Bella, would you stay quiet?!” He was completely hysterical. It took two officers to finally restrain him. He thrashed until he passed out from pure exhaustion. The police advised us not to push too hard, warning us that it might backfire. They told us to wait until the rain stopped so they could look for other clues. But once the rain stopped, would there be any clues left? Just when Marcus and I were falling into utter despair, Sarah came to our house voluntarily. Bella stood behind her, crying and bowing to me. “I’m sorry, Claire.” My eyes were too swollen to open properly, but I strained to look at her. “Bella, sweetie, can you tell me what happened that day?” Bella burst into loud, sobbing tears. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It was Tyler! He said if I told anyone, he’d beat me to death! I was so scared. I didn’t want him to hurt me too!” Sarah immediately hugged Bella, dropping to her knees in front of me. “It’s not Bella’s fault. It’s mine! I was so scared of what Tyler would do to my family… but Bella kept asking me when we were going to save Chloe…” After Sarah finished explaining, I took a long, shaky breath. “Sarah, are you willing to let Bella testify?” “We were playing in the woods,” Bella sobbed, “and Tyler came over. He wanted to play ‘house.’ He said he was the dad, and we had to be his wives. He said Chloe’s dress was pretty, so he wanted to ‘play’ with her first. Chloe said it hurt and tried to run, but he beat her. He threw his jacket over her face to stop her from screaming. Then… Chloe stopped moving.” It felt like shattered glass piercing my chest. Every breath tore at my lungs. I listened to Bella’s trembling voice, shaking my head in disbelief. My daughter was only eighteen. She knew nothing of the cruelty of this world, and she was tortured to death. The police arrested Tyler quickly. He was sixteen, but he weighed 180 pounds and stood six feet tall. From behind, he looked like a fully grown man. When he saw us at the station, he shrank back. But a heavy, expensive-looking woman stepped in front of him, looking at us with utter disdain. “Fine, I heard what happened. We’ll pay for the funeral. How about that?” She pulled two thick stacks of hundred-dollar bills from her designer purse and threw them onto the table. To my horror, Marcus laughed. He walked over, picked up the cash, and stepped closer to her. “Twenty thousand? That’s it?” He shook his head. “How about I give you a hundred thousand, and I get to take your son’s life?” Before anyone could react, Marcus slammed the cash into her face, lunged at Tyler, and started hammering his fists into the boy’s face. Marcus was too fast. Within seconds, the officers tackled him to the ground, but Tyler’s nose was already smashed and bleeding. “Ah! You psychopath! Your daughter is already dead, and now you disfigured my son! He was supposed to go to a top private school!” I was shaking with rage. What did she mean, *your daughter is already dead*? Seeing Marcus pinned down, Brenda became even more arrogant. “My son told me everything. Your daughter loved wearing those revealing dresses. Wasn’t she just begging for attention?” “Honestly, she deserved it. She’s lucky it was my son. Otherwise, some homeless crackhead would have gotten to her!” I was speechless with shock.

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