Chapter 3

Mom fainted from blood loss.

Normally, whenever she passed out, she'd wake up in half an hour, but this time, she was out cold the entire day.

Panic gripped me. I was terrified something had gone horribly wrong. Desperate, I tried using Mom's phone to dial 911 for help, but no matter how hard I tried, my hand passed right through it.

I glanced at Mom's pale, lifeless face, and the pain in my chest surged so violently that, before I knew it, my soul had been drawn to where Dad was. I didn't know how it happened, but suddenly I was there, next to him.

Under the dim, flickering light, Dad was gently helping Denise toward the bed.

"Your headaches seem to be getting worse again," he said gently, "I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow."

Denise stumbled, collapsing into his arms with a fragile, helpless sigh.

"I'll be fine," she murmured. "It's just… thinking about how much my sister hates me, it hurts so much."

"I really don't understand," she continued, "what do I have to do for her to forgive me? Even when we were kids, I let her have everything. Even when she bullied me so badly that I ended up with depression, I never once resented her."

Her sobs grew louder, echoing off the walls, as she buried her face deeper into Dad's chest.

"But she went too far this time," Denise said, her voice breaking. "Ruining my career, my dreams... How could she do that?"

Dad wrapped his arms tightly around her, fury rising in his eyes.

"Don't worry," he said fiercely. "I'll make sure you get justice, no matter what. I've already threatened her with Mary's academic future. She treats Mary like her whole world. She'll cave, for sure."

Thinking of my mother lying pale and lifeless on the cold floor, a surge of intense anger stabbed into my heart.

Justice? Dad wanted to help Denise get justice? What about me? What about Mom? Where was our justice?

My body trembled with uncontrollable fury as I stood there, watching.

Denise wiped away the tears on her cheeks and, in a pitiful voice, said, "Ethan, I know how much you care about me. So, can I ask you a favor? Can you send this information to the hospital? It's evidence of Nicole accepting bribes for surgeries."

Her voice quivered as she continued, "I know it's cruel of me to seek revenge, but I just can't bear the years of bullying from Nicole anymore. If I don't fight back now, who knows what she'll do to me in the future?"

She pulled another document from the drawer—a medical report.

"The doctor says my depression has worsened. If I continue to live under this constant pressure, always feeling persecuted, I might end up committing suicide."

Her voice cracked, and she collapsed into Dad's arms again, sobbing uncontrollably. "Ethan, I don't want to die, but I can't control myself anymore. Please, I'm begging you, let me die once to get my revenge, okay?"

I watched the scene unfold, my eyes widening in disbelief. Mom had only a few things left that mattered to her in this world—Dad, me, and her work as a doctor, saving lives.

Denise had already taken Dad from her, taken me from her. And now, she wanted to strip away the last shred of hope Mom had. What a wicked woman!

The realization crashed into me, and the fury that surged through my soul was like a tidal wave. I couldn't hold it back any longer. I lunged at Denise, wild with rage, clawing at her face, shoving her with all the strength I had left.

"You wicked woman! Stay away from my mom! I won't let you hurt her!" I screamed.

"You evil, wicked woman! How could you be so cruel?"

But no matter how hard I tried, no matter how violently I pushed and scratched, my hands went right through her. All I could do was watch helplessly as Dad, full of concern, held her close, comforting her like she was the victim.

And then, under Denise's manipulative urging, I saw Dad send the photos and videos of Mom accepting bribes to the hospital where she worked.