Chapter 1

After I died, my spirit drifted to my mother's side.

While she had looked at me with such aloof detachment just moments ago, she now held Andrew Midler's hand tenderly, massaging it gently.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital right now, Andy. Your hand will be just fine!"

Mom was about to lead Andrew away when a man from the rescue team, Seth Butler, stopped them and said hesitantly, "Frank is still lying down at the bottom of the cliff. Shouldn't we get him up first?"

Mom's expression instantly turned icy. "Help him up? What for? I haven't even settled the score with him for failing to protect Andy! Let him stay down there alone! No one is allowed to rescue him!"

After saying that, she even turned and spat harshly on the ground.

I let out a bitter laugh. It was Andrew who had given me a hard shove, pushing me down the cliff and spraining his own wrist in the process. And here, Mom thought I was the one who had failed to protect him.

Seth seemed uneasy. "But Edith, Frank is lying there completely motionless. He might really be hurt. Maybe we should—"

Mom rolled her eyes and waved him off dismissively, her annoyance clear for all to see.

"Leave him be. He's definitely faking it because he's scared I'll scold him. I won't fall for it. What could possibly happen from such a short fall? Let him walk back when he's done pretending. This time, I'm going to teach him a lesson. The sight of him annoys me!"

Every word she uttered sliced into my heart with excruciating pain.

She was the leader of the rescue team and had taken part in countless rescue operations of varying scales. She should have known there were many unpredictable dangers in the wilderness, and that a moment of carelessness could lead to death, which was why all casualties had to be rescued and taken to the hospital immediately.

What she didn't know was that the cliff, which she considered low, had a sharp protruding rock right at the bottom of it. And I, unfortunately, had fallen right onto it. The rock had plunged deep into my back, leaving a bloody gash.

But she ignored my pleas and cared only about Andrew's sprained wrist. She even lashed out at me, saying, "What use are you if you can't even protect your younger brother? Giving birth to you was a mistake!"

That didn't seem to quell her anger, so she turned and demanded that all the members of the rescue team leave immediately, forbidding anyone from rescuing me.

And that was exactly what extinguished my last flicker of hope for survival.

"Do you really despise me that much, Mom? So much that you won't even spare me a sliver of love in my final moments? If that's how it is, then today, I'll return the life you once gave me," I thought.

Seth tried to persuade her further, but Andrew suddenly cried out in pain.

"Mom, my wrist hurts so much! Will my hand be broken? I'm scared!"

Mom's expression instantly shifted from disgust to panic. She hurried back to the vehicle to put away the rescue gear.

"Don't worry, Andy. I won't let anything happen to you. We're going to the hospital right now."

Then, she turned and barked at the others, "Get moving now! If Andy's treatment is delayed, I'll hold every one of you responsible!"

The members of the rescue team exchanged helpless looks before sighing and getting into their vehicles, ready to leave.

Such blatant favoritism had long been commonplace for me. So why did my heart still ache? Shouldn't I have been used to it by now?