Chapter 4

The moment the door closed, the last bit of my strength drained away.

I slid down against the door and collapsed onto the floor. The cold tile stung my skin.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Elliot had posted a livestream link in the family group chat.

"Family Intervention: Teaching Drama King Harry A Lesson!"

I didn't even have the energy to open it.

A crackling sound rose from deep inside my throat. I pressed a hand over my mouth. Thick, black, foul-smelling blood gushed out between my fingers, splattering across the floor.

My shirt, my pants… Everything was stained.

The air sacs in my lungs were dying by the second. I gasped desperately for breath.

Outside the room, footsteps drew closer. Emily's voice came through the door, tinged with impatience.

"Harry, open the door. Elliot's livestream has over a hundred thousand viewers right now. Don't make things too ugly."

I lay in a pool of blood. My vision had completely lost focus. The ceiling light spun above me, breaking apart into countless blurry spots.

"Come out and apologize to your dad. I'll pretend you never took off the ring. If you keep this up, you're really going to destroy our relationship."

Then Dad pounded on the door and yelled, "You ungrateful brat! Are you determined to tear this family apart? I raised you, and now I can't even joke with you without you throwing a tantrum? Open the door!"

I opened my mouth. More black blood spilled from my mouth, clogging my airway. I couldn't make a sound. All I could do was listen as they vented their anger through the door.

On the livestream, Elliot was chatting cheerfully with his audience.

"Yeah. Harry has always been like this. Everyone's spoiled him his whole life, so he thinks the world revolves around him. When he finally comes out, I'm going to make him apologize directly to you, my dear viewers."

The noise outside grew louder and louder, yet the sounds in my ears felt more and more distant.

The pain had spread from my stomach to every corner of my body. I knew it was time. In the final stages of herbicide poisoning, victims were left suffocating while fully conscious.

I slowly turned my head toward the strip of light beneath the door. At last, tears mixed with the blood on my face.

If there was another life, I didn't want to be me anymore. I didn't want to spend another lifetime as a devoted puppet who gave everything for others, only to be treated like garbage beneath their feet.

My hand fell limply to the floor, and my phone landed in the pool of blood.

Then, my breathing stopped completely.

…

Outside, their patience finally ran out. Diane kicked the door, yelling, "Harry, if you keep pretending to be dead, I'm breaking the door down! Don't think hiding in there gets you out of apologizing."

But she was met with silence.

Emily frowned, her voice turning ice cold.

"Break the door down. He's just trying to manipulate us. The more we indulge him, the more he'll take advantage of us. Open the door. Let's see how he plans to get out of this."

A series of violent slams followed until the old lock of the guest room door finally gave way with a sharp click.

The door flew open, the weight leaning against it suddenly had nothing to hold it up. A stiff body toppled forward, then crashed heavily at their feet.

Elliot's livestream camera was pointed directly at the ground. Great patches of thick black blood instantly stabbed at everyone’s eyes.

The irritation on Emily's face froze.

Dad was still striding forward, cursing, "What the hell are you pretending to do—"

The words died in his throat.

He saw the dark trail running down the door. Then he saw my eyes—wide open but empty, completely devoid of life.