Chapter 4

The blood rushed to my head in a deafening roar. I scrambled blindly back to Dad's ward.

He was still unconscious. And there I was on the TV screen, completely stripped of my dignity, groveling on the floor and begging Denise for forgiveness.

The clip had already made the rounds on the news. Everyone was labeling me a shameless parasite who dragged down the reputation of the disabled.

A wave of bitterness washed over me as I gently tucked Dad in. Holding back my tears, I pulled the plug on the TV.

A noise at the doorway made me turn. It was Denise. Her face was twisted with pure malice.

"You tried to steal my man and almost killed my baby. Did you really think an apology would get you off the hook? Your whole family is trash. You all deserve to die."

A cruel smirk spread across her face. Before my horrified eyes, she reached out and ripped the oxygen tube straight out of Dad's nose.

"No!"

I lunged forward like a feral animal, but her bodyguards pinned me on the ground.

Dad's head rolled limply to the side. His frail body went completely still.

He was gone.

Mom walked into the room at that exact moment. Seeing Dad, she lost her mind and charged at Denise, only to be violently shoved away.

Her temple caught the sharp edge of the concrete wall, and she crumpled instantly into a pooling stain of crimson.

"Mom!" A desperate shriek tore from my throat.

I thrashed against the guards. My raw stump scraped against the floor, leaving a sickening smear of blood.

While Denise strutted out smugly, I crawled over and cradled Mom's limp body, sobbing until my voice died out.

I screamed for help, but Charlie had already pulled every doctor and nurse from this wing.

Desperate, I pulled out my phone tremblingly and posted on Twitter.

"Charlie and I have been together for seven years. Denise is the real homewrecker!"

It didn't take long for Charlie to storm into the ward, livid. "Are you insane? Take that tweet down right now, or I'm throwing your dad out of this hospital!"

I looked at him, completely hollowed out. "He's already dead. Denise killed him."

Charlie glanced toward Dad's lifeless body, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face.

Denise immediately said in an aggrieved tone, "Honey, I'm carrying your baby. How could I ever do something so horrible? I just felt bad about what happened earlier and wanted to check on Rachel, but she started smearing me!"

Charlie didn't even bother to step closer to check Dad's pulse. He instantly decided I was a liar.

He let out a sharp laugh. "You think having your parents play dead on the floor is going to fool me? Rachel, you brought this on yourself."

The moment they left, a gang of thugs burst into the ward. They grabbed me by the hair and slammed my face hard into the floor.

"You're missing half a leg, and you still think you can compete with Ms. Gordon? Know your place! Let's make sure you stay a cripple for good."

They stomped down, shattering my already cracked, cheap prosthetic. The jagged metal shards drove deep into my remaining stump.

The agony was so blinding I nearly blacked out. They used my body as a punching bag before finally leaving.

At the same time, Charlie had released an official statement.

"I have absolutely no connection to Rachel Marsh. Our investigation shows she suffered severe trauma years ago and struggles with mental illness. All her claims are entirely false."

Attached to the statement were photos of me—disheveled and covered in purple bruises.

Years ago, when Charlie's loan sharks caught me, I had endured unspeakable torture without ever giving up his location.

Back then, Charlie had knelt before me, weeping. He swore he would spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

Now, those scars were just ammunition to ruin me.

Despair surged through me. I pushed open the hospital window and hauled my broken body onto the ledge.

As the howling wind filled my ears, my phone buzzed with a text from Charlie.

"I only put that statement out to distract the media. Don't take it personally.

"I ordered the latest custom prosthetic for you from overseas. It's been delivered to the villa in Southia. You can move your parents there."

I didn't reply.

Closing my eyes, I stepped off into the open air.

"Charlie, if there's a next life, I hope we never meet."

Down below, Charlie had just finished buckling Denise into the passenger seat when he caught sight of a tattered figure plummeting from the roof.

A second later, panicked screams echoed through the courtyard. "A pregnant woman with a prosthetic leg just jumped! She's dead, and the baby too!"