Chapter 1

On the first day of every month, I endured the pain of my illness and personally brought the money I earned back home.

Mom took the money, nodded in satisfaction, and asked the same question as always, "Did you find any trace of Clara?"

I shook my head, feeling a bit down. "I've searched every path she might've taken, but I found nothing," I said.

Mom frowned and said, "Just keep searching! Bring back more money next month. This amount isn't enough to hire a patrol team to search the forest. Hurry up! Don't come back until you find your sister!"

As she spoke, she gently pushed me out of the house.

I wanted to tell her that I hadn't slept for a whole day just to rush back from the forest, and that I just wished to rest in my room before leaving again.

But Mom didn't even glance at me. She gently closed the door.

I stood alone in the yard, listening to my parents' voices from inside.

Dad asked, "Did Adeline bring the money again? Did she lose her temper?"

Mom smiled and said, "No, she's still out there looking for Clara. If she had been this obedient before, we wouldn't have had to cast her out."

He continued, "She's finally learned. Let's hope she remembers this lesson and won't be so selfish again."

"Exactly. That's why I didn't let her in. People who make mistakes must be punished!" she responded.

Their words pierced through my heart like needles, shattering it into pieces.

I had heard countless words like these over the past three years. It wasn't until after Clara died that I realized she had been badmouthing me to our parents all along, twisting the truth and accusing me of bullying her.

Clara was the daughter of my father's close friend. After her father died, Dad adopted her. When she first arrived at our home, I was thrilled. I even gave up my room for her and moved into the guest room.

But she always ended up in terrible states, either falling into water or cutting herself badly with knives.

I felt sorry for her. I dried her hair, cleaned her wounds, and bandaged her injuries. Yet, she turned around and told my parents that I didn't like her and often bullied her.

For years, she had been making up stories behind my back, leading our parents to believe I was a cruel and malicious person.

I tried to explain that I had never done those things, but my parents would only look at me with disappointment.

"Adeline, your sister has a kind heart. Even when she's wronged, she never complains. If we hadn't seen you bullying her with our own eyes, we would never have believed you could be so selfish and vicious!" Dad said.

"That's right! And this time, you knew she was in the southern territory, yet you suggested meeting on the northern grasslands, forcing her to take the dangerous route through the forest. You got your sister killed!" Mom added.

I stared at them, stunned, and felt helpless to argue.

They claimed they saw me bullying her. But the truth was, I had taken her to the forest, and I accidentally stepped into a swamp. I pushed her away to keep her from falling in too, but I didn't mean to push her into a patch of wolfsbane. Because of that, she had to stay in the hospital for two days.

I had tried to explain back then, but they didn't believe me. They were convinced I had bullied Clara.

I stumbled out of the house, feeling completely numb. I barely made it a few steps before my legs gave out and I collapsed, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Ever since Clara went missing, I had been living in constant guilt, and my wolf had grown weak.

Three years of stress and exhaustion had taken a serious toll on my health, but I never gave myself time to rest. I spent all my days searching for her.

It wasn't until yesterday that I finally collapsed near the edge of the forest. A kind person found me and brought me to the hospital.

I woke up to devastating news from the healer. "Your wolf is dead, and you probably won't make it past three days. You should get your affairs in order."

Was I dying?

But I hadn't found Clara yet. If I died, would Dad and Mom finally forgive me?