Chapter 2

I was an only child, and my parents had always hoped I would have more children—and preferably a second one carrying our family name too. To help with that, they'd personally gone to a major hospital and got me fertility medicine. They'd even prepared it for me every day to keep me healthy.

When they found out I was pregnant, they were so excited that they even remodeled a nursery at home.

The day Michael kicked me out, Mom and Dad held me tightly and encouraged me to stay strong for the sake of my baby.

Then, to ensure I could focus on my pregnancy, they hired a professional nutritionist to oversee my meals and even rented a separate place nearby, not wanting the noise from their snoring to disturb my rest.

If I hadn't overheard their conversation in the bathroom that night, I would've kept living in this beautiful illusion. Even now, I vividly remembered the cold look in their eyes when they talked about the baby.

Dad's gaze was devoid of warmth. "We can never let Gina have the baby. I don't care if it kills her!"

Mom, on the other hand, looked confident. "Relax. The doctor already told me that Gina's got leukemia from all the formaldehyde in our new house. Even the baby's deformed! It's not surviving.

"Martha and Michael can finally rest assured this time. All the money we'd spent renovating this house with the crazy high formaldehyde levels wasn't wasted after all."

It was only then that a cruel realization crushed me.

No one, including my parents, wanted me to keep the baby. In fact, they all wanted it dead.

But why? What was the reason? Hadn't they been looking forward to the baby's arrival for a decade?

I confronted them, desperate to demand the truth and an explanation. However, Mom and Dad simply watched as I bled to death on the cold, hard floor.

As I took my last breath, they'd let out a relieved sigh, a satisfied smile creeping on both of their faces.

Now that I had been reborn, I would do everything in my power to protect my baby. The truth ought to come to light one way or another.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I said nothing and simply handed my ID card to Martha.

After dinner, when everyone was asleep, I quietly slipped into Martha's room and changed the ID info on the cable car tickets she had booked to mine.

Since I was too fragile for her liking, then she could climb those 30 thousand stone steps with her old bones for all I cared.

Once I was done, I put Martha's phone back like nothing had happened.

…

The next morning, Martha and I arrived at the mountain base of Rockhill. She took out her ID to scan at the turnstile, but no matter what she did, the gate wouldn't open.

"What the heck? This machine's broken!" she hissed.

I casually pulled out my own ID, scanned it, and passed through without a hitch.

Martha looked stunned and clearly confused. She was about to say something when the nearby staff member cut in and urged her to show her ticket confirmation.

Just as she pulled out her phone, I snatched it from her hand with a bright smile. "Looks like you only bought one ticket yesterday, Martha. You must've forgotten to buy yours."

"Really?" Martha forced a laugh and said, "Well, Gina, go on and buy me a ticket real quick."

I shook my head. "Aren't you here to pay respects and fulfill our vow? Since when do people show gratitude by taking the easy way up in a cable car?

"Honestly, you're lucky you don't have to crawl up on your knees because they have stairs! If you truly want your grandchild to be born safe, maybe you should hike up there—to show your sincerity, of course."

Without waiting for her reaction, I stepped into the cable car and left her standing there.