Chapter 4

I smiled bitterly.

"Mom, if you'd just looked for three more seconds or zoomed in a little more, you would've noticed that my chest wasn't moving at all. You were so close to realizing that I was dead."

When the final exam ended, Danielle was the first candidate to sprint out of the exam hall.

"Mom, Dad, I did really well! I'm going to be okay. Let's go home and share the good news with Sophie right now!"

Dad nodded. As he started his car, his eyes turned red-rimmed.

"Great. Now that it's all over, let's go home. Sophie had been home alone for two days; she'd probably had enough time to clear her head and think things through.

"We'll pick her up and visit the chapel to pray as a family."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Mom couldn't stop crying. "I admit that I was far too harsh on Sophie. As long as she's willing to mend her ways, she'll get whatever Danielle gets from now on."

Hovering above them, I forced a smile that looked worse than a crying face.

"Mom, Dad… I've waited 18 years for this day, but what a pity I'll never get to experience it."

Soon, the car pulled up to the house.

Danielle sprinted ahead of everyone and threw the door open, only to freeze in her tracks. She noticed that the food left on the dining table was untouched and moldy.

Her voice started shaking. "Sophie… She hasn't come out in two days!"

Mom was momentarily stunned before her expression turned grim. She stormed over to the freezer and kicked the door hard.

"Sophie! Are you seriously still throwing a fit?

"Do you have any idea what Danielle has gone through these past few days? She couldn't eat or sleep, and she was worried sick about you even while taking her exams!

"And here you are… Who are you playing dead for in there?"

Dad finally lost his patience and marched over. There was suppressed rage in his voice as he said, "You've let me down, Sophie.

"We were worried sick about you for two days, but what have you done? Have you shown even a single shred of remorse?"

Danielle held them back and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Mom, Dad… Sophie wouldn't do this for no reason. Something must have happened to her!"

Their expressions stiffened for a second.

Just then, Ethan walked in and stopped in front of the freezer door, holding up his phone.

"I just got off the phone with her homeroom teacher. She knows that Sophie missed the SAT, so she's trying to get her enrolled in the most prestigious colleges through a special admission pathway."

His voice was thick with disappointment as he continued, "Did you tell the teacher, Sophie? Why would you do something like this?"

Mom immediately exploded in fury. "Sophie! We raised you for 18 years, and is this how you repay us? Are you scheming to ruin Danielle's life after missing your exams?"

Dad's expression was just as icy. "Danielle always protects you, but you're obsessed with driving her to the brink. To think we rushed back here so you could tag along to church!

"How did I raise a daughter like you, Sophie?"

While all of them condemned me, only Danielle rushed over and grabbed the freezer's doorknob.

"Mom! This door is freezing cold!" she yelled.

"Enough!" Mom barked. Her eyes were bloodshot as she lunged forward and wrenched Danielle's hand away.

"We told her where the key was! If she won't come out, she's clearly made up her mind to drag this out!"