Chapter 4

The doors to the operating room opened again. An exhausted doctor walked out before slowly shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. We did everything we could."

Grandma let out a heart-wrenching wail. She rushed in and threw herself over Holly's body, crying her heart out. "My Holly! My granddaughter!"

Granny staggered into the room as well. She hugged Holly's cold body as she sobbed. "Holly! How could this happen to her?"

Dad stood frozen in place, swaying slightly. Overwhelming grief and remorse were etched on his face. He stared at his lifeless daughter on the operating table, then let out an uncontrollable roar of rage.

Even though Mom said she'd be back that evening, she didn't return until two days later.

By the time she finally showed up with Trevor in tow, Holly's funeral was already over.

A shiny platinum bracelet dangled from Trevor's wrist. The dim lighting in the living room only made it look even more glaring.

The moment Mom saw me, she walked over and slapped me hard before I even had time to react.

A searing pain spread across my face instantly. My head, knocked to the side by the impact, started to buzz.

"You troublemaker! I was only spending some time with Trevor, and you just had to make up lies and cause a commotion! How dare you treat Holly's well-being like some kind of joke!"

My cheek went numb from the hit as my mind went blank. It took a while before I could find my voice again. "I didn't…"

As Trevor caressed the bracelet on his wrist, he looked at me with an innocent expression and a barely noticeable look of triumph in his eyes.

"Mom, don't be mad. You shouldn't get upset over me. He's your biological son after all. He probably just missed you too much, so he…"

It might seem like he was trying to smooth things over, but his every word was just adding fuel to the fire.

"I'd rather have never had a son like you!" Mom hissed through gritted teeth, looking at me like I was the plague she needed to avoid at all costs.

Dad, who had been silent this entire time, positioned himself in front of me. "If you don't want him, I do. Take Trevor and get out. Go live your own lives."

Both Mom and I froze. Dad usually doted on Trevor just as much as Mom did, if not more. So for him to act like this was completely out of character.

"Marvin, what's wrong with you?" Mom asked.

Seeing this, Trevor immediately stepped forward. He timidly tugged at Dad's sleeve as he asked in a pitiful voice, "Are you mad at me, Dad? I don't want the bracelet anymore, so please don't be mad."

His eyes darted between Dad and me, his act painfully obvious. He was trying to soften Dad's attitude by playing the role of the pitiful, sensible son.

Dad shook Trevor's hand off, his face devoid of emotion. "Don't call me Dad. We aren't even related by blood."

Trevor instantly went pale. He froze in place as his tears dried up.

At that point, Grandma couldn't help but remark, "You neglect your own child but go all out for someone else's! Some mother you are!"

I clutched my burning cheek behind Dad, watching Mom get ripped apart by the whole family. This time, I was no longer the one being condemned.

Unable to understand what was happening, Mom just took her anger out on me. "Norman, what exactly did you tell them? What lies did you make up this time?"

She still refused to believe that Holly was dead, just as she refused to believe her own actions had led to such a devastating outcome.

All she wanted to believe was that I had pulled another stunt, badmouthed her, and turned everyone against her. Just as Mom was about to snap, Granny slapped her hard across the face.

Before Mom could even recover from the slap, Granny flung the paper she'd been clutching straight at Mom's face.

"You've got some nerve to point fingers! Take a good look at what you did!"