Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes again, I was still alive.

I lay in my own bed, my wrist wrapped in thick layers of gauze. The entire family stood around me.

My brother, Cedric Ainsworth, looked pale as paper. His wrist, for some reason, was also wrapped in gauze.

Mom’s eyes were red and swollen. She held my hand, and her voice trembled.

"Sadie, why would you do something like this? Is there anything you cannot tell me?"

Before I could speak, Allegra began her performance.

"Sadie, do you not like me? Is that why you did something this extreme, just to get Mom and Dad’s attention? Do you have any idea how worried they are?"

Her voice sounded soft and quivering. Her eyes looked wide and pitiful whenever she glanced at our parents.

"Mom, Dad... maybe I should move out. I do not want to make her unhappy."

Both of our parents’ expressions darkened.

Spineless as I was, I could not find a single word to fight back with. Allegra looked thrilled, and she did not forget to throw me a smug little glance.

"Allegra, you are right," Dad said.

She could barely hide her grin.

"So we will have you move into the apartment downtown for now. It is closer to your college anyway."

Allegra’s face went blank. "I... I am the one moving? No... wait, that is not... that is not how this was supposed to go..."

"What is the problem? Was it not your idea to move out?" Cedric asked.

She looked completely stumped and sputtered for a long moment. When she noticed our parents’ frowns deepening, she switched to a wounded tone.

"Right. She is your real daughter, after all. I have been with you for 18 years. Do all those years mean less to you than blood?"

She covered her face and ran out of the room before anyone could respond, as if someone had bullied her.

Dad sighed and stroked my head gently.

"Sadie, your mom and I searched so hard to bring you home because we want to make up for the 18 years of love we missed. So please, do not hurt yourself again. You lost too much blood, and you need rest. We already arranged the best nutritionist and therapist for you."

After giving a few instructions to the house staff, our parents left. Only Cedric stayed behind.

He sat on the couch nearby and watched me in silence. His expression looked unreadable.

"Why?" His voice sounded hoarse.

"We finally found you. You are the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the city. What could be so bad that you cannot get past it? You would rather throw all of this away and die?"

I glanced at him and thought he was a real busybody. Whether I lived or died had nothing to do with him.

When I had been little, my foster father beat me with a belt whenever he lost money gambling. My foster mother forced me to kneel on the bare floor for hours and refused to feed me whenever she was in a bad mood.

When I tried calling the police, all it earned me was a worse beating from both of them.

Now Allegra looked at me the exact same way they always had, like I was garbage.

I did not dare fight back, and I could not run. Was I not even allowed to die?

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I threw off the covers, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

This was the third floor. Jumping should, could, maybe, possibly be enough to finish the job.

"What are you doing?" Cedric shot to his feet.

I ignored him. One leg was already over the ledge.

I closed my eyes and prepared to jump. Someone grabbed the ends of my hair and yanked me back.