Chapter 4

Emmett immediately spread his arms and blocked the doorway, fear etched across his face. "You can’t go."

Before I could respond, his parents rushed forward and tried to pull him aside.

"Let her go! Let’s see if they can even find anything!"

"No!" he snapped. "If you don’t help me stop India, I’ll kill myself right now! I can’t lose her!"

He quickly unlocked his phone and showed them something.

Just one glance, and their faces turned pale. The way they looked at me changed. There was fear in their eyes.

Then they noticed the blood covering the floor. Their bodies trembled, their voices lowering instinctively.

"Son, if you like her, that’s your business. But your father and I, we’re old. How are we supposed to stop her?"

Emmett didn’t move. His gaze stayed locked on me, refusing to let me pass. "My in-laws will be here soon. Just help me hold her here. She absolutely cannot go to the hospital! I—I won’t do it! I still want to live a few more years!"

Then Emmett said something that made everyone freeze, "Mom, Dad… I’ll tell you the truth. I already had a vasectomy for India. If she dies, I’ll kill myself too. The Berkeley line ends with me."

I stared at him, completely baffled. "What do you mean ‘for me’? What does that have to do with me?"

Before I could finish—

SLAP!

A sharp blow landed across my face.

Dad’s familiar voice thundered in my ears. "You ungrateful brat! Look at what you’ve become, and you still dare look down on your husband?!"

My cheek burned.

I stared at my parents in disbelief. "Dad, why did you hit me?"

All my life, I had been their precious daughter. They had never even laid a finger on me.

But now, the parents who had always indulged me looked at me like I was a stranger.

"Emmett showed us everything," Dad said coldly. "You should be grateful you have a man willing to go this far for you. If it were your mother and me… hmph."

The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air.

Then he added, "From now on, you’re not going to work anymore. Stay home and take care of your in-laws. Don’t go out and hurt anyone else."

I couldn’t understand a single word.

Faced with these strangers who used to be my family, all the fear and pressure I’d been holding back finally exploded.

"Am I not your biological daughter?!" I cried. "What did you see? Why are you siding with the people trying to harm me?!"

They avoided my gaze.

"Whatever it is, you’re not going to the hospital. Stay home and live properly with Emmett."

Their certainty shook me. For a moment, I even wondered, what if I was wrong? What if the death loop was all in my head?

Just as I was about to give in—

Ring.

The alarm I had set for midnight went off. The sharp sound shattered my hesitation.

I clenched my fists, my resolve snapping back into place. "I don’t care what you’re hiding from me. I’m going to the hospital tonight."

Emmett’s eyes turned bloodshot as he threw himself in front of me again, desperation and sorrow crashing together. "You can’t go! If you go to the hospital, you’ll die!"

I let out a cold laugh, glancing at his parents, who looked both afraid and disgusted. "Then I’ll die there."

I stepped forward.

Suddenly, Emmett dropped to his knees, clinging to my legs, sobbing, "Honey, I lied to you! You… you actually have werewolf blood! If it gets discovered, you won’t be able to live like a normal person ever again! I love you! I can’t just watch you go die!"

I crossed my arms and sneered. "My parents are human. What, did I mutate? If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable."

"I’m serious! Look!" After hesitating for a moment, he grit his teeth and carefully handed me his phone.

The instant I saw what was on the screen, the mocking smile on my face froze.

A cold wind seemed to sweep past me. A chill crawled up my spine.

Could it be…

Was this why I was trapped in the death loop?