Chapter 4

My whole life, Mom had given to Hailey every piece of happiness and peace that should have been mine. Even the image of me as a hardworking, high-achieving student had been stolen and placed on Hailey.

She was planning to let me die without treatment so she could rob me of everything good left in my life.

I laughed softly. Too bad for her, things would not always go according to plan.

I was not sick at all! Hailey, on the other hand, was a different story.

I took a breath to calm myself, then said into the phone, "Don't worry, I'm not kind enough to push you to someone else.

"Ashton, I'm going to need you to go visit my mom tomorrow. We need to find out what they're planning next so we can deliver the killing blow."

Early the next morning, Ashton and I arrived at Mom's house at the agreed time. I clipped a tiny camera to Ashton's collar and slipped a voice recorder into his pocket. Once everything was ready, I slipped into the stairwell to monitor what was happening.

The moment Mom opened the door, her face was all smiles. "Oh, Ashton! It's been so long! I've been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to invite you over for a meal together."

After welcoming Ashton inside, she quickly brought out tea and refreshments.

Hailey was sitting upright on the living room couch with heavy makeup on her face. It was obvious her outfit was brand new.

"Ashton, you must be tired! Here, have some fruit! Oh no, the tea's getting cold. Let me make you a fresh cup."

The neckline of Hailey's top was extremely low, and when she bent down in front of Ashton, the view was anything but classy.

I forced myself not to rush in and slap her. After taking a few deep breaths, I went back to watching the live feed on my phone.

Ashton did not spare Hailey even a glance, addressing Mom in a businesslike tone instead.

"Mrs. Fischer, why did you ask me to come here today?"

Mom rubbed her hands together with an awkward smile, looking troubled. "Ashton, I'm sure you've heard about Caroline's illness by now. It's pretty serious. The doctor said it's stage two cervical cancer, and if we're not careful, the cancer cells will keep spreading. I'm afraid it might not be curable."

Ashton's expression remained calm as he replied, "If Caroline is truly sick, I'll do everything I can to help her through it. But if something is untrue, then please don't make claims like that so casually, Mrs. Fisher. That would also be disrespectful to Caroline."

The moment those words left his mouth, Hailey's hand jerked while pouring tea. Scalding hot water spilled all over her hand, leaving her skin bright red.

Mom did not even bother comforting Hailey. Instead, she forced a laugh and pulled out a medical report, handing it to Ashton.

She said, "Why would I joke about something like this? It's right here in black and white!"

I chuckled quietly in the stairwell.

After our checkups at the hospital, Mom had only glanced briefly at our test results without checking the names properly. She instantly assumed I was the one with cancer.

She had never asked me for the report afterward, yet she had actually forged a fake report just to convince Ashton.

Her gaze darted around as she clumsily switched to a grief-stricken expression. "It breaks my heart as well, but I can't bring myself to keep this from you. Ashton, the truth is, Caroline has a very messy private life. She often sleeps around, which is how she got cervical cancer! The doctor said her case is too complicated, and treatment probably won't do any good anyway!"

Hailey chimed in from the side. "Yeah, exactly! Ashton, it's not too late to walk away now. You could always consider, you know, finding someone else to like. Someone like..."

Knowing exactly where she was going with that, Ashton had no interest in hearing more.

He was about to get up and leave when urgent knocking came at the front door.

I looked at the person standing outside, and my heart skipped a beat.