Chapter 4

I could finally fight back. I snatched the kitchen knife from Cynthia and slashed it across my own arm.

"Here. One cut each, how about it?"

"What..."

Cynthia stared at me in shock, like she was staring at a lunatic.

"Some people are afraid of dying, but I'm not," I said while turning the stove knob to ignite the burner.

Then, I immediately doused the flame with water. "Why don't we just go down together tonight?"

She screamed in terror. "Lucas, Charlie... Help me! Maddison is trying to kill me!"

"Pathetic," I said with disdain, glancing at her before continuing to close the windows.

Since my arm was wounded, bright red blood was flowing everywhere. So, when Charlie and Lucas arrived, they saw a kitchen covered in blood and the wound on my hand.

Meanwhile, Cynthia was sitting on the floor crying.

Charlie quickly turned off the gas burner. "Quick, Lucas, Maddie's hurt. We need to get her to the hospital."

Lucas hesitated. However, he did not come over, helping Cynthia to her feet instead.

He hissed, "She was about to turn on the gas to kill us all, and you still want to save her!"

Charlie was furious. "Lucas! It's because we've been mistreating Maddie that she's acting this way. Think carefully about how we've treated her all these years."

I was getting dizzy from blood loss, and my vision was blurry. Even so, I thought Charlie was making a lot of sense, and I almost wanted to praise him.

I actually survived again.

When I woke up, I was back in the hospital, and the wound on my arm had been bandaged.

Charlie looked at me with concern. "Maddie, don't do anything foolish again. If something's wrong, you can tell me."

However, Lucas rushed over and slapped me hard across the face. "If Cynthia hadn't shouted for us, were you planning to murder us all? Maddison, how could you be so vicious?"

The slap made my ears ring and my vision blur.

With a loud smack, I slapped him back. I believed in settling scores on the spot. Otherwise, I would not be worthy of calling myself a woman.

Lucas' cheek swelled up from my slap, and his face darkened with rage. "Charlie, open your eyes. This is the sister you're protecting. She dares to hit her own brother."

Charlie looked at me with a conflicted expression. "Maddie, you've gone too far. I've been defending you all along, yet you remain so stubborn."

I silently scoffed. I thought Charlie would actually be the sane one, but he turned out to be an idiot too.

I laughed and asked, "Did I ask you to defend me?"

Charlie raised his voice and yelled, "Maddison Sherman!"

I shouted back, "Charlie Sherman!" Are we competing to see who can yell louder? Come on, let's compete."

Back in my real world, I had been crushed under work pressure, almost breaking down under my manager's demands. Since I ended up in a fictional story, I finally had the chance to go crazy.

I picked up a fruit knife from nearby and drew it across my throat. "Want to see who's more insane?"

Warm blood flowed down my neck, dripping onto the white bedsheet and staining it red.

Both men in front of me turned pale with fright.

"Call a doctor quickly!" Charlie called out in panic.

Lucas rushed over to cover my neck, his voice trembling. "Maddison, you really are insane!"

I suddenly remembered the original Maddison's childhood from the story.

Back then, Charlie and Lucas had both been quite fond of her. They would take her to have burgers on weekends and teach her to play the piano.

She must have been very happy back then, but when they grew up, her brothers spoke to her with nothing but harsh words.

I used to think death was easy, just finding a quiet corner and letting it all end.

However, it was far from that. I tried to end my life over and over again, only to fail.

I was saved again, lying on a hospital bed.