Chapter 4

The moment I hit the ground, blood spread across my knees. The pain hit so hard that my eyes filled with tears, and a cry slipped out before I could stop it.

Beside me, Nora suddenly screamed, sharp and loud. "Why did you push me? Mom, it hurts!"

She was on the ground as well, crying so loudly that it rang in my ears.

Dad rushed over immediately and pulled me into his arms, shielding me.

But Mom and Matthew ran up and started accusing me.

"Alicia, why did you push Nora?"

"I didn't!" I shouted, forcing the words past the lump in my throat.

Nora pointed at me, crying harder. "She did! She pushed me on purpose!"

Anger surged up so fast that it left me breathless.

Dad's voice turned cold. "Check the surveillance. If you don't trust Alicia, let the security footage speak for itself."

Mom didn't answer. She picked Nora up and turned away, tossing a sentence over her shoulder.

"Please. The footage will only make her look worse."

They hurried toward the first aid station.

My face went pale. I reached up and touched Dad's face with my small hand. "Don't worry. I'm not hurt…"

Then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, cheers filled the air.

"Congratulations to Nora Hunt for winning the relay!"

I lowered my head as tears fell one after another.

I ran faster than her. So why was she the winner?

Did Mom do something?

Before the thought could settle, Dad's expression darkened. He walked straight toward Matthew.

"Oh, Simon," Matthew said with a smirk. "You didn't have to come congratulate my daughter."

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Honestly, thanks. If Lauren hadn't helped us, who knows how we'd be living right now. And really, that championship should've been yours. But Lauren's too kind. She can't stand to see us upset…"

The next second, Dad's fist connected with his face, cutting him off.

Dad grabbed him by the collar and yanked him upright. "I warned you. Stay away from my daughter!"

Matthew's shout brought Mom running over.

"Simon, have you lost it? You didn't win, so now you're taking it out on Matthew?"

Dad's eyes were red. "Yeah. I want both of you to pay for this."

Before he could move again, Mom shoved him hard.

He stumbled back, clutching his throat, his face draining of color. That was when I realized his depression was acting up again.

I fumbled in my pocket for his emergency medication and ran toward him, limping.

"Dad…"

Just as I got close, something caught my foot, and I went down hard on my back.

The medicine flew from my hand and skidded across the ground.

Nora stepped on it, smiling.

"No!"

The scream tore out of my throat.

That was the only thing that could keep Dad stable. The doctor said if he missed it, things could get bad fast.

Tears blurred my vision as I scrambled to my feet and reached for it.

"Alicia, don't push Nora!" Matthew suddenly shouted.

Before I could even react, Mom shoved me aside without a second thought.

Behind me was the lake. As I stumbled backward, Dad rushed forward to catch me.

He went into the water instead. A loud splash echoed across the lake as he struggled to stay afloat.

I clutched Mom's leg, sobbing. "Help him, Mom! He can't swim. And he has depression!"

She froze, her eyes snapping toward the lake.

Then Matthew called out, "Nora, are you okay?"

Mom stopped. She turned around, scooped Nora into her arms, and simply told her assistant to pull Dad out before walking away.

I watched her leave, feeling something inside me rip apart.

Was she really leaving us?

After Dad was taken to the hospital, I pulled the last ten dollars from my pocket and handed it to the nurse.

"Could you be my mom for just one day and take care of my dad?"

She hesitated. "Where's your mom?"

I looked at her quietly. "She's dead."

She died the moment she chose another man over Dad.