All Chapters of The Deadly Birthday Wish That Broke My Family: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Mom rubbed her temples and offhandedly asked what I'd wished for."I wished for you to be happy, Mom," I said.It wasn't exactly a lie. As long as I died, that wish would come true.However, that one sentence made Mom lose it. She smashed the cake in my face and screamed, "I worked so hard to land this project presentation, and you just had to spike a fever right now!"The commotion drew the other patients in the ward over."The kid's still sick. How can you treat him like that? Is this how a mother should act?"I struggled to wipe the cream out of my eyes. "I'm sorry…"I must've been really out of it from the fever. I forgot I wasn't supposed to call her Mom. I was supposed to call her Serena.In the next second, a small figure threw himself into Mom's arms. "She's my mom, not his!"It was my half-brother, Ashton Brown.The people around us looked at each other. Their expressions turned awkward.My stepfather, Logan Brown, walked over and said gently, "Calm down. Don't get

Chapter 2

After my birthday, the house went back to being quiet.Every day I went to and from school, and Mom still treated me like I was invisible. She wouldn't spare me an extra glance, nor would she say another word.I kept my head down like always, only able to see her feet rushing past me.That night, everything was the same as usual. I waited until the three of them had finished dinner, tucked Ashton into bed, and gone back to their room to rest. Only then did I quietly feel my way into the dark kitchen.The sharp edge of hunger had already passed. I was long used to eating cold leftovers slowly by the moonlight.I remembered one time when I really couldn't hold it in and needed to go to the bathroom. However, the second I stepped out, the laughter and chatter at the table had stopped. The silence in the air had been so heavy that it was terrifying. Only after I'd rushed back to my room did their voices gradually start up again.After that, I got even better at being invisible.Sudd

Chapter 3

The door opened. Logan walked in. He sat on the edge of the bed in silence for a while before handing me a piece of paper.I squinted, trying to make out the words on it. It was a dormitory application form."I talked it over with your sister. You're in elementary school now. It's time you learn to live on your own. This is better for you, and for our whole family," he said.I nodded dumbly. "Thank you."Logan froze. It looked like there was a lot he wanted to say, but in the end, it all melted into a single sigh.After I was discharged from the hospital, I packed my things and moved into the school dorm. I didn't see Mom at all during those days.I thought we wouldn't see each other for a very, very long time. But a month later, she suddenly barged into the school and dragged me into her car. We sped all the way to the cemetery.I curled up in the backseat, trying to make my breathing as light and quiet as possible.Mom was furious. It was as if her whole body was wrapped in a

Chapter 4

Ear-splitting chaos rang in my ears. Shrill sirens wailed, someone sobbed, and people shouted for emergency help.Eventually, everything slowly faded into silence.I slowly opened my eyes and found that bandages were wrapped around my neck. I was lying on a snow-white hospital bed. I looked down and saw that I was slightly transparent, floating in midair. My mind went blank.So… was I dead or alive?My gaze shifted to the side, and I froze. Mom was leaning against the hospital bed. She had one hand gently covering the back of my hand, the one with the IV needle in it.The door opened, and the doctor walked in, startling her awake. She quickly stood up and stepped aside to make room. "How is he doing today? Is there any chance he'll wake up?"The doctor shook his head. "The wound on his throat actually isn't that deep. The real problem is that he went without oxygen for too long. It caused brain damage, and he's now in a vegetative state."I quietly drifted closer, listening care

Chapter 5

Mom turned to Logan in shock, desperately holding back tears."All this time, you kept saying Zero was your parents' miracle baby, that they had him at an old age and died because of it! You spoiled Ashton rotten but treated Zero like a deadweight, hitting and scolding him over every little thing."I thought you were just angry that he caused your parents' deaths and hated him for it, so I never said anything. If I had known he was your son, there's no way I would've let you treat him like that all these years!" Logan roared.His words didn't just stun Mom. Even I stared blankly at him.Mom covered her mouth as her tears finally fell. She threw herself into Logan's arms and broke down, sobbing.His eyes were red, too. He slowly raised his hands and rested them on her shoulders. "Children are innocent. You're the one who lost your way! You haven't been a good mother to both of our sons."I circled them anxiously, wanting Logan not to say that about Mom. She'd always been good to A

Chapter 6

The next day, Mom bought a huge cake. She carefully stuck the candles in."Zero, can you wake up, please? If you wake up, I'll celebrate your birthday with you!" she said hopefully.I stared at the beautiful cake, feeling like I could smell the cream. I really wanted a bite. I'd only gotten two chances in my life to have a birthday cake, and in the end, I never got to eat a slice from either of them.After setting the cake beside the hospital bed, Mom stared at the monitor, not daring to blink. The wavy line on the screen didn't change at all.Her face soon fell, but she forced a smile. "So, the cake isn't what you want? That's okay. I'll bring you something else."The next day, she brought a toy car. "I remember last year, for Ashton's birthday, we bought this remote-control car at the mall. You were staring right at it then. You must've wanted one, too, right?"I shook my head. Too bad she couldn't see it.I wasn't looking at the toy car. I was looking at Mom, who was smiling

Chapter 7

Ben's expression grew increasingly smug as he went on. He claimed that the day he kidnapped me, he was only after money. All his threats were just to scare us. There was no way he really meant to kill me. If I died, who would he extort money from?"You hate that brat Zero so much that you must've been wishing for him to drop dead for years, right? Damn it! Serena Camden, you're the one who put him up to it! You told him to throw himself onto the knife so you could frame me for it! You're downright venomous!"Mom's eyes reddened, and her shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably. Countless questioning gazes turned toward her.Compared to Ben's ranting, the evidence his lawyer presented was much more solid and convincing.The first incident was when Mom tried to abandon me as a newborn in the bathroom so I would freeze to death. The second was when she'd turned on the gas in our old house after she'd gotten into grad school. The third was right before her wedding, when she'd bought b

Chapter 8

Mom said the day I was born was the coldest day of winter. Her bulky coat hid her belly, so no one even realized she was pregnant.After giving birth to me in the dorm bathroom, she left me lying on the icy tile floor. She told herself not to think about anything. She just needed to go back to bed and sleep. By the time she woke up, I would already be frozen to death.She could quietly get rid of me then, and no one would ever find out her secret.I listened in silence. I knew this story. Mom had told me before that she never expected me to cry that loudly. My crying had woken up all her dormmates in the middle of the night."Actually, that night, I regretted it pretty quickly. I grabbed my coat and went back to the bathroom. Back then, Zero's body was already turning blue. His breathing was weaker than anything I'd ever heard. I picked him up, held him close, and nursed him… Only then did his body start to warm up, and he finally cried out."I felt like I'd been nailed down. I co

Chapter 9

I stayed by Mom's side in the days that followed. I watched as the doctors removed all the machines from my body and pushed me into the morgue. Then, they put me into a car bound for the funeral parlor, until I finally ended up in a small casket.The verdict for Ben's appeal was announced. The intentional homicide charge was dropped, but he was still sentenced to many years in prison.I figured that at least Mom wouldn't be afraid anymore. He would never be able to threaten her again.Mom often came to visit my grave. Right next to me were the headstones for Grandpa and Grandma. The three of us were lined up side by side.Mom talked to us all the time. Sometimes, she would say that there were so many things in this life she regretted."Mom, Dad, if I'd confessed everything to you earlier, would you still have died of a heart attack after suddenly getting that call?"If I'd told Logan earlier that Zero was actually my son and hadn't forced him to move into the school dorm, would h

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