Chapter 1

When I regained consciousness, several doctors were gathered around my bed. They looked at me with grim expressions."Ms. Griffin, your lungs are severely burned. You have at most one month left to live," one of the doctors said.I glanced around the empty hospital room and asked quietly, "Does my family know?"The doctor was silent for a moment. "They're in another patient's room."The room fell quiet. I nodded and didn't ask anything further.After a while, I said, "Keep this a secret for me."After the doctors left, I called to arrange a death care service for a month later. The moment I hung up, Leon Sinclair pushed the door open and entered."Are you awake? How are you feeling?" he asked.I hummed in response."Madison, the wedding date is coming up soon," Leon said. "As you know, the Sinclair family is about to choose an heir, and the condition is that the heir must be married."But in your current condition… you're not fit to be my wife. For the sake of both families,

Chapter 2

Back home, Juliette could no longer hide her true colors. She barged into my room and kicked over my wheelchair. "What tricks are you up to now?"I dropped to my knees from the impact, enduring the sharp pain as I pushed myself up against the wall. "In my condition, any trick would be pointless."Juliette sized me up from head to toe and let out a cold snort. She stepped toward me. "So, you've admitted defeat?"I gave a bitter smile. "Yeah, I lost—completely lost."Silence filled the air.Juliette frowned at me as if I were a stranger. "I don't believe you—not unless you give me those paintings."Growing up, Juliette had always envied the attention my paintings brought me, so she kept imitating my work. Yet, she had no talent, so even when she imitated me, she only managed to copy the surface.Still, she didn't give up. She began stealing my paintings outright and putting her own name on them. Because of her relentless behavior, I had spent years without picking up a brush. My f

Chapter 3

Later on, my family started getting busy, juggling the wedding and Juliette's award ceremony.Their smiles grew more frequent, while my body gradually weakened. By the night before the wedding, I couldn't even eat.On that evening, Mom casually said, "Madison, you should skip Juliette's wedding banquet. You have difficulty moving, and we won't be able to take care of you once things get busy."Dad chimed in, "I happened to find a famous doctor from overseas for you. Go see him tomorrow."Just as I was about to speak, Juliette slammed the table. "Dad, Mom, stop talking nonsense! Madison is my sister. How could she miss my wedding—"I smiled at her. "Of course I'm going. My little sister is getting married. There's no way I'd miss that."Mom shot me a displeased look, but I ignored her. I continued, "Don't worry. I'll stay in a corner the whole time. I won't cause any trouble for you."Marcus let out a cold snort. "You'd better be. If you try any more tricks, I won't let you off e

Chapter 4

After the wedding ended, Mom and Dad suddenly stopped at the entrance. "Wait. Where's Madison?"They looked around but couldn't find me anywhere.Marcus sneered. "She probably couldn't handle the blow and is hiding in some corner, crying her eyes out."Mom sighed. "Maybe we were a bit too harsh earlier. After all, she just survived such a terrible car accident."Marcus patted Mom's shoulder. "Alright, Mom, don't worry. I'll call her and apologize."He dialed my number and found that my phone was off.Juliette snatched the phone from him and chuckled softly. "Dad, Mom, stop worrying about Madison. Let's go. Otherwise, we're going to miss the award ceremony."At the mention of the ceremony, Mom immediately stopped in her tracks. She put me out of her mind and followed the others into the car. Yet, during the ride, everyone clearly lacked their usual excitement.Suddenly, Mom's phone rang. She answered right away and saw that it was an unknown number. "Are you Ms. Madison Griffin'

Chapter 5

Third-Person POVEveryone turned around at once.Juliette frowned. "Who are you?"Ethan Walker lowered his head and chuckled. "I'm just someone carrying out Ms. Madison's wishes. I'm not what matters here—what's inside the box is."His words instantly sparked everyone's curiosity, and all cameras turned to the box."Then, open it," Marcus said. "Let's see what Madison left for Juliette."Juliette quickly spoke up, "Don't! Something this personal should be opened at home."Madison's father, Evan Griffin, shook his head. "You gave Madison such a grand tribute in public. Whatever she left for you shouldn't be kept hidden."As he spoke, he stepped forward, took the box, and untied the ribbon. Inside was a small USB drive."It must be a memorial video or a recording of her final words," Evan said.He plugged the drive into the computer. A second later, the large screen flickered and displayed page after page of documents analyzing the car accident.The first page showed chat logs

Chapter 6

Third-Person POVAfter the funeral, news about Juliette trended for two weeks. Juliette was taken into custody by the police and became a figure everyone despised.Those who had previously bought her paintings at high prices filed lawsuits for compensation one after another, instantly burdening the Griffin family with massive debts. Evan was so furious that he suffered a stroke.The share price of Sinclair Group plummeted. Leon was kicked out of his family and lost nearly everything.He lost all his spirit overnight. Even during a nap, the memory of the car accident tormented him. Madison was pinned under the car, clutching his pant leg and begging, "Leon… Save me… Please… It hurts… It hurts so much…"Yet, he pried her fingers off one by one and pulled Juliette out without hesitation.He had relived that moment thousands of times. No matter how many sedatives he took, he couldn't erase it.The Griffins didn't want him to forget either. Whenever Marcus saw Leon, he snarled, "You