All Chapters of My Death Made Them Drop Their Act: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

Dr. Miller, the school doctor, frowned and stopped writing the prescription. "You have to go to the hospital. If I remember correctly, this is the fifth time you've coughed up blood this month."I sat on the cold stool. My face looked paler than my faded school uniform.It took me a long time to get the words out. "Is it serious?"I clenched my fingers. "Will the treatment cost a lot?"Dr. Miller considered it for a moment. "Not really. The school provides student insurance. You just need to pay for the copay."My eyes lit up, but then he added, "Just 24 dollars."The glimmer of hope died instantly. I licked the blood from the corner of my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes.24 dollars…My family didn't have that kind of money. We couldn't afford the treatment.Noticing my silence, Dr. Miller looked up. "I'll get you some painkillers. They're six dollars."With that, he turned and went into the back room to grab the medicine.I bit my dry, cracked lip and clutched my empty p

Chapter 2

When I got back to our old apartment in the projects after school, I carefully took out the food I'd saved."Look, Dad! I saved this just for you. You must have worked so hard today."Dad was a scavenger. He woke up before dawn every single day to collect recyclables. I knew how grueling it was.He froze for a moment, staring at the lunchbox in my hand instead of taking it right away."Dad?"I quickly poured him a glass of water, figuring he was just exhausted from the long day.Only then did he snap out of it. "Thank you, Joshua. You're such a good boy."As if rewarding me, he pulled out a wrapped candy. "I saved up for a week to buy you this. Joshua, you must always be thrifty. Don't let us down. Study hard so you can give us a better life in the future."I took the candy and unwrapped it. It was incredibly sweet. I nodded. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll work as hard as I can."Satisfied, he turned to leave, but the sudden pain in my stomach forced a small whimpering cry from my li

Chapter 3

When I woke up, night had already fallen.Strangely, my body didn't hurt at all anymore. I didn't think much of it. I scrambled to my feet and was ready to rush home.But I didn't know where I was and could only walk aimlessly along the highway."Sir, your Feridian dining reservation is ready, and the chef is waiting. We can leave now.""Alright, let's go."Hearing the voices, I whipped around."Dad?"But I quickly shook my head. No, that man looked incredibly wealthy. It couldn't be Dad. They just sounded exactly alike.Brushing it off, I turned to keep walking.But my vision suddenly went black. When I snapped back to reality, I was somehow sitting inside that wealthy man's car.My eyes widened, and my mind went blank. The wealthy man's face was identical to Dad's.Up front, the driver suddenly spoke. "Sir, forgive me for overstepping, but how much longer are you going to keep up this act? When are you going to bring Mr. Joshua home?"Mr. Joshua? Did he mean me?None of

Chapter 4

For as long as they ate, I sat beside them and cried.I screamed at them, demanding to know why they had lied to me. Why, when our family was clearly rich, did they let me be crushed by the weight of money time and time again?But they couldn't hear a single word of my protests or my tears.I listened to the waitresses introduce the dishes as they served them—foie gras, caviar, venison, salmon.Things I had never even heard of in my life.When they finished their meal, Dad looked over at Mom. "How about we head back to the villa tonight? Living in the projects is suffocating. Besides, Joshua already thinks we're out working all night anyway. We can even use this tomorrow to teach him another lesson."Mom nodded, and the three of them happily climbed into a stunning luxury car.I sat in the very back, watching them laugh and chat. My tears completely spilled over.The car drove for a long time before pulling up to an endless estate.I stared blankly as they walked into the hous

Chapter 5

The person in the photograph was covered in mud and blood.Dad stumbled back a step. His immediate reaction was denial. "No, that's not my son! My son is a sweet boy. That's not him!"Mom supported Dad with one hand, but her eyes were glued to the photo."Where was this picture taken?" she asked.The officer replied, "On the outskirts of town, about six miles from here. A passerby found the body and reported it."Dad let out a breath of relief and said, "Then it's definitely not our son. He couldn't have walked that far."The officer frowned. "Are you sure? We traced the surveillance footage, and he definitely came out of this building. If it's not him, we'll move on to the next apartment."Both of my parents blurted in unison, "It's not him!"Yet, their voices carried a trembling terror they couldn't quite mask.I sniffled, looking down at the photograph myself. That was unmistakably me, covered in filth and blood after being dumped from the van. They didn't even recognize

Chapter 6

Dad's legs gave out, and he collapsed heavily on the floor. He then crawled forward on all fours.He stared at my lifeless body. My eyes were shut tight on the cold metal table.His trembling hands reached up to my face as he choked out a broken whisper, "Don't be scared, Joshua. I'm here. Dad's here."He breathed into his own hands and rubbed mine, desperately trying to pass his warmth to me."Don't go cold!" he wailed. "Joshua, can you hear me?"I stood watching from the sidelines.There was a heavy, unidentifiable ache in my chest. Seeing them this heartbroken gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction, though it quickly dissolved into numbness.I was already dead. What was the point of saying all those things now? I could never go back.At that thought, a tear slipped down my cheek, and I began to sob uncontrollably.Beside my body, Mom stood frozen. Dad's crying finally seemed to snap her out of her trance.Her body was stiff. She forced herself forward, but she didn't brea

Chapter 7

Mom and Dad collapsed to the floor, their breathing shallow and ragged.Stomach cancer.Starved to death.Child abuse.Every single word felt like a sledgehammer slamming into their chests, making it painful just to breathe.The coroner called the police officers over, and they turned to Mr. Gibson. "What did Joshua usually eat at school?"Mom and Dad snapped out of their daze and exchanged a look of sheer dread.Frowning, Mr. Gibson replied truthfully, "Plain bread."He sighed. "Just plain, dry bread without anything on it. The day before he went missing, I actually gave him my own scrambled eggs, but I noticed he didn't eat it."He was just stating the facts.But Dad violently flinched. "Scrambled eggs?"That was exactly what he had dumped down the sink this morning.I hadn't eaten it because I wanted to save it and bring it home for him.Dad swallowed hard. His chest tightened with excruciating pain.The police captain slammed a file down in front of Mom and Dad with a

Chapter 8

That afternoon, Jalvorn Cemetery was draped in a blanket of grey, shrouded by a drizzling rain that cast a gloomy pall over everyone's hearts.Two figures walked slowly up the stone steps. Their faces were blank, but their eyes were heavy with excruciating grief.Dad clutched the tiny urn closely as he made his way to the largest, most luxurious plot in the cemetery.I looked closer and let out a bitter smile. I never expected that my final resting place would be vastly superior to anywhere I had lived while alive.But what was the point?It was just a futile gesture by the living—nothing more than a desperate attempt to comfort their own consciences.I couldn't enjoy any of it.Through the steady drizzle, Dad carefully placed the urn into the vault and gently closed it."Rest now. Eat well on the other side."Kneeling on the damp ground, he used his hand to wipe the rain from the portrait on the headstone.But the water was like his tears. No matter how much he wiped, it kep

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