Chapter 1

I’m dying.

My mother, Eleanor, is a world-renowned oncologist specializing in stomach cancer. Yet, I developed the disease right under her nose.

Every time I told her I wasn’t feeling well, she just scoffed and told me to stop acting because my performance was pathetic.

My oldest brother, Pierce, is a detective. He has protected countless citizens in this city, but he never protected me. He stood by and watched as kidnappers dragged me away.

My second brother, Nikolai, is a medical examiner. I once texted him: "When I die, will you perform my autopsy to prove I wasn't lying?"

He replied with a single word: "Dirty."

So, after I died, my lawyer father, Richard, found the severance papers I left behind. There was only one blank line left—the one for his signature.

He frowned and ripped the documents to shreds. Even in death, he refused to let me go.

I walked out of the hospital, utterly hollowed out, staring down at the medical report in my hands.

Late-stage stomach cancer. The cancer cells were already metastasizing.

When it rains, it pours. I learned that the hard way.

Lost in my thoughts, I accidentally bumped into a teenage boy.

I quickly closed my report, apologized, and turned to leave.

He caught a glimpse of the hospital paperwork in my hand and looked at me with pure sympathy. "It's okay."

I walked home in a daze. As night fell, my family’s house glowed with warm, cozy lights in the distance. Too bad none of those lights were meant for me.

I stood outside the door, listening to the laughter and cheer inside. The moment I pushed the door open, the house fell into a dead silence.

Eleanor turned around, her eyes flashing with anger.

"You knew today was Elysia’s birthday, yet you came home this late. Are you intentionally trying to ruin our family gathering?"

The living room was filled with balloons and streamers. A massive, seven-tier cake sat on the dining table.

Richard, Eleanor, Pierce, and Nikolai were all staring at me with deep annoyance.

My sister, Elysia, sat in the middle of them like a princess surrounded by her court. She flashed me a sweet, gentle smile.

"Eleanor, it's fine. Maybe Chloe had something really important to do that held her up?"

Her sweet, understanding act immediately won silent nods of approval from the rest of the family.

Nikolai sneered, "What important thing could she possibly have?"

My family has hated me since the day I was born.

Eleanor was pregnant with twins. But my sister, Angel, was born weak. They believed I had stolen all the nutrients in the womb, which caused Angel to pass away less than twenty-four hours after birth.

My parents dumped me with my grandparents. But before I even turned a month old, my grandparents died in a horrific car crash. From then on, everyone called me a curse.

In my memory, Eleanor always looked at me with disgust, weeping over the baby clothes she had prepared for Angel.

When I was five, Richard brought a girl home from the orphanage. She shared the exact same birthday as me.

That was Elysia. They showered her with all the love they would have given Angel, ten times over.

My mother is a top oncologist specializing in stomach cancer, yet I got terminal stomach cancer right under her nose.

How ironic.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out at first. Finally, I forced out the same plea I had made a thousand times before: "Eleanor, my stomach really hurts."

Eleanor rolled her eyes, her face written with sheer disgust. "Here we go again. Stop acting. It’s pathetic."

The hospital report in my hand was so obvious, yet not a single one of them looked at it.

Pierce threw me a cold glance. "Do you really have to fake an illness on Elysia’s birthday just to steal the spotlight?"

Nikolai clicked his tongue in disgust. "If Elysia hadn't insisted on waiting for you to cut the cake, we would have started hours ago!"

Elysia played along, smiling warmly at me.

"It’s okay, Chloe. I know you're not feeling well. Take care of yourself."

Richard frowned and ordered, "How long are you going to keep up this tantrum? Get over here!"

I walked over and saw the elegant writing on the cake: Happy Birthday, Elysia!

But today was my birthday, too...

Elysia picked up the knife, cut a slice with her name on it, and handed it to me with a smug smile.

"Happy birthday, Chloe."

Her eyes were triumphant. My family was throwing her a massive party, completely forgetting it was my birthday as well.

Or maybe they didn't forget. They just didn't care.

Seeing me hesitate, Eleanor’s voice grew sharp. "Is your hand broken? How long are you going to make Elysia hold that plate?"

The others glared at me as if I were actively torturing their precious darling.