Chapter 4

On the third day, my body was so weak that I was losing the strength to even lift my hand.

My world was reduced to darkness, dust, and an increasingly fierce pain.

Occasionally, I would hallucinate.

I saw steaming hot meals laid before me. I saw Eleanor holding a glass of water, gently telling me, "Chloe, have some water."

I reached out, only to grasp at air.

Click.

There was a sound outside the door, not the key turning in the lock, but more like someone was there.

I laboriously lifted my head.

"Chloe Miller, are you still in there?" It was Seraphina. Her voice was very low.

I had no strength to answer.

"Hey, don't play dead." She seemed a little impatient. "I'm telling you, Richard and Eleanor took Ethan to the amusement park today to celebrate my competition success."

Her voice was filled with ill-concealed bragging. "We're going for a big seafood dinner tonight. I hear that restaurant's Australian lobster is famous."

"Are you very hungry?" she deliberately slowed her words. "I just ate a piece of tiramisu. Eleanor bought it especially for me. It was so delicious, the cream was fragrant and sweet..."

My stomach spasmed, and sour bile rose in my throat.

"Too bad you can't have any."

She changed her tone. "Chloe, don't blame us. Blame yourself. Why did you have to lie and make Eleanor angry?"

"If you just knock on the door now and loudly say, 'I was wrong, I shouldn't have lied,' I might consider bringing you a small piece of bread when I come back."

Her tone was like she was bestowing alms upon a beggar.

I leaned against the wall, listening. This was my sister.

She hadn't come to see if I was dead. She had come to savor my misery, to enjoy the feeling of stepping on me.

I closed my eyes, too tired to respond with a single word.

My silence seemed to enrage her.

"Chloe Miller, don't be ungrateful!" Her voice suddenly rose. "Do you think Richard and Eleanor will soften if you don't speak? I'm telling you, no way!"

"They were even discussing this morning that after my celebration gala, the whole family would go on vacation to the Maldives! No one will be home then, what will you do?!"

"You can just starve to death in there!"

After her curses, she kicked the door hard, and the sound of her high heels faded into the distance.

A vacation... perhaps they wished I would really die in there, so no one would bother them again.

I weakly smiled. The pain in my heart grew heavier and heavier. I knew my time was running out.

I traced lines on the floor with my finger. I wanted to write Richard, Eleanor, Seraphina, and Ethan's names.

I wanted to ask them, if I truly died, would they feel even a tiny bit of sadness? Even for just one second.

But I didn't even have the strength to finish writing the first letter of a name. My finger went limp, and I collapsed onto the floor.

Before I lost consciousness, I thought I saw a small wooden box. It was my treasure chest that I had secretly hidden when I was little.

Inside were my first family drawing, the first pencil Richard gave me, and the butterfly hair ribbon Eleanor tied for me.

There was also a small note, on which was scrawled, "I wish our family would stay together forever."

Forever... what a sarcastic word. I lay on the floor, my body growing colder and colder.

Just as my consciousness completely slipped into darkness, I thought I heard the sound of a door opening.

Not the storage room door, but the front door downstairs. They were back from the amusement park.

I heard Ethan excitedly shouting, "Eleanor, I want more ice cream!"

I heard Eleanor's doting laugh, "Okay, my sweet boy, I'll take you again tomorrow."

I struggled to turn my head, pressing my ear to the floor. The light from the living room peeked through the cracks, along with the cheerful laughter of their happy family of three.

It sounded so beautiful.

Too bad, it no longer concerned me.