Chapter 1

Five years of stomach cancer. I couldn't hold on anymore.

I called my mother, begging her to save me.

"This pathetic trick again? You disgust me."

"If you're going to die, do it already. At least then we can have your kidney for your sister."

She hung up. The call lasted barely thirty seconds.

I didn't beg again. I faced death alone.

Until I ended up on her autopsy table.

My mother, who despised me with every fiber of her being, went entirely gray overnight.

The nurse told me my hospital account was empty.

"You're still so young. Call your family. They won't just leave you like this."

The nurse looked at me with pity. For five years, not a single family member had come to visit me.

I nodded and pulled out my phone.

It was a cheap, outdated flip phone with a speaker that was too loud.

It rang until the very last second before someone finally picked up.

My throat tightened. "Mom... it's Hazel."

I allowed myself a foolish sliver of hope. She must care, even just a little. Why else would she take my number off her block list?

"Don't call me that! I am not your mother!"

Her sharp, angry voice boomed through the speaker.

"Spit it out. What do you want? I'm warning you, today is Chloe’s birthday. Don't you dare ruin it with your drama."

Only then did I remember today was also my birthday. But it didn't matter anymore.

"I’m sick. Can you... can you lend me some money?"

"Money, money, money! I gave you fifteen thousand dollars last time! And now you're back begging again!"

"Last time" was five years ago.

Besides, Chloe had "borrowed" ten thousand of it and never paid me back.

I choked back a sob. "Mom, I’m dying. Please. Save me."

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a cruel, mocking laugh.

"This pathetic trick again? You disgust me."

"If you're going to die, do it already. At least then we can have your kidney for your sister."

The line went dead. The entire call lasted less than thirty seconds.

I looked up at the nurse. "I'm sorry. I let you down."

The nurse covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

I knew the cancer cells had already metastasized. There was no saving me anyway.

The nurse had only urged me to call because she thought hearing a loved one’s voice might comfort me.

She had no idea that I didn't have a family who cared.

Enduring the agonizing pain, I dragged myself back to my tiny rented room. I changed into a clean set of clothes and walked to the park my mother always drove past on her way to work.

It was a beautiful park, quiet and empty at night.

I decided to die there.

Maybe that way, as the lead medical examiner, my mother would finally look at me. Truly look at me.