I just hadn't expected my parents—people who cared so much about their reputation—to stoop so low. To force me back to heal Grace, they started a livestream.
Facing the camera, they wept, accusing me of having no conscience, of harboring a vicious, jealous heart.
They claimed that to compete for their favor, I had engineered accident after accident, trying to kill my own sister. Now that Grace was traumatized from a "car accident" and burning up with a fever, I wouldn't even visit. Instead, I was out filming videos with strangers, using the scandal to line my pockets.
Mom even flashed a bank statement showing my earnings. "Look closely! Michelle Fox doesn't lack money at all!"
"That sanitation worker buying her porridge? It's all a show! It's acting!"
The livestream turned me into public enemy number one.
The videos Eliana and I had filmed were mass-reported and taken down. Eliana was even warned by her supervisor: stop filming, or get fired.
By then, the countdown on my arm had reached single digits.
One hour.
That was all I had left.
"It's my fault," I said softly.
I took a deep breath, looking at the chaos I'd caused. "Auntie Eliana doesn't know anything. I lied to her."
Whether it was the internet mob or her boss, I took all the blame.
After clearing Eliana's name, I took a taxi to the hospital.
I pushed open the door to the ward.
Mom and Dad weren't there. Grace was leaning against the headboard, scrolling through her phone. Her complexion was rosy, her eyes bright.
She didn't look sick at all.
When I entered, she didn't even look up. Her gaze passed right through me, as if I were air.
I wasn't surprised. Whenever our parents weren't watching, the "sweet little sister" act vanished. She never called me sister. Never acknowledged my existence unless she had to.
"Grace, why did you frame me?"
Silence. Her thumbs kept tapping the screen.
"At this point, do you still not dare to speak a single word of truth?"
Grace finally looked up.
A teenage girl should be innocent. Bright. But her eyes held a gloom and a cold indifference that made my blood run cold.
"Mom and Dad only need one child." Her voice was flat. Empty. "That child is me."
"They don't need two daughters. And I don't need a sister."
"Their love belongs to me alone. The three of us are very happy without you."