I glanced at the clock. It was now 2 a.m.

In my past life, ten minutes from now, she’d gone missing from the hospital.

If I stayed close by, with her grandparents here as witnesses, there was no way she could twist things again. She wouldn’t be able to make any more false claims.

I forced myself to stay awake, determined to keep my eyes on her.

But shortly, she suddenly burst into tears again, clutching her stomach.

“I’m hungry,” she sobbed.

None of us had really eaten anything after everything that had happened.

Garth's POV

I opened up the food delivery app, only to find that everything near the hospital was closed at this hour. The few places still taking orders weren’t offering anything Zelene could eat.

With no better option, my mother-in-law stood up and said, “I’ll go get her some chicken noodle soup.”

I glanced at my father-in-law, who was staying behind with me. I nodded—so long as I wasn’t left alone with Zelene, she wouldn’t get another chance to make up lies about me.

Just three minutes to 2:10 a.m., Zelene suddenly started crying again, saying the back of her hand hurt. When we checked, we saw the IV needle had slipped. Her hand was swollen, bruised into a purplish lump. I quickly pulled the needle out.

My father-in-law got up to find a doctor, but I stopped him. “You can just press the call button.”

I hit the button by the bed, but no nurse came.

That’s when the clock struck 2:10 a.m., and Zelene began wailing in agony, gasping like she was about to pass out.

My father-in-law’s heart broke at the sight. “I’ll go get a nurse!”

He turned to leave, but I blocked him again. “Dad, it’s just a slipped needle. She’ll be fine in a minute.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but then Zelene’s lips turned blue. She let out a choking cry and vomited all over the bed.

“It’s a drug reaction! If we don’t do something fast, she could die!” he shouted, then shoved me aside and ran for help.

My daughter looked up at me with that small, pale face and said, “Daddy… I don’t feel good… I want some water…”

Despite everything, she was still my daughter. I couldn’t bear to see her suffer.

So, I turned away and poured her a cup of warm water.

But when I turned back around, she was gone.

The bed was empty, except for the mess she’d thrown up, and my phone, still playing her cartoon.

Just then, my father-in-law rushed back in with a nurse. “Where’s Zelene? Let the nurse take a look at her!”