My sister and I were caught up in a severe car accident during a family road trip down the mountain for the New Year. Shattered glass pierced straight through my heart.

Amid the excruciating pain, my fiance and family insisted the rescue team take my sister, who only had a scratched arm, to the hospital first.

As I cried out for them to save me, my fiance snapped at me.

“Carol, you should know when to stop vying for attention!

“Delila is bleeding so much. Why must you compete with her?”

Dad shook his head and sighed while Mom looked at me with disgust.

I forced my stiff neck to look over. They were all surrounding my younger sister. She only sported a faint red mark on her arm.

No one saw the blood gushing from my chest. No one heard my fading heartbeat.

I died during that snowy, bitterly frigid night.

When they finally remembered me and came across my cold body, my fiance and family went mad.

The moment my breath stopped, I drifted into the air and followed the ambulance back to the hospital.

The ward was brightly lit. It was filled with warmth.

My fiance, Kelvin Shaw, crouched beside the hospital bed and cradled my younger sister, Delila Lane’s, wrist with tender care. His gaze brimmed with concern.

“Stop crying, okay? The doctor said it’s just a superficial wound. It won’t leave any scars.”

Delila snuggled deeper into his embrace. Her eyes were filled with tears.

“Kelvin, I was so scared... When the car crashed, I thought I was going to die.”

Mom and Dad stood guard on either side of the bed.

Mom tenderly stroked Delila’s cheek, then shot a furious glare at the air.

“It’s all Carol’s fault! If she hadn’t been driving so recklessly, how could this have happened?”

Dad slammed his fist on the table. His face darkened.

“I always told her she’s a terrible driver, but she insisted on proving herself! Now look at what she’s done. She’s caused Delila so much trauma!”

“Exactly!”

Mom chimed in immediately while tenderly stroking Delila’s hair.

“Delila grew up sheltered and pampered. How could she endure this? That nasty Carol has always competed with Delila for attention. I suspect she caused Delila’s injury on purpose!”

I froze. My soul trembled.

It was not my fault! I swear it was not my fault!

Before the brakes failed, Delila had been seated in the passenger seat. She had grabbed the steering wheel from me.

She thought I was driving too slowly and had insisted on taking over. In the struggle, the car spun out of control and plunged down the hillside!

I fought desperately to steady the car while yanking the airbag release, only to find mine could not be deployed at all. That was why I had suffered such severe injuries.

How could they… How could they pin everything on me?

My mouth opened. I was desperate to scream and fight back.

But my voice did not reach their ears.

I could only watch helplessly as they traded accusations, pinning all the blame squarely on me.

Delila nestled into Kelvin’s embrace. A barely visible smirk of satisfaction creased her mouth before she instantly shifted to a look of hurt.

Kelvin comforted her for a while before suddenly standing up, as if he had just remembered something.

“Right, what about Carol? She seemed pretty badly hurt on the mountain earlier. I should go check on her.”

Mom and Dad nodded, but their expressions were dismissive. “She didn’t even bleed as much as Delila. They must’ve sent another ambulance for her. She’s just too ashamed to contact us now.”

“Don’t mind her. Go see her if you want.”

The moment the words left their mouths, Delila suddenly cried out in feigned distress. “I’m still in so much pain! Kelvin, could you ask the doctor to prescribe some painkillers for me?”

Kelvin’s steps halted. “Please ask your parents to handle it. I’d like to check on Carol. She just...”

Mom pulled Kelvin closer, while Dad gently patted his shoulder.

“As her parents, we know Carol best.

“She might have staged this accident to grab attention to herself. Her narcissism only ended up hurting Delila so badly!

“Let’s not visit her. It’ll teach her a lesson. Let’s show her that playing these tricks won’t work!”

Kelvin hesitated. His gaze landed on Delila’s pale, dainty face.

Just then, Delila suddenly let out a sob and seemed to nearly faint.

She leaned against Kelvin’s shoulder. Her voice was soft and innocent.

“Mom, Dad, please don’t blame Carol... She probably just hates me, that’s why she purposely zoned out while driving... She may call me the most useless person in this family, but I don’t blame her, really…”

I hated her? I zoned out while driving?

I felt a chill run straight from my feet to the top of my head. My soul trembled.

It was her! She grabbed the wheel! She ruined me!

But no one heard my screams.

After hearing her words, Kelvin’s worries vanished completely and were replaced by deep disgust.

He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, “What a vicious woman.”

Mom and Dad agreed. They cursed me as a born heartless villain.

While floating in midair, my heart felt crushed into pieces.

Just then, Mom’s phone rang sharply.

She answered impatiently. Right after she said “Hello,” her face drained of color.

The voice on the other end of the line was loud. Even I, a ghost, could hear it.

“Is this Carol Lane’s family? She has already...”

Mom froze for a moment:

“Carol... What happened to her?”

Before the other end could respond, Delila snatched the phone.

Moments later, she hung up. Her eyes darted nervously as she stammered, “Carol... is fine.

“She’s just emotionally unstable and demanding that everyone visit her. She yelled at me, too.”

She wiped away her tears. Her voice was filled with hurt.

“Mom, Carol must be angry that you took me to the hospital first. Don’t worry about me. Hurry and go see her...”

The anger flared back on Mom’s face.

“This accident wasn’t serious at all. It was just a tree! She’s probably exaggerating her condition just to get us to visit.”

Dad visibly relaxed.

“I knew it. She wouldn’t get hurt that easily.”

Delila sniffed. Her eyes reddened.

“Kelvin, Mom, and Dad, don’t be angry...

“Carol must be mad at me. That’s why she’s making up excuses.

“Why don’t you go see her anyway?”

Her words both confirmed her accusations and made her appear kind-hearted.

I hovered beside them and studied Delila’s scheming gaze. A chill spread from the depths of my soul.

Mom immediately patted her hand.

“Silly girl, you’re just too soft. She’s manipulating you on purpose!

“If we give in to her today, who knows what trouble she’ll stir up later?!”

Dad whispered to Mom, “Ignore her. Once she’s had her fill of drama, she’ll slink back on her own.”

Their exchange flowed with a practiced ease. It flowed so naturally, like it was rehearsed.

Only Kelvin seemed vaguely anxious. He wanted to check on me.

Delila pouted. Tears welled up instantly.

“Kelvin, please go. Though I’ll miss your company terribly, I won’t be upset...”

Her tears successfully halted Kelvin’s footsteps. Mom and Dad instantly pulled him back, too.

Just then, a nurse entered with a test report.

“Miss Delila Lane’s results are in. Everything’s perfectly fine. She can be discharged tomorrow.”

Delila immediately lit up with delight. She tugged at Mom’s hand and cooed, “That’s wonderful, Mom! I’ve been craving your homemade steak.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll rush home and make it for you.”

Watching them bustle around Delila, I felt a sharp ache in my chest.

I recalled the events that had led to the car accident. Delila had asked to join me on the mountain to see the snow.

I instinctively refused, but Mom and Dad thought I was deliberately picking on my sister. They insisted I take her with me and drive ahead.

After enduring the long drive back, Delila suddenly grabbed the steering wheel from me. The car suddenly hit an icy patch.

Before I could react, the car flipped violently and slammed into a tree.

In that instant, I had instinctively shielded her with my body.

She was protected by the airbag and only suffered minor scrapes.

On the other hand, not only did my brakes fail, but my seatbelt also snapped. Even my airbag malfunctioned.

Shards of broken glass pierced straight into my heart. My vision slowly went dark.

Yet at that moment, she whispered something I could not believe into my ear.

“Carol, you’ve always fought me for everything since we were kids. I’ve had enough of you!

“Our family has only ever had one extra person, you. If you die, Mom, Dad, and Kelvin will love only me from now on!

“I tampered with every safety feature in your seat. Even if you don’t die, you’ll be crippled for life.”

She looked at the shards embedded in my chest and laughed with a touch of madness.

“Don’t even think about Mom, Dad, or Kelvin saving you. With just one word from me, they won’t give you a second glance, even if you die.”

She knew Mom and Dad favored her, while Kelvin doted on her. A few crocodile tears would have everyone scrambling to her side.

It had been a meticulously planned conspiracy from the very beginning.

She had even calculated that I would die on that snowy day.

Outside, the snow fell heavier and heavier, as if intent on burying the entire world.

I could do nothing but stand by as they repeatedly humiliated me with more venomous words.

After Delila was discharged from the hospital, the family gathered around her. They could not bear to let her move an inch.

I drifted in the corner of the living room. A bitter chill rose from the depths of my soul.

They did love me when I was little.

But as I grew older, my excellence in academics and abilities only made Delila’s resentment toward me more apparent.

When she was six, Delila stole Mom’s jewelry, planted it in my room, and accused me of the theft.

I could not defend myself and was severely punished by Mom and Dad.

In middle school, Delila grew jealous when I got first place in our grade.

She secretly tore her own exam papers, splashed ink on her textbooks, and tearfully told Mom and Dad that I had deliberately prevented her from studying.

In college, when Kelvin first came over for dinner, she purposely spilled soup on herself. While pretending I had shoved her, she fell to the floor and “sprained her ankle.”

That was the first time Kelvin ever looked at me with disgust.

From that day on, my parents began nagging that I was unworthy of the gentle and considerate Kelvin.

Delila’s schemes never ceased. She was like a vicious wolf cloaked in the guise of an innocent lamb, splashing all the mud on me while hoarding all the affection for herself.

My family always believed her tears while scolding me for being unreasonable.

Looking at my parents’ loving faces, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. The pain was so intense it nearly robbed me of the strength to float.

Dad started cursing me again.

“If Carol doesn’t come back and apologize to Delila soon, I’ll disown her!”

Kelvin paused with the water cup in his hand, as if he wanted to say something.

“Actually... Carol wouldn’t risk her own safety to harm others; would she...”

He seemed to recall something. A flicker of concern appeared in his eyes.

But when he met Delila’s eyes, which were filled with hurt and resentment, the words on the tip of his tongue vanished.

Mom seemed to see through his thoughts and spoke to him earnestly.

“Kelvin, you’re a good boy. But that girl, Carol, has a wicked heart. She’s not worthy of you.

“Look at our Delila. She’s gentle, kind, and sensible. You two are truly meant for each other.

“Why don’t you two get together?”

Delila’s face flushed instantly, and she lowered her head shyly.

Her gaze toward Kelvin was full of hope.