On my eighth birthday, I begged my mom to video call my dad, who was supposedly working late.

The moment the call connected, a version of him from ten years in the future appeared on the screen.

My mom held me close and smiled, asking him, "Ten years from now… our Lily has grown up. Was her coming-of-age ceremony a big celebration?"

Dad replied coldly, "She kept trying to one-up Sarah's kid, so I sent her abroad. Too bad her luck ran out—her plane went down."

My mom's face went pale.

On the other end, my dad let out an icy laugh. "Claire, back then, you lied to me. You said if your 'plan' didn't work out, you'd die. I believed you. I gave up Sarah and her child to marry you."

My mom's body started trembling. I reached out toward the screen. "Daddy, when are you coming home to celebrate my birthday with me?"

Dad sighed and looked at her calmly. "The truth is, I wasn't working late that night. I was celebrating Sarah's daughter's birthday. Now you know everything. What you do next is up to you."

Suddenly, a cold robotic voice echoed in my ear: [Host, do you choose to abandon the original world and stay here forever?]

I wiped the tears off my mom's face and, barely understanding what was happening, said, "Mommy, does that mean Daddy doesn't want us anymore? Then let's not want him either. Okay?"

The look on my dad's face on the other end of the screen instantly turned cold.

He stared hard at my mom, the corner of his mouth curling into a sneer. "Claire, is this how you normally teach Lily? No wonder she grows up to be such a moody, gloomy kid. Completely unlikable."

My mom pulled me into her arms, her voice shaking. "David, Lily waited for you all day long. And now, you're telling us you were with your mistress and illegitimate kid?"

David let out a scoff. "Mistress? Illegitimate kid? Claire, have you ever actually taken a good look at our marriage certificate? Yours is fake. You were already pregnant with Lily when I married Sarah."

My mom's whole body jolted. Her face went white as a sheet.

David watched her fall apart, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "If we're being honest, Claire, you're the one who came between us. You're the other woman. And as for Lily... she's the illegitimate one."

My mom's body shook uncontrollably, but her eyes still held a flicker of desperate hope. "I don't believe you. David, you wouldn't do this to me, would you? When I was giving birth to Lily, I almost bled out. You gave me practically every drop of blood in your body. I don't believe you."

David sighed, shaking his head wearily. "I know this is hard for you to accept, but it's the truth. If you don't believe me, go check my computer in the study."

My mom let go of me and stumbled out of the room. Her eyes were dead. She calmly opened the pinned folder.

The first video was a wedding.

My godmother was in a wedding dress, leaning against my dad, smiling sweetly.

All around them were familiar faces—aunts and uncles I knew. My dad was smiling warmly, but when he spoke, it was a warning. "All of you, keep this to yourselves. Claire is pregnant. She can't handle any shocks."

Rose petals fell from the sky, beautiful and grand. It was a lavish wedding, witnessed and celebrated by everyone.

My mom opened the next file. There were two marriage certificates. The date on them was clear—a full year before my parents' wedding.

She scrolled down and saw a will.

It stated: [All private property under David Anderson is to be given in full to Sarah Perkins and her children upon his death. Claire Winters and Lily Anderson are to have no inheritance rights. They may not interfere with asset distribution and have no right to object.]

My dad's voice came through, lazy and indifferent. "Well? See it all clearly now? Do you finally believe me?"

My mom's eyes were hollow. David watched her in silence.

"I slept with Sarah when I was drunk. She's not like you. She needs me. You don't need anything. But even though you lied to me, I chose to believe you anyway. I know you can't live without me. But I'm tired."

His light, airy tone finally snapped whatever was left of my mom's composure.

A dry, raspy laugh escaped her throat. "Disgusting. David, you and that woman... you're both just disgusting."

She raised her hand and swept everything off the desk onto the floor.

I had never seen my mom look so broken.

But my dad showed no sympathy. His voice was cold as he snapped, "Claire, don't act like a crazy bitch."

He hung up the video call.

My mom collapsed, completely drained. She fell to her knees and screamed, "System, I want to leave this world. I'm taking Lily with me."

I stared, frozen, as a countdown appeared above my mom's head. Three days.

And suddenly, I understood. This time, my mom really was done with my dad.

My mom's phone rang sharply. She swiped it open, her movements robotic.

The voice of my dad—the younger version of him—came through, gentle and apologetic. "Claire, I'm so sorry. I've been stuck at work..."

My mom cut him off, her voice like ice. "Where are you? You, Sarah, and your kid—where are you right now?"

There was a long pause. Then my dad let out a low laugh and dropped all pretense. "So you already know. I'm at the family estate. The birthday party for Sarah's daughter has just started."

My mom held my hand as we stood outside the Anderson family estate villa.

Inside, the lights were bright. The party was lavish and loud.

In the middle of the hall, a girl about my age was being held in my dad's arms. My uncle was smiling as he placed a small diamond-studded crown on her head.

Sarah stood nearby with a camera, carefully documenting the moment. "Our little princess Fiona is eight years old today!"

Everyone was there to celebrate her birthday. Everyone adored her.

The warmth was inside. We had nothing.

My nose stung. I looked up at my mom and whimpered, "Mom, why doesn't Dad and Uncle celebrate my birthday? Is it because I'm a bad kid? Do they not like me?"

Tears filled my mom's eyes in an instant. She gently touched my head. "No, Lily. They're the ones who don't deserve to like us."

My uncle happened to turn his head. He spotted us.

His face darkened, and he walked over quickly. "What are you doing here? Standing at the door with a sour face—who are you trying to scare?"

My mom's expression was caught somewhere between a cry and a laugh. "So, Evan, you knew about all of this too?"

My uncle let out a cold snort and looked away. "Sarah spent eight years married to David in secret for your sake. And now, you want to ruin her daughter's birthday party?"

For once, my mom didn't grab his sleeve and scream, "I'm your sister! Why are you always on her side?"

She dropped her head. Her face was eerily calm.

My uncle's eyes flickered with surprise, but his voice stayed hard and cold. "I don't care if this is an act or if you've actually come to your senses. Just behave yourself."

My mom's thin shoulders sagged. A hollow smile slowly tugged at her lips. "I hear you. I'm not going to cause a scene."

My uncle shot us a cold glance and said firmly, "Come inside. Don't just stand at the door. It'll make people talk."

Inside, the heat was blasting, but I felt freezing cold.

My dad didn't come over. He stayed patiently with Fiona, finishing her birthday ceremony.

Only after it was over did he casually walk up to us. There was no guilt on his face.

"Since you already know the truth, I'm not going to hide it anymore. I've been exhausted by all this pretending. If it weren't for that ridiculous excuse you gave me, I would have left you years ago and been with Sarah."

I remember my mom telling me that eight years ago, she was the one who brought Sarah—a poor student she was sponsoring—into our home.

Ever since I was little, my mom would say to me, "Your aunt Sarah had such a hard childhood. We need to be good to her."

Sarah's parents favored boys over girls. Her body was covered in scars. There wasn't a single spot of unmarked skin.

My mom felt sorry for her. Sarah had no one. So my mom gave her everything—her heart, her home. She even made me call Sarah my godmother.

Back then, Sarah's eyes had glistened with tears. Her voice was sincere and emotional. "Claire, Lily—you two are my family."

But this woman, who called us her family, had stolen my dad. She had stolen everyone from us.

Sarah walked over, pretending to be warm and friendly. "Lily, come here. Come to Godmom."

Her hand closed around my wrist. Suddenly, her fingernails dug deep into my skin.

The pain was so sharp I couldn't help but scream. On pure instinct, I shoved her hard.

Sarah stumbled backward, shrieked, and fell to the ground. Her eyes went red in an instant. "Claire, I know I shouldn't have done this to you. But you can't control your feelings! How could you—how could you use Lily to get back at me?"

My mom saw the ugly red marks on my wrist. Furious, she raised her hand to hit Sarah.

But the next second, my uncle grabbed her arm. "Claire, how dare you!"

Without hesitation, he raised his hand and brought a slap down hard across my mom's face.

My mom stood frozen in place, completely stunned.

My uncle looked at his own hand with something like regret in his eyes, but when he spoke, it was still a scolding. "Claire, you started it!"

My dad had already lifted Sarah into his arms gently. His cold gaze locked onto my mom. "Why do you have to drag the kids into grown-up business? You're a rich girl who has everything. Why do you still have to compete with Sarah?"

My mom held her reddened cheek. Tears rolled down her face uncontrollably. "You win, Sarah. All these blind, heartless people—I don't want them anymore. I'm giving them to you."

My dad froze for a moment, then his face flooded with anger. "Claire! Why are you so stubborn? You're the one who did something wrong, and you still dare to talk like that?"

My mom didn't answer. She took my hand and turned to leave.

But my dad chased after us and grabbed her wrist hard. There was a vicious look in his eyes. "Did I say you could leave? You need to explain yourself!"

My uncle also looked completely shocked. Disappointment colored his voice. "No matter how angry you are, you can't say something like that! Claire, do you even have a heart?"

My mom's hand was painfully cold. I held onto her tightly, scared, wanting to comfort her.

But just then, Fiona—who everyone had forgotten about—suddenly let out a scream. "Lily, it's not my fault! Don't push me!"

She lunged at me. Caught off guard, I grabbed onto her, and we both tumbled toward the swimming pool.

The freezing water swallowed me whole. It rushed into my nose and throat, choking, suffocating.

I heard my mom's desperate, heartbroken scream. "Lily! Evan, David, save her—she can't swim!"

My dad and uncle jumped into the water in a panic and swam toward me as hard as they could.

Running on pure instinct, I weakly lifted my small, limp hand. "Dad... Uncle... help..."

I was so close. I could almost touch their hands.

Then Sarah's shrill cry split the air. "David! Help! Fiona's leg is cramping—I can't hold her!"

I watched with my own eyes as the two big hands reaching for me suddenly pulled back.

Without a moment of hesitation, they turned and swam quickly toward Fiona on the other side.

My air ran out. Everything went dark. I started sinking.

The last thing I saw was my mom—who couldn't swim—throwing herself into the water without a second thought. "Lily, don't be scared! Mommy's coming! Mommy's coming to save you!"

I don't know how much time passed. I coughed violently and opened my eyes.

My mom was soaking wet, holding me, crying with relief.

But my dad coldly grabbed her and tore her away from me.

"Claire, look at what you've turned Lily into." He looked down at us with icy eyes. "She's so jealous at such a young age that she'd push Fiona into the water and almost kill her."

The cold seeped all the way through me. I couldn't stop shaking. I tried to defend myself in a small voice. "I didn't push her..."

But my dad cut me off coldly, disappointment all over his face. "Still lying? I don't think you can raise Lily right. I'm giving her to Sarah, so you don't ruin her."

My mom's eyes went wide with terror. She lunged back like a madwoman and wrapped her body around me, protecting me with everything she had. "No! Don't take Lily away from me!"

I held onto her just as tightly, screaming through my sobs. "No! I didn't do anything wrong! I don't want to leave Mommy!"

My mom was desperate and frantic, kicking and biting my dad.

My dad hesitated for a moment. Something flickered in his eyes.

My mom's once-straight spine finally broke. Her red, swollen eyes locked onto his. "David, please don't take Lily away. I'm begging you. It's all my fault. I admit it. I'll give her everything. I'll take Lily and leave. We'll never get in your way again."

Anger rose in my dad's eyes. He pried her fingers off me one by one. "Leave? Where do you think you're taking Lily? Claire, without my permission, you're not going anywhere."