The wind was too loud, and my head felt too foggy. I did not catch what he said at all.

All I could hear were hurried footsteps behind me, getting closer and closer.

I ran to the edge of the cliff. Loose rocks crumbled under my feet and tumbled down into a bottomless darkness below.

Behind me came the stench of those wolf jaws. Several shadows already lowered their bodies, ready to pounce.

I glanced back once and saw the entire pack closing in, but by then, Mom was already safe.

I hurled the burning branch at them, shut my eyes, and jumped.

The moment my body lost all weight, there was nothing left but the sound of the wind in my ears.

The last thought that flashed through my mind was that Mom was finally safe, and as long as she lived, the fall was worth it.

…

When I opened my eyes again, my body felt light as a feather.

I looked down and saw another me lying twisted among the rocks, one leg bent at a horrible angle, my school uniform torn to shreds by branches. Blood stained the stream beneath me, only to fade as the water carried it away.

Was I dead?

Was that what came after death?

Before I could even process it, a massive roar suddenly came from the top of the cliff.

Blinding beams of light snapped on, turning the mountaintop as bright as day.

I drifted upward to get a better look, then froze as a helicopter descended, its rotor blades whipping up violent gusts of wind that bent the trees in every direction.

A group of staff in camouflage uniforms rushed out. The wolves that were just trying to tear me apart were having their heads removed.

They were people. Crew members in special effects suits. A few well-trained wolfdogs, then lying obediently on the ground, wagging their tails.

"Cut! Perfect!"

Harriet Lawson stepped out from between the rocks, brushing dirt off her clothes and smoothing out her expensive coat.

There was no trace of the panic or madness from before.

The director hurried over with a flattering smile, handing her a glass of champagne.

"Ms. Lawson, that performance was unbelievable. The livestream has just passed three hundred million viewers. Everyone online is calling this the best family drama of the year."

Harriet took the champagne, turned to the camera, and took a graceful sip. That familiar smile spread across her face, the one that always meant she had everything under control.

"That kid acted really well.

"I almost believed it myself. Especially that final jump. The emotion was spot on."

She called out toward the edge of the cliff, her voice clear and casual.

"Alright, Elliot, stop hiding. The props team has already cleared out, and the holograms are off. Get up here. I had them prepare your favorite tomahawk steak."

I hovered in midair, staring at the smile on her face, and the whole thing felt absurd, so absurd it hardly seemed real.

There were no police, no bankruptcy, no killers, and even the wolves were not real.

The crew started packing up, loading all the so-called dangerous props onto the helicopter.

Someone asked quietly, "Why hasn't Mr. Lawson come back yet? I saw him jump just now. Could it be?"

Harriet waved her hand, cutting him off with complete confidence.

"Relax. There are safety nets and air cushions down there. I saw the staff go down earlier.

"That kid is probably waiting for me to praise him. That's his little trick. He just wants me to feel bad for him."

She turned back to the camera, speaking to the countless viewers watching the livestream.

"Kids these days are too soft. If you don't teach them a real lesson, they'll never grow up. See? This time we pushed him, and look at the potential he showed."

Cheers and applause broke out all around.

Everyone was celebrating the perfect success of this so-called survival challenge.

I was the only one left, drifting in the freezing wind. Looking down at my lifeless body below, I felt nothing at all.

…

The helicopter slowly lifted into the air, carrying the celebrating crowd toward the luxury camp at the foot of the mountain.

I was pulled along by some invisible force, drifting beside Harriet.

She leaned back against a leather seat. Sitting next to her was her boyfriend, the producer of this show, Timothy Lloyd.

Timothy held up an iPad, showing her the numbers, grinning from ear to ear.

"Harriet, you nailed it. The whole internet is calling you a 'tough love mom.' They're saying everything you did was for your kid's own good. Our company's stock is already up five percent after hours."

Harriet slipped an arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek lightly, her smile calm and satisfied.

"Of course. Who do you think set this whole thing up? Audiences love stories like this, rich kids being forced to face reality. Elliot's too quiet, barely noticeable most of the time. If I don't push him, he'll never understand how harsh the real world can be."

Timothy leaned into her, his tone half-teasing, half-concerned.

"You're the only one who could go that far. When I saw him jump, my face went pale. Honestly, it was kind of hard to watch."

"Hard to watch?" Harriet took a sip of red wine, completely unfazed. "He's my son. If he can't even handle a staged scare like this, how is he supposed to take over my position in the future?"

She paused, the corner of her lips lifting slightly.

"Besides, everything was under control. I had the team set up three layers of safety airbags down there. Softer than his bed at home. He wouldn't even get a scratch."

I floated above them, staring at her like it was all perfectly normal.

Three days ago.

Harriet burst into my school and dragged me out, reeking of alcohol, her designer suit torn and her face marked with bruises.

"Elliot, it's over. It's all over. The company's gone bankrupt, and we owe millions to loan sharks. If we can't pay them back, they'll kill me."

She broke down completely, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground, clutching me tightly. I was terrified.

All my life, she was Ms. Lawson, untouchable and perfect. I never saw her like that.

Without even thinking, I shoved all five thousand dollars of my savings into her hands.

However, she pulled me into that beat-up van and drove straight into the deep mountains.

For those three days. We ate wild fruit and drank dirty water.

To let her have one more bite of that moldy bread, I lied and said I was not hungry, then turned around and scraped tree bark to fill my stomach.

My hands were torn open by thorns, and my feet were covered in blisters, but I never complained once, because she said, "Elliot, you're all I have now."

All she had.

I was always a coward, someone who could not even handle dissecting a frog in class, and yet, for her, I was willing to risk my life.

In the end?

All of that was just for her stock price, her popularity, and her vanity as some kind of "educator."

Those moments when I struggled on the edge of life and death, in her eyes, were nothing more than "emotionally rich" performance material.

So in her heart, I was not even a person.

…

The helicopter landed on the lawn of a resort hotel at the foot of the mountain. The place was brightly lit, already set up for a celebration banquet.

A long table was covered with lobster, champagne, red wine, and that so-called favorite of mine, a tomahawk steak.

The truth was, I did not even like tomahawk steak. What I liked were simple vegetables and light, home-cooked meals. That was what my dad used to make for me before he passed.

Ever since he died, Harriet never remembered what I liked.

She remembered that Timothy did not eat green onions. She remembered that he liked his filet mignon medium rare.

However, she never remembered that I was allergic to red meat.

The moment Harriet stepped off the helicopter, she was surrounded by reporters and livestream hosts.

Camera flashes burst nonstop, so bright they made my eyes ache.

"Ms. Lawson, what inspired you to design this part?"

"Ms. Lawson, some viewers say this kind of 'death-style education' is too extreme. What do you think about that?"

Harriet adjusted her suit, that perfectly practiced smile already in place.

"Young people today have very low tolerance for pressure. I did this so Elliot could understand that you can unlock your potential only in extreme situations. And look at him. In the end, didn't he do great? To protect his family, he overcame his fear. That is what growth looks like."

Thunderous applause erupted.

Comments flooded the livestream.

[Ms. Lawson is absolutely right. Kids like this need to be pushed. They can't stay in their comfort zone forever.]

[I actually cried. That look in Elliot's eyes at the end; it was so steady. That is what it means to be part of the Lawson family.]

[This is real education. It might be harsh, but it works. Respect Ms. Lawson.]

I stared at those words, a laugh almost escaping me. So this was what they called love.

Yeah. It just happened to bury me along with it.

After greeting people in the crowd, Harriet finally took her seat at the head of the table.

She cut into a piece of steak, still red inside, and chewed slowly. A thin line of blood ran down from the corner of her mouth. It looked exactly like the blood that splashed out of me when I hit the rocks.

"Why isn't Elliot back yet?" She checked the time, her brows knitting slightly. "It's been half an hour. Even if he walked up, he should be here by now."

The director was gnawing on a nearby chicken leg, speaking with his mouth full.

"He's probably still down there throwing a tantrum. He's a teenager. Realizes he got tricked, feels embarrassed. It's normal to sulk a bit."

Timothy chimed in from the side. "Yeah, Elliot's always been a bit proud. He's probably hiding somewhere, waiting for you to come comfort him."

Harriet let out an icy laugh and slammed her knife and fork back onto the table.

"Comfort him? That will only make it worse."

Her tone turned sharp. "That kid is way too self-centered. No sense of the bigger picture at all."

She glanced around at the guests, lowering her voice, which somehow made it even harsher.

"Tonight is a celebration banquet. With so many important guests here, he actually dares to embarrass me in public?"

She pulled out her phone and dialed my number. Her phone screen was still being mirrored onto the big display, and the entire room went quiet, waiting for the touching moment of a mother and son reunion.

The phone rang a few times.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently powered off," The mechanical female voice echoed through the hall.

Harriet's expression darkened. "Oh, so now he dares to turn off his phone."

She stood up and shouted at the director. "Send people down to find him. Tell him if he doesn't show up in front of me within ten minutes, I'm cutting off all his allowance next month. Let him go earn his own living."

I floated right in front of her, watching her lose her temper.

"Mom, do not bother. Dead people did not need an allowance," I let out a silent, helpless sigh.

The director did not dare waste a second. He grabbed a walkie-talkie and contacted the search team below.

"Joshua, Joshua! Stop wasting time and get Mr. Lawson up here now. Ms. Lawson is angry!"

Only static came back at first.

After a long pause, a broken voice finally answered. "We checked the whole area and didn't find anyone."

"What do you mean you didn't find anyone?" The director's voice rose in panic. "Weren't there three safety airbags? Did he just vanish into thin air?"

"The airbags! The airbags are empty." The voice on the other end trembled.