My mother is a hospital director. To give my brother, an intern doctor, more hands-on experience, she assigns him as the lead surgeon for my brain tumor operation.

I beg her to let someone else do it and tell her it's my only chance at survival.

But she slaps me hard across the face and screams, "How did I raise such a selfish, ungrateful child? Your brother has just started his internship—can't you help him improve his skills? Is that too much to ask?"

Later, the surgery fails. I die on the operating table. And my mother seems to have aged decades overnight.

I died while my younger brother, Sean Goyle, was operating on me. He was just an intern doctor.

After I died, my soul returned to my mother.

At that moment, Mom was busy comforting Sean. "Don't worry. Zachary's a tough one. He'll definitely survive this. Come, let me take you back to rest first."

The look in her eyes as she gazed at him was one I'd never seen before—filled with affection and concern.

Over the years, Mom's disdain for me had been more than evident. She was always impatient with me. I might have pretended not to care, but in truth, it still hurt. I just didn't want others to see my weakness.

Now that I was no longer alive, the grief that had long simmered in my chest finally overflowed.

As soon as Mom got home, her phone rang.

When she heard the doctor say I had passed away, she snapped, "That's impossible! He was only diagnosed with a minor illness. With so many skilled doctors at the hospital, how could he possibly be dead?

"He's just mad that his brother was the one operating on him, so now he's putting on this act with all of you to scare me, right? Don't think I can't see through your tricks!"

Mom hung up, fairly certain that this was nothing but a silly act I pulled. Looking guilty, she turned toward Sean and said, "It's all my fault. Sorry for scaring you. I'll make sure to teach Zachary a lesson once he comes back."

As soon as her words fell, her phone rang again.

Mom scowled at her phone, the gentleness she had just seconds ago completely disappearing. "I made myself very clear earlier. If Zachary wants to die so badly, just get it over with. Stop calling me again and again!"

The other end of the line went silent.

"Madam Zieck, this is the police. We suspect Sean Goyle may be involved in a medical malpractice incident, but we haven't been able to reach him. We're hoping you'll cooperate with our investigation."

Mom completely lost it. "One minute it's the doctors, next it's the police. Whoever you are, you'd better stop slandering my son! Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

"Madam Zieck, you must have misunderstood," the voice on the other end quickly said. "We're just following standard procedure."

Mom glanced at Sean, who was quivering with fear next to her, then turned back to her phone and bellowed, "Enough! Tell Zachary to stop making a scene. I don't want him to scare Sean!"

And with that, she hung up.

Ever since I got sick and was admitted to the hospital, she had been very upset with me. She thought I was exaggerating some mild sickness just to get her attention and that I didn't deserve to be hospitalized.

For some unknown reason, he became increasingly nervous and trembled more severely.

"Mom, I'm so scared…" he murmured. "What if something really happens to Zachary?"

"He's just putting on a show," she replied coldly. "Besides, you let the hospital's best surgeon take over the operation halfway through. He'll be fine. I can't believe he's actually pulling something like this. He's gone too far!"

Seeing Mom acting so indifferent toward me when my body wasn't even cold yet made my heart sink.

I thought back to all those years I spent begging her love like an abandoned puppy, and realization dawned on me—I was nothing but a joke.

Not long ago, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the hospital where Mom was working.

But sadly, even as the hospital director, she had no idea about my condition. She even said I was just putting on an act.

My attending physician said I was in a precarious situation. But if we could bring in Dr. Julian Xanders, the renowned brain tumor specialist, there might still be a chance for me to survive.

And he just so happened to be Mom's close friend from university.

There were times I tried to approach her with my medical records to get her help, but she didn't even bother to take a proper look.

She merely threw the files to the floor and snapped, "I'm busy. Can you stop playing these silly games on me?"

As time went on, my condition worsened. The tumor began to affect my optic nerve, and I eventually turned blind. All I could do was endure the pain in bed.

Unable to bear it anymore, my attending physician sought Mom out.

"Dr. Zieck, Zachary really doesn't have much time left. Please help him!"

Without even looking up, Mom replied coldly, "What did he promise you to make you play along with his little game? He just wants to trick me into caring about him, isn't he?

"To think he actually claimed that he has a brain tumor! But honestly, it'd be great if he really did have one. At least I'd finally get some peace and quiet.

"If you continue fooling around with him, don't blame me for firing you. Now get out!"

My physician wanted to say something more, but looking at how unfazed Mom was, she could only shake her head helplessly before leaving.

Dr. Xanders was out of reach, and my condition couldn't wait any longer. Left with no choice, my attending physician arranged for the best neurosurgeon in the hospital to perform the surgery.

Before the operation, I asked my attending physician to call Mom through a video call. I had already lost my sight, but I still wanted to hear her voice. I just wanted to try one last time to make her believe me.

But still, what I got instead was her mocking me.

"Oh, are you trying out a new trick now? Pretending to be blind, huh? You really think I'm going to fall for that?

"Alright, enough. Stop trying to pull stunts like this all the time!"

Before I could say anything more, another patient called her away.

But to my surprise, Mom actually came to visit me at my ward that evening. She even brought homemade dinner, and I realized it was the first time she had come to see me since I got sick.

A pang of glee shot through me, but then she said, "By the way, I've switched your surgeon. Sean will be operating on you."

I was flabbergasted. Never mind that we couldn't get a top specialist, but by replacing my surgeon with Sean, who was still a trainee, she had basically sentenced me to death.

"Mom, I'm begging you… Please don't let Sean operate on me," I implored. "This might be my last chance to live. I'll do anything! I'll even kneel if that's what it takes. Just please…"

But Mom slapped me hard across the face and roared, "How did I raise such a selfish brat? Your brother just started his internship. What's the harm in helping him get some experience?"

"No, Mom! Please, I beg you…" I cried out. "I really want to live… I'll do anything you say as long as you let me live…"

Yet, she completely ignored me and began packing up the meal she had brought.

"You're unbelievable. To think you can't even handle a minor illness without whining like a baby. But there's nothing left to discuss. This is final."

With that, she grabbed her things and sauntered out of my ward, leaving me behind in endless darkness and despair.

On the day of my surgery, Mom anxiously waited outside the operating room.

But she wasn't waiting for me; she was looking out for Sean, who was holding the scalpel for the very first time in his life.

He'd always been timid. The moment my skull was opened, he began trembling.

The supervising surgeon urged him to stop, but he insisted on continuing, saying he wanted to prove himself. Not long into the operation, one of the mistakes caused my heart rate to plummet.

The other surgeon quickly snatched the scalpel from his hands and took over.

Shaken, Sean ran out of the operating room in a panic and went straight to Mom. She didn't even show the slightest concern for me, even as I hovered on the brink of death. Her only focus was calming Sean down.

She even took time off from work just to stay at home and keep him company.

After I died, the hospital staff and the police kept calling her, but she rejected every call.

A few days later, Sean said he was too traumatized to perform surgery again and proposed a vacation. Mom immediately complied and bought two tickets to Meldives.

When I was alive, I had invited her to go on a family trip multiple times. I thought it might be a chance to spend some real time with her. But every time, she turned me down coldly. "I'm swamped every day. How could I possibly find time to travel with you?"

It wasn't until later that I realized she just didn't want to leave Sean, who had just started his internship. She wanted to stay close to him.

All these years, Mom poured all her time and energy into Sean. Even when I won multiple academic awards, she never once made time for me. To her, I was just a nuisance—someone who got in the way and wasted her time.

But now, the same person who once claimed she was far too busy had taken a whole month off to go relax with Sean.

As soon as they touched down, Sean stretched and said, "Wow, just being somewhere else really clears the mind. But Mom, do you think Zachary would be mad if he knew? Didn't he always want to go on a trip like this?"

Mom's expression instantly soured. "Why bring him up now, of all times? He has no right to be angry. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be traumatized. If you end up never being able to perform surgery again, I'll break his hands myself!"

Sean lowered his head, looking slightly guilty and wronged.

"Sorry, Mom," he mumbled. "It's all my fault. I'm just not as good as Zachary. He's already a star surgeon at such a young age."

Stroking his head lovingly, Mom crooned, "Silly, he was never better than you. He just got into the industry a few years earlier than you, that's all. People only respected him for my sake."

I scoffed.

Before she became the hospital director, she was one of the country's top cardiac surgeons. Growing up, she'd always been my role model, and I dreamed of becoming just as brilliant as she was.

But from the moment I started medical school, she never helped me—not even once. Instead, she constantly tore me down, saying I simply wasn't cut out for it.

She even publicly doubted my eligibility for the awards I won, humiliating me in front of others.

Sean, on the other hand, had always been lazy. He only studied medicine because he wanted to take over Mom's position someday.

The only reason he chose neurosurgery instead of cardiac surgery like me was to avoid being directly compared to me, so that he wouldn't be seen as inferior.

However, Mom went out of her way to hire top experts to personally tutor him in neurosurgery.

She'd spoiled him so much that he couldn't even handle the slightest obstacle, yet he was always desperate to prove himself.

And in the end, I became the perfect sacrifice for them.