The broken rib pressed against my pleura. Every breath was agony.

When the orderlies lifted me back onto the hospital bed, my phone screen was glowing. The message list was filled top to bottom with texts from unknown numbers.

"Your whole family is trash. Your brother deserved to die."

"Scumbag troublemaker, get out of Ashton."

"I heard your husband's marrying a socialite. Why are you still clinging on, you discarded wife?"

I opened social media.

Trending at number two: #BlindAndEvil. The headline beneath it read: "Disabled Man Harasses Socialite, Falls to His Death — Family Tries to Extort Hospital."

Twenty-three million views. The comment section was a wall of abuse directed at me and Daniel. Someone had dug up Daniel's medical records and screenshotted the photo of me kneeling and bowing on the hospital steps, captioning it "Professional scam artist."

Trending at number one: #SterlingLoveStory. The post read: "Sterling Medical CEO Charters Private Hot Air Balloon — Sunset with Daughter and Mystery Woman Sparks Wedding Rumors."

Three photos accompanied the post.

First: Ethan in a navy matching outfit, holding Lily with one arm, standing in the basket of a hot air balloon.

Second: Vivian in an identical outfit, crouching to wipe cream from Lily's lips.

Third: A group photo of the three of them. Lily perched on Ethan's shoulders, one arm around his neck, the other hand holding Vivian's finger. Behind them, the sky burned orange behind them.

The timestamp on the photos was 4:17 that afternoon.

At that moment, I had been pinned facedown on the morgue floor.

My daughter had been eating cake in a hot air balloon high above the city.

Five years ago, the day Lily was born — premature, only thirty-two weeks. I hemorrhaged in the delivery room. My blood pressure bottomed out. The heart monitor flatlined three times. They removed my uterus on the operating table to stop the bleeding.

Ethan had knelt outside the emergency room all night.

The next morning, when I woke up, he said with red-rimmed eyes: "From now on, you are my whole life. You risked everything to bring Lily into this world. I owe you a debt I can never repay."

The hospital room door swung open.

Ethan walked in first. His shirt collar was open, the top two buttons undone. On the left side of his neck were three red scratch marks — irregular arcs, left by fingernails.

Vivian followed on his right, her arm linked through his. The scent of her gardenia perfume drifted from the doorway all the way to my bedside.

Lily walked on Vivian's left, holding her hand.

The moment they stepped inside, Lily covered her nose with her hand, her whole face scrunching up.

"Mommy's room smells so bad. Aunt Vivian smells so much better. Daddy, let's go — Aunt Vivian is taking me to try on the godmother dress!"

Ethan didn't sit. He stood beside the bed, hands in his pockets.

"Don't worry about the social media. Vivian was shaken up, so I've made her Lily's godmother."

My grip tightened on the bedsheet.

"What did you say?"

"The reception is tomorrow evening at the Holloway Estate. As my wife, you'll attend and give a toast. Take responsibility for the hospital incident publicly — issue a clarification."

"Daniel was pushed to his death. And now you want me to stand up and clear his killer's name?"

"Keep your voice down."

His tone didn't waver.

"Vivian's depression has been getting worse. Her doctor says she needs a stable family role to support her recovery — the godmother title would help her healing. Just cooperate. It's better for everyone."

Vivian stood behind him, head bowed, fingers twisting the hem of her blouse.

"Ethan, if your wife doesn't want to, it's okay... I'd hate to come between you two..."

Her voice was small, with a slight nasal tremor.

Ethan turned around and tucked the loose hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry. She'll cooperate."

He looked back at me.

"The reception at the Holloway Estate. Tomorrow, six o'clock. Cover up the marks on your face — don't give anyone more to gossip about."

The Holloway Estate.

That was what my parents left to me and Daniel when they passed. Both our names were on the deed.

And now Ethan was going to hold a celebration there — for the woman who killed Daniel.

After they left, the room fell quiet. The gardenia perfume hadn't fully dissipated, mingling with the smell of disinfectant, filling my nostrils.

I reached under my pillow and pulled out the USB drive.

A small black USB stick with a plain plastic casing.

It was a backup of the storage card from Daniel's dashcam. Daniel couldn't see, but the car he rode in was equipped with a 360-degree camera system.

The backup had been made a week before the incident. Daniel was meticulous about backups — every Sunday he'd copy the data to a USB drive and lock it in the safe at home.

This was the last USB drive I had retrieved from the safe. It contained not just the footage from the day of the mall incident.

It also contained an audio recording.

A conversation between Ethan and Vivian in the car.

Vivian:"Ethan, I’m so scared… She’s been accusing me, saying I killed her brother—how could she say that? I would never hurt anyone, let alone him."

Ethan: "I know, Vivian. I’ve heard her ranting. Don’t take it to heart—she’s just grief-stricken and lashing out. "

"But what if she won't let it go?"

"What can she do? A washed-up nobody who quit medicine ten years ago. No license, no family left. There's nothing she can do."

I tucked the USB drive back under my pillow.

The fluorescent tube on the ceiling flickered twice with a faint buzz.

Tomorrow evening, six o'clock. The Holloway Estate. The reception.

I would be there.

The grand hall of the Holloway Estate had been redecorated.

The family portrait my mother had hung on the wall was gone, replaced by a large framed portrait of Vivian. The long dining table was draped with a new tablecloth, and in the center sat a three-tier fondant cake, the words "Welcome Vivian to Our Family" piped in gold icing.

I had brought what I needed: the signed divorce papers and the USB drive.

More than forty guests filled the hall — practically every prominent family in Ashton was represented.

When I walked in, no one looked at me.

Not until I reached the center of the hall did anyone notice — because I was blocking the projection screen.

Ethan sat at the head of the table. Vivian sat to his right. Lily was on Vivian's lap.

The three of them shared a matching set of white-and-gold bone china place settings.

My seat was at the far end of the table. My plate was one of the estate's old dishes.

"You came."

Ethan glanced at me.

"Why didn't you cover those marks on your face? Go fix your makeup before coming back out."

I didn't move.

"Did you prepare your speech?"

"I did."

I had. But the content wasn't what he had in mind.

In the western corner of the hall stood a mahogany stand. It had once held my mother's cello.

That cello was an antique from 1897 — my mother's most treasured possession. On her deathbed, she held my hand and said: "Keep this cello for me. Whenever you miss me, just touch it."

The stand was empty now.

A workman crouched beside it, hammer in hand. The cello had been taken apart. The neck was snapped in two, the body split by a long crack, and of the four strings, three were broken, scattered across the floor.

Vivian sat in a nearby chair, legs crossed, a glass of red wine in her hand.

"Ethan, don't you think the sound of the strings snapping is satisfying? Better than any sound machine."

Ethan cracked a smile.

"If you like it, listen to a few more."

I turned around and saw a worker taking down my mother's painting.

I lunged forward.

I snatched the cello body from the workman's hands. Splinters of wood dug into my palm.

"This was my mother's! How dare you touch it!"

I collapsed onto the pile of wood shards. My knees came down on the broken strings, and the metal wire cut through my pants and bit into my skin.

Forty-some people watched. Not one stood up.

I knelt on the floor. Wood splinters and broken cello strings under my knees. Blood on my forehead, blood from my left ear, three puncture wounds on my palm from the shattered wood.

A sound scraped its way out of my broken chest — something between a laugh and a death rattle.

I pulled out the divorce papers and flung them in Ethan's face. The pages struck his nose, bounced off, and drifted to the floor.

"Your love isn't worth the dirt on my shoes, Ethan Sterling. Even a stray dog wouldn't touch it."

He hadn't recovered when I made my move.

The AV control panel in the center of the hall was two steps away, connected to the projection screen.

I plugged in the USB drive.

Ethan's voice poured from the speakers, filling every corner of the hall —

"Ethan, I’m so scared… She’s been accusing me, saying I killed her brother—how could she say that? I would never hurt anyone, let alone him."

"I know, Vivian. I’ve heard her ranting. Don’t take it to heart—she’s just grief-stricken and lashing out. "

"But what if she won't let it go?"

"What can she do? A washed-up nobody who quit medicine ten years ago. No license, no family left. There's nothing she can do."

The hall erupted. Chairs toppled. Wine glasses shattered. Whispers exploded into crosstalk. Every eye in the room locked onto Vivian and Ethan.

The color drained from Ethan's face.

I stepped back, turned, and ran for the staircase at the far end of the hall.

Second floor. Third floor.

The terrace door on the third floor was unlocked. I shoved it open and ran to the edge.

Night wind rushed in, lifting the dried blood on my forehead.

Ethan reached the terrace doorway, chest heaving, both hands braced against the frame.

"Get down from there!It's all just a misunderstanding！"

I stood at the edge of the terrace. My heels hung over empty air, the balls of my feet balanced on the top of the stone railing.

Below was the estate's backyard, bordering the river.

I looked down at him.

"You threw away a diamond and picked up trash. That's all you've ever been good at, Ethan Sterling."

His hands slid from the doorframe.

"You can have this life back. You two deserve each other. Enjoy your happily ever after."

I let go and let my body fall.