Madisyn's POV:

Downstairs, the family doctor, Dr. Evans, had been called. I could hear his gentle voice, interspersed with Phyllis's anxious questions and Jenna's sobs.

I needed facts.

About an hour later, Phyllis knocked and entered, her face grim. "The doctor said Jenna has a grade two sprain on her right ankle and needs to rest."

She stood in the doorway, her posture rigid, glaring at me.

I looked at her calmly. "Her right ankle? I thought it was her left foot that hit the ground first when she fell."

Phyllis was stunned for a moment, then snapped, "You're still arguing! You're just jealous that Jenna is back!"

I said nothing more. Arguing was useless. I needed evidence, not more accusations.

At dinner, I was allowed downstairs. Jenna sat next to the head of the table, her foot in an exaggerated cast, enjoying queen-like treatment.

Jeffry kept a straight face throughout the meal, not looking at me once. Phyllis was constantly putting food on Jenna's plate.

After dinner, I passed by Jeffry's study and noticed the door was closed. A moment later, I heard his low voice through the door. I couldn't make out much, only fragments like "...sample," "...expedited test," and "...must confirm."

I slowed to a stop. Their attitude toward me had changed so suddenly, especially after Jenna came into the family. I thought about the way Jeffry and Phyllis had treated me lately, and a strange thought surfaced.

Could this have something to do with my family background?

The next day, Jeffry called us all into the living room. The three of us sat in the living room, with Jenna in a wheelchair, pushed by Phyllis.

"Madisyn, we want to hear your explanation again," Jeffry said, he sat in his armchair, crossing his legs and folding his hands.

I didn't explain. Instead, I asked questions. "Jenna, you said I pushed you. Can you tell me, did I use my left hand or my right hand? Where did I push you?"

Jenna's face paled slightly. She stammered, "I... I was too scared, I don't remember."

"Is that so?" I continued. "Dr. Evans said you injured your left ankle. But I remember you clutching your right ankle right after you fell. Why?"

Jenna's lips began to tremble. "I... I was dazed from the fall, I got it wrong!"

"Then what about the scratches on your palm?" I pressed on. "Our stairs are covered with thick carpet. You couldn't have gotten those scratches unless you were holding something sharp when you fell."

I clearly remembered her fiddling with a rhinestone-studded hair clip before she rolled down the stairs.

Jenna's jaw dropped slightly, and she quickly looked away from me. She looked to Phyllis for help.

Phyllis immediately stood up to protect her. "That's enough, Madisyn! Are you interrogating a criminal? She's your sister! She's already hurt, why must you be so cruel?"

I looked at Jeffry. He had been silent, but his eyes had changed. It was no longer just anger, but a hint of scrutiny and suspicion.

He saw the cracks in Jenna's story.

Just then, Dr. Evans arrived uninvited, holding a file. "Mr. Chapman, I came back to add something to my diagnosis."

Dr. Evans's appearance made Jenna's body tense up involuntarily.

The doctor adjusted his glasses, looking at Jenna's cast with a strange expression. "I was reviewing last night's examination and found some interesting things."

He didn't say it outright, but turned to Jeffry. "Sir, there's something I'd like to discuss with you in private."

The request itself was a signal. A very bad signal for Jenna.

Phyllis tried to say something but was silenced by a look from Jeffry.

Jeffry and Dr. Evans went into the study. The living room grew entirely quiet. No one spoke or moved.

Jenna didn't dare to look at me, her head bowed, her fingers gripping the armrest of her wheelchair.

A few minutes later, Jeffry came out of the study alone, his jaw clenched tight, the muscles jumping in his cheeks. He didn't look at Jenna, but walked straight to me.

My heart was in my throat.

He looked at me deeply, his gaze so complex I couldn't decipher it. There was anger, disappointment, and a hint of something I couldn't understand... a rigid decision.

"This ends now," he announced, his voice devoid of any warmth. "From today on, you two, no more conflicts."

He chose to appease the situation, to protect the lying Jenna.

But I knew this wasn't the end.

Madisyn's POV:

For the next few days, a strange calm settled over the house. Jenna continued to play her role as the fragile invalid, but she no longer provoked me.

Jeffry became more withdrawn, often shutting himself in his study. I knew he was waiting for the results of that "expedited test."

Phyllis ignored me, pouring all her energy into caring for Jenna, making different soups every day as if Jenna had suffered a life-threatening injury.

I was tired of this suffocating pretense. I just needed the right moment to expose the cracks in her story.

The opportunity came on a Saturday afternoon. Jeffry and Phyllis were both home, watching TV in the living room.

Jenna came downstairs on crutches, her cast still prominent, on her way to sunbathe in the garden.

As she passed me, she "accidentally" knocked over an old photo album I had left on the coffee table with her crutch.

The album fell to the floor, opening to the page of my first national junior figure skating championship. In the photo, I was smiling brightly.

"Oops, sorry, sister," Jenna apologized without any sincerity. "My foot is inconvenient, I wasn't steady."

She quickly looked down, but not before I caught the upward twitch of her lips.

Phyllis immediately chided me. "Madisyn, can't you put your things away? Don't you know there's a patient in the house?"

I ignored her and slowly bent down to pick up the album.

Then, I stood up and my gaze swept across the living room. It landed on an expensive antique vase on the mantelpiece, Phyllis's favorite.

I weighed the vase in my hands, calculating the distance to the floor near her feet.

I took a deep breath and walked towards the fireplace.

Jeffry and Phyllis noticed my movement and looked at me, puzzled.

I picked up the heavy vase, feeling its weight.

"Madisyn, what are you doing!" Phyllis screamed.

I turned to Jenna, who was leaning in the middle of the living room, about fifteen feet away from me.

I smiled at her. "Jenna, watch out!"

Before the words left my mouth, I swung my arm and threw the vase in a gentle arc towards her.

I controlled the force and direction. The target was the carpet at her feet; it would never actually hurt her.

Everyone's reaction happened in a flash.

Phyllis covered her mouth in shock. Jeffry shot up from the sofa.

And Jenna, the "patient" who couldn't even walk steadily on crutches a second ago, reacted instinctively.

She screamed, threw away her crutches, and leaped aside with surprising agility, landing steadily on the ground. Both of her feet, including the one in the cast, perfectly supported her weight.

The vase crashed onto the carpet where she had been standing, shattering into a thousand pieces.

The sound of shattering porcelain echoed, followed by absolute stillness.

Jenna froze in her evasive posture. She realized what she had done, her face drained of color, filled with terror.

Phyllis stared dumbfounded at Jenna, then at the shards on the floor, her mouth agape.

I broke the silence, my tone as calm as if I were talking about the weather. "Looks like your ankle has recovered well, Jenna. You can even perform a standard evasive jump."

She stood perfectly balanced on the foot that was supposed to be severely sprained.

However, the apology and remorse I expected never came. Jeffry's roar broke the stalemate.

"Madisyn!" he bellowed, his face flushed. "Are you crazy! Do you know how much that vase was worth? You're going to destroy this family just to prove your damn point!"

He didn't mention Jenna's deceit, but he was blaming me for breaking a vase. I looked at his red face and the pointing finger. He didn't care about the fake cast. He only cared about the disruption.

Jeffry's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, his expression becoming even more complicated. He walked aside to answer the call.

I heard him say, "... Are the test results out? Good, I'll be right over to get them."