Dad ended the call, saying, "Alex had an incident at the library. The teacher said we need to get there immediately."

I pretended to know nothing, following Dad as we rushed out of the house and sped all the way to the hospital downtown.

This hospital was all too familiar to me. Mom was a famous doctor here—a top surgeon in the neurosurgery department.

Family members crowded around the operating room entrance. My paternal grandparents, my maternal grandparents—everyone was there.

My maternal grandma—Grandma Bessie—wiped her tears and pointed at me. Her voice was choked with sobs.

"How dare you show your face here! Something this terrible happened to Alex, but where were you?"

My maternal grandpa said nothing, but his gaze toward me was also full of disappointment and blame.

Grandpa Lewis, my paternal grandpa, held onto his wife's arm. He also stared at me reproachfully.

"Exactly! Why didn't you go with Alex to the library? It's so dangerous for him to be out alone!"

Dad stood to the side, his gaze also filled with blame toward me.

I felt like a target getting pierced by countless arrows. In this life, I chose to step back and avoid it, yet I still became the target of everyone's criticism.

Sure enough, no matter what I did, it was always wrong in their eyes.

I lowered my head and whispered in my defense, "I didn't know Alex would have an accident. Let me go get Mom. She's working overtime right now…"

Upon hearing me suggest finding Mom, Dad's eyes showed a flicker of panic.

He quickly grabbed my arm and said, "Your mother is busy. Don't disturb her."

She was probably busy accompanying Cynthia in Hathford, gathering pearls to make a necklace.

In my previous life, it was at this point I found out that Mom had specifically taken time off to go to Hathford to accompany Cynthia on a trip. The whole family knew she wasn't in the city, but they kept it from me.

Grandma Carol—my paternal grandma—shot Dad a disapproving look. "Can anything be more important than Alex's surgery? Hurry up and call Miranda! Tell her to come immediately!"

"That's right!" Grandma Bessie chimed in from the side. "It's such a big matter, so what could be more important than this? Call her quickly!"

I pretended to be anxious as I took my phone out to make the call. But after more than ten calls in a row, no one answered.

"What's going on with Miranda? Alex is in this state, yet she's not even answering her phone!"

Grandma Carol grew more anxious, and her tone showed her dissatisfaction with Mom.

Dad quickly tried to smooth things over. "Mom, she might be in surgery. You know that once she enters the operating room, she can't focus on anything else."

However, the moment his words fell, the call connected.

"Didn't I tell you before? Don't bother me if it's not important! Cindy, are you mad? Don't you know I'm busy here?" Mom snapped.

I gripped the phone tightly and replied weakly, "Mom, Alex was shot. He's at your hospital. You need to come quickly…"

Before I could finish, she cut me off with a scornful laugh. "Shot? Don't jinx Alex with such nonsense! He's perfectly fine, studying at the library. How could he possibly have been shot? If he doesn't do well on his exam, it'll be because you jinxed him!"

Mom simply didn't believe me. It was exactly the same as what I'd heard in my previous life.

"Mom, it's true! Alex really was shot! He's right outside the operating room of your hospital! There's so much blood…"

The anxious Grandma Bessie, who stood beside me, also shouted into the phone, "It's true! Miranda, come quickly!"

Mom's tone instantly turned cold, carrying obvious displeasure. "Mom, Cindy is being immature and spewing nonsense, and you're joining in too?

"Whatever! I don't have time to argue about this. I'm busy with work, so I'm hanging up now."

The call ended abruptly after that.

"What could she be busy with that it's more important than Alex's life? She's gone completely insane!" Grandma Carol said in a trembling voice as she placed a hand over her chest.

Dad tried explaining, "Mom, Miranda might really have something extremely important…"

Just then, a nurse emerged from the operating room with an anxious expression and said, "You're Dr. Wood's family, right? You need to get her back here immediately. The patient has a severe intracranial hemorrhage, and his condition is critical.

"She's the only one who can perform this surgery, but she's off duty today and not at the hospital!"

Dad instantly panicked, looking helplessly at Grandma Carol and Grandma Bessie.

Grandma Bessie stamped her foot and said angrily, "What are you still standing around for? Hurry up and get your wife back here! How dare she lie to us about being at work?"

This time, the call connected quickly.

The noisy background sound came through, and Cynthia could be heard exclaiming happily, "Mom, we still need ten more pearls to make a necklace! Hurry up and keep gathering them!"

Mom said dotingly, "Okay. I'll keep gathering them for you."

Dad said anxiously into the phone, "Miranda, you need to come back now! Alex was shot! He has an intracranial hemorrhage and needs you to operate!"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, followed by Mom's displeased voice.

"Are you joining in this nonsense too? Did that wretched girl Cindy say this? She can't go a single day without causing trouble! How many times have I told you that not a single word she says can be trusted?"

I stood to the side, listening to their conversation. I felt a chill spread through my whole body.

It was Cynthia who was the habitual liar. Every time she framed me for something, I was left unable to defend myself.

Dad was speaking pleadingly now. "Miranda, I'm begging you. This time it's real! Alex really might not make it. Please come back and see for yourself!"

Mom's tone was hesitant as she said, "Peter, I—"

At that moment, Cynthia's voice came through the phone again, this time with a hint of a whine.

"Ugh, I just wanted a pearl necklace, and now Cindy has gotten the whole family to gang up on us. Never mind, Mom. I don't want it anymore. After all, I'm just the adopted daughter. I'm not as important as Cindy."

Mom's attitude instantly became resolute. "Alright, that's enough. I'll be back tonight. Stop using Alex to trick me! He's as tough as nails. What could possibly happen to him?"

Grandma Bessie couldn't take it any longer and yelled into the phone, "Miranda, have you no conscience? Alex's life is hanging in the balance, and you're still thinking about that adopted daughter!

"Would all of us lie to you? Is Alex's life really less important than a pearl necklace?"

Mom's tone was now filled with impatience. "Enough, Mom. Cynthia is my treasure and is no less important than Alex. I'll be back soon. Stop pressuring me! Cindy is just a selfish brat and a liar. Don't believe her!"

She ended the call again, leaving the rest of the family anxiously waiting outside the operating room.

This time, Grandma Bessie and Grandma Carol were clearly furious. They never expected Mom to be so irresponsible.

For the sake of an adopted daughter, she was disregarding her own son's life.

Meanwhile, I stood to the side, watching their anxious and angry expressions. Surprisingly, I felt calm on the inside.

In my previous life, I exhausted myself trying to save Alex's life, only to be met with my family's blame and Mom's cruelty.

In this life, I had chosen to stand by and watch. I wondered how everyone would react to Mom choosing Cynthia.

The nurse rushed out of the operating room again, urging hurriedly, "Have you found Dr. Wood yet? The patient's vital signs are starting to drop! If we don't operate soon, it will be too late!"

Dad frantically tried to call Mom again, only to discover he had been blocked.

Grandma Carol and Grandma Bessie also fumbled for their phones, dialing with trembling hands. Soon, both their faces turned pale.

"It won't go through! She blocked me too!" Grandma Carol exclaimed, sounding disbelieving and heartbroken.

"Me too… That heartless woman! How could she do this?"

Grandma Bessie clutched her phone tightly. Her face was streaked with tears and snot.

A feeling of despair instantly spread. Everyone knew that this time, Alex was really going to leave us.

We could only stand helplessly outside the operating room, listening to the urgent sounds of resuscitation inside and watching as Alex's life slowly slipped away.

The operating room doors opened again, and the doctor walked out wearily, shaking his head gently.

"I'm sorry… We did our best," said the doctor.

Grandma Carol let out a mournful wail and threw herself onto Alex's body, crying as she was overwhelmed by grief.

"Alex! My grandson!"

Grandma Bessie also stumbled in, hugging Alex's cold body and wailing. "Alex! My grandson! How could this happen?"

Dad stood in place. His body swayed slightly, and his expression was filled with extreme heartache and remorse.

He looked at his lifeless son on the operating table and let out an uncontrollable howl.

…

Even though Mom said she would return that evening, she was still delayed for two days. By the time she finally arrived with Cynthia, Alex's funeral had already concluded.

A string of shimmering pearls dangled from Cynthia's neck, appearing particularly glaring under the dim light in the living room.

Mom spotted me immediately, and before I could react, a sharp slap landed on my face. A burning pain instantly spread, leaving my head buzzing.

"You troublemaker! I was just spending a little time with Thia, and you started lying and causing trouble! How dare you joke about something as serious as Alex?"

My cheek was numb from the slap, and my mind went blank. It took me a while to find my voice again.

"I didn't…"

Cynthia stroked the necklace around her neck as she looked at me with an innocent gaze that held a hidden smugness.

"Don't be angry, Mom. Don't get upset because of me. After all, Cindy is your biological daughter. She probably just missed you too much, and that's why…"

Though her words sounded appeasing, every single one only added fuel to the fire.

"I'd rather not have a daughter like you!" Mom spat out at me through gritted teeth, as if I were some kind of unavoidable plague.

Dad, who had been silent all along, stepped forward and shielded me. "If you don't want this daughter, I do. You can take Cynthia and live on your own," he said.

Both Mom and I were stunned. Dad usually doted on Cynthia no less than Mom did, but now he was acting completely out of character.

"Peter, what's wrong?" Mom asked.

When Cynthia saw this, she quickly stepped forward and weakly tugged at Dad's sleeve. Her voice took on an even more pitiful tone as she whined, "Did I make you angry, Dad? I don't want the pearl necklace anymore. Please don't be angry, Dad."

Her eyes darted between me and Dad as she spoke with obvious dramatics. She wanted to use her unhappiness and sensible demeanor to win back Dad's heart.

Dad shook her hand off and said expressionlessly, "Don't call me 'Dad.' We share no blood relation."

Cynthia's face instantly turned pale. Her body stiffened up, and the tears flowing out of her eyes froze abruptly.

Grandma Carol finally couldn't hold back anymore and spoke up. "I don't know what kind of mother she is. She ignores her own flesh and blood, yet is so devoted to an outsider!"

I stood behind Dad, holding my burning cheek and watching as Mom was criticized by the entire family.

It was just that this time, the one being scolded was no longer me.

Mom was completely baffled and could only vent her anger at me. "Cindy Bale! What on earth did you tell them? What lies have you been spreading now?"

She didn't believe that Alex was really dead, or that her own actions had caused all of this.

She only believed that I was up to no good again and had been speaking ill of her behind her back, sowing discord.

Just as Mom was about to lose it, Grandma Bessie slapped her hard across the face.

Before Mom could even process that slap, Grandma Bessie smacked a piece of paper she had been clutching tightly right into Mom's face.

"How dare you still blame others? Look at this! Take a good look at it yourself!"