Chapter 5

I followed Liam into his car.

Liam lit a cigarette, and through the swirling smoke, I saw his face was dark with troubled thoughts.

Knowing I was dead, did a tiny bit of sadness touch him?

In the flickering light of the cigarette, Liam’s phone rang.

He glanced down at it.

The contact name read: “Serena Darling.”

Huh. Serena was “Serena Darling.”

And me?

Oh, I was the “bane of their existence.”

That was the note the entire family had for me in their phones, surprisingly consistent.

Liam answered the call. Serena’s voice, slightly choked and hoarse, came through.

“Brother, what did Sister say? Is she still angry? Please don’t argue with her. I’ll go apologize to her myself. Sister is stubborn. After donating bone marrow last time, she said she’d never acknowledge us again, that even if she died outside, it would be none of our business. I’m scared Sister might do something foolish.”

At her words, Liam’s dark brows instantly smoothed out. “Heh! Chloe Kingston is quite impressive now, even faking her own death!”

I froze right there.

My brother thought I was faking my death.

No investigation, no verification.

Yes, they simply didn’t care about me.

Always their own subjective assumptions.

“Then what do we do? Mom’s body can’t wait.”

“I don’t believe it. There has to be another suitable donor besides Chloe Kingston.”

Yes, I was always the one who shouldn’t exist.