Chapter 2

Hearing this, the whole family exploded!

Marcus slammed the table. "What? She's the one who pushed you down the stairs?!"

Ethan ground his teeth in fury. "That vicious creature—I'll never let this go!"

Ryan's eyes were even more vicious, as if he wanted to tear me to pieces.

Clara's heart jumped, as if afraid things would get out of hand and be exposed. She quickly said, "Don't be mad at my sister, okay? Maybe I remembered wrong. No matter what, she's still my sister. She wouldn't do something like this!"

Ryan gently patted her shoulder. "You're just too innocent. You have no idea how evil people can be. We're so lucky to have a sister like you. Let's not talk about that disaster anymore. Just focus on recovering."

The setting sun's rays fell on Clara's hospital bed. Watching them together like this, an indescribable bitterness surged through me.

In that instant, I felt even my soul seemed so out of place.

As if I wasn't their family member, just a stray dog.

I wanted to escape, but my soul was tightly bound to Ethan's side. I couldn't make a sound either, could only let them humiliate me.

A few days later, under the family's attentive care, Clara was discharged.

Ethan busied himself packing things. Marcus drove the car to the hospital entrance early, afraid she'd have to walk even one extra step. Ryan wouldn't even let her put on her own shoes.

On the way home, Ethan grumbled irritably, "Autumn's really not worth anything. Her sister's being discharged and she hasn't come to visit even once, let alone apologize. Just wait till I get home—I'll teach her a lesson!"

Marcus glanced at him. "I told you, keeping her at home is just asking for trouble. Something was bound to happen eventually."

Hearing the word "lesson," my emotions were complicated.

A flood of memories rushed into my mind.

Marcus's hatred for me began with that car accident.

I was sixteen that year. Our family of five was on a road trip. I got carsick and felt terrible, so Dad pulled the car over temporarily. He and Mom both got out to buy me medicine.

That's when an out-of-control truck crashed into us from behind.

Dad and Mom used their bodies to shield me. I survived. They died.

From that day on, Marcus believed I had killed our parents.

As the only adult, he controlled our parents' inheritance. My sister, being "the youngest and most pitiful," received all his compensation and affection.

And I became the most superfluous person in this family.

On my eighteenth birthday, I hid the last intact family photo of Mom and Dad under my pillow.

Clara discovered it. She tore the photo to shreds right in front of me.

I lunged forward like a madwoman to grab those pieces, and pushed her.

She sat on the floor, stunned for a second, then burst into tears.

When Marcus burst in, he saw exactly that scene.

"Autumn!" He grabbed my hair and dragged me to the living room, throwing me hard onto the floor. "Killing Mom and Dad wasn't enough? Now you want to hurt your sister too?"

He beat me while shouting, "You jinx! Why didn't you die with Mom and Dad? Are you alive just to keep hurting people?"

My younger brother Ryan stood in the doorway, glanced once, said nothing, and walked away.

From that day on, I never dared treasure anything again, never dared have emotions, never dared approach my sister.

I became a shadow in this house, a transparent person who should have disappeared long ago.

Until now, when they'd left me in that cold emergency room.