Chapter 11
“Dad, you’ve seen the online outrage. We can’t stay in this city any longer. We should liquidate our assets and leave the country with the money!”
“But I’ve worked for half my life here. Besides, the netizens are focusing on our family. How can we get away…
“The netizens are targeting Mom. She’s the one being criticized the most. Leaving her here will give us the chance we need!”
In the living room, Jennifer was calculating her move, persistently urging Dad to leave. Hearing that they would abandon Mom, Dad hesitated.
“Jenny, she’s still your mother…”
Jennifer dismissed his concerns. “She’s my mother, but she should understand the need to sacrifice for her children. Besides, Mom loves me so much; she’ll understand. I’m doing this for our family’s sake!”
Matt, sitting nearby, chimed in, “Exactly, Uncle. Once we’re settled abroad, we can bring Auntie over later.”
After their persistent persuasion and some deep reflection, Dad finally nodded in agreement.
I watched as Jennifer and Matt breathed a sigh of relief, then hurriedly pulled Dad to the company to liquidate their assets.
Unbeknownst to them, their conversation had been overheard by Mom, who had just woken up.
The first thing she said upon waking was, “Baby, get me a glass of water.”
She was disappointed to find that her most cherished daughter wasn’t there to care for her.
I floated above, watching her struggle to sit up and slowly make her way to the door. I couldn’t help but sigh.
If it had been me, she might have already started shouting.
Unfortunately, I was not like Jennifer. I didn’t know what Mom felt when she heard Jennifer’s plan to sacrifice her, but I found it all rather ironic.
Jennifer had always had what I longed for, so she only cared about herself.
After the three of them left, Mom stood at the bedroom door, stunned for a long while. Then, with a calm expression, she walked to the kitchen and turned on the gas.
She then returned to the bedroom, took a lighter from the nightstand, and calmly sat down on the living room sofa.
I realized what she was about to do and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Look at that, her selfless favoritism toward Jennifer. If Jennifer wanted her to be sacrificed, she would unhesitatingly choose to end her life.
After all, nothing would capture the netizens’ attention more than a major tragedy at this point.
To my surprise, she didn’t immediately ignite the lighter but instead stared intently out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, as if waiting for something.
It wasn’t until Dad and Jennifer returned, carrying a stack of documents, that I realized what was happening. The three of them froze in shock.
“Honey, when did you wake up?”
“What’s that strange smell in the house? Mom, what have you done?”
“Auntie, you don’t look well. Maybe you should go back to your room and rest for a while?”
Mom didn’t answer their questions. Instead, she slowly stood up from the sofa and fixed her gaze on them.
“When Judy was born, I genuinely loved her. After all, she was my first child. How could I not love her?
“You don’t know how well-behaved she was. Other children would cling desperately to their milk, but she always nursed gently. Sometimes, when I pretended to frown and look unhappy, she would immediately let go and smile up at me. While I did housework, she would sit quietly on the floor, playing by herself, without making a fuss…Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
“But when did I start to change? Was it when you, Jack, came home drunk every day, pointing at Judy’s face and calling her a bad omen, telling me to get rid of her because she would bring misfortune to our family?
“Was it when Jenny was born and learned she had an older sister, crying and demanding to be the only daughter of this family, threatening to die if she wasn’t?
“Under your subtle influence, I slowly severed the maternal bond with Judy, beginning to despise her, to loathe her, even to hate her! Just thinking about what we did to her over the years makes my heart ache painfully!
“I abandoned such a good child. Since she didn’t feel the warmth of family while she was alive, we should all go to the underworld and apologize to her!”
As she spoke, Mom lifted the lighter.
The three of them panicked immediately.
“Honey, don’t do anything foolish!” Dad instinctively rushed to grab it.
Jennifer instinctively backed away behind Matt, but Matt pushed her aside and ran outside without looking back.
Unfortunately, none of them could escape.
Mom laughed maniacally as she ignited the lighter. With a deafening explosion, the entire villa was instantly engulfed in flames.
My soul was violently pushed outside by the shock wave. In the sea of fire, everything became invisible.
By the time the police and fire department arrived, my parents had been killed instantly.
Although Jennifer and Matt had miraculously survived, they were severely burned and would spend the rest of their lives helpless and in despair, confined to their beds.