Chapter 2
Those few words set the livestream on fire all over again.
[Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.]
[Is Helen the only one he cares about? Isn't Jenny his daughter too?]
Ethan stared at my father in disbelief. He yanked his hand free and pointed at my father, shouting, "Mr. Wynn, do you even hear yourself right now? That's your own daughter lying there—Jenny!"
Michael rushed over as well, his face stricken with anguish. "We know you dote on Helen, but you can't be this biased. Jenny is already in terrible shape. Another shock like this and she really will die."
Faced with everyone's accusations, my father didn't even blink. He swept a cold glance over Ethan and Michael, then fixed a vicious stare on Jenny, who was slowly coming to. "She knows her own body better than anyone, doesn't she?"
On the hospital bed, Jenny's shattered gaze drew waves of pity from the livestream. She weakly lifted her hand and pointed at me, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. "Dad... Helen... why... why are you doing this to me..."
Her voice and her gesture lit the fuse on every emotion I'd been holding back. I screamed at her, completely losing it. "Shut up! Don't pretend you don't know why I'm doing this."
Like a madwoman, I lunged at her, reaching for the oxygen tube. I shouted at Jenny in a rage, "Your left pinky looks really nice, doesn't it?"
Ethan reacted instantly and stepped in front of me. "Helen, I won't let you touch her. You know that's what she's sensitive about. Why would you bring it up just to humiliate her?"
My father said nothing. He just muscled Ethan out of the way.
Seizing the opening, right in front of a nationwide audience, I pulled out her oxygen tube again. I clenched the tube in my fist, giving no one a chance to fix it.
The numbers on the life monitor plunged like a snapped waterfall. Jenny's body convulsed violently. Her face turned a deep purple from lack of oxygen, her eyes rolling back as her pupils began to lose focus.
Through the livestream, viewers tagged major media outlets and emergency platforms in a frenzy.
[She's killing her! This is real murder!]
[Call the cops! Hurry, or it'll be too late!]
Ethan's eyes went wild with fury. He went berserk trying to rush over, but my father held him down with an iron grip, leaving him unable to move. "Helen. Mr. Wynn. You'll regret this. You'll regret this."
Several security guards flooded into the ward and finally restrained me.
Michael wiped the cold sweat from his brow and, together with the nurses, began working to stabilize Jenny. After a long, frantic struggle, her vital signs finally returned to normal.
Seeing that Jenny was out of immediate danger, Ethan finally let out a breath. His eyes were bloodshot as he cursed me. "You really deserve to die, Helen."
I heard that and laughed out loud. "So, do all of you think I should die?"
On the screen, the comments floated past. [Yes.] [Go to hell, you psycho!]
Seeing those words, I laughed even harder. "Yeah," I said. "I think I deserve it too."
Held down by the security guards, I fixed my gaze on the body on the bed that was still twitching.
"You guys don't even know the half of it," I said. "My parents aren't in great shape, and Jenny's always the one who takes them to their check-ups. When the reports came out, she checked every number and explained them in plain words so they could understand.
"My dad loved fishing. She went to every tackle shop in the city just to buy him the most expensive rod.
"My mom loved the opera. She queued overnight just to grab a front-row ticket that everyone else was fighting for.
"She treated everyone well. She gave her whole heart to this family."
I paused, looking at the face that was slowly losing its color. The smile on my face faded, leaving only coldness. "So doesn't that mean she deserved to die even more?"
The curses on the screen grew louder. Even Ethan, the doctors, and the nurses looked at me like I'd completely lost my mind.
[What a vicious sister. She knew how good Jenny was, and she still wanted her dead.]
[This is terrifying. It's the farmer and the snake, come to life.]
The moment my words fell, the ward door was slammed open. Reporters and police officers, alerted by the livestream, rushed in.
"Police. We received a report of intentional assault."
"Everyone freeze! Nobody move!"
The officers immediately took control of me and my father.
Two policemen approached with dark faces and pulled out their handcuffs.
The livestream comments exploded once again.
[Justice is finally here! Arrest that twisted father-daughter duo!]
[About time! Throw the book at them!]
[Poor Jenny, she's finally been saved.]
Just as the handcuffs were about to snap around my wrists, a sharp crash of shattering glass froze everyone in place.
My mother, who had been sitting silently in the family section, tears streaming down her face, had somehow climbed onto the window ledge on the twenty-eighth floor.
She held a shard from the flower vase she had just smashed, pressing it hard against her carotid artery. Bright red blood ran down her neck.
Wind rushed in through the open window, whipping her messy hair and thin clothes.
The entire ward fell into dead silence.
The police panicked. The lead officer immediately raised both hands, his voice cracking. "Ma'am, please calm down. Don't do anything rash. We can talk this through."
My mother ignored him. Her bloodshot eyes swept over everyone in the room. At last, she looked at me, and she spoke in a hoarse voice. "Let Helen go."
She paused, pressing the shard deeper into her neck. Blood flowed even faster. "Let her pull it."
She looked at me, tears mixing with blood as they slid down her face. "Helen, today, if anyone dares to stop you, I'll jump from here."