Chapter 4
Then, I took out my phone. The screen showed thirty minutes left on the countdown.
I didn't reach out to anyone in my biological family.
Instead, I dialed a number I knew by heart.
The call connected almost instantly, and a warm, familiar voice came through the speaker. "Hazel? Why are you calling so late, honey? Have you eaten yet?"
It was my adoptive mom.
In that single moment, my tears finally broke the dam.
"Mom..." I choked out, barely able to speak.
"Oh sweetheart, what's wrong? Did someone bully you? Why are you crying?" Her voice instantly filled with panic.
"No... no." I sniffled hard, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying. "I just... I just missed you."
"Silly girl. If you miss me, just come home. I made a big pot of your favorite beef stew."
"Okay."
I listened to her ramble on about trivial things back home. She talked about whose dog just had puppies and whose garden had a good harvest.
All those ordinary, heartwarming pieces of life that I could never go back to.
"Mom," I interrupted her gently.
"Yeah?"
"You and Dad need to take good care of yourselves."
"I know, honey. You too. Take good care of yourself out there, and don't let anyone push you around."
"I will."
"I love you guys."
The second the words left my mouth, I hung up the phone.
I was terrified that if I listened to even one more sentence, my resolve to die would waver.
Goodbye, Mom and Dad. I was so sorry.
Your daughter just couldn't hold on anymore.
Powering off my phone, I set it down on the concrete next to the little wooden rabbit carving.
Then, I turned around and hoisted myself over the railing.
I stood barefoot on the incredibly narrow ledge outside the balcony.
A single gust of wind was all it would take to send me plummeting.
[System, is this okay?]
[Departure method confirmed. Impact rating: S. Publicity rating: S. Irreversibility rating: S.]
[Perfect.]
[Countdown: Ten minutes.]
The view from up here was breathtaking.
Down in the courtyard ballroom, I could clearly see Claire making her birthday wish.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, hands clasped together, a picture-perfect smile on her face.
Everyone surrounded her, watching her with absolute adoration.
How nice. Trading my life for her lifetime of happiness.
To them, that was probably a fantastic bargain.
Right then, someone finally noticed me.
A piercing scream echoed from the ballroom below. The crowd surged toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking up at me in terror.
The music cut out.
The laughter died.
It felt like the entire world had been put on pause.
"Hazel!" Gabriel bellowed.
He rushed onto the patio and stared up at me.
For the first time ever, panic fractured his stern face. "What are you doing? Get down from there right now!"
Scarlett ran out behind him. She stared at me, deathly pale, lips trembling too hard to speak.
Jason and Claire stood right beside them. Jason looked caught between shock and pure anger.
Claire just covered her mouth. The horror in her eyes looked incredibly convincing.
Keep acting. Who was this little performance for?
The guests flooded out, gathering below and pointing up at me in a flurry of whispers.
"Oh my god, isn't that the Brooks' biological daughter?"
"What is she doing? Is she actually going to jump?"
"It's Claire's birthday! Doing this today is so vicious!"
Hearing their murmurs, I let out a soft laugh.
See, it was always like this. No matter what I did, they always saw me as the malicious one. The ignorant brat trying to cause trouble.
"Hazel! Did you hear me? I told you to get down!" Jason pointed up at me, screaming in exasperation. "Are you out of your mind? Are you trying to threaten us with this stunt?
"You just want to ruin Claire's birthday, don't you?"
A threat? No, I was not threatening anyone. I was giving you exactly what you want.
I stared at them in silence.
The wind caught the hem of my dress, making it flutter like a black butterfly ready to take flight into the night.
Scarlett finally found her voice and shrieked. "Get down! Get down here right now, you lunatic. If you jump today, I'll pretend I never even gave birth to you!"
I stared at her flushed, agitated face. "When did you ever treat me like you gave birth to me?" I asked softly.
Scarlett froze.
I kept going. "From the day I moved in, you despised me for acting poor. You hated how I chewed my food. You hated that I didn't know which fork to use. You hated me for embarrassing you.
"You treated Claire like a treasure and treated me like garbage.
"Well, now your garbage is finally taking herself out. You should be thrilled, shouldn't you?"
My voice wasn't loud, but it hit them like a sledgehammer.
Scarlett's lips quivered, unable to speak. Gabriel's face turned incredibly pale.
[System, how much time is left?]
[Countdown: three minutes.]