Chapter 3
Mom yelled, "Chloe, open the door!"
She started pounding on the door again.
This time, she was banging even harder, way more furious than before.
She shouted, "How long are you planning to hide in there? Get out, now!"
There was no response.
She banged on the door even more furiously.
She snapped, "You're really pushing your luck, Chloe!"
My dad and Olivia came over.
"What's going on?" my dad asked.
"It's your precious daughter again!" my mom snapped, so furious that she couldn't hold back. "She locked herself in there on purpose, just to go against me!"
Michael frowned and stepped forward, knocking on the door. "Chloe, open up."
There was still no response.
His expression darkened.
"She's not thinking about doing something crazy, is she?" Olivia whispered.
Her words were like a needle, cutting through the tense atmosphere in the room.
My mom paused for a moment, and then let out a mocking laugh. "Her? She'd never actually do something to herself. She's just trying to threaten us again.
"She's been pulling this stunt since she was a kid. Doesn't she ever get tired of it?"
Even so, a barely noticeable flicker of panic flashed in her eyes.
"Go grab the spare key!" she barked at my dad.
"Uh... Didn't you just use it to open the door?" my dad murmured, a bit hesitant.
Mom suddenly realized that the key was still stuck in the door.
She turned the key, but the door wouldn't budge.
It was locked from the inside.
Everyone's expression changed.
"Break it down!" my mom shrieked.
Michael and my dad exchanged a glance, didn't hesitate, and started slamming their shoulders against the door.
Every crash made my heart jump and sent a shiver straight to my soul.
I watched them calmly.
I saw their anger shift to anxiety, and then, finally, panic.
It was too late.
It was all too late now.
The door let out an agonized creak with every hit.
Finally, with a thunderous bang, the lock burst open.
The door swung open.
My mom was the first to rush in, still cursing. "Chloe, let's see how you get out of this one—"
Her curses stopped cold.
She saw me lying on the floor.
She saw the empty pill bottle beside me.
She saw my face, drained of color and already going rigid.
She staggered, her face drained of all color in a flash.
"Chloe?" she called out hesitantly, her voice trembling with fear.
I didn't respond.
She jerked back as if something stung her, bumping into Michael behind her.
"She... She..." my mom stammered, pointing at me, her lips trembling so much that she couldn't get a single word out.
Michael steadied her, his eyes falling on my lifeless body.
For the first time ever, Michael's usually confident and calm expression was shattered.
His face was filled with shock, bewilderment, and disbelief.
He murmured, "Chloe?"
He walked over quickly and knelt beside me, his hand shaking as he reached out to see if I was still breathing.
All he felt was cold beneath his fingertips.
No breath, no heartbeat.
In that instant, Michael froze in place, his whole body stiff as if he'd been caught in ice.
Time seemed to freeze.
It felt like forever—so long I thought he'd stay crouched there, unmoving.
Suddenly, like a madman, Michael grabbed me off the floor and shook me with everything he had.
He yelled, "Chloe, wake up! Don't do this to me!
"Aren't you always faking it? Get up!
"I said get up!"
His voice went from frantic to a full-blown scream, raw with a terror and desperation he didn't even realize was there.
My cold head swung helplessly as Michael shook me, and my neck flopped to the side, exposing the faint bluish marks already blooming on my throat.
My mom finally came to her senses.
A scream so piercing and unearthly tore through the dead silence of the villa.
She rushed over, trying to pull me out of Michael's arms, but her legs buckled and she collapsed right onto the floor.
"You damn girl... You brat... How dare you... How could you..." she cried incoherently, beating the floor with her fists, completely hysterical.
My dad stood there in the doorway, completely stunned, staring at the nightmare playing out right in front of him. His mouth hung open, but he couldn't get a single word out.
Olivia was the only one who managed to keep her wits about her.
With trembling hands, she grabbed her phone and dialed 911. "Hello? Emergency service? Someone here... has taken her own life..."
Everything was a complete mess.
I hovered above the chaos, watching it all unfold with cold, detached eyes.
I watched my brother, the one I was so proud of, clutch my lifeless body. For the first time, his face twisted in hopeless despair.
I watched my mom, always so tough and obsessed with appearances and reputation, collapse on the floor, bawling like a mess.
I watched my dad, always so timid and powerless, so terrified that he looked like his soul had left his body.
So now they were finally scared?
Too bad. I was not really here to see it anymore.
No, actually, I saw everything.
But I wouldn't ever feel sorry for them again.