They Mourned Too Late

My parents teamed up with my fianc to sue me in court.

The charge was intentional assault. They wanted me locked up for ten years, plus compensation to my foster sistermy cornea for her missing eye.

In the courtroom, Dad pointed at me and cursed:

Yara is an artist. Her eyes are worth more than your miserable life. Giving her your cornea is only natural!

Mom sobbed and begged the judge: "Give her the maximum sentence! This daughter of mine is pure evil. If she doesn't go to prison, she'll never learn!"

And my fianc, a star attorney, personally submitted falsified evidence:

"Nora, go in and reflect properly. When you get out, I'll still marry you."

They all expected me to fall to my knees and beg for mercy like before, or throw a tantrum.

But this time, the defendant's seat remained empty.

My fianc sent me an impatient voice message:

"Nora, stop playing dead and dodging court. If you're willing to sign the cornea donation form, I can file to dismiss the case."

Too bad he'd never get my reply again.

Because one minute before the hearing began, the system issued its final warning:

[Host Nora Pennington's mission has utterly failed. Death confirmed...]

The gavel hung suspended, refusing to fall.

The presiding judge showed his impatience, lifting his hand to check his watch.

From the plaintiff's bench, my dad, Patrick Pennington, pointed at the empty defendant's seat, spittle flying.

"Your Honor, look at this! She doesn't even dare show up in court! This is fleeing from justice!"

"She's been jealous of her sister since childhood, completely heartless. This time she actually took a knife and blinded Yara in one eye!"

"This menaceif you don't lock her up for ten years, there's no justice in this world!"

My mom, Rachel Allen, dabbed at her tears beside him.

"How did I give birth to such a monster... Yara may be adopted, but in our hearts she's closer than blood."

Listen to that. How touching.

I floated in midair, watching these two people who had given birth to me and raised me.

They wanted nothing more than to grind me into the dirt and stomp on me twice for good measure.

And that fianc who'd promised to protect me for life, Adrian Vale, sat in the plaintiff's attorney seat.

His expression was cold as he submitted several documents.

"Your Honor, this is surveillance footage of the defendant Nora purchasing the weapon used in the assault."

"And here are records of her repeatedly sending threatening text messages to the victim."

"I am the plaintiff's attorney, and also the victim's fianc."

"I request that the court impose the maximum sentence."

The courtroom erupted. Even the judge looked momentarily stunned.

Probably never seen a fianc personally send his fiance to prison before.

I floated in front of Adrian's face.

I tried to touch his cheek, but my hand passed right through.

"Adrian, look carefullythat's my sister wearing my clothes in the surveillance footage."

"Those text messagesdidn't Yara send them herself using my phone?"

Too bad he couldn't hear me.

He was staring down at his phone, brow furrowed.

On the screen was the last message he'd sent me:

[Nora, stop playing dead and dodging court. If you're willing to sign the cornea donation form, I can file to dismiss the case.]

[This is what you owe Yara.]

Below it was a red exclamation mark.

One minute ago.

My body had stopped breathing on the floor of my rental apartment.

The system's mechanical voice echoed in my mind:

[Host departing world... Departure obstructed, excessive resentment, soul detained for 72 hours.]

Resentment?

I looked at Adrian's profile, tears silently streaming down my face.

How could I not resent?

I'd spent ten full years trying to win him over.

In high school, when he was bullied, I stood up for him. In college, when his family fell on hard times, I worked three jobs to support him.

To help raise money for his mother's surgery, I knelt outside the Pennington family mansion in a blizzard, kowtowing until my head bled.

He'd said, "Nora, when I make something of myself, I'll give you the grandest wedding."

And the result?

The moment Yara came back, everything changed.

When Yara said her eyes hurt, he forced me to get tested for cornea compatibility.

Never mind that I'd already been diagnosed with stomach cancer and was too weak to even walk steadily.

When Yara claimed I pushed her, he backhanded me across the face.

Hit me so hard my eardrum rupturedbut all he cared about was whether Yara's hand hurt from hitting me.

Now he'd personally forged evidence to send me to prison and harvest my eyes.

The judge tapped his gavel.

"Since the defendant has failed to appear without valid reason, this court will proceed with trial in absentia..."

Just then, Adrian's phone rang.

It was the police station.

"Hello, is this Mr. Vale? This is South District Police Station."

Adrian sounded extremely irritated, lowering his voice:

"I'm in court right now. Whatever it is, call back later."

The officer on the other end sounded urgent.

"Mr. Vale, we've discovered a female body in the slums."

"The deceased was clutching a business card from your law firm, with your name written on the back."

"Based on preliminary identification, we believe the deceased may be your fiance, Nora."

The phone crashed onto the table.

The loud noise made everyone look at him.

Patrick frowned. "Adrian, what's wrong? Is that ungrateful daughter causing more trouble?"

Adrian's face had gone deathly pale. "The police said... they found a female body, possibly Nora."

The courtroom fell eerily silent.

Then Yara, covering her bandaged right eye, let out a derisive laugh.

"Nora is dead? Impossible!"

"She was still texting me yesterday, cursing at me, saying she'd gouge out my other eye!"

She trembled all over, shrinking into Rachel's arms.

"Mom, is Nora trying to scare us? Is she using death to escape legal responsibility?"

Rachel immediately caught on.

Disgust flashed across her face.

"It must be fake! This wretched girl is the best actress around!"

"Last time, to avoid a blind date, she pretended to faintturned out it was just low blood sugar!"

"Now to avoid prison, she's stooped to this cheap trick of playing dead!"

Patrick was even more furious, pounding the table.

"Officers, don't let her fool you!"

"She's a menace with the devil's own luck! How could she possibly be dead?"

"She's just trying to blackmail us into dropping the case! Let me tell younot a chance!"

Hearing all this, Adrian's deathly pale face gradually regained some color.

Righthow could Nora be dead?

She was like a cockroach that couldn't be killed.

When Patrick broke her leg, she crawled to the hospital without a sound.

When Rachel locked her in the basement for three days and nights, she came out and still cooked for them with a smile.

Even on the day she was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer...

Wait.

I floated in the air, watching Adrian suddenly freeze.

Did he remember?

Three months ago, I came to him with my diagnosis, hoping for a hug.

Yara snatched it away and tore it to shreds.

Yara had laughed and said, "Sister, you're really going all out for sympathy, aren't you? You'd even fake a medical report like this?"

What had Adrian said then?

He'd said, "Nora, are you ever going to stop? To compete for attention, you'd even lie about something this unlucky?"

At this moment, Adrian took a breath and spoke into the phone:

"Officer, please verify thoroughly."

"Nora is a habitual offender who'll do anything to evade responsibility."

"If she's faking death, please arrest her immediately."

Hanging up, he straightened his tie again.

"Your Honor, my apologies. This is the defendant's delaying tactic. Let's continue."

I floated above his head, smiling bitterly.

Adrian, you'll never knowin my final moment, I was waiting for you to come get me.

I waited until my body went cold. Until my blood ran dry.

And you never came.

The trial continued.

With the defendant absent and given the "ironclad evidence" provided by the plaintiff, judgment came quickly.

[Defendant Nora, guilty of intentional assault, sentenced to ten years imprisonment, and ordered to compensate victim Yara Pennington a total of eight hundred thousand dollars in damages.]

[Further, given the severity of the victim's injuries, the defendant is advised to fulfill her cornea donation commitment.]

The gavel fell. The matter was settled.

Yara threw her arms around Adrian in excitement.

"Adrian, this is wonderful! Justice has finally triumphed over evil!"

"When sister reforms properly in prison, she'll come out a better person."

Rachel patted Adrian's shoulder with satisfaction.

"Adrian, we really owe you for this."

"Once we catch that wretched girl, we'll transplant the cornea into Yara right away."

Only Adrian, though he'd won the case, never relaxed his furrowed brow.

He unconsciously rubbed his ring finger.

It had once worn the simple band I'd given him.

But now it bore the diamond ring Yara had chosen.

"Let's go to the slums."

Walking out of the courthouse, Adrian suddenly spoke.

Yara stiffened. "Go there? Why? It's filthy and disgusting."

Adrian pulled open the car door. "If she's alive, I want to see her. If she's dead, I want to see the body."

"Besides..."

He paused, his eyes dark.

"Since judgment has been rendered, we need to bring her back to serve her sentence."

The slums were my only shelter after leaving the Pennington house.

Because Adrian had frozen all my accounts, and Patrick had blacklisted me throughout the industry.

I couldn't find work and could only live here.

The black Maybach stopped at the alley entrance, looking completely out of place.

Yara covered her nose, her face full of disgust.

"How could my sister live in a place like this? Didn't Mom and Dad give her living expenses?"

Rachel snorted coldly.

"Give her what? That jinx got your brother killed and tried to hurt you too. I wouldn't give her a single penny!"

At the mention of her brother, Patrick's face instantly turned black as a pot.

This was why they hated me.

When I was five, I took my three-year-old brother out to play.

He was kidnapped by human traffickers and remained missing to this day, alive or dead unknown.

From that moment on, I became the Pennington family's sinner.

Everyone believed I brought misfortune to my family. So they adopted adorable little Yara.

From then on, she was the pearl in their palm, and I was the mud beneath their feet.

Even when I later desperately found clues about my brother, I discovered he'd already died accidentally while trying to escape.

This newsbefore I could tell themwas stolen by Yara.

She'd said, "Sister, since brother is dead, let's not make Mom and Dad sad. Let's bury this secret, shall we?"

Then she turned around and told my parents that I'd deliberately abandoned him out of jealousy.

...

The group tramped through sewage water to reach the tube building where I'd been renting.

The landlady was drinking tea at the entrance.

Seeing the police and this group of well-dressed people, she startled.

"Oh my, you're looking for that sickly girl?"

Adrian frowned. "Sickly girl?"

The landlady rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Coughing her lungs out all day, thin as a ghost."

"She even owed me rent a couple days ago, said she'd pay when her fianc came to get her."

She pointed at Adrian.

"You're that fianc, right? You look decent enoughhow could you let your woman live in a pigsty like this?"

Adrian's expression turned ugly.

He'd always assumed I was living comfortably out here.

After all, I'd graduated from a prestigious university with excellent abilities.

He never imagined I'd sink this low.

"Cut the chatter. Open the door."

Patrick snapped impatiently.

The landlady cursed under her breath as she fished out her keys and opened the rusted iron door.

Inside was dark, the curtains drawn tight.

The ten-square-meter space was crammed with junk.

On the table sat a half-bowl of moldy instant noodles and a pile of... medicine bottles.

Yara was so frightened she hid behind Adrian.

As soon as Adrian entered, he stepped on something.

Looking down, he saw a picture frame.

In the photo were him and me at our college graduation ceremony.

Back then, I'd been smiling brilliantly, with baby fat still on my cheeks.

Now the glass was shattered.

My face in the photo was scratched to pieces, covered in dark red bloodstains.

That bloodI'd coughed it up in the dead of night when the pain drove me delirious.

Adrian crouched down as if possessed, touching it.

"Ah! Blood! So much blood!"

Yara pointed at the bathroom doorway, screaming in terror.

Following her finger, they looked.

At the bathroom entrance was a large pool of blood that had long since turned black.

And a phone with a cracked screen.

Adrian instantly rushed over and picked up the phone.

It was still on the text message editing page, showing an unsent message from me:

[Adrian, I didn't push her, but I'm tired. Is giving you my life enough?]

Adrian's hands began to tremble.

He stared at those words, his breathing growing rapid.

"What... what does this mean?"

Rachel walked over without even glancing at it.

"What else could it mean? More melodramatic nonsense! Probably chicken blood or duck blood to scare people. If she was really dead, where's the body? Did it just fly away?"

Patrick sneered as well.

"Exactly. She's been manipulative since childhood. She's probably hiding somewhere watching us make fools of ourselves. Adrian, don't fall for it. Have the police issue an arrest warrant."

Adrian said nothing.

He looked at the room full of medicine bottles and picked one up at random.

The label had been torn off, but he recognized the shape of this bottle.

He'd seen it when buying painkillers for Yara.

This was heavy-duty painkiller, specifically for terminal cancer patients.

"This medicine..."

Adrian's voice was hoarse.

Yara's eyes flashed as she quickly came over.

"Oh, isn't that just vitamins?"

"Sister always loved taking diet pills and vitamins randomly, said she needed to maintain her figure to seduce men."

She took Adrian's arm, acting coquettish:

"Adrian, it smells awful here. Let's go. Sister definitely isn't homeshe probably ran off with some random man."

Just then, Adrian's phone rang again.

Same officer.

Adrian answered, his knuckles white with pressure.

"Mr. Vale, after rushing the DNA comparison, we've confirmed the deceased's identity."

"It's Nora."

"The body has been transported to the city funeral home. Since the deceased signed an organ donation agreement before death, the hospital is pressing for confirmation."

"If you're family, please come as soon as possible."

Adrian felt something explode in his brain.

He swayed, nearly falling.

"You said... confirmed?"

"Yes. Cause of death was terminal stomach cancer with massive hemorrhaging. Time of death was approximately late last night."

Late last night.

What had he been doing then?

He'd been helping Yara pick out what to wear to court the next day.

And sending me that cold, threatening message on SnapChat.

[Nora, stop playing dead.]

Turned out, I really hadn't been playing.

Adrian hung up the phone, his entire being seemingly drained of its soul.

He turned to look at the three Penningtons, still complaining about this and that.

Suddenly felt a wave of nausea.

"The police said..."

He'd barely opened his mouth when Yara suddenly clutched her eye and let out a piercing scream.

"Ah! My eye! It hurts so much! So much!"

She collapsed, convulsing all over, her face instantly turning deathly pale.

"Mom! Help! Sister... I see sister coming at me with a knife to gouge my eye! It hurts so much!"

Rachel panicked and grabbed her.

"Yara! What's wrong? Don't scare Mommy!"

"It's Nora! That wretched girl must be hiding somewhere cursing Yara!"

Patrick roared:

"Adrian! What are you standing there for? Get Yara to the hospital!"

Adrian stood frozen in place.

On one side, police notification to identify a body. On the other, Yara writhing in pain.

"Adrian..."

Yara grabbed Adrian's pant leg, looking up pitifully.

"I'm so scared... Am I going blind? Is Nora refusing to give me her cornea?"

Adrian looked at her, then at the phone in his hand.

Even the phone still had my blood on it.