My Mother Called Me a Liar Chapter 08
After saying that, he turned and walked out of the hospital room without looking back.
Sharon froze for two seconds before suddenly rolling off the bed. Crying hysterically, she crawled after him across the floor.
“I was wrong! I really know I was wrong now! Please, please let me go!”
She collapsed on the ground, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
Meanwhile, Mom wandered out of the hospital in a daze, stumbling as if her soul had left her body. She did not even know how she made it back to the school.
Then something seemed to snap inside her.
Like a madwoman, she charged into the teaching building and slammed open the door to the broadcasting room.
The two students on duty jumped in fright.
“Mrs. Cole? What’s wrong?”
She ignored them completely. After shoving them out, she locked the door behind her.
Then she switched on the microphone.
Her trembling voice echoed through every corner of the campus.
“Briana… It’s Mom, I’m sorry.
“I should never have forced you to give up your scholarship. I should never have made you give up your competition spot. You never stole the exam questions. Those first-place rankings were earned by your own hard work. They were all supposed to be yours…
“And today… I should never have forced you to donate blood. Briana, please come back, okay? I know I’m in the wrong…”
The door to the broadcasting room burst open from the outside.
The dean rushed in with several security guards and immediately slammed a hand down on the microphone switch.
Looking at Mom, who was crying so hard she could barely speak, he let out a heavy sigh.
“Mrs. Cole, I warned you back then, but you refused to listen. Now that things have ended like this, there’s no point saying anything anymore.”
His voice sounded exhausted.
“You should step down for a while. Go home and get some rest.”
One month later, the court hearing began.
Sharon stood at the defendant’s table, visibly thinner than before.
The judge’s voice echoed throughout the courtroom as he read the verdict.
“The defendant, Sharon, as a medical worker, forcibly drew blood from a patient suffering from severe anemia without fully understanding the donor’s physical condition. During the procedure, repeated needle insertions and other improper practices occurred. The amount of blood drawn far exceeded safe medical standards, directly resulting in the victim Briana’s death.
“Although the defendant was unaware of the victim’s condition beforehand, her attitude after the incident demonstrated insufficient remorse. Taking all circumstances into consideration, the court sentences the defendant to five years imprisonment for negligent homicide.”
Sharon’s legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the floor.
“No! I didn’t know she would die! I really didn’t know!”
The bailiffs stepped forward, grabbed her by the arms, and dragged her out of the courtroom.
The judge then turned to the other side.
“Lilian Cole, as the school’s dean of discipline, knowingly forced the deceased to participate in blood donation despite being aware that she suffered from severe anemia. Furthermore, she failed to provide timely assistance afterward. While her actions do not constitute a criminal offense, they represent severe professional misconduct. The school has decided to dismiss her permanently and revoke her eligibility to work in education for life.”
Mom sat motionless in the gallery.
Much of her hair had turned white. In just a short time, she seemed to have aged ten years.
After that, her mental state completely collapsed.
At first, she stopped sleeping altogether, spending entire nights flipping through my childhood photo
albums.
“Briana was always such a good child… she never caused me any worry…”
Later, she began pacing the apartment hallways day and night, grabbing anyone she saw just to brag about me.
“My daughter was incredible. She won the national scholarship and even got first place in the provincial competition…”
At first, the neighbors humored her with a few responses. Eventually, they started avoiding her whenever
they saw her coming.
Later still, she lined up candles all around the house, saying she wanted to light the way home for me.
When neighbors smelled smoke and called the police, firefighters broke down the door and found her
sitting on the floor with an empty bowl in her hands, talking to thin air.
“Briana, are you cold? Mom made soup for you. Have a sip…”
In the end, Dad sent her to a psychiatric hospital.
As she was taken away, Mom tilted her head and looked at him.
“My daughter is the best. Do you want to see her award certificates?”
Dad stood there silently for a very long time before finally sighing and turning away.
Later, he came alone to the cemetery.
The gravestone was newly placed, engraved with the words:
Beloved Daughter Briana.
A small bouquet of white daisies rested before the grave, morning dew still clinging to the petals.
Dad crouched down and carefully straightened the flowers.
“Briana, Dad came to see you. Be good over there, okay?”
A gust of wind blew loose one of the daisy petals, carrying it gently onto the gravestone.
Dad froze.
Slowly, his eyes reddened.
He looked up, his voice trembling slightly.
“Is that you, Briana?”
I looked down at my increasingly transparent body and smiled softly in midair.
“Thank you, Dad.”
Then I turned and walked toward the light.
Behind me, the little bouquet of daisies swayed gently in the wind.
