Pain Is a Family Matter Chapter 08
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Stefan dragged the limp leg he had taken from Viola and lured Amber out. He claimed he had once promised to buy her a crown and invited her to browse jewelry.
Amber suspected nothing.
As the car traveled farther from the city center, unease crept in. Amber sensed something was wrong
Panic surged, and she grabbed Stefan’s arm and cried, “Stefan, what are you doing? Did you forget? I’ll always be your little princess. I’m your sister, Amber. Your Amber.”
Stefan snapped, seizing her by the throat.
“I don’t have a sister who brings only misfortune,” he said hoarsely. “My sister is Viola. Only Viola.”
Amber fought back with everything she had. Years of extreme stunts had sharpened her survival instincts.
Stefan’s body was also weak. His life revolved around touring, piano practice, and caution. He could not match someone who faced danger daily.
Amber overpowered him with ease.
Stefan screamed for the driver.
The driver, frozen with terror, had already sped away.
Stefan lay bound, his hands and feet restrained.
Amber collapsed into sobs, tears streaming down her face. “Stefan, how could you do this to me? I never wanted to hurt you. The only person I wanted to hurt was Viola.”
Her gaze hardened. “If you can be heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Consumed by rage, she turned on her livestream. She announced that she would perform parkour from the tallest building in the city, an 88-story tower.
She planned to leap between two buildings. The gap measured seven feet. Beneath it stretched open air, with traffic crawling like ants. For a professional traceur, the jump would have been manageable.
Amber was not a professional. She had never trained in a systematic way.
She climbed up anyway, driven by impulse and spite. Confidence blinded her. She believed she was only trying to
scare Stefan.
She was wrong.
Amber screamed as she plunged past rows of windows and crashed onto a terrace near the 18th floor. She landed on all fours, her head striking the concrete with brutal force.
She survived.
Before countless stunned witnesses and rolling cameras that called it a miracle, she shrieked and ran toward Stefan.
When she reached him, the body bound nearby twitched once and then fell still.
She gathered him into her arms and broke down. “I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t. I only wanted to scare you.
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Stefan…”
Stefan was close to her in age. Among them all, he had always treated her the best.
Steffan’s death shattered Amber, but reflection never came. Every ounce of hatred turned toward me instead.
She stormed home, seized my collar, and screamed, “Why are you fine? Why are you healthy again?!
“You did this. It has to be you. You’re the one hurting us. When we were kids, you got my dad killed. Now you’re killing my brothers.
“You’re a curse. I want you dead. The brothers already paid for me. You’ll be next.”
She shot me one last vicious look and ran.
She vanished quickly, and I did not chase her.
One thing alone mattered to me. She claimed I had caused her father’s death.
I had not. He had never rescued me. I had escaped the fire on my own.
So what had truly happened?
Behind me, Rayden rolled forward in his wheelchair, silent as a ghost.
He said softly, “I’m sorry, Viola. We lied to her. That night, it was us. We were playing with exposed wiring. We caused the fire. When Uncle Fred died trying to save us, we couldn’t face Amber. We blamed you instead.
“For years, guilt over Uncle Fred made us indulge her. All this time, she thought she was taking revenge on you. It’s our fault. We ruined you.”
So that was the reason for all my suffering.
I let out a weak laugh.
Two hours later, the police called.
Amber was dead. She had attempted a high-altitude zipline without any protective gear. She fell from a great height and was mangled beyond recognition.
She died before the ambulance arrived.
I looked up at the birds outside the window.
It was over.
I left the house without looking back. With my legs whole again, I returned to dance.
I had lost many years, but my foundation remained. Perhaps the Shared-Sense System took pity on me. My body felt lighter than it ever had.
The offer from the famous dance company came again. This time, nothing stood in my way. I picked up my suitcase and walked straight toward my dream.
Later, I became a principal dancer.
Every year on my birthday, two anonymous packages arrived. My assistant would open them, eyes wide at the costly gifts, and ask who sent them.
I only smiled. The sender did not matter. What mattered was the vast, brilliant future that finally belonged to me.
