The Gold Bracelet

Despite what John said, I did visit him three days ago with a bunch of expensive gifts. I wanted to stay for a few days with my father. However, he kicked me out because I ate one extra chicken leg.

The snowstorm was raging that evening. As I stood there in the field of white with a thin jacket wrapped around me, I trembled and shivered. I could only seek shelter in the cave I used to hide in as a child.

My favorite food was cauliflower. While it was cheap, John rarely bought them all because Fred did not like cauliflowers. Hence, I could never have them.

When John found out that Wendy was still in contact with her first love, he instantly went and found himself a mistress. They had a baby son the next year, and he even moved them in with us.

Wendy was so furious that she demanded a divorce. However, neither of them wanted me. In the end, it was my grandmother who took me in. Still, that only lasted until she passed away the year before. From then on, there was no one I could rely on.

I followed John as he continued shopping. "I'm buying this for my son. His grades have improved. He even moved up ten ranks among his class. I have to reward him."

In reality, Fred only went from last in the class to tenth to last. Even though I was always the top student of my year, John never praised me. Instead, he would say to me, "What's the use of good grades? You have surely inherited your mom's loose morals. You'll be kicked out of the house when you cheat on your husband anyway. With how ugly you are, no one would even want you."

Due to his hate of my mother, he hated me as well. In reality, he would know for sure if I was his daughter with just one DNA paternity test.

However, he never dared to get it done. He was afraid he would have hated the wrong people for years.

Once John reached home, he began to work hard in the kitchen. Soon, the air was filled with a fragrant aroma. Isla Jordan, my stepmother, walked out of the bedroom with a facial mask on her face. She tentatively asked John, "I heard you found the headless corpse of a woman this morning at the dig site. Has she been identified?"

"How can we identify her without a head? Still, I suspect she was kicked out of the house by her man because she did something wrong. That body was covered in bruises. It's easy to see that she was frequently beaten up."

That made Isla let out a sigh of relief. She then walked over to hug John and coyly said, "My husband is the best husband in the world. You'll never hit me."

John gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Of course. You gave me a son. You're a great hero of the family and not at all like my unfaithful ex-wife. Of course, I would never hit you."

He then noticed the gold bracelet on Isla's wrist and instantly became wary. "When did you buy this bracelet?"

"This? Fred gave it to me. He won a cash prize in the school's drone competition. He bought it for me with that money straight away."

"As expected of my son. He's such a good kid!"

Not long after that, Fred came home from school. The family of three sat down and enjoyed their meal amidst laughter and cheer. I also sat down on a chair to silently watch them.

My grandmother made me live with my father when I started middle school, as he lived closer to my new school. However, I never once ate at the table. I had to sit behind the door on a stool all on my own while they happily enjoyed their meals.

As they dined, John kept praising Fred for his improved grades and gift for Isla. Suddenly, he asked, "Why does the bracelet look so familiar?"

Isla immediately spoke up. "Gold bracelets all look the same. You might've seen it in a shop before."

John went back to his meal without a single hint of suspicion.

How I wished he would probe further. That was the bracelet I wore when I visited him a few days ago.

Still, no matter how loud I shouted, John did not hear me.

My Heart

I felt a tugging sensation. Suddenly, my soul was brought to the morgue of a hospital. My body was being autopsied.

The coroner in charge was Ian Jensen, my mother's current husband. After slicing my chest open, he frowned and made a call.

A few minutes later, Wendy came walking in. Despite being in her forties, she looked as beautiful as before. What a shame that I never inherited her beauty.

"Look at the corpse. The girl had a congenital heart disease, specifically a rare primary aortic dilatation," Ian said.

Wendy reached out and confirmed his discovery for herself. Then, she picked up the scalpel with gloved hands and cut out my heart. Ian hurriedly stopped her. "That's illegal!"

Wendy did not care at all. "I just so happen to need this heart as a teaching tool for my class. I also want to research a targeted cure for congenital heart disease. Her family will surely be honored if they know about this. Leave me be. I know what I'm doing."

Wendy carefully stored my heart away and moved to leave with it. Ian spoke up once more, asking, "Are you going to study the heart for your daughter?"

I dazedly wondered if Wendy had always loved me. Did she still think of me?

"Of course. Yuna is only ten. I don't want her to suffer any longer. I must find the best possible treatment as soon as possible."

That reply made me feel like I had been plunged into ice-cold water.

How could I have forgotten that Wendy and Ian had their own daughter? Coincidentally, she suffered from the same heart disease that I had.

However, Yuna grew up fair and healthy with her mother’s tender care. I rarely saw my mother after I was five, and all of my grandmother's retirement funds had gone to my surgeries. Naturally, I was incredibly thin due to a lack of nutrition.

Afterward, I followed Wendy home and watched her warmly coax Yuna to bed and then iron out every inch of Yuna's outfit for the next day.

At that moment, I was overwhelmed by jealousy. Yuna and I were both Wendy's daughters. However, I had never enjoyed Wendy's maternal love.

"Mom, look at me," I said.

No matter how much I called out to her, I did not receive a response from Wendy.

The next day, Wendy presented my heart to her students. As a teacher at the hospital, there were many aspiring doctors under her guidance.

She ecstatically showed off my heart. "Everyone, look here. This is the heart of someone with congenital heart disease. From the tubes in the heart, the patient had clearly gone through multiple surgeries. Today, we will be studying it in hopes of finding a better treatment plan."

She then pulled out a scalpel before dissecting every inch of my heart, placing every sliver of my heart under the microscope for all to happily discuss.

As for me, I stood there and watched as my heart was sliced and diced into a million pieces.

I suddenly recalled how nice Wendy was to me back before John found out she was still in contact with her first love.

I had asked in my childish voice, "Mom, will you still recognize me if I turn into a cockroach?"

She gently caressed my head and replied, "Of course. I gave birth to you, Denise. No matter what you end up as, I will always recognize you."

'Mom, my heart is right before you. Do you recognize me?' I thought.

Evidently, she did not.

Halfway through the class, John called Wendy. In a crass tone, he demanded, "Call Denise and find out where on earth she disappeared off to. Zack keeps worrying that the headless corpse we dug up a few days ago belongs to Denise. I've deleted all of her contact information after how angry I was with her."

Wendy grew furious upon hearing that. "Call her yourself! I'm busy!"

She hung up after that. However, she spent a few moments hesitantly staring at the dissected heart before mumbling to herself, "That's impossible." Then, she continued teaching.

For the next few days, Wendy holed herself up in the laboratory, recording every new discovery she made. After that, she called Ian. "This heart has really paid off. I have a new treatment plan in mind. Tomorrow, I'll discuss with the directors first before performing surgery on Yuna."

Ian was cheering over the phone. When Wendy ended the call, she was still smiling.

Perhaps it was due to her good mood, she actually called me. Naturally, the call went unanswered. She furiously sent John a voice message. "I called Denise, but she didn't answer. She must be with some man again. Ignore her. She's tough."

However, she soon received a call from the police. "Are you Dr. Wendy Sawyer? According to preliminary investigations, the headless corpse we found a week ago in Mount Fang is very likely your daughter, Denise Chance. Please come down to the station to assist in our investigations."