Crippled by Deception, Now They Drown in Regret

Scarlett’s expression twisted at my words, her pride taking a direct hit. Without warning, she raised her foot and kicked my wheelchair hard.

“What’s a cripple like you so smug about? Dad and Mom erased all the evidence for me. No matter how arrogant you act, you can’t touch me!”

Seething, she pushed me forward again, her grip tightening. A slow, eerie smile curled on her lips as we neared the pool's edge.

“Let me show you who they truly care about.”

Before I could react, she shoved my wheelchair forward. The world tilted and the next instant, ice-cold water swallowed me whole.

The sharp chill surged into my lungs, stinging my skin. My limbs flailed uselessly as the weight of my chair dragged me down.

“Wife!”

“Daughter!”

The frantic shouts of Elijah and my parents cut through the chaos. Water splashed violently as Elijah swam toward me. I reached out, my fingers desperate to grasp onto something, someone.

But just as I thought he was coming for me, he bypassed me without hesitation. His hands found Scarlett instead, pulling her into his arms.

On the edge of the pool, my parents leaned forward, their hands outstretched, not for me, but for her.

A bitter smile curved on my lips as my hand fell away, my body sinking deeper into the abyss.

As darkness threatened to pull me under, Elijah’s hands yanked me back to the surface.

Coughing and gasping for air, I lay on the ground, water pooling beneath me. Beside me, frantic voices filled the night.

“Scarlett, wake up! Wake up!” My parents’ anxious cries rang out thick with desperation.

A soft gasp broke through the commotion. Scarlett’s lashes fluttered and with a feeble voice, she murmured, “She… she suddenly sped up her wheelchair. I tried to save her, but… I got pulled in with her…”

Whispers rippled through the crowd like an uneasy tide.

“I heard her foster sister shattered her legs on her birthday five years ago… Could the memories have been too much? Did she try to end it all?”

Elijah’s gaze flickered, a fleeting trace of guilt flashing across his face.

My father’s expression twisted with something that almost looked like regret. My mother, sobbing, threw herself at me, clutching my drenched sleeves.

“Daughter, why would you do something so foolish? We’ll take care of you for the rest of our lives!”

I looked at them, my lips curling into a cold, humorless smile.

Not long ago, all their worry had been for Scarlett. But now, under the scrutiny of the guests, they put on this grand performance, one dripping with feigned concern.

Bitter resentment coiled in my chest.

Truly, what a spectacle.

How laughable.

Before leaving, Scarlett cast me a triumphant glance, her smirk brimming with satisfaction.

My birthday banquet had turned into a complete disaster. In the end, my oh-so-loving family escorted me straight to the hospital.

When the doctor declared I was fine, a sigh of relief filled the room.

Moments later, my phone buzzed. Another message from Scarlett.

[Did you see? He saved me first.]

[Even your parents called out for me as their daughter. If you still don’t get it, you’re truly pathetic.]

[Their love for me runs deeper than it ever did for you. After all, I was the one who lived with them the longest.]

[So tell me, who’s the real fool here?]

I didn’t reply. Instead, I took my time saving every single message, taking screenshots one by one.

That night, my family dropped me home, only to rush straight to Scarlett’s villa to care for her.

Alone in the study, I printed out the chat logs, preserving every last word. Then, I transferred the recorded hospital conversation onto a USB drive.

A final parting gift.

By morning, not a single one of them had returned.

Elijah had sent a message saying that he and his parents were going out to purchase mourning items and had asked the butler to look after me.

I stared at the screen, my fingers tightening around the phone.

So that was how much I mattered.

I let out a cold laugh and summoned the butler, instructing him to pack up and discard everything Elijah had given me over the years.

With that, I turned and made my way to the study.

My fingers traced the edges of the framed calligraphy my father had once written for me before I yanked it down. Without hesitation, I hurled it into the fire pit.

Two words. That was all he had given me. [Health.]

For Scarlett, he had carefully penned: [A harmonious family brings prosperity.]

Yet for me, his only wish had been health, something he had stolen from me the moment he shattered my legs, ensuring I would never walk again.

The irony burned deeper than the flames before me.

Overcome with rage; I grabbed the scarf and leg warmers my mother had knitted for me and tossed them into the fire, followed by every family photo we had taken over the past decade.

One by one, memories turned to ashes.

Since I was leaving, I wouldn’t leave behind a single trace of my existence in this house.

As I watched the fire consume everything, I made my final decision.

I stepped out into the night and made my way to the lawyer’s office, handing over the printed documents.

I entrusted him with the evidence, instructing him to file a lawsuit against Scarlett the next day.

Even if I couldn’t have her sentence, I wanted the world to know that she was still alive and that my family had been protecting her all along.

Then, I logged into my social media accounts, uploaded the pictures and audio and carefully edited them before scheduling their release to a selected group.

Only then did I reply to Scarlett’s message.

[Do you think I can make them abandon you and come back?]

She took the bait instantly.

[You think too highly of yourself. They’d never return today. Just wait and see.]

A cold smirk played on my lips as my phone rang right on cue.

My parents’ voices spilled through the receiver, full of feigned warmth. “We still have a lot to prepare. We need to place an urgent order overnight, so don’t wait for us.”

Exactly as I had expected.

After hanging up, I sent the final piece of evidence to the doctor they had hired—tying up the last loose end.

Then, clutching my plane ticket, I turned my back on the house I had lived in for the past ten years and disappeared into the night.

The next morning, at the grand ribbon-cutting ceremony for Scarlett’s company.

A call from the doctor shattered my father’s composure.

"Chairman Harrison, this is bad! Azalea discovered the truth about the accident five years ago… She heard everything we said in the hospital that day!"