Chapter 1

My parents got divorced, and I was assigned to live with my father, an emergency-room doctor, while my younger sister was assigned to our mother, a search-and-rescue-dog trainer.

But neither of them wanted to raise us; they only wanted custody of their adopted son, Ethan.

The month my sister and I received our admission notices from Harvard, a landslide struck.

The surrounding cities were affected as well, and I became trapped beneath the rubble.

A wall collapsed onto my right leg, and trembling with terror, I called my father.

He didn’t finally answer until night had fallen, and when he did, he sounded impatient.

“I’m running around like crazy at the hospital. I have to stay on call and treat patients who need emergency care, but you keep calling me and causing trouble! Ethan’s dog drank dirty water mixed with mud and cried miserably for half the day. Now that I finally have some time, I need to help him save the dog. Stop bothering me!”

Hunger and despair consumed me until my sister finally made it back.

But she didn’t have enough strength to move the rubble, so she could only call our mother for help.

Our mother responded with the same angry scolding: “Do you know I’m still working overtime, searching for injured people? You two were living safely in the city. How could anything possibly happen to you? Ethan’s dog is in trouble, and he’s waiting for me to go back and comfort him! I don’t have time to listen to you lie!”

My sister could only use all her strength to shove the rubble away with her body.

But a sharp steel rod fell and pierced her shoulder, making it impossible for her to compete in swimming again.

After waking up in the hospital, we both made the same decision: we had to escape this city.

After we were rescued and regained consciousness, the city’s emergency situation was already under control.

I finally had the chance to charge my phone.

The moment I turned it on, my dad’s call popped up.

I thought he had heard that I was hospitalized and was calling to check on me, but when I answered, his voice was filled with displeasure and blame.

“You throw a tantrum and refuse to answer my calls just because I said a couple of things to you, and then you even disappear! How did I end up raising such an ungrateful daughter?”

Tears immediately streamed down my face, but he only became more annoyed. “Now you’re acting like the victim? Wasn’t everything I said true?”

“Fine, I’ll give you a chance to make up for it. Ethan’s dog drank dirty water, and it’s been gloomy ever since having its stomach pumped. It barely ate any of the special dog food Ethan made for it. He’s frantic right now. I remember there’s a toy at home that the dog loves. Bring it over. I’m at your mother’s place.”

I choked back a sob and replied, “It’s already so late. You want me to deliver a toy in the middle of the night to cheer up a dog?”

Dad raised his voice. “That’s Ethan’s precious treasure. It’s part of our family! If you hadn’t kept calling and distracting me, maybe the dog could have been treated sooner, and Ethan wouldn’t be this heartbroken. I’m giving you a chance to fix your mistake! Don’t be so ungrateful!”

“When did you learn to lie?! You’re actually ridiculous enough to claim that your leg is broken. What could possibly happen to you if you stayed home? Ethan is so kind and honest. Why don’t you learn from him? Clearly, I need to discipline you properly!”

“I don’t want to waste time arguing with you. If you don’t come tonight, I won’t acknowledge you as my daughter anymore. Go wherever you want!”

I heard Ethan sob softly. “Dad, what should I do? The dog still looks so weak.”

The father who had been yelling at me only moments earlier suddenly seemed like a completely different person.

He comforted Ethan in a gentle voice. “It’s okay. Dad’s a doctor. I’ll definitely keep your baby safe and healthy.”

I stared at the phone after he hung up and found the whole thing unbearably ironic.

It turned out that when a person was hurt enough, they could even forget how to cry.

In his eyes, my life wasn’t even as important as the fact that Ethan’s dog couldn’t finish its food.

And he still had the nerve to say that nothing could happen to me if I stayed home.

Perhaps he had forgotten that after he and Mom divorced, the court was supposed to assign one of us girls to each of them.

But neither of them wanted to raise us; they only thought about fighting for custody of their adopted son, Ethan.

So they gave us a little money and sent my sister and me away.

Perhaps they didn’t even know where we lived anymore.

We didn’t have much money, and we were about to start college and pay tuition, so we rented a run-down secondhand house.

That area was hit hardest by the disaster today.

I had clearly told Dad the address when I called him. If he had paid even the slightest attention, he would have known I wasn’t lying.

At the time, my leg hurt so badly that I couldn’t move because the bone had cracked, and blood was pouring from my torn skin.

I had always viewed dancing as the one thing that could save me from my dark life.

But at that moment, I knew I might never be able to stand onstage and dance again.

Nearly breaking down, I called him again and again, hoping that he, as a doctor, would come save me.

He had saved so many people over the years. Maybe he could find a way to save my leg.

But he didn’t answer until I kept calling until my phone died.

I cried out for him to come save me. “My leg is going to be ruined, Dad! Can you come save me? I’m so scared. Will I never be able to dance again?”

But what about him?

He scolded me impatiently, over and over. “You’ve been a compulsive liar since you were little. You’ll do anything to compete with your brother for attention! You hit him and yelled at him when you were kids, destroyed his things, and now that you’re grown up, you still haven’t changed! How did I end up with a daughter like you?”

Then, as usual, he began praising Ethan. “Your brother would never act like this. He’s always been careful to please you and treated you like his sister, but you’re always so vicious!”

He was actually mocking his own daughter like this for an outsider who truly lied constantly and was always pretending to be pitiful.

I genuinely wondered whether he had ever considered me his own child.

Eighteen years had passed. If he had put even the slightest effort into understanding me, he could never have said something like that.

But he couldn’t hear my sobs, protests, or pleas for help.

He wasn’t even willing to spend the time it took to hang up on me. The moment he heard Ethan quietly sobbing, he rushed off to keep him company.

Ethan cried and asked him, “Dad, is the dog going to die? I don’t want to lose another dog. I’m really sad.”

So Dad put everything else aside and chose to save a dog that had merely swallowed a few mouthfuls of dirty water.

All because Ethan cried.

But they had all been fooled by Ethan. He had owned three dogs before, and he had tortured every one of them to death, yet he pushed all the blame onto my sister and me.

Whenever he cried, Dad and Mom would unconditionally take his side.

This time, the dog’s accident was probably caused by him too.

As I remembered the abuse I had just suffered, their cheers rang in my ears. “Dad, you’re amazing! The dog threw up all the dirty water!”

Dad smiled in relief. “Ethan, you were so kind to the animal. Dad has to give you a proper reward this time.”

I could no longer hear what came afterward because my phone had run out of power.

Darkness swallowed me again, and I wished I could leave this world forever.

Then my sister burst into my darkness. Other than dancing, she was the only person who could keep me alive.

She pushed aside the debris until the skin of her palms was rubbed raw, her fingernails torn back, and both hands covered in blood.

She couldn’t move the concrete slab, so she called Mom.

But Mom was with Ethan too. “What’s wrong with you and your sister? One of you lies, and that isn’t enough, so now you’ve teamed up to deceive me?”

“Ethan’s dog retired from our training center, and because he’s kindhearted, he adopted it. He treats it like a treasure. I trained that dog myself, so it’s attached to me. It’s in bad shape now, and having me by its side will help it recover.”

“Besides, Ethan is feeling low and really needs his mother’s comfort. As for your sister, she can’t say a single truthful thing! I’m not going to believe her. Even if something really happened, whether her leg was crushed or she was crushed to death, she would deserve it! She’s always lying!”

My sister was crying so hard that she could barely breathe, and in the end, she had no choice but to use her own body to ram the debris pinning me down.

But in doing so, a sharp piece of rebar pierced through her shoulder.

My sister had just won the state swimming championship.

Now her arm was severely injured, and she probably wouldn’t be able to swim again either.

My sister’s body was wrapped in thick bandages, and I held her hand tightly.

“From now on, we won’t rely on those heartless parents anymore. From now on, I’ll be the one protecting you.”