I Listened to Future Me and Paid the Price

In my last life, I'd listened to the mysterious caller and kept my distance from Mom and Dad after Kieran's accident. Thus, I had not been there when danger came for them.

I decided that I could not trust that voice again.

I held Mom's hand as I said, "Let's go home together."

At dinner, the room felt heavy because of Kieran's recent passing, but Mom and Dad still kept putting food on my plate.

They were sad, but they did not seem to hate me. They even asked if I had enough to eat.

I thought about that phone call and inwardly remarked, "See? They're fine. I'm still their precious daughter. That phone call really misled me in the wildest way possible."

The next day, Mom and Dad told me they wanted to stay home instead of going out.

I almost instinctively agreed to it. But then, the image of their cold bodies from my last life flashed in my mind.

There was only one way to stop the same thing from happening.

"Mom, Dad, Kieran is gone now. You two are everything to me, and I cannot lose you, too. Let's move houses."

Thus, I moved them into an old apartment building.

The building was old, but the area was safe. Besides, there were many older neighbors, so Mom and Dad would not feel lonely when they went out for their walks.

Over the next few days, I reminded them not to open the door to strangers every morning before I left.

I also joined them on their walks after dinner. And just like that, life seemed simple and warm once more.

However, I failed to stop what came next.

That day, I was carrying groceries home and opened the door. Inside, I saw nothing but ash.

"How could this happen?" My heart dropped.

The whole place was dark and looked to have suffered through a raging fire.

Firefighters soon showed up, but even they could not find Mom's and Dad's bodies.

One of them said, "The fire started because the wiring was old. Did you check the power before you left your home?"

"I… "

I fell to the ground in a heap.

Was I the one who killed Mom and Dad, too?

I had tried to protect them. But my fear had become the sole thing that trapped them.

Brielle rushed in when she heard the news. She pointed at my face and screamed, "You're a jinx!

"You're not even human. Was killing Kieran not enough? Now, your parents are gone without a trace. Will you only be happy when the whole family is dead?"

"No, that's not it. The world is a dangerous place. I just wanted to keep them safe…" I tried to explain, but the words died in my throat.

"You locked them in here, and they had nowhere to run. What you did was pure evil! I will expose your evil sins online. I want everyone to see you for the monster that you are!"

As she said she would, Brielle posted that I gave Kieran HIV-tainted blood and caused the complication that killed him. She also revealed that I burned our parents alive in the house.

People on the Internet went wild, and everyone rushed to side with her.

"She's no sister. She is death in human form."

"Poor woman. She cared about that family, but the biological daughter never cared at all!"

"I think she did it on purpose. That fake concern for her parents means nothing. She should be arrested and thrown in jail!"

"I found her name—Evangeline Parker. Don't let her walk free."

Some people soon found my personal information, and they sent me threats by the hordes.

I felt broken, while my conscience had been shredded to bits. My body and mind were drained and exhausted both.

"I am a sinner. I killed Kieran. I killed Mom and Dad," I thought.

Of course, Brielle came to my place every day and hurled a new round of insults at me each time.

"You killed the whole family. How do you still have the nerve to stay alive?"

In the end, I broke at last. I climbed to the rooftop and stared at the street below.

Looking down at the world from above, I thought about ending everything.

"I failed you, Brielle."

Brielle followed behind me and kept cursing at me regardless. "Don't think acting like this will fix anything. Do you even have the guts to jump?"

I looked at her eager face, and everything finally clicked into place.

I said, "You've been waiting for me to jump, haven't you, Brielle?"