Leaving Madness in My Absence

Marcus gnashed his teeth and said, "When dealing with someone like her, we can't show mercy. Today, I'll drag her out myself and make her apologize to you."

With that, he suddenly stood up and made his way toward the greenhouse in long strides. Jeremy and Andrew followed close behind, their faces wearing the same cold and ruthless expressions.

Sofia tried to step forward to stop them. Jeremy shoved her aside, sending her staggering and crashing into the wall.

"Get out of the way! This is none of your business!" Jeremy barked.

My soul floated silently behind them, watching this ridiculous scene with icy detachment.

Go on. Go see the masterpiece you created with your own hands, which Mackenzie perfected with a fatal touch.

At the greenhouse door, everything was silent.

Marcus stood before the sealed entrance and shouted angrily at the door, "Bianca! Have you learned your lesson?"

Only dead silence answered him.

"Are you playing dumb now?" Marcus gave a cold laugh and quickly entered numbers on the keypad.

The greenhouse code was my birthday.

Back then, he had smiled and said, "This way, you can come in anytime to enjoy the flowers."

Following a beep, the lock released, but the door seemed stuck. It would only open up to a narrow crack.

Jeremy stepped forward, his tone dripping with contempt. "How dare she block the door from inside? What a cheap trick!"

They thought I was deliberately going against them.

Andrew said nothing but stepped up to push at the door together with Marcus.

With one forceful push, the door opened halfway, blocked by my curled-up body. Following the second push, my body toppled to the ground due to the force.

Mackenzie and Sofia came over.

Hiding behind the others, Mackenzie looked on excitedly, as if she were waiting for a good show. Sofia's face was pale, and her lips trembled as if she had sensed what awaited them.

She stammered, "Mr. Marcus… Ms. Bianca… seems to be… dead…"

Marcus cut her off snappily, "Shut up! Say one more word and you're out of the Graham household! I'd like to see how long she can play dead."

A combined stench of pesticide, rotten flesh, and despair instantly poured out from the greenhouse. The overwhelming foulness made my brothers wince and gag.

"Ugh…" Jeremy was the first to bend over uncontrollably and cover his mouth as he rushed aside to retch.

Andrew also turned pale and retreated far away while fanning his hand in front of his nose with a disgusted expression. "What the hell? What did she do in there? Why does it stink so badly?"

Marcus frowned hard. Fighting his nausea, he switched on the greenhouse lights.

My body lay curled on the ground, completely unresponsive.

"What are you playing at, Bianca? Get up now!" Marcus roared.

He thought I was retaliating by doing something revolting to express my dissatisfaction toward them.

My soul stood right beside him. I watched as his face grew more furious at my silence and thought what a tragedy this was.

Mackenzie pinched her nose and cast a look of repugnance before letting out an exaggerated scream. "Oh my god! How repulsive! Did she mess with the pesticides in here? That's so dangerous!"

Her words effectively spurred Marcus to get even madder at me.

They had forgotten how they once celebrated my 18th birthday inside this greenhouse.

Marcus had said, "From now on, you will make wishes here every year."

Jeremy had promised, "I'll always protect you."

Andrew had vowed, "We'll always have your back."

Now, they didn't even want to take a glance at me.

Marcus turned to the trembling Sofia and barked an order. "Get someone to carry her out! Since she likes to play dead, she can die outside!"

He still thought I was alive. He thought I was simply using this extreme method to protest against them. He didn't even bother to step closer to take a good look at me.

When the workers in protective suits entered and moved the body, one of them let out a terrified scream. "A-Ah! It's a… a corpse!"

"What?"

My three brothers were startled by the cry. They peered inside again in disbelief. When they finally drew close enough to my body, they all gasped.