My Name on Her Dying Report

The slap cracked across my face, leaving a fiery sting in its wake.

I touched my cheek, my heart already numb.

I turned to my mother.

"And you. Stop crying."

"This pathetic victim act of yours is disgusting."

"When you were pregnant with me, did Father force you? With your personality, it shouldn't have been hard to get rid of an unwanted child."

My mother's crying stopped abruptly. She pointed at me, her whole body trembling.

"You monster!"

Julian rushed over and grabbed my wrist, his eyes burning with fury.

"Chloe! How can you speak to your parents like that?"

The hall descended into chaos.

My father's second slap landed squarely on my face.

Warm liquid trickled from the corner of my mouth.

"Get out!"

He pointed at the door, roaring like a beast.

"From this day forward, I, Prescott Hawthorne, officially disinherit you! You are no longer part of this family!"

I instinctively shielded my stomach.

For the sake of this little life I hadn't even met, I couldn't afford to be weak.

I wiped the blood from my mouth and glared at him.

"Fine."

"You're the one who said it."

"From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. No one contacts anyone."

Scarlett shrieked, her voice thick with tears.

"That's right! Whoever contacts the other first, may God curse them to never find peace for all eternity!"

A desolate smile touched my lips.

I took the real diagnostic report out of my bag.

It was the corrected version the lab had just emailed me.

I tossed it onto the table along with the ring.

"Very well, Scarlett."

"Remember the promise you just made."

"You can keep these."

"You might need to sell that diamond ring to pay for your funeral."

I pointed at the paper.

"The lab made a mistake with the first report. I'm not the one who's sick," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper. "You are."

After walking out of the estate gates, I thought I would break down in tears.

But I didn't.

I just felt empty.

There was a huge hole in my chest, and the cold night wind howled right through it.

The lingering pain from Julian breaking our engagement was a constant, dull ache.

My phone vibrated.

It was an email from Julian's lawyer.

"We have retracted the announcement of the engagement ceremony. We have informed all partners that we will not be marrying due to irreconcilable differences. As of today, we have no further connection."

Immediately after, my father released a public statement through the family office.

"My second daughter, Chloe, due to her malicious heart and disrespectful behavior, is hereby disowned from the Hawthorne family and removed from the family trust. All her actions henceforth are her own."

Then he kicked me out of the family group chat.

So swift. So final.