When the gas explosion set the villa on fire, I used every ounce of strength I had to carry my unconscious mother and brother out to safety. But when they woke up, they gathered around my cousin, whose hair had been singed by the flames, showering her with concern. The butler asked anxiously, "Where's Keira?" Mom shouted furiously, "That ungrateful wretch Keira ran off first thing!" "Thank god for Celeste---she even had her hair burned trying to save us." Mom and my brother looked at me with intense disgust, completely missing the flicker in my cousin's eyes. They didn't know that at that very moment, I was lying collapsed inside the villa. A heavy solid wood bookshelf had crushed my legs. In the towering flames, my right hand was charred black, exposing the white bones beneath. And the chandelier on the ceiling was swaying dangerously, about to crash down on my head. Mom and my brother crowded around my cousin, the whole family rushing to the hospital to fuss over her singed hair. My brother, Hayden Hayes, patted her head consolingly. "Don't worry. Worst case, we'll make Keira cut her hair and give it to you." He frowned irritably. "Where is Keira anyway?" At that, Mom slapped the table twice in anger. "That ungrateful girl saw the fire and ran faster than anyone!" "She's probably lying around sleeping somewhere right now, completely indifferent to whether we live or die!" Mom's judgment of me continued. Until the police called with news of my death, she suddenly froze like a machine jamming. The disgust hadn't faded from her face yet, making her expression look almost comical. I floated in midair, watching their reactions, and couldn't help wanting to laugh a little. In the car ride home, Mom and my brother both wore expressionless faces. Only their occasionally clenching fingers betrayed their inner turmoil. Quite a crowd had gathered at the villa entrance, and my body lay on a white gurney to the side. After getting out of the car, Mom grabbed my brother in a daze. "That... that's Keira's body, isn't it?" "No... this can't be possible..." Hayden took two steps back, panic flashing across his face as he asked repeatedly. "You're working with Keira to put on a show, aren't you? She loves lying and playing tricks---this is fake too, right?" When the villa caught fire, I had been in the garden watering flowers and turning soil. My cousin Celeste had accused me of stealing her bracelet, and Mom, without asking any questions, had punished me by making me clean the entire villa garden alone. When I saw the billowing black smoke, I rushed into the fire without hesitation. Mom and my brother had already been knocked unconscious by the smoke. I used all my strength to rescue them from the villa one by one. The scorching smoke seared my lungs---every breath brought tears of pain. In his confusion, my brother grabbed my hand and mumbled, "Save Celeste... go save her..." Gritting my teeth, I rushed back into the flames. When I found my cousin, she was huddled in a corner of her room, curled up and screaming. When she saw me, her eyes lit up. "Keira! Save me! Please save me!" I draped the wet bedsheet over her. After just two steps, I saw the bookshelf beside us start to tilt. I instinctively tried to dodge, but Celeste shoved me hard. The intense pain made me cry out. When I came to my senses, the heavy solid wood bookshelf had already pinned my legs. I looked at Celeste in disbelief. A flash of struggle crossed her face, but it all turned to cold indifference in the end. She said, "Keira, you only have yourself to blame for always competing with me for everything." Then she ran out of the villa without hesitation, shouting as she went. "Aunt! Hayden! Where are you? I'm so scared!" I instinctively called out "Mom"---it's every child's natural response in extreme panic. The fire in the villa grew fiercer. I could clearly hear the sound of my skin splitting from the burns. I tried turning my body, pushing hard against the bookshelf on my legs, veins bulging on my forehead. My nails all broke off from the force, leaving my fingers bloody and mangled. But the bookshelf on top of me didn't budge an inch. Moments later, I collapsed heavily back to the ground. Turning my head, through the bright second-floor window, I could clearly see the three people in the garden. Mom and my brother had regained consciousness. Celeste threw herself into Mom's arms. Hayden tenderly touched her hair. The whole family wore expressions of relief at having survived, but no one cared whether I lived or died. No one even mentioned me. The chandelier overhead suddenly made a harsh creaking sound. I looked up, then closed my eyes in despair. Before my consciousness plunged into darkness, I felt only endless confusion and bewilderment. I was clearly their daughter and little sister, so why wouldn't they love me? Hatred rose in my chest. I really didn't have to die. ... When the half-charred body was wheeled before Mom, she collapsed to the ground in shock. She kept repeating, "Impossible---Keira wasn't even in the villa, was she?" Then she broke down crying. "I'm sorry, Keira... I'm sorry, Mom could have saved you, you didn't have to die..." Hayden shook his head in a daze, looking at my body in disbelief. "No... this isn't Keira, she's not my sister." "My sister was beautiful---how could she look like this now..." I finally heard the words I'd wanted to hear. But now, it was all too late.
Mom's hands trembled, not daring to approach. My brother stood to the side, gasping for breath, clutching his chest tightly. Just then, a group of smiling reporters carrying cameras arrived at the villa entrance. Seeing this scene, they looked confused at first, then asked cautiously, "Is Miss Keira Hayes here?" Hearing this, Mom looked up in a daze. When she saw the joy on his face, she was instantly triggered and shouted. "What are you smiling about? Are you happy my daughter Keira is dead!" The reporter quickly waved his hands. "You misunderstand, we didn't mean that... What did you say? Miss Keira Hayes... she's dead?" Celeste suddenly stood up excitedly and shoved the reporter. "My sister is dead! Even if she did something else to trend on social media, can't you just leave her alone?" Mom heard her words and first frowned irritably by instinct, then closed her eyes. "Yes, when someone dies, the past dies with them. I'll apologize on her behalf..." "You misunderstand!" The reporter interrupted her. "Miss Hayes won second place in the International Art Painting Awards!" "She even received praise from a professor at the Florence Academy---she brought honor to the country!" "What?" Mom shot to her feet, looking at him in disbelief. "She won second place in a painting competition? How is that possible?" The reporter looked at her with a complicated expression. "You're Mrs. Hayes, right? That's a strange thing to say. The contestants all painted on site in front of everyone---of course it's real!" "Besides, as a mother, shouldn't you feel proud when your daughter achieves such an honor?" At this, tears began welling up in Mom's eyes. She turned, looking at Celeste with suspicion. In my memory, this was the first time Mom had chosen to question her instead of me. Celeste wrung her fingers together and spoke softly. "I heard from Keira's classmate that she wanted to hire him as a ghost painter..." The reporter looked at her mockingly. "Don't tell me this classmate of yours just happens to be the first-place winner of that painting competition?" "Otherwise, why would Miss Hayes hire someone less skilled than herself to paint for her?" Celeste tried to argue back, but my brother patted her shoulder, his voice hoarse. "Forget it. Now's not the time for this. Let's just let our sister... rest in peace." She bit her lip, pouting unwillingly. But just then, another woman with a stern expression walked up to them. She scanned the surroundings and lowered her head in silence for a moment. With reddened eyes, she pulled a bottle of medicine and a USB drive from her bag, speaking calmly. "Keira didn't come to pick up her medication last week. I wanted to bring it to her today, but now I see there's no need." Mom and my brother froze. Seeing the confused expressions on their faces, the woman's voice turned mocking. "You mean you don't know?" "The tumor in Keira's brain has been severely compressing her nerves. She was sick." Mom looked at her in shock, mouth open, not knowing what to say. The woman glanced at her and continued. "She had already started forgetting many things. Afraid she might completely forget you all one day, she participated in my lab's new project---the Memory Fragment Preservation Program." "This USB drive stores her life memories." "You suspect she hired a ghost painter? Just watch and find out!" Her last sentence was deliberately loaded with meaning. Celeste seemed to realize something, her face turning deathly pale in an instant. She rushed forward, trying to stop the woman from inserting the USB drive and making my memories public. But she was firmly blocked by the two bodyguards the woman had brought. She shouted anxiously at Mom. "Aunt, stop them! How can we just watch Keira's privacy be exposed to everyone!" Mom seemed to finally react, stepping forward and grabbing the woman's hand firmly. Her attitude was resolute. "I won't allow anyone to hurt my daughter anymore. Please stop!" The woman laughed softly, her voice still calm and detached. "Don't you want to know the truth about your husband's death?" "Haven't you hated Keira for over ten years because of this?" I saw Mom's expression change rapidly in that moment. Finally, she released the woman's hand as if in a trance.
I floated in midair, watching my own memories being played, feeling strange and curious. For a moment, I felt like I was outside this world entirely. The expression on Celeste's face grew increasingly terrified. She buried her face in Hayden's chest. "Hayden, please don't let her play it, okay? I don't want to see Uncle's accident, and I don't want... to watch my parents die again..." Tenderness appeared on Hayden's face. He spoke tentatively. "Mom, maybe we shouldn't watch this?" "This is just too cruel for Celeste." But the memory USB had already started playing, and Mom was already staring entranced at Dad in the footage. It was the summer when I was six years old. Mom and Dad took Hayden and me to visit my cousin's family, who had immigrated to Country M. Throughout the journey, Hayden seemed very excited. I knew he had always liked Celeste more than me. Feeling sullen, I didn't want to talk to him. Noticing this, he pinched my cheek with a smile. "Who told you not to sweetly call me 'brother' every time you see me like Celeste does?" "With your personality, you're like a little old lady all day long." Though the words were complaints, his voice still carried affection. Back then, Hayden wasn't as disgusted with me as he is now. But the accident happened without warning. On our third day at my uncle's house, a severe earthquake struck Country M. My uncle and aunt were pierced through by steel beams from the villa and died on the spot. Dad, dragging his injured leg, struggled to pull Hayden and me out. Even unconscious, Hayden kept mumbling, "Save my sister... don't worry about me, save my sister quickly." Dad turned to see Celeste standing under a chandelier, frozen in fear. The massive chandelier swayed precariously, just like today's scene. Without hesitation, Dad pushed Celeste out of the way and was buried himself under the rubble. At the time, Mom had been drinking tea in the spacious villa garden and escaped disaster. But when everyone regained consciousness, Celeste tearfully told Mom, "Uncle died trying to save Keira." "Keira was so scared she just stood there unable to move. No matter how much I called her, she didn't respond. Uncle died trying to save her---he was crushed by the chandelier..." I'll never forget the look in Mom's and my brother's eyes that day. Their eyes held bone-chilling hatred. ... "Aunt! Hayden! It wasn't like that!" Celeste's face was pale as she anxiously explained. "I was too scared then, my memories got confused..." "I didn't mean to say that. I was terrified and just heard Hayden say 'save sister' and got confused. Please believe me!" Hayden was silent for a long time, then suddenly sighed helplessly. "Celeste, don't blame yourself. We know you didn't mean it." "Mom... you should comfort Celeste too. She's always been prone to overthinking. Because of this, she probably won't be able to sleep tonight." But Mom seemed not to hear, staring fixedly at the computer screen, mumbling continuously. "He died saving Celeste, not Keira, not Keira." "It wasn't Keira who caused her own father's death, it wasn't her, it wasn't her all along..." The colorful screen light fell on her face, illuminating her pale features even more clearly. The woman beside them refused to let it go, scoffing. "The one whose confused memories led to amnesia should be Keira, shouldn't it?" "The tumor has been compressing her nerves from age nine until now. All these years, not one of you noticed." "So even without today's accident, she wouldn't have lived past another year. I suppose we should congratulate her for being released early." My fingers trembled involuntarily twice. So... I was so sick that I'd even forgotten something this important? But even if I only had one year, I wanted to live it properly. Because back then, it was Dad who dragged me out of the ruins and gave me a second life. I hadn't yet lived fully enough to see this world on his behalf... Hayden's expression became very ugly in an instant. Celeste tugged his hand, looking at him pitifully and helplessly. He stared at the ground with a complex expression, lips pressed tightly together. "Don't worry, there's more excitement to come." The woman's voice rang out like thunder exploding in Celeste's ears. Her body swayed, eyes wide with terror.
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