“What’s a cripple like you so smug about? Dad and Mom erased all the evidence for me. No matter how arrogant you act, you can’t touch me!”
Seething, she pushed me forward again, her grip tightening. A slow, eerie smile curled on her lips as we neared the pool's edge.
“Let me show you who they truly care about.”
Before I could react, she shoved my wheelchair forward. The world tilted and the next instant, ice-cold water swallowed me whole.
The sharp chill surged into my lungs, stinging my skin. My limbs flailed uselessly as the weight of my chair dragged me down.
“Wife!”
“Daughter!”
The frantic shouts of Elijah and my parents cut through the chaos. Water splashed violently as Elijah swam toward me. I reached out, my fingers desperate to grasp onto something, someone.
But just as I thought he was coming for me, he bypassed me without hesitation. His hands found Scarlett instead, pulling her into his arms.
On the edge of the pool, my parents leaned forward, their hands outstretched, not for me, but for her.
A bitter smile curved on my lips as my hand fell away, my body sinking deeper into the abyss.
As darkness threatened to pull me under, Elijah’s hands yanked me back to the surface.