Chapter 4

The funeral was scheduled for three days later.

The living room was crowded with funeral wreaths. A black-and-white photo of Dad hung in the center.

His smile in the photo was stiff—it was just an ID photo taken during his physical exam last year.

All the relatives showed up.

Aunt Linda walked in and immediately hugged Mom, weeping.

"Sarah, Arthur’s passing was too sudden."

Mom cried so hard she could barely stand, but she didn't forget to drag me in front of everyone.

"Ask her! She stood right outside the door and refused to open it. She watched her own father suffocate to death!"

Every eye in the room fell on me.

Some held pity, some held disgust, and some held the cheap excitement of watching family drama.

Aunt Linda wiped her tears and asked, "Chloe, is that true? You really didn't open the door?"

"I didn't have a registered fingerprint, and I didn't know the new passcode."

Cousin Jason chimed in. "What daughter doesn't know her own house passcode? Your parents raised you for twenty years, stop making excuses."

Marcus came by that day too, holding a bouquet of white lilies.

Hearing this, he frowned.

"Their smart lock only had four registered users. Chloe wasn't one of them. I was there that night. I can testify to that."

Mom immediately wailed louder.

"If she didn't have access, why didn't she say so earlier? We raised her for twenty years, was I supposed to beg her to register her finger?"

A bitter laugh escaped my throat.

But the moment I laughed, Aunt Linda’s face hardened.

"Your father just passed away, and you’re laughing?"

Ashley, wearing a modest black dress, walked over with swollen eyes and held my arm.

To anyone else, she looked like a grieving, caring future daughter-in-law.

But her fingernails dug deep into my flesh.

"Chloe, please stop triggering your mom."

"Let go of me."

"Just apologize, and let this whole thing go."

*Let it go?*

Dad was lying in a cold drawer at the morgue, and I was still waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of pounding doors.

And she wanted me to just "let it go."

Brandon walked out of the bedroom, slamming a piece of paper onto the coffee table.

"Chloe. Sign this."

On it was a typed statement:

*I, Chloe Miller, acknowledge that due to personal resentment, I intentionally delayed rescue efforts for my father, Arthur Miller. I agree to assume full responsibility for his funeral expenses, outstanding debts, and my mother’s future financial support.*

The signature line at the bottom was blank.

I looked up at him. "Are you insane?"

Brandon’s face was livid. "You killed him. You don't think you should pay for it?"

Mom lunged forward, grabbing my hand.

"Sign it! You have to sign it! If you don't, I will go to your university and make sure everyone knows what a heartless monster you are!"

My wrist was bruised red under her grip.

Ashley took a pen from her bag and forced it into my palm.

"Chloe, just sign. Your brother is under so much pressure with his mortgage, and your mom’s health is failing. When you make a mistake, you have to take responsibility."

They didn't want an apology.

They wanted a scapegoat to carry Dad's debts, his funeral costs, and the burden of their future financial lives.

As the tip of the pen touched the paper, a raspy voice echoed from the doorway.

"Don't you dare sign that."

Grandma Evelyn stood there, leaning heavily on her cane.

Mom’s face fell when she saw her. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Grandma Evelyn ignored her, slowly walking over to me. She gently cupped my cheek.

"Chloe, my poor child, does it hurt?"

Those words broke the dam. The tears I had held back for three days finally spilled over.

Mom’s face turned icy. "Why would she be hurting? It’s her father who's dead."

Grandma Evelyn looked at the paper on the table, picked it up, and tore it in half right in front of all the relatives.

Brandon lost his temper. "Grandma! Stop defending her!"

Grandma Evelyn pointed her cane at him.

"The four of you registered your fingers and locked her out. Now that Arthur is gone, you want to pin his death on her? Brandon, is this the kind of man your father raised you to be?"

Brandon’s face went pale.

Aunt Linda frowned. "But Evelyn, you can't blame a smart lock for a tragedy like this."

Grandma Evelyn stared directly at Mom.

"Sarah, do you dare deny that you were the one who refused to let Chloe register her fingerprint?"

Mom’s lips trembled. She avoided her gaze.

For the first time, the room went completely quiet.

Right then, Ashley suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed onto the sofa.

"Brandon... I feel so dizzy..."

Everyone instantly crowded around her.

Brandon held her in his arms, crying out, "Ashley! Don't scare me like this! My dad just left, if anything happens to you, I don't want to live either!"

Mom screamed at me, "What are you standing there for? Go get her some water!"

The torn pieces of the agreement lay on the floor, fluttering right against the tip of my shoe.