Faking Cancer? No, I'm Actually Dying!

Tags: Family Trauma, Anguish, Golden Child vs. Scapegoat, Fake Disability, Ghost POV
On the day I died, my biological parents were busy throwing a lavish birthday gala that had the whole city buzzing—for their adopted daughter.
To pay Chloe's astronomical medical bills after a car crash allegedly shattered her legs, I worked three jobs a day until I literally coughed up blood.
But when I collapsed on the ballroom floor with my terminal cancer diagnosis clutched in my hand,
I looked up to see Chloe spinning effortlessly on the dance floor in four-inch stilettos.
My brother, Lucas, kicked me hard in the chest. "Faking an illness to steal the spotlight? You haven't paid back half of what you owe Chloe in this lifetime!"
My lips trembled as I pointed at the words on the paper. "Lucas... it's stomach cancer. It spread."
He didn't even glance at it. Turning to hand Chloe a glass of champagne, he sneered, "Good. Drop dead, then. Saves us the headache of looking at you."
My dad frowned and ordered security to drag me out.
My mom only muttered, "Don't let her delay Chloe's cake cutting."
Watching the picture-perfect family of four basking in their happiness, something inside me completely died.
Fine. I was done paying this debt. I was done trying to live.
I leaned against the icy wall, gasping for breath.
The searing pain in my stomach made it almost impossible to stand.
Lucas stood before me, holding a cup of hot coffee with complete indifference.
"Summer, unless you get down on your knees and apologize to Chloe today, don't expect a single dime from me."
I looked at him and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Lucas, I'm really dying."
I held out the hospital diagnosis right in front of him.
Without even looking, Lucas slapped it away.
The thin sheets of paper fluttered into a puddle, instantly soaked in mud.
"Still playing the victim."
"Just to dodge paying for Chloe's treatment, you even forged fake medical records."
"You honestly sicken me."
He scoffed, his eyes dripping with disgust.
Looking down at the ruined diagnosis in the dirty water, my lips curled into a bitter smile.
In his eyes, my life wasn't worth a single strand of Chloe's hair.
"Lucas, do you really think your guilt trips still work on me?"
"All these years, I was nothing but a clown, sacrificing everything for this so-called family."
"And what did I get in return?"
I pointed toward the banquet hall nearby.
"Chloe was never paralyzed. She was just dancing in there."
"You've all been lying to me for five whole years."
Lucas's expression flickered, but he quickly put on his arrogant mask again.
"So what?"
"Chloe went through trauma. She needed time to rest. What's wrong with making you pay a little money?"
"If you hadn't pushed her down the stairs back then, would she have suffered at all?"
I closed my eyes as tears slid silently down my cheeks.
Back then, Chloe had thrown herself down those stairs on purpose.
Yet just because of her word, my parents and my brother branded me an attempted murderer.
They made me work three jobs a day, forcing me to wire every single paycheck back home for her medication.
I survived on three hours of sleep a night and expired instant ramen.
Meanwhile, they took my hard-earned blood money to buy Chloe designer bags and host lavish parties.
"I don't owe any of you anymore."
I turned around, limping away into the dark.
"Summer, if you dare walk out that door today, don't ever think about setting foot in the Hayes family again!"
Lucas roared furiously behind me.
I didn't turn back.
This house was a place I never wanted to see again.
When I got back to my run-down rental, my landlady, Martha, was waiting outside my door.
Seeing blood on my face, she let out a horrified gasp.
"Oh sweet heavens, Summer! What happened to you?"
"Come on, I'm taking you to the ER right now!"
She rushed over to support my swaying body.
I shook my head, pulling the last three hundred dollars from my pocket and shoving it into her hands.
"Martha, this is for this month's rent."
"The rest... I might have to pay you next month."
My voice was so faint I could barely hear myself.
Martha looked at the crumpled bills, her eyes turning red.
"You silly girl, why are you worrying about rent right now?"
"Come on, let's get you to a doctor!"
She dragged me to a nearby urgent care clinic.
After running a quick check, the doctor's face turned grim.
"Your stomach cancer is in the terminal stage. Why did you wait so long to come in?"
"If you don't get admitted immediately, you have at most a month left."
Hearing those words, Martha broke down in tears.
"How could this happen? She's only in her twenties..."
I, on the other hand, felt remarkably calm.
I even felt a sense of relief.
It was finally over.
No more killing myself with endless shifts. No more cold stares and beatings from my family.
"Thank you, doctor, but I won't be doing treatment."
I stood up, thanked Martha, and walked out into the street alone.
The sky was gloomy, and heavy rain poured down moments later.
Without an umbrella, I let the rain drench me from head to toe.
My phone buzzed violently in my pocket.
It was my father, Richard Hayes.
I swiped to answer.
"Summer, you ungrateful wretch, get your ass back here right now!"
"You ruined your sister's birthday! You're going to come down here on your knees and beg for her forgiveness!"
His screech through the speaker was deafening.
"No."
My voice was dead, devoid of any emotion.
"No? Do you think I won't blackball you from every job in this city?!"
"How did the Hayes family ever spawn such a cold-blooded monster like you!"
I hung up immediately and blocked the number.

I never expected Lucas to track down my rental with a group of men.
"Summer, you've gotten cocky, haven't you? Hanging up on Dad?"
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me off the bed.
"Let me go!"
I struggled with everything I had, but my body was already completely frail.
Lucas threw me onto the floor, glaring down at me.
"Take her!"
"Unless you apologize to Chloe today, you're not getting out of this alive."
They shoved me into a car and hauled me back to the Hayes mansion.
In the living room, Chloe was sitting on the sofa, clutching a mug of warm milk.
The moment she saw me, she feigned terror and shrank into our mother Eleanor's embrace.
"Mom, I'm scared... Is Summer here to hurt me again?"
Eleanor wrapped her arms around Chloe protectively, glaring at me with raw venom.
"Summer, you jinx! Nothing good ever happens when you're around!"
"Get on your knees!"
She pointed at the marble floor, shouting at the top of her lungs.
I stood straight, staring at them coldly.
"I did nothing wrong. Why should I kneel?"
Richard slammed his fist onto the table, marched over, and delivered a vicious slap across my face.
The impact swelled my cheek instantly, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.
"Disobedient trash! You dare talk back?"
"Kneel down and apologize to your sister!"
His strike was so violent that I collapsed onto the floor.
My knees hit the hard marble with a sickening thud, sending a jolt of pain through my body.
Lucas walked over and stepped heavily onto my calf.
"Summer, didn't you pretend to have a spine?"
"Let's see which is harder—your bones, or the sole of my shoe."
He ground his heel down, and my bone let out a muffled crack.
Yet I didn't scream.
I could barely feel it.
The cancer cells had already invaded my body; this superficial pain was nothing compared to the agony burning inside my organs.
"Go ahead, Lucas. Step on me."
"It'd be better if you just stomped me to death right here."
I looked up at him, my eyes empty.
Meeting my hollow gaze, Lucas felt a sudden chill of panic.
He subconsciously pulled his foot back.
"Stop being dramatic."
"You think putting on that dead-eyed face is going to make us pity you?"
Chloe peeked out from Eleanor's arms, speaking in a frail, soft voice.
"Summer, if you just give me the necklace Grandma left you, I'll forgive you."
"That necklace should have been mine in the first place."
Hearing that, my fingers clenched tightly around my shirt.
That necklace was the only heirloom left to me by my grandmother—the only person who had ever truly loved me.
It was my final lifeline.
"Never."
"Grandma gave it to me. Keep dreaming."
I gritted my teeth, rejecting her word for word.
Richard's face darkened completely.
"It's just a damn necklace! What use is it to you?"
"Chloe asking for it is doing you a favor!"
"Lucas, search her and take it!"
Richard shot a glance at his son.
Lucas immediately stepped forward, roughly searching my clothes.
I desperately shielded my chest where the necklace hung.
"Let go of me! Lucas, you lunatic!"
I fought back with the last ounce of my strength.
Growing impatient, Lucas grabbed my right arm and twisted it violently.
*Snap.*
My right arm bent at a gruesome, unnatural angle.
"Ah!"
Chloe shrieked in horror, covering her eyes.
Lucas froze.
He stared at my broken arm, a flash of panic crossing his face.
"Summer... don't fake it. I barely used any force."
His voice trembled slightly.
Looking at my mangled arm, I suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha..."
"Lucas, do you see this?"
"My arm is broken, but I don't feel a single thing."
Using my left hand to push myself up, I slowly got to my feet.
Eleanor stared at me, dread flickering in her eyes.
"You... you psycho, what kind of sick trick are you playing?"
Looking at them, I found the whole scene bitterly absurd.
"Because the cancer has spread into my bones."
"My nerve endings are already dead."
"Lucas, are you happy now?"
I pulled the waterlogged diagnosis slip from my pocket and threw it onto the coffee table.
Though smeared, the words "Stage IV Gastric Cancer" were still undeniable.

The living room fell into dead silence.
Richard and Eleanor stared at the paper in utter disbelief.
Lucas stood frozen in place, his face turning paper-white.
"No... that's impossible. You must have paid someone to forge this."
Lucas stumbled backward, shaking his head frantically.
"Forge it?"
"Why would I lie about dying?"
"Haven't you always wanted me dead so Chloe could have everything to herself?"
"Congratulations. You're about to get your wish."
Holding my lifeless right arm, I spoke each word with chilling clarity.
Chloe hastily grabbed Eleanor's hand.
"Mom, she's lying! How could someone with late-stage stomach cancer still be standing and talking?"
Eleanor, however, couldn't utter a single syllable, her eyes glued to the medical report.
Richard's trembling hands picked up the paper, examining the official hospital seal.
"Summer... are you really..."
His voice cracked with tears.
I let out a cold scoff.
"Don't call me Summer. It disgusts me."
"Over the past five years, I begged you countless times, telling you I was in pain."
"Every single time, you said I was just lazy. You said I was faking it."
"Now I'm really dying. Are you satisfied?"
I turned, ready to walk away from this living hell.
"Summer!"
Lucas suddenly lunged forward, trying to pull me into a hug.
I stepped aside, looking at him with utter disgust.
"Don't touch me. You're filthy."
Lucas's hands froze in mid-air, tears finally spilling from his eyes.
"I'm sorry... Summer, I didn't know you were this sick..."
"We'll go to the hospital. Right now. I have money, I'll hire the best doctors, we'll cure you!"
He pleaded incoherently.
Watching his pathetic display of remorse, a wave of vindication washed over me.
"It can't be cured."
"The doctor said I have two weeks left at most."
"Lucas, this is the punishment you all gave me. I've had enough, and I've paid my debt in full."
I walked toward the front door, step by step.
Richard and Eleanor fell to their knees, weeping loudly.
"Summer, Mom and Dad were wrong! Please forgive us!"
"We shouldn't have favored Chloe, we shouldn't have put you through so much!"
I didn't look back. I opened the door and walked straight into the pouring rain.
Their desperate wails were swallowed by the thunder.
I didn't know how far I walked until my strength gave out completely, and I collapsed in an empty alley.
Cold rain lashed at my face as my consciousness drifted away.
Just as I thought I was about to slip into death, a pair of warm arms wrapped tightly around me.
"Summer! Hold on, wake up!"
It was Martha's voice.
She had actually searched for me all the way here.
Struggling to crack my eyes open, I saw her tear-streaked face and offered a faint smile.
"Martha... thank you..."
"I'm finally... free..."

I closed my eyes and sank into absolute darkness.
When I opened them again, blinding white light filled my vision.
The sharp scent of antiseptic burned my nostrils.
Before I could process my surroundings, a figure threw himself beside my bed.
It was Lucas.
His eyes were bloodshot, his jaw covered in rough stubble, looking utterly wrecked.
Seeing me awake, he trembled violently with relief.
"Summer! You're awake!"
"The doctor says you're out of immediate danger for now. I've already contacted top specialists. We're doing surgery right away!"
I stared at him with cold detachment, saying nothing.
The door swung open, and Richard and Eleanor walked in.
They carried expensive supplements, wearing timid, appeasing expressions.
"Summer, Mom made this soup for you herself. Won't you have a little sip?"
Eleanor's eyes were red, her voice shaking.
I turned my head away, closing my eyes.
"Get out."
Richard and Eleanor froze, looking completely lost.
"Summer, don't be like this. Mom and Dad truly know we messed up..."
Richard pleaded.
"I said get out."
I repeated, colder this time.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Just then, the door opened once more.
Chloe walked in.
Looking at me in the hospital bed, a flicker of resentment flashed in her eyes before melting into a frail, wounded pout.
"Summer, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have asked for the necklace."
"If you just forgive Mom, Dad, and Lucas, I'm willing to leave the Hayes family."
She sobbed softly, her body trembling right on cue.
In the past, Lucas would have immediately jumped to shield her, yelling at me for making her cry.
This time, however, Lucas spun around and slapped Chloe across the face.
*Smack!*
The sharp crack echoed through the entire room.
Chloe was knocked to the floor, clutching her stinging cheek in shock.
"Lucas... you hit me?"
Lucas's eyes were blood-red as he glared down at her.
"Shut your mouth!"
"You lying bitch! If it weren't for you, Summer would never have ended up like this!"
"Get out! Get the hell out of here right now!"
He pointed at the door, screaming hysterically.
Terrified by his fury, Chloe scrambled up and ran out crying.
Lucas turned back around, falling to his knees beside my bed once more. Grabbing my hand, he wept uncontrollably.
"Summer, I kicked her out. From now on, you're my only sister."
"Please forgive me, Summer... I'm begging you..."
Looking down at him, I only felt a deep sense of pity and scorn.
Too little, too late.
"Lucas, if I hadn't gotten cancer, if I were still working myself to the bone for you guys, would you have slapped her?"
I asked quietly.
Lucas's sobs stopped instantly.
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
I closed my eyes as a single tear rolled down my temple.
"You don't love me. You're just putting on a show to soothe your own guilt."
"I will never forgive you."
"Never."