My Family Faked the Apocalypse and Watched Me Die Chapter 03

My Family Faked the Apocalypse and Watched Me Die Chapter 03

They bolted toward the basement, rushing to break down the door.

A flash of malice crossed Chloe’s eyes.

She hurried in front of them, her voice soft and innocent.

“Ethan, Ryan, don’t panic. I think I saw Evelyn buy fake blood props a while ago.”

“She’s smart. Maybe she’s pretending to be dead so you’ll feel sorry for her and let her out early.”

“If you go in now, she’ll get exactly what she wants. Afterward, she’ll use this whole fake apocalypse thing against you forever.”

Ethan froze.

Ryan hesitated. A flicker of doubt crossed his face.

Seeing that, Chloe quietly tugged on Owen’s sleeve.

“Owen saw her buy the fake blood too. Right, sweetheart?”

I stared at my son in disbelief.

Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded.

“That’s right! The blood is fake! Mom bought movie props!”

At that moment, whatever warmth remained in my heart disappeared completely.

Ethan exploded with rage. He kicked the metal door so hard it shook.

“You ungrateful brat! We’ve spoiled you rotten! How dare you fake your death just to trick us?”

“If you hadn’t broken Chloe’s leg, would she have spent a month in the hospital? You owe her this! And you still refuse to admit you’re wrong?!”

“Get out here and apologize to Chloe!”

Ryan’s face darkened. His eyes stayed fixed on the surveillance monitor.

“Evelyn Bennett. How could you lie to me in front of our son? Do you even deserve to call yourself a mother?”

“Enough. Come out. Apologize to Chloe. Promise you’ll never bully her again, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

“Then the three of us can go back to being a family.”

I looked at him. Tears slipped silently from my eyes.

Ryan, there wasn’t going to be an “us” anymore.

The three of us had no future left.

When no one answered from inside the basement, their disappointment only deepened.

Ethan slammed another kick into the door. His roar echoed through the hallway.

“Evelyn Bennett! If you don’t want to come out, then stay in there forever! You might as well die in that basement!”

Ryan scooped Owen into his arms. He took Chloe’s hand.

Without looking back once, the three of them walked away.

“Chloe. Evelyn has gone way too far this time.”

“What kind of gift do you want? I’ll buy it for you right now.”

Before leaving, Chloe glanced toward the basement. Her smile was triumphant.

They were gone. Only I remained.

Trapped forever inside that basement. My soul sank into endless despair and cold.

Half a month passed, not one of them came back to see me.

Because of one sentence from Owen, Ryan stayed convinced I was just throwing a tantrum.

In a fit of anger, he ordered the staff to throw away all of my clothes and personal belongings.

Ethan went even further. He removed every family portrait from the walls.

In their place, he hung photos that featured only him and Chloe.

They openly brought Chloe into the Bennett Estate.

Just to provoke me, they ordered every servant to call her “Mrs. Mercer.”

Any servant who even mentioned my name was fired on the spot.

They erased every trace of my existence. All to force me out to apologize to Chloe.

But they didn’t know…

I was already dead.

I would never walk out of that basement again.

Nestled in Ryan’s arms, Chloe spoke with practiced concern.

“Evelyn’s really taking this too far. She’s still holed up in there just to spite us!”

“If she comes back and sees the house like this, She won’t blame me, will she?”

The moment she finished speaking, Ethan let out a cold laugh.

“This is her own fault. She insisted on picking a fight with you. What right does she have to take her anger out on you?”

Owen tightened his grip on Chloe’s hand. He raised his little fist and declared earnestly,

“Don’t be scared, Mommy Chloe. I’m here. I’ll never let that bad woman bully you again!”

Ryan’s face remained cold. The corners of his lips curled with ridicule.

“If she really comes back and starts causing trouble, I’ll have to think about whether she still deserves to be Mrs. Mercer.”

Chloe’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

That night, she was exposed online.

People attacked Chloe, calling her the fake Bennett daughter. Calling her the homewrecker who stole my husband.

Ryan and Ethan frantically deleted every post they could find. But it was too late.

The topic shot to the top of Ashcroft City’s trending searches.

A servant came running in, panic written all over his face.

“Mr. Mercer! Mr. Bennett! Something terrible has happened!”

“Miss Chloe… she couldn’t take the online attacks. She slit her wrist!”