Chapter 1The Ghost in the ICU

My brother and I were in a car accident together.

My heart was ruptured, and I needed immediate surgery.

But my mother, the hospital's Chief of Staff, ordered every available surgeon to my brother’s room. He had a few scratches. I was bleeding out.

I begged her to save me. She didn't even look at me.

"Stop trying to be the center of attention, Ethan! Do you realize your brother almost broke a bone?"

In the end, I died in a corner of the ER, unnoticed and alone.

But when she finally found out I was gone, the mother who hated me the most lost her mind.

* * *

In the final three minutes of my life, my spirit drifted to my mother's side.

She was sitting by my brother's bedside, hands clasped in prayer, her face a mask of pure worry. "Caleb, baby, please don't scare Mom. Wake up, okay?"

My father paced the room, his face red with rage. "If that useless animal Ethan had just protected him, Caleb wouldn't be hurt! I’m going to beat him within an inch of his life when I see him!"

I stood there, invisible, a bitter taste rising in my throat.

Dad, you don't need to beat me anymore. I'm already dead.

I died from your indifference.

A team of doctors circled Caleb’s bed. Once they confirmed he only had minor bruising and no fractures, an older physician finally dared to bring me up.

"Dr. Sterling," he asked my mother cautiously, "Should we check on Ethan? His injuries looked... severe."

The concern on my mother's face instantly hardened into disgust.

"What is he acting for now? Is he playing dead? Does he not realize what he did to his brother?"

I stared at her. My heart, which had already stopped beating, felt a phantom pang of agony.

I am your son too. Did you really never care about me at all?

Suddenly, Mom pulled out her phone and dialed my number.

A nurse, standing over my cooling body in the ER, picked up. I didn't hear the concern I had foolishly hoped for. I heard the same old insults.

"Ethan, when the hell are you going to get your ass down here and apologize to your brother?"

My heart finally went cold. I had no expectations left.

When the paramedics wheeled me in, I had grabbed her scrubs, begging her to save me. She just brushed me off.

"Pick a better time to be jealous, Ethan. Your brother almost broke a bone!"

Then she walked away, taking the entire trauma team with her to treat Caleb’s scrapes.

The nurse couldn't take it anymore. "Dr. Sterling, Ethan... he's really gone. He's crashing."

My mother laughed, a cold, sharp sound. "How much did that little sociopath pay you to say that? I didn't know he had it in him."

Just then, Caleb—who had been pretending to be unconscious—fluttered his eyes open. He put on a weak, trembling voice. "Mom? Dad? Is Ethan okay?"

Mom looked at Caleb, her precious angel, and her expression softened before turning back to the phone with renewed venom.

"Ethan, why can't you be like your brother? He’s hurt because of you, and he’s still asking about you. If you aren't here in three minutes to apologize, don't bother coming home!"

She hung up, her chest heaving with anger.

My dad scoffed. "Why even call him? hasn't he hurt Caleb enough?"

Caleb hid a smirk, lowering his head to look guilty. "Mom, Dad, don't be mad. Ethan is just still upset about me taking his spot at Harvard. It's my fault."

I wanted to laugh.

Even after I was dead, Caleb was still driving a wedge between us.

But my parents would never see it. In their eyes, Caleb was the golden child. They would never suspect that the accident happened because their precious son pushed the steering wheel into oncoming traffic.