Julia suddenly swung her arm and threw the dumbbell at me.
I could never have imagined she would do such a crazy thing. The moment the dumbbell flew towards me, I instinctively dodged.
My wheelchair overturned, and I fell heavily to the ground. My knees ached piercingly, and every bone in my body protested.
The dumbbell still grazed my forehead, burning with pain. Warm liquid flowed down my brow, and my vision was quickly filled with a bright red.
The gym door was flung open, and the moment Alan saw me, his pupils constricted.
"Nina!"
I reached out to him. "Alan, it hurts..."
"Mom! Zachary emerged from behind him. Seeing me, his face paled instantly.
I watched them run toward me, but the next second, Julia's voice rang out, tinged with tears.
"It hurts..."
Alan paused and abruptly turned.
I blinked hard, seeing him kneeling on one knee in front of Julia, his hands carefully supporting her calf.
There was a thumb-sized scrape there, broken skin and faintly red.
Alan's voice tightened with worry: "What happened?"
Julia sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "I just wanted to get something to drink, but she suddenly kicked me and pushed me!"
"No, that's not the case!" I raised my arms to stand, but fell back heavily. "She was trying to..."
"She even picked up a dumbbell and threw it at me!" Julia pointed at me, tears welling up in her eyes. "If I hadn't blocked it, she would have killed me!" Zachary rushed over angrily, sat on me, and pounded on me, "Mom! How could you be so mean? Apologize to Aunt Julia!" I was choking, the taste of rust filling my mouth, and I coughed up blood.
"Zachary, that's enough." Alan picked up Julia and, as he passed me, looked at me with a cold gaze, as if he were a stranger.
"Nina, are you so jealous of Julia? You can't dance anymore, and you're going to ruin her competition?"
Zachary scrambled to his feet, ran over, and tugged at Alan's shirt. "Dad, let's get Aunt Julia to the hospital!"
He blew gently on the wound on Julia's calf. "Huff, it doesn't hurt anymore. Don't be afraid, Aunt Julia. Zachary will protect you!" The three hurried figures gradually receded from my blurred vision. The last thing I saw was Julia, tucked away in Alan's arms, announcing her victory. I read her lips—"Did you see that?" When I woke up again, I was met with a blinding whiteness. It was the housekeeper who had found me, left at the gym, and rushed me to the hospital. Seeing me awake, he immediately handed me his phone. "Madam, the hospital has called several times." Just then, the phone rang again. "Ms. Nina, you finally answered!" The woman on the other end said urgently. "Your mother's condition has suddenly worsened. Please come and see her!" My blood froze, and I rushed over. The scene there, however, made my heart sink to the bottom. "Where are all the doctors? Why hasn't anyone arranged for emergency care for my mother?" The nurse looked perplexed. "Your husband has reassigned all the specialists to the VIP ward to treat Miss Julia."
