Chapter 2

After my parents passed away, Gerald and Gary took turns caring for me around the clock. They feared I might take my own life in grief.

Eventually, worried that I was lonely, they adopted a girl my age from the orphanage—Sophia Norris.

But Sophia's arrival shattered our family. She took my dresses, stole my jewelry, and finally smashed my parents' portrait.

That was the breaking point. I slapped her, but at that exact moment, Gerald and Gary walked in.

Sophia framed me, claiming I had destroyed the portrait deliberately. She wanted them to lose faith in me, to cast me out.

At first, they didn't believe her. But when she revealed her wounds and sobbed that I had abused her, they never saw me in the same light again. They grew cold, distant, and treated me like a stranger.

As Sophia's accusations piled up, my brothers' affection turned into hatred. Eventually, they sided with her in every quarrel, never sparing a thought for me.

Like today, they locked me in the suffocating basement after a trivial argument. Gerald and Gary knew I had asthma; they knew the stagnant air could kill me.

When we were children, I once got trapped in a storeroom, and they had pounded on the door until they suffered fractures.

Now, their only response to my cries and pleas was a laugh.

"It's just for a while. Why the dramatics? We've obviously been too soft on you."

"Gerald, stop wasting your time on her. Sophia will worry if we're gone too long."

Then Gerald turned to the guards. "You can all leave for the night."

He looked at me, "Don't you love screaming? I'll let you get your fill. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will save you. Don't blame me for being cruel. You brought this on yourself."

And just like that, I died on my birthday.

I gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. A lifetime with my brothers meant nothing compared to four short years with Sophia.

Suddenly, Zachary stormed in, furious. "Take me to Ms. Moore right now! I want an explanation from her!"

His phone displayed the message Gary had sent her. Sophia quickly tugged at Zachary's sleeve. "Calm down, Zachary. Giselle must be delirious from her fever. I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you."

Gary sneered. "Delirious from her fever? That's just her vile personality. Mr. Green, you're lucky she doesn't like you. Someone like her doesn't deserve you."

Gerald nodded. "Exactly. You'd be better off paying attention to the people already around you."

Sophia gazed up at Zachary shyly, her eyes glimmering with affection.

However, Zachary just shoved her aside and declared impatiently, "Giselle isn't that type of person!"

He glared at Gerald and Gary. "What would your parents think if they knew how you've mistreated your own sister? If you won't take me to Giselle, I'll find her myself!"

Zachary shook off Sophia's grip and left without looking back.

Tears immediately welled in her eyes.

At that, both Gerald and Gary were enraged on her behalf. Gerald slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Mistreating? She deserves it! If she treated Sophia better, would we need to punish her?"

Gary smirked. "You want to find her? Send ten men to guard the basement entrance. No one is to approach her without my permission!"

As guards rushed downstairs, my heart sank.

Gerald, Gary, there was no need for that. I was already long gone.

Even if Zachary came to my rescue, he would find only a corpse.

I drifted to the corner of the banquet hall and looked out the window. I didn't want to continue looking at their display of sibling affection—their new perfect version of a family.

Outside, snow fell more heavily. A man held his sister close, breathing warmth into her hands.

My eyes stung at the sight of that. My brothers used to treat me like that.

Just as I was lost in memory, a guard burst in. "Mr. Gerald, Mr. Gary, Ms. Giselle isn't moving. When I got close, I couldn't hear her breathing."