Chapter 1

Only when I saw my motionless body on the ground did I realize I was dead.

Other members of the Family stood nearby. Our underboss, Lucas Grant, led them into a circle around me.

Lucas called my name several times, but I did not move. The others began muttering under their breath.

He touched my arm uneasily. "Miss Sophie Freeman, please get up. This man betrayed our Family. We're punishing a traitor, not killing people at random."

I remained facedown as if I had heard nothing.

I ran to him and shouted, "It's not that I won't move. I'm dead. Tell my mother!"

No one heard me. When I tried to tap Lucas on the shoulder, my hand passed straight through him.

He called to me a few more times. When I still did not respond, his patience finally ran out. But because I was the Donna's daughter, he could only go to her, his face grim.

"Donna Freeman, please come check on Miss Sophie. She's still lying on the ground, and the execution can't continue with her in the way."

Mom followed his gesture. My body lay in the middle of the execution ground, leaving the Family members helpless and the two condemned men waiting.

Fury blazed in her eyes. She strode over, hauled me up by the collar, and slapped me twice across the face.

Before, I would have trembled so badly that I would not even have dared to cry.

Now my body simply folded into a C beneath her grip. My head fell back, and I remained completely still.

The members who had been complaining fell silent.

A few of the bolder ones began whispering. "What's wrong with Miss Sophie? Donna Freeman hit her so hard. She should have started crying by now."

"If she'd hit me like that, I would've gone flying. Miss Sophie doesn't look as if she's pretending."

"Look at her face. She's deathly pale. Could something be wrong with her?"

As Mom listened, the anger drained from her eyes. She leaned closer to study my closed eyes, and a flicker of panic crossed her face.

She bent to listen for my heartbeat, but my sister ran over with the gun raised.

"Mom, I think Sophie's fine."

Her smile was innocent, her tone coaxing. "Look, her band has been flashing the whole time. She must think she can fool you if she stays quiet. She's faking all of this to escape the consequences."

The panic vanished from Mom's face. She dropped me like a piece of trash and smiled approvingly at my sister, Mimi Freeman.

"Good thing you warned me, Mimi. Otherwise, she really would have fooled me."

As she spoke, Mom kicked me in disgust. "What an embarrassment."

I stood beside them, staring at their faces. Even in death, my whole body went numb and my heart seemed to clench.

Mimi, my own sister, had lied!

The band was useless. I was dead, so how could it still be flashing? Mimi lied with every breath, yet hers did not react at all.

Lucas frowned, still uneasy. He approached Mom and lowered his voice. "Donna Freeman, I don't think Miss Sophie is pretending. Should we call the family doctor?"

"Why would we call a doctor? Do you want to parade this humiliation in front of outsiders?"

Mom rejected his suggestion without hesitation. "Her band has been flashing this entire time. Even if she isn't speaking, she's thinking about how to deceive me. This is her favorite trick. She's done it countless times.

"I won't fall for it. Neither will you."

"But..."

Lucas tried to continue, but Mom's cutting glare made him swallow the words. He lowered his head and stood silently to one side.

I still lay on the ground with my eyes closed. Mom glared at me, grabbed my hair, and dragged me away.

My body seemed boneless. She ripped out a fistful of hair, and my face scraped along the ground, leaving a reddish-brown smear. She did not care.

She dragged me all the way to the punishment room at the far edge of the estate, where the Family confined members who broke its rules.

Before pulling the door nearly shut, Mom's expression shifted. She stared down at me as if trying to see me clearly.

She had taken one step toward me when a gunshot rang out in the distance.

"Miss Mimi is an incredible shot!"

Mimi had killed the last condemned man, drawing Mom's attention away from me.

"If you want to play dead, stay in here. Look at your sister. She's better than you in every way."

Mom pulled the door nearly shut and went to Mimi, who lifted her chin proudly as she waited for praise.

Before leaving, Mimi glanced back at the punishment room. She stroked the band on her wrist, which had never once flashed, and a sly look entered her eyes.