Chapter 2

Blood gushed forth, splattering across Daphne's face.

"Ah!"

Right before losing consciousness, I saw Daphne screaming loudly as Dominic jumped to his feet and Dustin paled in shock.

As for Derek, he grabbed at his neck and stared blankly at me. I'd forgotten that he was my twin, and we had some sort of twin telepathy.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed with thick bandages around my neck.

I realized that I wasn't dead yet.

The slightest movement sent a dull, tearing pain through my neck. Then, I heard the System talking to me in my head.

[Autumn, I've detected your pain sensitivity. Do you wish to activate the pain shield?]

"Yes! Please!"

Seconds later, the pain vanished, and I finally felt relieved.

It wasn't until then that I realized that someone's fierce gaze was on me. It felt like it was about to tear me apart.

I turned slightly to the side and immediately met Derek's dark, broody eyes.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" he demanded, grabbing me by my shirt and yanking me out of bed. He dragged me out of my hospital room and into Daphne's room.

He then pointed at her, lying in her bed with a pale face, and began screaming at me. "You knew that Daphne was suffering from a weak heart, so you purposely did this to trigger her so that she'd get a heart attack!

"Did you really think that you could take over her identity as the heiress if you managed to kill her? In your dreams! I'm telling you, I will never acknowledge a vicious bitch like you as my younger sister!"

I tried pulling away from him, but I couldn't fight against his strength. So, I remained in his grip and said seriously, "I never tried to trigger her. I just wanted to die.

However, Derek sounded like he'd heard the biggest joke of the century. He inched closer to me, his eyes filled with contempt, and said, "You just wanted to die? Quit bluffing, Autumn.

"Did you think that you'd be able to escape the hypnosis if you tried to kill yourself? You're definitely turning into the fake heiress this time, whether you like it or not! I will never allow you to threaten Daphne's position!"

Then, he glanced at the bandages around my neck and said sarcastically, "If you really wanted to die, you'd never have chosen a wooden dowel."

Dominic, who was seated next to Daphne's bed, was peeling an apple with his scalpel. When he heard what Derek said, he paused for a while, the blade glinting under the lights.

The apple peel fell to the ground.

"If you pull another stunt like this, Autumn, don't blame me for being heartless with you."

My eyes lit up at once. That scalpel was perfect!

I stared at the scalpel with shimmery eyes. Then, I looked at Dominic and begged, "Uh, can you lend me your scalpel for a while? Derek's right. Wooden dowels won't kill anyone. It's better to just use something sharper instead."

They all tensed for a second.

Derek then burst into angry laughter. He pointed at me and yelled, "This again? How long are you going to keep up with this act? Go on, give her the scalpel! We'll see if she really dares to do anything with it!"

Then, he grabbed the scalpel out of Dominic's hand without waiting for his reply and tossed it at my feet.

I immediately picked it up like I'd just found gold. Without hesitation, I raised the scalpel in the air and aimed the tip of the blade at my neck.

Derek's eyes widened at once. He recalled the sudden pain in the side of his neck from not too long ago and instinctively grabbed the scalpel by the blade.

The scalpel sliced through his flesh, and blood began dripping onto the floorboards.

I hesitated slightly, meeting Derek's furious eyes as he glared daggers at me.

His lips were trembling as he growled hoarsely, "Autumn Fletcher! Are you out of your mind?"