Chapter 1Five years ago, Vivienne Carrington was in a car accident trying to save her family and became a vegetable.
Five years later, when she finally woke up, everything had changed.
Her parents and brother had brought home an adopted daughter—Leona.
They showered Leona with love. Even Dominic Ashford—her childhood fiancé—treated the girl like she was special.
They said they adopted her because they missed Vivienne too much.
But Vivienne couldn't stand it. She insisted they send Leona away.
Then disaster struck. On the way to send Leona off, there was a car accident. Her parents and Leona died on the spot.
From that day on, her brother Cameron and Dominic turned their love into hatred.
They said if she hadn't forced them to send Leona away, three people wouldn't have died.
They tortured her, made her pay. And she took it all, believing she deserved it.
Three years later, they'd destroyed her completely. Then came the cancer diagnosis—terminal, with less than a month to live.
Stumbling past a hotel in a daze, she saw them through the window.
Her "dead" parents, Cameron, and Dominic, all sitting around a table celebrating Leona's birthday.
Leona wore a crown, grinning like a real princess.
And Vivienne stood frozen outside, thunderstruck.
Before she could process what she was seeing, she heard Dominic ask Cameron, "Don't you think Viv's learned her lesson by now? How long are we gonna keep this up?"
Cameron smiled. "Let's wait until her birthday next month to tell her the truth. A little more pain will teach her never to try getting rid of Leona again."
Her mother sighed. "That girl's always been too stubborn. She won't learn to accept Leona unless she suffers a bit."
Her father nodded. "After our little death act, she definitely won't dare go after Leona anymore."
Standing there, her blood ran cold.
It was all a lie!
They weren't dead at all—they'd faked everything just to force her to accept Leona, to make her suffer!
How sick was that?
Her own parents, her brother, and Dominic—who'd promised to love her forever—had all played her for a fool. All for some adopted girl!
But they didn't know.
She wouldn't live another month.
She'd never make it to their big "reveal!"
—
The happy scene inside was too much to bear. She stumbled away from the hotel, her mind flooded with three years of nightmares.
Every damn day for three years, she'd lived with crushing guilt.
She'd wake up screaming from dreams of that burning wreck, her parents' cries for help, Leona's terrified eyes staring back at her.
So she'd accepted every punishment Dominic and Cameron dished out.
She let Dominic choke her night after night, hissing "You killed them."
She let Cameron force her to kneel in the church for three days straight.
She let them make her write "I was wrong" over and over until her fingers bled...
But it was all bullshit!
She stumbled home, bursting through the door and immediately vomiting blood.
In the bathroom, she collapsed over the toilet, blood and tears streaming down her face.
Her hands shook as she swallowed painkillers and cleaned up the blood. The door slammed open.
"Jesus, I've been yelling for you. Who're you playing dead for?" Cameron stood there, ice-cold. "Trying to skip today's punishment?"
Dominic frowned at her too. "Why the hell are you on the floor?"
Vivienne didn't bother looking up. "What's it gonna be today?"
The guys exchanged glances. Dominic said flatly, "Go to North District and get French macarons for Noel."
Vivienne let out a bitter laugh.
Noel... Leona...
A month after Leona's "death,"Dominic and Cameron brought home this girl who looked exactly like Leona.
Back then, she'd naively thought they'd just found a replacement to ease their grief.
Now she got it.
Replacement? That was clearly Leona, alive and kicking!
They'd been too lazy to even change her name properly—just flipped "Leona" around to "Noel"!
"Fine. I'll go."
Vivienne had no fight left. She was dying anyway. What was the point to argue more?
The macaron boutique in North District always had a two-hour line. She stood weakly under the blazing sun, vision going black.
First trip back—Noel whined they were "cold."
Second trip—"too sweet."
Third trip—"ugly shape."
...
Seventh trip. She finally got the "perfect" batch, only to be hit by a scooter on the way home.
The rider fled. She could only drag her bleeding legs and limp home.
"Here." Vivienne held out the bag to Noel.
"Ahh!" Noel opened the box and screamed. "Blood! There's blood!"
Dominic and Cameron rushed over. Noel immediately threw herself at them, sobbing. "Dom! Cam! If she didn't want to get them, she could've just said so! Why'd she have to be so gross about it?"
Seeing the bloodied macarons, both men's faces darkened.
"You did this on purpose?" Dominic demanded coldly.
Vivienne leaned weakly against the wall, her legs still throbbing from the accident. "No... got hit by a scooter on the way back. The blood got on them by accident."
"Hit by a scooter?" Cameron sneered and strode over. "Right. And you just walked it off? Do I look stupid to you?"
He grabbed her wrist. "You wanna lie? Fine. Let's make it real. Take her out back."
Two bodyguards immediately grabbed Vivienne and dragged her like livestock to the lawn behind the villa. Her knees scraped raw and bloody on the stone path, but nobody cared.
On the lawn, Dominic and Cameron were already sitting in that black Maybach, engine purring like a predator.
"Dominic, Cameron..." She struggled to push herself up. "I really..."
Before she could finish, the car shot toward her!
CRASH!
Agony exploded through every limb. Vivienne went flying like a rag doll, hitting the ground hard several yards away.
Blood gushed from her mouth. Everything went black.
When she came to, the smell of disinfectant stung her nose.
She forced her eyes open. The harsh hospital lights made her dizzy.
"How could there be so much blood?" Dominic's lowered voice drifted from the hallway. "We barely bumped her!"
"Yeah," Cameron sounded bewildered. "We totally controlled the impact."
The doctor's weary sigh drifted in. "The patient has terminal cancer. Advanced stage. An impact like that would only accelerate her death!"
Chapter 2
Vivienne's heart clenched.
She'd tried to keep the cancer secret, but now the doctor's words had reached their ears.
She gripped the bedsheet, knuckles white, a pathetic flicker of hope rising in her chest.
Now that they knew—what would happen?
Would they feel guilty? Would they finally care?
Would they hold her gently like before and whisper "Don't be scared, Viv"?
Ring ring—
A phone suddenly cut through the doctor's explanation.
Dominic picked up. Noel's tearful voice came through: "Dom, I fell and I'm hurt so bad..."
Dominic's whole demeanor shifted. "Shit, I'm on my way!"
Without another thought, they hurriedly told the doctor: "Get her a nurse. Use the best meds. Replace whatever blood she lost."
Then they were gone, not looking back.
The doctor started after them, but they'd already vanished down the corridor.
He sighed and entered the room. "Miss Carrington, your cancer is terminal. You need to start chemo immediately..."
He paused. "Mr. Ashford and Mr. Carrington didn't seem to catch the full situation. Maybe... you should tell them yourself? Let them spend this final time with you?"
Vivienne gave a bitter smile, tears sliding down silently. "No need."
"They don't care."
The doctor hesitated, then could only shake his head and leave.
The next few days were hell on earth.
The painkillers barely worked anymore. She curled up in the hospital bed, cold sweat soaking through her gown.
That's when Dominic and Cameron called.
"What's with the vacation at the hospital?" Cameron's voice was arctic. "You're not done paying for what you did. Get back here."
Vivienne held the phone with trembling fingers.
She knew they just wanted more time to torture her.
Fine.
Let them.
She was dying to see their faces when they realized they'd tortured her to death.
She discharged herself, grabbed a bottle of painkillers, and went back to that so-called "home" alone.
But the moment she walked into the villa, the staff stopped her.
"Miss Carrington, Mr. Ashford and Mr. Carrington's orders—you've been in the hospital for days. No telling what germs and viruses you picked up. For Miss Noel's safety, you need to be disinfected first."
Before she could react, they grabbed her and threw her straight into the disinfection pool.
"Ahh!"
The chemicals burned her unhealed wounds. Vivienne convulsed in agony as blood seeped from reopened cuts, turning the entire pool red.
The staff screamed and ran to get Dominic and Cameron.
When Dominic rushed over, Vivienne was barely conscious, her pale face covered in cold sweat, her lips bloody from biting down.
His pupils contracted. Instinctively, he reached out to pull her up.
"Dom!" Cameron grabbed his wrist, voice low. "Did you forget the plan?"
Dominic froze.
"I know you love her," Cameron's voice was steady, almost clinical. "But it's only one more month."
"She needs to learn her lesson completely, or she'll hurt Leona again."
He softened slightly: "She's my sister. You think this is easy for me? But Leona needs us to see this through."
Dominic's fingers trembled, but finally, slowly, he pulled his hand back.
Vivienne floated in the bloody water, watching through blurred vision as they turned and walked away.
How ridiculous.
She was dying, and they were still worried about her hurting Leona in the future.
...
They left her there all night. At dawn, the staff finally pulled her out and dumped her in her room like garbage.
Vivienne curled up on the bed, shaking with every breath.
When she could finally move, she started going through her things.
If she was going out, she was going out clean. No trace of herself left in this toxic place.
That way, in her next life, she'd never meet them again.
Photos, diaries, gifts from Dominic that she'd treasured over the years...
One by one, she threw them in the fire.
The flames ate through her past, just like the cancer was eating through her future.
Just then, the door burst open.
Chapter 3
"What are you burning?" Noel stood in the doorway, eyes like ice.
Vivienne didn't look up, calmly tossing another photo into the flames. "None of your business."
Noel clicked closer in her heels, looming over her. "Excuse me? You think you're still daddy's little princess or something?"
The firelight danced across Noel's perfect makeup, twisting her features into something vicious. "Reality check, Vivienne—you're nothing now. Just everyone's favorite punching bag."
Without warning, Noel's foot shot out, sending the fire basin flying.
CLANG!
Burning papers scattered everywhere. Sparks hit the old curtains piled nearby and flames shot up instantly.
"What the hell—" Vivienne dove for the spreading fire, but Noel slammed her back.
The flames spread fast. Smoke filled the room in seconds.
"FIRE! SOMEBODY HELP!"
Screams erupted from downstairs, but it was way too late.
Heat slammed into Vivienne's face. She choked on the thick smoke, vision blurring.
She tried to stumble toward the door, but Noel grabbed her wrist. "Going somewhere?"
"Let go..." Vivienne struggled weakly. "We'll die..."
Noel's smile was sickeningly sweet. "Then let's die together."
The door exploded open.
Dominic and Cameron burst in, raw terror on their faces—until they spotted Noel and visibly relaxed.
"What happened?" Cameron pulled Noel into his arms, voice sharp with concern. "How'd this start?"
Noel's eyes immediately filled with tears, pointing accusingly at Vivienne. "She lost it completely! Started burning all of Leona's things. When I tried to stop her, she set the whole room on fire!"
"I didn't..." Vivienne shook her head weakly, but smoke cut off her words.
Dominic's expression went arctic. He stormed over and grabbed her wrist. "Un-fucking-believable. Three years of this shit and you haven't learned a damn thing."
Vivienne opened her mouth but no sound came out.
Her vision was fading. The last thing she heard was Cameron's cold voice:
"Lock her in the oven. Let her think about what she's done."
Security dragged her to the kitchen and shoved her into the preheated industrial oven.
The door swung open and hellish heat slammed into her. They forced her inside onto the burning metal, her skin sizzling on contact.
"AAAHHHHH!"
Her screams echoed through the kitchen as her flesh burned like she was being stabbed by a thousand red-hot needles. Sweat evaporated the second it formed.
She pounded frantically on the door, but no one cared.
As consciousness slipped away, memories flashed through her mind.
Little Dominic holding her hand, promising he'd always protect her.
Cameron running through the rain with her burning up with fever.
Her parents singing happy birthday with huge smiles...
Those moments were real. She'd been loved once, genuinely loved.
When did it all turn to hate?
The pain was beyond description, but she couldn't even scream anymore.
Finally, the door opened.
Noel stood there with that sweet smile. "Cool her off."
A bucket of ice water crashed down on her.
"AHHH!"
The shock from burning to freezing sent her body into convulsions. She curled up on the floor like a dying fish and blacked out completely.
