Chapter 1

My stepsister, Lucy Sloven, framed me for triggering her allergic reaction. In response to that, my three brothers forced me into a cramped, airless cellar and sealed the door with chains. I pleaded with them to let me out, pounding my fists against the cellar door. Aaron Caldwell, my eldest brother and a powerful figure in the business world, snapped coldly, "I've always let it slide when you bully Luce. But this time, you knew she was allergic to seafood and still made her eat it. Were you trying to kill her? Stay in there and reflect on your actions!" Bruce Caldwell, a rising pop star, and Clark Caldwell, a genius painter—my second and third brother, respectively—scoffed in unison. "How dare someone as vicious as you play the victim? Stay in there and suffer!" With that, they scooped up the trembling Lucy and rushed her to the hospital. As time dragged on, the oxygen ran out. Every breath became a struggle until I suffocated to death inside. Three days later, when my brothers returned from the hospital with Lucy, they finally remembered me. They had no idea that I had already died from oxygen deprivation in that narrow cellar. … When I regained consciousness again, I discovered my spirit had appeared beside my three brothers. They had just returned to our house, which was a villa. Aaron and Bruce were speaking warmly to Lucy. "Thank goodness we got to the hospital in time. That was why you recovered so quickly." Looking concerned, Clark told her, "The doctor said you're still weak. You need to replenish some nutrients." He then placed another piece of meat onto Lucy's plate. Standing aside, the maid couldn't help but speak up. "Sirs, Ms. Victoria Caldwell has been in the cellar for three days. There has been no response from her at all…" Aaron snorted coldly and interrupted, "Luce was just discharged today. Why would you mention that jinx?" The housekeeper tried to say more, but a sharp, warning look from Bruce and Clark silenced her instantly. "That brat must've known Luce is allergic to seafood. That was why she prepared that seafood stew." "I thought she had started to accept Luce, but it turned out she had been scheming all along!" Lucy deliberately put on a terrified look and said timidly, "Vicky was punished because of me and left in the cellar for days. When she comes out, will she get mad at me?" His expression cold, Aaron replied, "Don't be scared, Luce. We spoiled her too much and never put her in her place. After this lesson, she definitely won't dare to bully you again." He instinctively took out his phone and refreshed our chat again and again, only to realize our last message exchange had been three days ago. In the past three days, I had not sent Aaron a single text or called him. That merely served to intensify the fury in his gaze. "That brat. It has been days, but she didn't even bother texting us to ask about Luce!" Right then, Lucy held his hand and deliberately said in a tearful tone, "Let's not make Vicky misunderstand. I just want her company. I don't want to take anything from her." Aaron quickly put his phone down and ruffled her hair adoringly. "You're too kind, Luce, unlike her. She's nothing but an ungrateful brat." As Bruce recalled my behavior, his gaze turned cold. "That's right. How could she put Luce in danger just to get our attention? What a vicious woman!" Clark nodded in agreement and scoffed. "Even though she's been locked up for three days, I'll throw her out of the house unless she admits her mistake and apologizes to Luce!" As I stood there listening to their words, all I felt was irony. Yet, my spirit's every movement went completely unnoticed by everyone around me. Ever since our parents passed away when I was young, my three brothers had poured all their attention and care into me. One day, I wanted a playmate my own age, so my three brothers took the initiative to adopt Lucy from an orphanage. She became our stepsister. I did my best to make Lucy feel welcome, but she kept framing me again and again in front of my brothers, driving them further and further away from me with each passing day. It was the same this time, causing them to lock me away in the cramped cellar without hesitation. Despite struggling hard, I felt the air in the cellar thinning. I gazed at the cellar door, begging for them to let me out. Yet, my brothers wore cold expressions as they chided, "Stop shouting. You brought this on yourself." "If it weren't for you, why would Luce suffer an allergic reaction? We've spoiled you too much, so you kept bullying Lucy. Stay in there and reflect on yourself!" As they spoke, Bruce wrapped the chains around the door, while Clark piled heavy items outside the cellar door, cutting off my last chance of saving myself. Now, watching Lucy plaster on a fake smile for my brothers, I let out another bitter, mocking laugh, disappointment washing over me once more. My dear brothers had killed their sister, who loved them more than anything in the world!