When my stepsister caught a cold, my brother’s heart ached so deeply that he forced me into the bottom freezer, sealing it shut with heavy iron chains. "Mia is in so much pain. As her older sister, how could you not suffer alongside her?" Inside the deep freeze, my fingers stiffened from the biting cold. Trembling uncontrollably, I cried and begged for mercy, only to be met with his cold reprimand: "If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, you don't deserve to be my sister!" He ignored me after that, dedicating all his warmth, care, and attention to Mia. I felt my limbs go numb inch by inch, my blood solidifying, until my despair in our shared bloodline was absolute. A week later, Mia recovered, and my brother finally remembered me. "Since Mia is better, you can come out now." He didn't know that my body was already encased in a layer of white frost, never to emerge again. 1 "That troublemaker hasn't bothered me these past few days. It's truly a miracle!" "Looks like she finally learned her lesson this time." "I still remember her swearing to cut ties with me, only to cling back onto me like a leech not three days later." "It's been a week this time, hasn't it?" Arthur twisted the prayer beads around his wrist, a hint of confusion in his voice. The butler stood nearby, his head bowed, his voice trembling: "Sir, the young miss... she seems to still be locked inside." Arthur’s fingers paused, a fleeting moment of unease flashing across his mind. He brushed it off. "Let her suffer a bit longer." The butler's expression tightened. After a brief internal struggle, he advised: "Sir, the freezer where the young miss is locked… there’s been no sound from inside." "Would you like to open it and check?" Arthur’s face instantly darkened. "No need! She’s definitely pretending to be pitiful again!" "It's just one of her cheap tricks to get my attention. If I check on her, she'll just throw another tantrum." The butler opened his mouth to speak, but Arthur coldly cut him off. His tone carried undisguised disgust toward me. "Enough. I know what I'm doing. I'll unlock it and let her out tonight." "This time inside will have taught her how hard Mia has it. As long as she promises not to target Mia anymore, we'll let this go." "After all, she is my biological sister." As he said those last words, his expression remained as cold as ice. A second later. Mia walked over. His icy demeanor instantly melted into a warm, spring-like breeze. He smiled gently and asked with deep concern: "Mia, are you still feeling unwell anywhere?" "Don't worry, I've locked Anna up. She’ll pay tenfold for every bit of suffering you endured!" Mia gratefully hugged Arthur’s arm. "Brother, you're the best." "Silly girl, as your brother, of course I should be good to my little sister." Arthur smiled affectionately, curling his finger to gently tap Mia's nose. Mia giggled sweetly. After a moment, she lightly bit her lip: "It's been a week. Anna must have realized her mistake by now. I just want to spend time with you, Brother. I never wanted to take anything from her. Why won't she believe me?" If this were the past... Hearing Mia’s manipulative, syrupy words, I would have exploded like a firecracker, harshly calling out her fake act. And then Arthur would have sternly warned me. But now... I stood right in front of them and laughed out loud. Yet, I drew absolutely zero attention. Because... I was already dead. In the final moments before the white frost completely covered me, my soul finally separated from the bone-chilling freezer. I saw my own body, frozen into a mottled purplish-blue. Right before I died, I was still desperately pushing against the freezer door with whatever strength I had left. The entire freezer was wrapped in heavy iron chains. As if worried I’d escape, a massive padlock had been added, ensuring not a single sliver of a gap remained. Even though I was now just a spirit... The sight of those heavy chains still made me tremble with terror. Meanwhile, Arthur, who was as cold and hard as iron toward me, turned soft as silk when facing Mia. He said gently: "Anna just has a dark heart. It has nothing to do with you." He wrapped an arm around Mia's shoulders, patting her comfortingly. "I still haven't done enough for you, Mia." "Anna is manipulative and calculating, stopping at nothing to get what she wants." "It would be one thing if she targeted outsiders, but she shouldn't have aimed at you. She brought this lockup on herself!" The blood ties that were once so intimate now morphed into sharp blades, slicing my heart piece by piece. I truly was, as Arthur claimed, someone who would stop at nothing to achieve my goals. At first. When I was forced into the bottom freezer, I struggled violently. Realizing it was futile, I curled up tightly, trying to conserve body heat. But minus twenty-four degrees Celsius was simply too cold. My hair and eyelashes quickly frosted over. Feeling my body stiffening further, I used all my might to slam against the door. Only to hear Arthur's cold voice from outside: "Can't take it already?" "Because of you, Mia is bedridden. Today, I'll discipline you on behalf of our late parents!" I submitted. I apologized. I confessed to things I had never even done, begging him to just let me out. Until the frost locked my fingers, and with a slight movement, they snapped away from my wrists. The dripping blood froze into icicles... Before my consciousness faded completely... I heard him order the butler: "Find some iron chains. Wrap the freezer and lock it tight!" "Without my explicit command, no one is to open that lock. This time, I must teach her a painful lesson!" Absolute despair washed over me as I listened to the heavy chains clanking around the freezer. Death, too, tightened its grip around my neck. 2 "Unlock Anna." "Tell her that if she has even a shred of conscience left, she'll apologize to Mia voluntarily. Tell her not to disappoint me again." Arthur commanded coldly. The butler hesitated several times, eventually letting out a sigh before nodding and leaving. Mia leaned against Arthur’s chest, whining softly: "Brother, once Anna apologizes, let's put this behind us. You have to make it up to her. Don't break her heart." "If she leaves, you won't have any family left." A flicker of disdain crossed Arthur’s eyes, but he affectionately ruffled Mia’s hair. "It's better if she leaves. A vicious person like her doesn't deserve to be my sister!" "If she hadn't deliberately hidden the AC remote, you wouldn't have caught a cold in the dead of winter. You've lost so much weight while you were sick." "Mia, you're just too kind, which is why she bullies you over and over." His eyes blazed with intense anger. But when Mia looked up at him, he concealed it flawlessly, as if afraid the mere sight of his anger would hurt her. I thought that being dead meant I wouldn't feel pain anymore. Yet, watching this, my eyes burned uncontrollably. A week ago. I was painting. Arthur’s birthday was approaching, and I had painted a family portrait to surprise him. Mia, however, threw a bucket of paint over it. She provocatively sneered, "Don't think painting two dead people will help you steal Brother Arthur away from me!" Furious, I slapped her. I didn't expect what happened next. She immediately drenched herself in freezing water. In the freezing, sub-zero winter temperatures, she hid the AC remote and slept on the floor all night. When Arthur found her the next day... She was burning up with a fever, near the point of fainting. "I know Anna hates me." "She thinks I stole everything that belonged to her." "I can leave. As long as Brother isn't caught in the middle, I don't care what happens to me." "Brother Arthur, after I'm gone, make sure you rest and eat on time..." That day. Arthur canceled several crucial meetings and rushed Mia to the hospital like a madman. The diagnosis was an acute cold caused by severe chilling. I stood at the door of the hospital room. I watched him grip Mia’s hand, pleading repeatedly: "Mia, please, don't leave me alone..." I found it laughable. My biological brother, who shared my blood and bone. The head of the Sterling family, who commanded absolute authority in the business world. Here he was, acting out a melodramatic life-and-death scene over a minor cold, holding the hand of an outsider. Yet, when Arthur gripped my neck... And shoved me into the bottom freezer... I finally understood that in his heart, he only had one sister: Mia. As for me— I was nothing. "How could I have such a vicious sister!" "Mia almost developed pneumonia. Even when she recovers, she'll be weak for a long time." "Anna, let me tell you, don't think sharing my blood gives you the right to act recklessly!" "For every day Mia is sick, you'll stay in there for a day, until you admit you were wrong!" To teach me a profound lesson, he locked it. Until now. He decided enough time had passed, and reluctantly ordered the lock to be opened, allowing me out. He didn't know. I could no longer come out. "Sir, Sir, something's wrong!" "The young miss, she... she’s frozen to the freezer. We can't open it." Arthur paused. I leaned in closer, wanting to see his reaction. After all, blood is thicker than water; surely, he’d feel something. But I was disappointed yet again. He scoffed: "The freezer isn't even plugged in. How could she freeze to death?" "You can't open it? She’s probably holding the door from the inside, putting on another show!" "Have someone drag the freezer to the junkyard. Since she loves staying inside so much, let her rot in there forever!" The butler stood there nervously, immobile. Silence hung heavy for a long moment. Arthur snorted coldly, his tone dripping with fake magnanimity: "Go tell her that if she keeps this up, it won't just be a simple lock-in. If she doesn't want worse punishment, she better know when to quit." The butler still didn't move. Arthur’s patience evaporated. He barked, "What are you standing around for? Go!" A second later. He comfortingly stroked Mia’s hair, gently advising her: "Mia, when Anna comes out later, don't believe a word she says." "I'm going to make her kneel for three hours first, to see if she’s really learned her lesson this time." "This is a test for her. You can't be soft-hearted and warn her." Mia, acting like a delicate, helpless flower, nodded weakly. "I'll listen to you, Brother..." Suddenly, I felt exhausted, unable to bear watching any longer. But my spirit seemed bound by the power of our bloodline, unable to leave Arthur’s side. I could only masochistically watch him coddle Mia while trampling me into the mud. 3 Arthur was born three minutes before me. Although we were twins, he matured early. Alongside our parents, he pampered and protected me as I grew up. I was always my brother's little shadow, the person closest to him. When our parents suddenly passed away, the inheritance they left behind drew the greedy eyes of our uncles and relatives. Arthur was forced to step up and take the position of family head, suppressing those who lurked in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But I forgot that he was only twenty-one at the time. Stubbornly believing him to be too cold-blooded, I said many hurtful things. When turning away, I accidentally fell down the stairs and slipped into a coma. When I woke up, I saw his bloodshot eyes. He held my hand tightly, his voice trembling as he asked: "Anna, Mom and Dad are gone. Are you going to leave me all alone too?" In that moment, I understood. Arthur wasn't heartless. He just wasn't allowed the luxury of weakness given the responsibilities on his shoulders. So I grew up overnight. I stopped being picky with food, started exercising, and studied hard—all so I could share his burdens and keep him company. Later. He said the company was too busy, so he found me a playmate. Initially, I genuinely treated Mia like a younger sister. When she had her period, I clumsily boiled brown sugar water for her, burning several blisters onto my hands. But right after drinking it, she suffered severe diarrhea and dehydration. Because of this, Arthur yelled at me for the first time. After that. Similar incidents occurred frequently. The look in his eyes grew colder and colder. All the gentle care he once gave me was now devoted entirely to someone else. Strange. My heart had stopped beating, so why did it still ache so deeply? It was as if reliving these memories killed me all over again. As time ticked by, Arthur’s face grew darker and darker. "It's been five minutes, and she still refuses to come out!" "Anna, it seems you’re determined to be stubborn to the bitter end!" He spun the prayer beads faster and faster, his brows furrowed tightly. An intense unease was welling up inside him. "Mia, Anna is too ungrateful." "The butler doesn't dare touch her. I'll go myself. Sit here and wait for her to come kneel and apologize." Arthur stood up and walked away with quick, long strides. His retreating figure revealed a poorly concealed panic. Arriving at the kitchen, he saw the butler trembling and asked in displeasure: "What are you shaking for?" "Sir, I... I..." The butler stuttered, cold sweat beading on his forehead. I stood to the side, unsure of how I should feel watching this unfold. Perhaps the pain had been too great; I couldn't even remember how I looked when I died, but it surely wasn't pretty. Arthur pushed the butler aside in disgust and stood before the freezer. The wrist-thick iron chains had been tossed aside, and the freezer’s power cord had been unplugged. The ice in the lower compartment had begun to melt, the water seeping out carrying a faint tint of blood. He ordered, "Anna, the lock is open. Why aren't you coming out? Do you really enjoy being in there that much?" I smiled bitterly. It was freezing and pitch-black inside. It was far from enjoyable. I had tried so hard to get out, wanting to feel the warmth of the world one last time. It was my closest sibling who had locked the door. And now. My body was covered in frost, never to emerge again. "Are you done?! Do you really think I'm going to coddle you like before?" He pulled the handle twice but couldn't open it. In a fit of anger, he kicked it. "If you're not dead, roll out of there!" The full-force kick of an adult man carried immense power. Ice crystals from the gap shattered and fell. The freezer door dropped to the floor, exposing the cramped, freezing compartment to the air. I watched as my frozen, stiff body tumbled out of the freezer. As it hit the ground, it snapped cleanly in half at the waist. The frozen organs met the warm air and began to slowly thaw. A pungent stench and the metallic smell of blood filled the room. The prayer beads in Arthur's hand suddenly snapped, scattering across the floor. …………………… In the deafening silence, his voice trembled with panic and helplessness. "What is this thing? It's disgusting. It stinks..." Arthur covered his nose and mouth, taking several steps back in sheer revulsion. The butler, his face twisted in agony, said, "Sir, this is the young miss. The young miss... she's dead!" "Impossible!" He immediately denied it, his eyes sweeping over my corpse, looking sick to his stomach. His voice turned chillingly cold: "Evil endures. How could Anna possibly die?" "I know. She definitely ran away and deliberately left this disgusting thing here to sicken me." The butler looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears left. "Sir, this is the young miss's home. Where could she run to? You... you need to face reality." But Arthur just snorted coldly. With confident certainty, he declared, "Mom and Dad left her so many properties. Check them one by one. We must find her!" Hearing his words, I laughed in sheer frustration. But the smile didn't reach my eyes. Arthur seemed to have forgotten. Before our parents died, they did leave a will. Arthur got the majority of the shares, while I was given numerous properties. But later on. Arthur made a catastrophic error in a corporate decision. Our uncles and older relatives, who already resented being subordinated to someone younger, seized the chance to attack him, intent on dragging him down from the CEO's seat. It was I who unconditionally transferred all my shares to Arthur. I helped him become the largest shareholder in one fell swoop, stabilizing his position. As for the financial losses he caused. It was I who sold off every single one of my properties to barely cover the deficit. The butler let out a long sigh and recounted this very history. Arthur stood frozen, stunned for a long time. Until time passed, and as the corpse continued to thaw, the putrid smell became impossible to ignore. The butler gently reminded him, "Sir, should we send the young miss to the crematorium?" Arthur snapped back to reality. Hearing the butler's suggestion, his face darkened. "Send what? Since Anna had the nerve to leave this thing here to sicken me, she can clean it up herself!" Having said that. Arthur turned and left without looking back. The butler had watched Arthur and me grow up. He knew better than anyone how much I cherished this villa after our parents passed away, because it was my home. Even when Arthur and I had our worst fights. I had never run away from home. I couldn't even bear to break a single item in the house. Because. This was my home, my roots. The place where I was born. And also— The place where I died. 4 Arthur hurried back to the living room. Mia giggled and was about to throw herself into his arms when she caught a whiff of the foul odor clinging to him. Her face scrunched up as she asked, "Brother, where did you just go? It smells terrible." Arthur, who had always maintained a perfect image in front of Mia, now acted like a beast suppressing its rage. He pushed Mia aside and headed upstairs without a backward glance. "Brother, Brother..." A flash of panic crossed Mia's eyes. Biting her lip, she chased after Arthur. Arthur didn't return to his bedroom. He went straight to the study. Here. He could access the security cameras for the entire villa. I stood behind Arthur. I watched as he skillfully entered the password, selected the time frame, and the surveillance footage from a week ago began playing on the computer screen. From a third-person perspective, I watched myself being dragged by the hair and shoved into the freezer by Arthur. My screams, pleas, and wails... echoed through the study. Even though Arthur had orchestrated this with his own hands, he now seemed unable to accept it. His face grew increasingly grim as he repeatedly clicked fast-forward. Soon. The freezer in the video was bound in iron chains, secured with a heavy lock, entirely trapping me inside. Then. It was as if the video had been paused. An empty room. No one entered. No one checked on me. And I— Never walked out of that freezer. "Impossible... this is impossible..." Arthur's brows furrowed. As if struck by a sudden thought, he sneered coldly, "If you're going to fake it, you should make it look real. Using a still image for the rest of the footage? Do you think I'm an idiot?" In the silent study. The screech of a chair scraping against the floor echoed sharply. Arthur stood up, walked to the study door, and opened it, only to see Mia waiting outside. "Brother, you looked awful earlier. I was so worried..." Mia looked up at Arthur, her wide, doe-like eyes brimming with concern. The anger Arthur had harbored towards me suddenly evaporated. He chuckled softly, "It's nothing." "Anna ran away from the house just to avoid apologizing to you." "I've made my decision. Since she chose to leave the Sterling family, I'm striking her name from the family registry!" "Perfect timing." "Next week is your birthday. At your birthday banquet, I will officially announce that the Sterling family has only one daughter!" Mia's eyes lit up with wild joy. She threw her arms around Arthur's neck, burying her face in his chest with a sweet laugh. But I... I was shaking with fury. I knew Arthur cared about Mia. But I never expected him to erase my very existence for her! How dare he! What right did he have? A year ago. On the anniversary of our parents' death, I ordered flowers early in the morning, planning to ask Arthur to go pay our respects together. But the butler told me he had gone to the office. At the time, I was a bit resentful. No matter how important company business was, it shouldn't take priority over our parents. But soon after, I saw posts from company employees on social media. "Mr. Sterling said today is a special day. He wrapped up work early and gave everyone the day off! Thank you, Mr. Sterling. May all your wishes come true!" My resentment instantly vanished. I assumed Arthur had done all this to clear his schedule so he could spend time honoring our parents. So I didn't rush him. Instead, I took the two bouquets of flowers and waited quietly at the cemetery alone. I waited until the sun set and the stars filled the sky. But Arthur never came. Perhaps our parents' spirits in heaven pitied me. A news notification popped up on my phone. "Sterling CEO Illuminates the City with Fireworks to Celebrate His Sister's Birthday!" Oh. I had forgotten. The anniversary of our parents' death was also Mia's birthday. Everything Arthur did wasn't to honor our parents, nor was it for me. It was all for Mia. The rain poured down in sheets. I couldn't tell if it was tears or rain sliding down my face. After that day. I fell severely ill when I returned home. Arthur, uncharacteristically, nursed me back to health himself. During those few days, it felt like we had returned to the time when our parents were still alive. I was still the little princess of the family. To keep me from getting punished by my teachers, Arthur stayed up all night doing my homework. When I had menstrual cramps, he rubbed my stomach. When I had a crush on a boy, he strictly forbade me from dating early, yet simultaneously helped me hide it from our parents. We were twins. We shared a bond that ordinary siblings could hardly comprehend. But Arthur's once unconditional devotion was completely withdrawn the moment Mia appeared. Because of the extreme contrast. Seeing Arthur show concern for me again ignited a fierce sense of hope. I begged him, begged him to send Mia away. He didn't get angry. He didn't argue with me. He just looked at me calmly. He said, "Anna, why are you so unforgiving?" He said, "Mia's father was my driver. He died protecting me. I can't just abandon her." He said, "Don't worry, I know the difference between a benefactor and a family member." But Arthur. For her, you even forgot the anniversary of our parents' death. You forgot the difference a long time ago.
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