To save the fake daughter's scar, my brother forced me to switch skin with her. He tied me to the operating table with his own hands, ordering them to flay me alive. To ensure the skin graft was successful, they didn't even give me anesthetic, letting me constantly fade in and out of consciousness from the unbearable pain. When the surgery finally ended, the operating room floor was saturated with my blood, leaving only a blood-soaked, barely breathing version of me, stripped of most of my skin. Faintly, I heard my brother's voice from beyond the door: "No one is to help her without my command. This little pain, she must endure it twofold." My blood drained away, drip by painful drip, and my wounds became repeatedly infected. On the verge of death, I wanted to say one last word to him, but then I heard his voice from the other end of the phone: "She's just losing a bit of skin and already making a scene? Why didn't you think about their pain when you hurt Seraphina? Want to see me? Only after you're dead!" But when he truly learned I was gone, my brother went mad. 1 My urn was carried back to Willow Creek Orphanage by Eleanor Vance just as a group of men ransacked the place, overturning everything. The children screamed, their cries echoing through the rooms, but a tall, stern-faced man stood in the distance, a look of disdain etched across his features. He was my brother, Alexander. Eleanor shielded the terrified children behind her, her voice raw and hoarse. "Alexander, you tortured Audrey to death, literally. Why won't you even spare her last bit of legacy?" Alexander’s face twisted in mockery. "Her face got messed up, so she can't sell it anymore, and now she's faking her death for money, is that it?" He sneered, then barked, "Tell her! Playing dead won't work. Seraphina's arm was clawed up. If she doesn't get out here and give Seraphina some skin, I'll tear this orphanage down, right now!" Eleanor swayed, barely able to stand. She clutched my urn tightly. "She can't switch skin anymore, Alexander. Audrey is dead. She won't be bullied by you people ever again." Alexander glanced at the urn, an impatient flicker in his eyes, then suddenly reached out and swatted the box from her grasp. With a sickening crash, my ashes scattered across the cold, unforgiving floor. But Alexander wasn't done. He raised his foot and ground his heel savagely into the pile of gray-white powder. Eleanor's eyes widened in horror. She screamed and lunged forward, pushing him away with all her might. "You're insane! She's your own sister!" "I don't have a sister as wicked as her!" Alexander kicked Eleanor away, then lifted his leg, stomping viciously on her fingers, grinding his foot down. "She's so evil, shouldn't her ashes be black?" He spat, "Honestly, you're pathetic. You used to beg at my feet like a dog for money, and now, to scam me, you've even conjured up fake ashes!" Eleanor convulsed in pain, but her gaze remained fixed on my scattered remains. Her tears had dried up long ago, leaving only a choked, repeated question. "She's your sister, she's my Audrey! Why won't you let her rest in peace, even in death?" Alexander impatiently kicked Eleanor again, unleashing his fury on her body. "I wish she'd died sooner, but how dare that menace die before atoning for her sins?" Each kick stirred my ashes. He only stopped when his bodyguard informed him that I hadn't been found in the orphanage. With a disgusted grunt, he wiped the ash from his shoe onto Eleanor's clothes, then abruptly pressed his foot down on her shoulder, as if trying to crush her bones. "Still protecting her, are you? Tell her to show herself by tomorrow morning, or this orphanage, and every single child in it, will suffer because of that blight!" The cruelty in his eyes was crystal clear. As he turned to leave, he couldn't resist one last, savage stomp on my ashes. Dozens of bodyguards followed, their heavy boots crushing my remains, leaving countless dusty footprints in the courtyard. My heart shattered. I lunged forward, desperately trying to help Eleanor, who was still clutching my scattered ashes. My ghost form passed right through her, and a searing pain lanced through me, stealing my breath. Right. I was dead. Even if I were alive, I wouldn't have a single patch of good skin left to give Seraphina. So, brother, please, let Eleanor go. Silence finally returned to the courtyard. Eleanor carefully shifted her body, gathering my ashes little by little. The small wooden urn, shattered into splinters, pierced her palms, drawing blood. But Eleanor seemed not to notice. She meticulously pieced the wooden box back together, then, with the reverence of someone handling a precious jewel, she placed every last speck of my ash back inside. When she finished, she composed herself, as if nothing had happened, and busied herself preparing dinner for the children. Only when she was completely alone did she allow herself to cough up a mouthful of blood. Trembling, she lifted her shirt. The bandages wrapped around her abdomen were soaked through with fresh crimson. I wept, my ghost form hovering over her. This was an old wound, left from when Eleanor had an incision made in her stomach and had countless blood samples drawn to raise money for my medical bills. But even then, it wasn't enough. That's why she had knelt before my brother, begging for a tiny loan. But Alexander was too busy showering Seraphina with gifts. When he saw Eleanor blocking his way, he kicked her without hesitation. Eleanor couldn't get up for a long time that day. Blood pooled beneath her, yet she remained stubbornly determined to plead for a chance for me to live. But she knelt from dawn till dusk, and all she received was news of my death. Her old wound unhealed, now compounded by new injuries, Eleanor's face was ashen, her lips pale. I clung to her, my tears flowing as uncontrollably as the blood soaking her abdomen. This woman, barely fifty, seemed to have reached her breaking point. Her hair, once raven, was now entirely white, making her look eighty. I clung to her, my soul wailing silently, a cry of utter despair. When I was five, Eleanor found me, lost and disfigured, a child no one dared approach. She took me into her home. When I was eighteen, afflicted by snake venom, abandoned by my family, she was the one who fought tooth and nail to pull me back from the clutches of death. After that, I stopped asking for anything else. All I wanted was to help Eleanor keep the orphanage safe. But in the end, that very wish became the death knell for the orphanage, and for Eleanor's heart. 2 Before dawn broke, Eleanor, dragging her broken body, began packing the children’s belongings. But the next second, a bulldozer violently smashed through the orphanage gates. Eleanor didn't hesitate. She rushed straight into the vehicle’s path. "Unless you roll over my dead body, you won't lay a finger on this place!" A disdainful scoff came from the side. My brother's luxury car window rolled down. "Then hand over that bitch, Audrey, or else you think I want to touch this filthy place?" Eleanor was barely standing. She struggled to pull a chair over and sat down, her snow-white hair whipped wildly by the morning breeze. "Audrey is already ash, Alexander. You stomped all over her yesterday." Alexander burst into laughter. "Still so stubborn? Audrey's probably crawling into some rich old man's bed again. How much did she pay you to protect her like this?" Eleanor's shoulders trembled violently. Finally, she couldn't hold back, her trembling finger pointing at Alexander. "Alexander, she was your sister! She's dead! Why do you still insult her like this?" "I don't have a sister like her! My only sister is Seraphina!" Beside him, Seraphina's small face was pale. She tugged gently at Alexander's sleeve. "Brother, don't be angry. I'll just kneel and apologize to Sister, like I always used to. Every time I did that, Sister would forgive me..." She started to open the car door to get out. Alexander pulled her back instantly, his eyes filled with a tenderness I’d never seen directed at me. He was even red-eyed, holding Seraphina close. "My poor sister, you've suffered so much. It's all my fault for not protecting you." Seraphina forced a brave smile, her eyes red, tears streaming down her face no matter how she tried to wipe them away. "No, Brother. Every day I spend with you, I'm happy." She carefully pulled up her sleeve, revealing gauze faintly stained with blood on her arm, looking utterly pathetic. "Brother, Seraphina doesn't hurt at all. Seraphina just wants to be by Brother's side, just wants Sister to tolerate me." Those tears made Alexander clench his fist. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel, snarling my name as he comforted Seraphina. "Don't worry. She has no say in our family. When I find her, I'll make sure she suffers a fate worse than death!" But I was already suffering a fate worse than death. My ghost hovered beside Eleanor, my very soul tearing apart, gasping for breath. I had long given up on family affection. But Alexander, Seraphina only needed such a tiny patch of skin. Yet you had them strip so much from me. So much that I couldn't possibly live. After comforting Seraphina, my brother gave a command, and a swarm of men immediately surged into the orphanage. The still-bewildered children were tossed outside. Eleanor's cherished furniture and tables were brutally smashed. The ground was littered with broken pieces. Amidst the wails of the children, Eleanor desperately rushed forward, only to be knocked to the ground, spitting a mouthful of blood. She didn't bother to wipe it away, instead trembling as she pulled a piece of paper from her chest. "Alexander, if you don't believe Audrey is dead, you'll surely believe the death certificate issued by the hospital!" Was it my imagination, or did I see my brother's body momentarily stiffen? He finally stepped out of the car, but before he could take the death certificate, Eleanor's phone lit up in front of him. It was an email I had scheduled to send to Eleanor! The glaring words "Audrey" stood out like some damning evidence. My brother suddenly let out a strange, guttural laugh. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed a nearby watering can and savagely smashed it against Eleanor. "We should really go into acting!" he raged. "I almost fell for that bitch's trick again!" He slammed his foot down. "Since you're so determined to seek death, fine! I'll grant your wish! Bodyguards, move!" At my brother's command, the roaring machines moved forward like devouring beasts. The building, filled with children's laughter and my fondest memories, began to crumble. Eleanor, dragging her frail, withered body, desperately tried to stop them, stumbling and cutting herself all over. "No! That's not it, that's..." Her voice was drowned out by the enormous roar. I completely forgot I was dead, rushing to the front of the vehicles, trying to block them. I was simply passed through without mercy. I collapsed to my knees, frantically pounding the ground. Tears of bitter resentment rained down. Brother, why wouldn't you just look a little closer? Those were all scheduled emails, brother. And every single one of them was my last will! Eleanor and the children were tightly cornered by the bodyguards, forced to watch helplessly as the orphanage collapsed with a thunderous roar. I cried until my entire body was numb, seeing the flicker of excitement in my brother's eyes. I'd always known it; he didn't just hate me, he hated this orphanage even more. Because it was here, once upon a time, that the most painful, most unspeakable humiliation had befallen him. 3 "Cough, cough..." Hearing Seraphina's weak cough, Alexander rushed back into the car and closed the windows tightly. "Ugh, she's as filthy as Audrey!" he muttered, then turned to Seraphina. "Seraphina, just hang on a little longer. We're going straight back to the hospital." Seraphina coughed the entire way. Alexander, frantic, immediately had Mr. Caldwell, the hospital administrator, waiting at the entrance, as if he could fly back. And all the while, he didn't forget to curse me. "Audrey truly is a plague! If it weren't for her, why would you be coughing so terribly?" When the test results came in, Alexander literally jumped out of his chair. Seraphina was experiencing severe rejection; if it worsened, she could die. The most effective solution was a blood transfusion from me. Before Alexander could even speak, Seraphina bravely tried to sit up, her eyes brimming with tears, fragile and delicate. "Brother, no, we can't let Sister be hurt because of me again." She wept. "It's all my fault for taking Sister's place. This is what I deserve, Brother, don't trouble Sister for my sake anymore. Just let me go like this... I just... I can't bear to leave you, Brother!" She then embraced him, crying as if her end was imminent. Alexander was heartbroken. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I watch you die? You're my precious heart! If you die, I won't survive either." He squeezed her. "Don't worry. Whether she's alive or dead, I'll find Audrey and bring her back for the transfusion." I watched their display of sibling affection with a cold laugh. Oh, so Seraphina did know she had taken my place? I was lured away and got lost at five years old, falling down a slope where a tree branch left a deep, gruesome scar across my face. Eleanor found me and raised me for five years. When I finally came home, I learned that 'I' had been at the Montgomery estate all along. She was Seraphina. My brother said it was to avoid public gossip, to have her temporarily fill my place. But when Dad and Alexander saw the twisted, centipede-like scar on my face, they never mentioned switching us back. From then on, my name was Audrey. Audrey, as in 'quiet' – the silent kind. The one who shuts up. After returning home, I received endless clothes and jewelry, but the look in their eyes held an undisguised disgust. Until a group of high-society girls were terrified by my face, screaming and crying. I was formally banished from the main house, forced to live with the servants. Yet, I clearly saw Seraphina hiding behind a pillar, smirking. My school, the lavish parties, my coming-out ball… everything that was supposed to be mine was stolen by her. Until the day I was set to enroll in college, Seraphina told me that my university spot had also become hers. I didn't believe it, but she simply pulled out the acceptance letter. The name on it had indeed changed to Seraphina. Before I could erupt in fury, she leaned in close, her eyes alight with unconcealed triumph. "Everything of yours will be mine, including that face of yours. I'm the one who cut it, you know." A long-forgotten sensation flashed through me: my face, it had been cut by a stone! I couldn't hold back any longer and slapped her. But the next second, Alexander shoved me, and my hand seemed to brush against something cold. Dad, Alexander, and Seraphina rushed to the hospital, not even sparing me a glance. A searing pain shot through my arm. I turned to see a snake, its fangs deeply embedded in my flesh. I frantically shook it off, but the venom had already begun to take hold. With my last ounce of strength, I dialed emergency services. When I woke up, the one by my side was Eleanor. After that day, Alexander paid me 500,000 to get rid of me, throwing me out of the family home. At that point, Seraphina had truly stolen everything from me. So, was my skin, my blood, even my very life, all part of her elaborate plan? Then go ahead and search. I'm now curious to see what my brother's reaction will be when he discovers that even my ashes have been scattered by his own hand.
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