I was born with a curse—whoever I doom dies exactly as I say. When I was five, the trafficker who kidnapped me beat me half to death because I wouldn't stop crying. I stared at him through the blood streaming down my face and whispered, "You'll be crushed into meat paste by a truck." The words barely left my lips when a runaway semi barreled through the gate and flattened him so thoroughly. Later, at the orphanage, the director embezzled our food and locked me in the punishment closet for days. I told him he'd choke to death on his own greed. That very noon, he died at the dinner table, a chunk of expensive steak lodged in his throat. After that, I became the monster everyone feared, so I learned to shut my mouth and play mute. Until the day the Sterling family found me and brought me home. My parents enrolled me in the family company, saying it was time I learned the business. But I'd only been there one day when I pushed open the front door and saw Lydia—the adopted sister—sobbing in my fiancé's arms. "Julian, does Evelyn hate me now?" she whimpered. "She's been spreading rumors at the office, claiming I slept with Mr. Harrington to secure the Westside Development deal—and that I caught syphilis from him." My mother stormed over and slapped me hard across the face. "Your sister is innocent! How dare you spread such vile lies about her!" My father's voice was even worse—cold and filled with disgust as he pointed at me. "I knew it—you grew up poor and bitter, and now you're rotting from jealousy! Get to your room and don't come out until I say so!" I covered my face, saw the smug look in Lydia's eyes, and sneered. You think I'm spreading rumors? Fine—then you'd better be ready to live with the consequences when I open my mouth. "Mom, Dad, look—Evelyn's laughing." Lydia buried her face in Julian's shoulder, clutching his hand and trembling. My mother's chest heaved with fury, and she grabbed the teacup from the table and hurled the scalding liquid straight into my face. "You cursed brat! I should never have brought you back!" "We gave you everything—food, clothes, a home—and this is how you repay us? Slandering your own sister at the company!" "How can you be so vicious?!" I bit down hard on my tongue until I tasted iron. Julian gently rubbed Lydia's back, then shot me a look of pure disgust. "Evelyn, I told you from the start—you don't belong in the Sterling family, and you sure as hell don't deserve to be my fiancée." "If Lydia hadn't begged me to give you a chance, I would've called off this engagement ages ago." "Now get on your knees and apologize to her, or I'm ending this farce right now." I lowered my head, staring at the puddle of tea soaking into the marble floor, and said nothing. My curse has always been absolute—once I speak, fate obeys without fail. In the six months since they brought me home, the Sterlings gave me something I'd never had before: warmth. When I had a fever, my mother stayed up all night changing cold compresses on my forehead. My father, who never cooked, clumsily made me pork chops and gave me the first piece. Even my brother—who swore he'd never accept me—started sneaking pastries into my bag. My mother would stroke my face with tears in her eyes and whisper that she was sorry for the years I'd suffered alone. My father even drove me to the office himself, saying I needed to start building connections because one day, the entire Sterling empire would be mine. To protect this fragile sliver of warmth I'd finally found, I sealed my lips shut. Because I knew the moment I spoke, I might kill them all. Seeing my silence, Lydia's sobs grew louder. "Does Evelyn think she can just play dumb and get away with this?" "She's been spreading those disgusting lies about me all over the company—everyone's looking at me like I'm dirty now! How am I supposed to show my face in this industry again?!" Julian's face twisted in rage, and he stormed over and grabbed the fine chain around my neck, yanking hard. Pain seared across my skin as the gemstone necklace—the heirloom of the family’s successor—snapped off. Six months ago, my mother had recognized me because of this necklace. She said she'd put it on me the day I was born, a mark of my identity as the sole legitimate heir. "Give it back!" I lunged forward, trying to grab it. Julian sidestepped with a sneer, letting me crash to the floor."Don't touch me! If you come near me again, I'll call the cops and tell them you assaulted me!" Then, right in front of me, he placed the necklace around Lydia's neck. "A treasure this priceless should only be worn by someone pure and kind like Lydia." "A vicious, foul-mouthed nobody like you would only taint it." Before I could get back on my feet, my brother came charging down the stairs and grabbed me by the collar. "I knew we shouldn't have brought you back, you filthy charity case!" "It was Lydia who begged me to be kind to you! She even gave up her own bedroom to you!" "And for the past six months, she's handed you every good thing she's ever had—and this is how you repay her?! You ungrateful snake!" He shoved me to the ground and turned to scream at the staff. "Butler! Lock this trash in her room right now!" "No one gives her a single drop of water without my permission—understood?!" Two security guards rushed forward, dragged me upstairs.
I was locked in that room for seven days straight. Every night, the maid would slide a single bowl under the door. Inside was nothing but cold leftovers and scraps. Outside, I could hear laughter echoing through the halls—the four of them, a perfect little family. Lydia made sure to parade Julian past my door every single day, her sickly-sweet voice dripping through the crack. "Julian, this watch is too expensive—why don't you give it to Evelyn instead?" "I know you love me, but Evelyn is their real daughter, and she's the one you're technically engaged to." "Maybe we should just... end this. As long as I can see you happy from afar..." Her voice cracked into a sob. "I'd die a thousand deaths and it would still be worth it." Julian pulled her into his arms, then kicked my door hard enough to rattle the frame. "Stop talking nonsense. That piece of trash they dragged back from the gutter isn't even worth carrying your shoes." "Just looking at her pathetic face makes me sick—why the hell would I give her something this expensive?" "Don't worry, Lydia. Even if I marry her, I'll never lay a finger on her. You're the only one I'll ever love..." I leaned against the door, listening to their declarations of undying devotion. A dry, bitter laugh scraped out of my throat. "Wearing something that expensive to bed? Better be careful—you might wake up with a stiff neck." The next morning, Lydia's shrieks tore through the hallway. "Ahh! It hurts! My neck—I can't move it!" Then came my sister's panicked voice, followed by the frantic footsteps of the household staff scrambling to help. I sat in the dark, eyes closed, a slow smile spreading across my face. On the eighth day, the lock finally clicked open. Lydia stood in the doorway, arms crossed, looking down at me like I was something she'd scraped off her shoe. "Oh my God, Evelyn, you look like death. Did you really starve yourself just to guilt-trip us?" "Come on, get up. Mom and Dad want you at the company." "All you have to do is stand in front of everyone and admit you lied, apologize to me, and we can all move on." I pushed myself to my feet and walked toward the door. The moment I reached the top of the stairs, Lydia leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "You poor little bastard—did you really think you could steal my parents and my man?" I froze mid-step and turned to look at her. Before I could say a word, Lydia let out a blood-curdling scream. "Evelyn, no! I swear I won't take the inheritance from you!" Then she threw herself backward and tumbled down the stairs. "Lydia!" Julian bolted toward the staircase, and my parents and sister came running from every direction. Lydia lay crumpled at the bottom, her face pale and twisted in pain, but somehow she still managed to force out a weak smile. "Julian... don't blame Evelyn... I just... lost my balance..." My sister's eyes went bloodshot. "You've lived in this house for over twenty years and never once fell down these stairs—there's no way this was an accident!" My mother flew up the steps and landed two brutal slaps across my face. I was so weak from starvation that the force sent me crashing to the floor, my ears ringing. My father stood at the bottom of the stairs, pointing at me with pure hatred in his eyes. "How did we ever give birth to a monster like you?!" I pressed my hand to my burning cheek and stared back at them, feeling the last shred of warmth in my chest turn to ice. I let out a cold, humorless laugh. "...If I really wanted to hurt her, I wouldn't need to lift a finger." My brother's entire body shook with rage, and she kicked over a decorative plant stand. "Dad! Mom! Do you hear this?! Do you hear what she's saying?!" "Lydia's lying there in pain, and Evelyn has the audacity to double down on her threats!" Julian cradled Lydia in his arms, his face contorted with fury. "You're still refusing to admit what you've done! Stop pretending you have some kind of supernatural power, you delusional freak!" My father turned his face away, as if even looking at me disgusted him. "Get her out of my sight. Lock her back in her room—now!" I struggled against the guards' grip and let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You're all playing your parts so well—just make sure she doesn't actually break a bone and pass out from the pain." Lydia, who'd been sobbing dramatically in Julian's arms, suddenly went rigid. Her head lolled forward, and she slumped, unconscious. My mother screamed. "Someone get her in the car! We need to get to the hospital—NOW!" The guards scooped Lydia up and sprinted out the door, with my parents and brother racing after them. The roar of engines filled the courtyard, and within seconds, they were gone. I was thrown back into my room like garbage.
A few days later, Lydia was discharged from the hospital. My parents shoved me into the car and dragged me straight to the Sterling Group headquarters. The normally spacious lobby was packed wall-to-wall with employees. My parents had summoned the entire company to publicly clear Lydia's name. On the massive LED screen in the center of the room, a video played on loop—footage of Lydia handing out backpacks to underprivileged children in remote villages, and late-night shots of her working tirelessly on the Westside Development project. My father stepped onto the platform, microphone in hand, his voice booming across the lobby. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great misfortune to announce that we brought home a daughter of such rotten character." "Out of pure jealousy, she spread vicious, slanderous rumors about Lydia throughout this company." "She has not only damaged our family's reputation—she has committed an unforgivable moral crime!" My mother stood beside him, covering her face and sobbing like a victim in a courtroom drama. The employees, not knowing the full story, began whispering amongst themselves. "Once trash, always trash—doesn't matter if you put her in a mansion." "I heard she grew up in some backwater foster home. People from places like that are all liars and thieves." "If she's willing to slander her own sister, there's nothing she wouldn't do." Their venomous words surrounded me like a tightening noose. Lydia, supported by Julian, walked up to me and held out a piece of paper—a printed confession titled Statement of Guilt and Apology. "Evelyn, I know why you did this." "All you have to do is sign this, admit you lied, and apologize to me in front of everyone. Then I'll forgive you." I stared at her smug face, my chest heaving with barely restrained rage. "I never said those things." "But if I had said you slept with Mr. Harrington—" Before I could finish, Julian's polished oxford slammed into the back of my knee. I collapsed onto the marble floor with a sickening crack, pain exploding through my leg. The employees around me erupted in laughter. Some even pulled out their phones, snapping photos and recording videos of my humiliation. "Karma's a bitch!" Shame tore through me like a serrated blade. And then— "Stop! Evelyn didn't lie! I can prove it!" Everyone froze. A young woman shoved her way through the crowd. She is the intern I'd comforted on my first day at the office, who'd been crying in the break room after getting chewed out by her supervisor. She planted herself in front of me, her voice shaking but firm as she pointed at Lydia. "I saw it with my own eyes that night when we were working late!" "Lydia got into Mr. Harrington's car, and they were in the backseat together—I recorded the whole thing!" The entire lobby went dead silent. Lydia's face drained of color. But she recovered quickly, throwing herself into Julian's arms and wailing at the top of her lungs. "Julian! How much did Evelyn pay this girl to lie for her?!" "First she makes up disgusting rumors, and now she's bribing people to back her up! What kind of monster does that?!" "I can't take this anymore—I just want to die!" The crowd's shock instantly morphed into contempt. Julian's expression darkened, and he pulled Lydia closer, glaring at the intern with pure hatred. He stepped forward and backhanded her across the face. The intern lost her balance and hit the floor hard, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. My eyes went wide. "You've gone too far—" "Throw this traitorous little bitch out of my building!" my father roared. "Fire her immediately! Blacklist her from every company in the industry—I want her name ruined!" Four security guards swarmed the intern, raining fists and kicks down on her fragile body. She curled into a ball on the floor, her screams growing weaker and weaker.
Watch? https://cps-front.novelix.live/app-api/ext/new/202606191se6i169w3 ? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "Novelix" app ? search for "ni577870", and watch the full series ✨! #Novelix