Chapter 1

The day Scarlett Swain was released from prison, the biting wind left her shivering. She lifted her bony hand to pull her worn coat tighter around her, but the fabric hardly offered her any protection. The freezing air made her knees throb with each step as she dragged herself through the gate. Just outside, the driver of a sports car spotted her and quickly got out to take her bag. "Mr. Letcher and Mr. Eugene are hosting a party for Ms. Sharon's birthday. They asked me to pick you up and bring you over," he said. Taken by surprise, Scarlett paused before responding with a soft hum. The car sped through the streets, heading straight for the town's most upscale hotel. When the door swung open, Scarlett was met with the dazzling sight of a grand ballroom, filled with elegantly dressed guests. The air hummed with lively conversation and the steady clink of glasses. She clenched her fists without realizing it. Not far off, Sharon Swain, wearing a designer gown, stood surrounded by a crowd, her face glowing with laughter. Calvin Letcher carefully placed a dazzling birthday crown on her head, while Eugene Swain held the cake, leading the group in singing "Happy Birthday." The atmosphere was filled with warmth, unity, and happiness. Guests wore expressions of admiration, continuously showering Sharon with praise. "I heard Ms. Sharon signed with a record label right after graduating from Berynthia University. She's definitely got a bright future ahead!" "Absolutely! Ms. Sharon is a once-in-a-lifetime talent in the music industry. The first song she wrote went viral overnight, and she quickly gained a huge following!" Amid the sea of compliments, someone noticed a figure by the door and, with a disdainful tone, called out sharply, "Who's that? This is a luxury hotel. How did they let someone like that in? Look at those ragged clothes. She reeks of poverty!" The crowd turned to look, and when they saw it was Scarlett, both Calvin and Eugene froze. It didn't take them long to regain their composure, and they quickly stepped forward to welcome her. Calvin took her hand, his eyes filled with concern. "It's been three years since I last saw you, and you've gotten so thin." Eugene brushed the hair away from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. Her face, now fully visible, looked pale and drained. "It's going to be okay. With some effort, you'll be back to normal in no time," he said. Scarlett's eyes grew dull, a self-deprecating smile crossed her face. "And what about my life? Can that be fixed too?" she asked. Calvin and Eugene shared a look, their brows knitting together as they returned to the same explanations they'd used when they had sent her to prison. "Scarlett, we've already been over this, haven't we? This is what you owe Sharon. Once it's settled, it's done for good. Please, don't make this more difficult than it has to be, okay?" "Eugene and I will look after you, just like we used to. Try to leave all those unpleasant memories behind you." Unpleasant? They believed that all the years of her suffering could be summed up in a single word. One of the men standing before Scarlett was her brother, and the other was her boyfriend. They had once adored her, their devotion bordering on obsession, only to become the ones who ultimately cast her into the abyss. Scarlett was adopted. Ten years ago, after Eugene's younger sister went missing, he brought Scarlett home from the orphanage. He asked her to think of him as her own brother and doted on her for eight years, cherishing her like something irreplaceable. In return, she remained faithfully by his side, slowly helping him heal the wounds and darkness left by the loss of his sister. Later, Eugene's close friend, Calvin, fell for Scarlett the moment he saw her. After a few attempts to win her over, they soon became a couple. For a time, she had the two men who cared about her most in the world—Eugene and Calvin. But right then, Eugene's real sister, Sharon, came back. Everyone insisted Scarlett should make up for the true heiress of the Swain family, who had endured so much hardship. Scarlett was painfully aware that everything she had once owned rightfully belonged to Sharon. So, whatever Sharon wanted, Scarlett handed over without a fight. Her room? She gave it up. Her academic achievements? She let them go. Even when Sharon's kidneys failed and she needed a transplant, Scarlett offered her own without a second thought. Still, no matter what Scarlett did, Sharon continued scheming to bring her down. And Eugene, driven by guilt and sympathy, always intervened to defend Sharon. To Scarlett's disappointment, even Calvin sided with her. Later, when Sharon ran someone down with her car and fled, they pressured Scarlett—who had just received her acceptance letter from Berynthia University—into taking the fall. She refused, but they used their influence and connections to have her thrown in prison against her will. Before she was taken away, Eugene told her she'd always be his sister and that it hurt him to see her locked up. But he said she needed to make things right with Sharon, promising it'd be the last time she'd ever have to sacrifice anything. Calvin also tried to convince her, assuring her they'd get married once she finished serving just a few years. And so, Sharon took Scarlett's spot at Berynthia University, rising to fame as a celebrated prodigy in the music world. Meanwhile, Scarlett spent four years behind bars, enduring beatings, humiliation, and constant threats. She was covered in wounds, her pain so severe it felt worse than death itself. Now, she had walked out of the prison gates. But where would her life go from here? She looked at Calvin and Eugene, a hint of self-mockery in her expression. Just as she was about to say something, Sharon stepped forward, her face plastered with false concern. "Scarlett, you're out of prison?" she exclaimed, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "How have you been holding up all these years behind bars?" The guests around them froze, their eyes widening in shock. Murmurs and whispers rippled through the crowd like wildfire. "That's the killer from the Swain family! I still remember how she was driving drunk and caused that terrible accident. It was the biggest scandal back then!" "And that's just the tip of the iceberg! The evidence from the hit-and-run was right there for everyone to see, but she still wouldn't take responsibility. She even tried to pin it on Sharon. The Swains were really unlucky to have taken her into their family." Hearing the distorted rumors that turned the truth into falsehoods, Scarlett's face drained of color. Her mind dragged her back to those dark, painful memories. She shook her head repeatedly, hands over her ears, until she couldn't stand it any longer. She shoved through the crowd, brushing past Eugene and Calvin, ignoring their startled looks. Scarlett hid in a corner until nightfall, her face streaked with tears, crying until her eyes ran dry. Only then did her storm of emotions finally calm, and she walked home alone. But when she entered her bedroom, she found it had been turned into a cat's space. The butler informed her coldly that there were no rooms left and suggested she bunk with the housekeeper instead. Just then, Sharon returned, holding a cake, her manner as innocent and carefree as always. "Scarlett, you didn't get any cake at my birthday earlier. Look, I brought you some," she said. Scarlett's face turned pale when she spotted the mango jam in the cream. "I'm allergic. I can't eat that." Sharon's eyes flicked to Calvin and Eugene, who had followed her inside, and her tears began to fall. "Scarlett, are you still mad at me about what happened earlier? Or is it because I turned your room into a cat's space that you're not eating this?" When Calvin saw Sharon crying so heartbreakingly, he frowned and turned to Scarlett. "Scarlett, why are you picking on Sharon the second you get back?" Scarlett's chest tightened, and a flicker of pain crossed her eyes. "I'm picking on her? Maybe you should ask her why she brought a mango cake back for me in the first place." "Sharon knows you're allergic to mangoes. How could she possibly have added mango to the cake? Stop trying to pin this on her," Eugene snapped, taking the cake and shoving a piece into Scarlett's mouth. The moment the mango jam touched her throat, it felt like she couldn't breathe. Her neck prickled as if ants were crawling over it, itching and stinging relentlessly. Sharon gave her a triumphant glance before leaning faintly into Eugene's arms. "Eugene, Calvin, I don't know why, but I suddenly feel dizzy." At the sound of her weak, fragile voice, Eugene and Calvin's faces filled with concern. Without hesitating, they rushed her to the hospital. As the three of them turned away, Scarlett's body shuddered, and she collapsed to the floor. But when Calvin and Eugene heard the sound, they only stopped for a moment before grumbling, "What are you pretending this time? Sharon isn't feeling well, and we must get her to the doctor. Can't you see what's going on?" With that, they picked up the pace and left without sparing her a glance. Watching their retreating figures, Scarlett swallowed the cry for help that pressed against her throat. Crawling on her hands and knees back to her room, she desperately searched until she finally found her antihistamine and swallowed it dry. But the discomfort in her body only grew worse. She clawed at her skin uncontrollably, leaving behind streaks of blood. Her swollen cheeks flushed a deep red, and it felt like the air in her chest was thinning with each passing second. Just as Scarlett thought she might suffocate, the antihistamine finally began to take effect. She lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for air, a trail of tears slipping from the corner of her eye. It was hard to tell how much time had gone by when the sound of her phone ringing echoed through the room. She had no intention of answering it. Now that everyone avoided her like the plague, branding her an ex-convict, who would even bother calling her? It was probably just another spam call. But even as Scarlett ignored it, the phone kept ringing, persistent and unrelenting. It wasn't until the ringtone repeated for the fifth time that she finally dragged herself up to answer it. The screen showed an international call, coming from across the seas. Before she could say a word after answering the call, an excited voice burst through the line. "Renee, it's me, your brother Eamon. I've finally found you!"