Chapter 3

At those words, Eugene finally turned to face Scarlett, his eyes meeting hers, a flicker of unease passing through them. "Why would you say something like that about yourself? You've always been like a sister to me. I'd never wish anything bad on you." Calvin's shoulders tensed, and he turned around in frustration, his voice stern. "Scarlett, I get that you're upset, but you can't just scare us like this. I'm already getting everything ready for the wedding. What am I supposed to do if something happens to you and I'm left all alone?" It was the same thing Scarlett had heard countless times before. They'd always said they cared about her, couldn't picture their lives without her, treated her like a sister, and loved her like a partner. Yet, they hurt her without a second thought. What kind of brother or lover would do something like that? She let out a bitter laugh, tears streaming down her face. She turned and made her way to her room alone. Her blood dripped, leaving a long, crimson trail on the floor as she walked. In the stillness of her room, Scarlett carefully removed the glass shards from her wounds with a pair of tweezers. Her hands shook, and beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead, trickling down and landing on the injury. Each drop sent a fresh jolt of sharp, stinging pain through her body. Calvin and Eugene's voices drifted in from outside the door, gentle and comforting. "Sharon, is it still hurting? Do you want me to put some ice on it?" "Your hand's pretty bruised. Maybe we should have a doctor look at it, so it doesn't leave a scar." Scarlett listened, her eyes closing as she fought to keep the flood of emotions at bay. When she had finished cleaning her wounds, she grabbed her phone and saw Sharon's taunting message. "You honestly think they're keeping you around because they care? They're just too comfortable with holding on. Before long, they'll belong to me, heart and soul. "Scarlett, you've been stealing my identity for years. Eugene and Calvin will spend the rest of their lives making it right with me. So, don't even think about going up against me! I'll see to it that you return everything you took. You'd better watch out!" Scarlett knew every word Sharon said was the truth. As an adopted daughter, she could never measure up to the Swain family's biological child. So, she decided to leave Calvin's and Eugene's lives for good. And when she vanished without a trace, Sharon wouldn't come out ahead, either. After all, the living could never outdo the dead. Scarlett opened a shopping app and ordered a lifelike corpse. Once she got her immigrant visa, she'd fake her own death and disappear. From then on, she'd return to her birth name and start fresh. She carefully placed the pinhole camera she'd picked up on her way home into her necklace. From this moment on, every step Sharon took would leave a trail. … As the first light of dawn began to filter through the windows, the housekeeper roused Scarlett from her sleep. When she sat up, she noticed Calvin and Eugene walking toward her with cameras, their faces etched with deep sorrow. "Scarlett, Sharon's work has been exposed as plagiarized. It's causing a huge scandal. We need you to make a video admitting that you copied her work out of jealousy." They handed her a phone, and Scarlett's gaze immediately landed on the trending topics at the top. #MelodiaAwards'BestNewArtistAccusedOfPlagiarism #SharonSuspectedOfStealingOthers'Work It was then that Scarlett understood everything. While Scarlett had been imprisoned, Sharon had taken Scarlett's original works, passing them off as her own to enter the competition. Sharon didn't realize Scarlett had posted some of those pieces online through a secondary account. Now that Sharon's fame had grown, so had the attention, and the truth eventually surfaced. The internet erupted in anger, accusing her of plagiarism. Scarlett shook her head, rejecting the idea. "She's the one who plagiarized me. She even went as far as using my identity to get into Berynthia University's School of Music. What's the problem with people online calling her out for plagiarizing?" Calvin's anxiety spiked, and he reached out for her hand. "Scarlett, I know it's true. But Sharon's been devastated by all the backlash. She's even talked about ending her life. Can't you just help her out this one time?" Eugene stepped in front of her, scrambling to make his case. "Sharon's career is at its peak right now. If this plagiarism scandal gets out, it'll destroy her! Can't you just cover for her this once?" No matter how hard they pushed, Scarlett stood her ground. The whole situation felt utterly absurd to her. Why should she be the one to take the fall for Sharon's mistakes? Just because she'd already been branded a killer and her reputation was in tatters? The three were locked in a tense stalemate in the living room all morning. It wasn't until Sharon came downstairs, her eyes red and puffy as she called for Scarlett. "Scarlett, I was wrong about everything that happened back then. I need to talk to you alone." Scarlett wasn't interested in listening, but Calvin and Eugene practically forced her into the room. With no way out, she steeled herself and listened as Sharon started spilling her sob story. "Five years ago, I was the one who pushed you down the stairs and caused your injury, but I pinned it on you. The time I fell into the water, that was me too, making it look like you were to blame… "I know you must hate me for what I did, but I only acted that way because I felt like you were stealing my spot. You get that, don't you? Now, everyone's accusing me of plagiarism because I used your work. Can't you just help me out this one time?" By the time Sharon was done, Scarlett had lost all patience. Without saying a word, she turned to leave. But just as her hand reached the door, a sharp scream sliced through the air behind her. The door immediately swung open with a loud crash. Rage surged through Eugene and Calvin when they saw the deep gash on Sharon's wrist and the paring knife lying at Scarlett's feet. Without giving Scarlett a chance to explain, they called for their bodyguards to haul her back to her room and lock the door behind her. Later, they reached out to someone to create an AI-generated apology video featuring Scarlett and posted it online, enlisting a wave of influencers to share it everywhere. It wasn't long before the online mob flooded Scarlett's social media, bombarding her with a torrent of hate. "I always knew Sharon would never plagiarize. The adopted daughter in her family was the one who stole her work and released it first." "Who does this nobody think she is, trying to steal Sharon's songs and pass them off as her own? How shameless!" "If you can't come up with your own music, just do the world a favor and disappear. Plagiarists like you deserve nothing but a life of loneliness with no one around to pity you in your miserable existence!"