Chapter 1

It was a drizzly day when Caroline was brought back to the Carter family.

She stood at the entrance of the villa, gazing up at the ornate copper gate. This house was at least a hundred times bigger than the orphanage she'd called home for eighteen years.

She wore a faded hoodie, a worn-out backpack slung over her shoulders, and her canvas shoes had a small hole, letting the rain seep in and making her toes cold.

Someone gave her a shove from behind.

"Go in," the butler said, his tone polite enough but far from warm. "Mr. and Mrs. Carter have been waiting for you for a long time."

A long time? Caroline lowered her head, her lips curving into a faint line that wasn't really a smile.

It was a pure accident that she was brought back home. The Carter family's real daughter had been switched at the hospital eighteen years ago.

Sophie, the girl who took Caroline's place, grew up surrounded by luxury, while Caroline spent her childhood in a remote orphanage, eating whatever cheap food was available.

When the DNA results came out, all the Carters went wild. Caroline's birth mother, Lisa, was in tears, insisting they bring Caroline home right away.

Caroline's father, John, went silent for a long time. Her older brother, Alex, said, "We can bring Caroline home, but Sophie has been with us for 18 years. She must stay here."

So, Caroline was brought home, but Sophie also stayed with them.

*****

Caroline didn't have any opinions about it. After eighteen years in the orphanage, she'd learned not to count on anyone's kindness. It wasn't luck that kept her going. It was always being careful.

She was born weak, with a bad heart, and low blood sugar was something she dealt with every day. People at the orphanage used to say it was a miracle she even made it this far.

She didn't care it was a miracle or not. Just staying alive was hard enough. She didn't have the strength to fight for anything else.

The copper gate opened in front of her, and Caroline walked in.

The living room was so huge that she felt like she'd stepped into a mini airport. A crystal chandelier hung overhead, its light almost blinding.

On the sofa sat a middle-aged couple. The woman looked elegant, her eyes a little red like she'd been crying; the man had a deep, serious look, giving Caroline a once-over as if he was trying to figure her out.

Caroline stood quietly in front of them, waiting to see what would happen next.

Lisa was the first to speak, her voice choked with emotion. "Caroline, you really look like your grandmother."

Caroline had no idea what her grandmother looked like, so she nodded and said, "Thank you."

John frowned, as if he thought saying "thank you" was a bit odd in this situation. He cleared his throat. "Have a seat. This is your home now. Your room's on the second floor. It's all set up for you."

Caroline nodded again and was about to head upstairs when she heard some light, cheerful footsteps coming from the staircase.

A girl in a soft yellow dress came down, her long hair flowing over her shoulders, with delicate features and a sweet smile. She looked like she'd walked straight out of a teen drama.

She walked right up to Caroline, reached out and took her hand, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "You must be my sister, right? I'm Sophie. I'm so happy to finally meet you."

Caroline glanced down at her hand, still held tightly by Sophie, then looked up at Sophie's face.

There was no system notification. She didn't have one. She was a regular girl with a heart condition, who'd made it to eighteen by being careful and tough. But even without a system, Caroline could still sense things.

Like how Sophie was gripping her hand so tight that it hurt her fingers.

Or how Sophie's smile was sweet, but her eyes were cold, holding no warmth at all.

Or how, after Sophie said that, everyone's expression in the living room shifted. Lisa smiled with relief, while John let out a breath, as if their biggest worry had disappeared.

Sophie was so convincing that no one noticed Caroline's face had gone pale.

She'd spent the entire day traveling, rattling all the way from that out-of-the-way town to the city, surviving on nothing but a single biscuit. Now, her low blood sugar was kicking in. Her hands trembled, her heart raced, and her vision kept blurring and darkening.

She wanted to speak up, but Sophie didn't give her the chance.

"Caroline, let me show you your room." Sophie dragged her up the stairs so quickly that Caroline almost lost her balance and nearly fell.

"Sophie, slow down," Lisa called from behind, her voice carrying a smile, clearly thinking the moment was touching.

Caroline was dragged up the stairs, every step making her heart feel like it was being squeezed. Her lips were turning blue, and her breathing was getting shallow, but Sophie never even glanced back to notice how pale she was.

When they reached the landing, Sophie suddenly stopped and turned around.

They were halfway up the stairs, with the living room below and the second-floor hallway above. Sophie turned her back to the living room, and that sweet smile vanished, replaced by a cold, scrutinizing look.

"So you're Mom and Dad's real daughter?" Sophie whispered, her voice so low that only Caroline could hear. "Honestly, you're nothing special. You look so sickly, like you bring bad luck by being here."

Caroline didn't have the strength to say anything back. Her vision was already going blurry, and her stomach churned with nausea. She knew her blood sugar was dangerously low. She had to sit down or get some sugar at once.

She reached into her pocket for the glucose tablets she kept on her at all times, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even twist open the plastic cap.

Sophie caught sight of the glucose tablets in her hand, and her lips curled into a cold, almost mocking smile that made Caroline's heart tighten.

Before Caroline could even process what that smile meant, Sophie suddenly leaned back and fell down the stairs.

No, it wasn't a fall.

She jumped. She did it herself.

Caroline watched as Sophie's body tipped backward, the movement so smooth that it was like she'd rehearsed it countless times. Her yellow dress whipped through the air, and Sophie's mouth opened wide, letting out a piercing scream.

That scream echoed through the whole mansion.

"Why did you push me, Caroline?" Sophie screamed.

Caroline stood there, stunned. She instinctively reached out to grab Sophie, but her fingers only caught the edge of Sophie's dress. The soft fabric slipped from her grasp.

Sophie fell down the stairs.

The stairs weren't that tall, with only a dozen or so steps, but Sophie deliberately twisted her body as she fell, making sure her elbows and knees slammed into the marble floor with a heavy thud. She curled up on the ground, tears bursting out as she bawled her head off.

"It hurts... It hurts so much... Caroline, why did you push me..." Sophie sobbed.

The living room erupted into chaos. Lisa screamed and rushed to Sophie, while John jumped to his feet, his face turning bright red. Servants swarmed in from every direction. Some were calling for a doctor, others were helping Sophie, and the whole place was a mess.

Caroline was still standing at the landing, her hand stretched out in midair, lips turning blue and her face pale as a ghost.

She tried to say she didn't push Sophie, but she couldn't get a single word out.

Her low blood sugar hit its peak. Her vision tunneled, everything closing in like a black ring, and all the sounds around her faded and blurred. She tried to grab the stair railing, but her hand wouldn't cooperate at all.

Her foot suddenly slipped beneath her.

No one even noticed Caroline. All eyes were on Sophie, who lay injured on the floor. Lisa clung to Sophie, sobbing, while John raged at the butler, demanding they kick out that wicked real daughter.

Caroline lost her balance and tipped backward.

She didn't make a sound as she went tumbling down the stairs. It was not because she didn't want to, but because she simply didn't have the strength.

The back of her head smacked against the edge of a step, and her body rolled down like a rag doll, finally stopping when she crashed into the wall.

Finally, the hall fell silent.

Lisa stared at Caroline lying on the floor, her face going from furious to terrified in an instant.

John stood there, speechless, mouth hanging open. Sophie was still curled up, crying, but her sobbing stopped for a second when she saw Caroline. Then she started wailing even louder.

Caroline's head was tilted to the side on the cold marble floor, her eyes half-open and glazed over.

There was no rise and fall in her chest.

"Caroline?" Lisa's voice trembled. "Caroline!"

There was no answer.

Caroline's lips had turned from purple to a dark, lifeless blue, her hands lying limp on the floor like withered petals.

Her faded hoodie had been torn open during the fall, revealing her thin shoulders and the sharp outline of her collarbone. She looked so frail, nothing like an eighteen-year-old should.

The butler was the first to react. He rushed over, checked for her breath, and his face went ghostly pale.

"She's not breathing," he said, his voice trembling.

That sentence exploded in the living room like a bomb. Lisa screamed and threw herself at Caroline, frantically shaking her, but Caroline didn't respond at all. Her head lolled limply with each shake, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

John snatched up the phone to call 911, but his hands were shaking so much that he could barely hit the right buttons. The servants were in complete disarray. Some burst into tears, while others stood frozen, not knowing what to do.

Sophie was curled up in the corner, clutching her scraped elbow, with tears still on her face. She stared in Caroline's direction, her expression conflicted, her lips twitching as if she herself wasn't sure whether to smile or cry.

The ambulance arrived in no time, its sirens screaming through the quiet, rainy night.

When they lifted Caroline onto the stretcher, the ECG monitor showed a flat line. The paramedics slapped on the electrode pads and started CPR right away.

Lisa ran after them, one of her heels flying off, but she didn't even look back. Her face was streaked with tears and rain.

John drove behind the ambulance, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles went white.

Sophie didn't go with them. She said she was too hurt to move, so the butler helped her back to her room.

The moment she closed the door, she stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself. The bruise on her elbow was a glaring mark against her pale skin.

She looked at herself for a long time and then slowly smiled.

That smile was gentle and sweet, like the one she always wore in front of others.

"Caroline, you better not really die," she murmured to her reflection. "If you die, this whole show won't be any fun anymore."