Chapter 2
She jabbed her finger in my face, furious.
"Who told you to drink juice at the party?
"Don't you know Vivian's allergic to mango? What if it affects your body?"
Her features twisted in anger.
"Your body belongs to Vivian, not you! Remember that!"
I pressed my hand to my burning cheek, staring at her contorted face. I felt nothing.
That was when the hatred took root.
Vivian's condition crashed—her heartbeat went erratic.
The family doctor said she needed more blood to stabilize.
They pinned me to the chair. I could only watch as they drained me again.
Four hundred cc this time.
Already weak and anemic from being half-starved, I blacked out.
When I woke up, I was sprawled on the cold floor.
Richard, Helen, and Marcus crowded around Vivian's bed. No one looked at me.
"Vivian, how are you feeling? Any better?"
"It's Evelyn's fault! She's so weak, and her blood's probably worthless too!"
Marcus spotted me awake. Disgust flooded his eyes.
He strode over and yanked me up from the floor.
"Evelyn, I'm warning you—if you pull anything that hurts Vivian again, I'll make your life hell."
I stumbled as he dragged me, head spinning, unable to speak.
To turn me into Vivian's perfect copy, Helen put me through her twisted "etiquette training."
She gripped a slender baton, criticizing my posture, how I sat, even the curve of my smile. Over and over. Never satisfied.
"Vivian's smile lifts at exactly fifteen degrees—not twenty!"
The baton cracked across my calf. The sting burned like fire.
"Again!"
Charles appeared with a luxury gift box.
He dropped it at my feet. "Put it on."
Inside was a champagne-colored dress, identical to one in Vivian's closet.
"Vivian loves this dress, but she's too sick to wear it. You'll break it in."
I changed silently, not daring to protest.
The dress was a size too small. The fabric squeezed me so tight I could barely breathe.
Charles looked me over, frowning.
"You're so skinny. Can't even pull off Vivian's style. What a disappointment."
Dr. Dylan Bennett came for my regular check-up.
His hair was grey—he'd been the Lynn family doctor for years, always carrying himself with gentle kindness.
While checking my blood pressure, he slipped a fruit candy into my palm.
Then he whispered, barely audible, "Don't give up, kid."
The candy melted on my tongue—sweet, yet unbearably bitter. My eyes stung.
It was the only warmth I'd felt since coming back to this house.
The moment Vivian felt better, she started tormenting me again.
She made sure to get cozy with Charles right in front of me.
She draped herself over him, but her eyes locked on me with pure malice.
"Evelyn, you're not mad, are you? Charles loves me, after all."
Charles shot me an icy look.
"Don't give Vivian that look. If you scare her, you'll pay."
I dropped my gaze, burying every ounce of hatred, but my nails dug into my palms.
I couldn't sleep. Night after night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that cold operating table.
I asked Helen for sleeping pills.
She snorted and handed them over.
"Good. If you're knocked out, you can't scheme anything stupid."
That afternoon, on my way through the living room with a glass of water, Vivian suddenly stuck out her foot and tripped me.
I crashed to the floor. The glass flew from my hand and shattered her favorite crystal vase.
When Richard came home and saw the broken glass and Vivian's tears, he exploded.
Without asking for an explanation, he pointed at me and made me spend the night in the yard.
In the middle of the night, the rain came down in sheets.
I was soaked through, shivering, burning with fever.
In my delirium, I saw Dylan again.
He gave me a shot to break the fever.
Then he whispered in my ear, jolting me awake.
"Your blood type matches theirs, but I noticed something odd.
"Some of your genetic markers are different from Mr. and Mrs. Lynn's.
"This... isn't normal."
When my fever broke, I became even more submissive.
I even volunteered to cook for Vivian as an "apology."
Helen saw how "well-behaved" I was and approved.
In the kitchen, I secretly grabbed the disposable cups Richard and Helen had used.
I slipped them into a sealed bag and hid it under my mattress.