To save the fake daughter’s scar, my brother forced me to switch skin, with her.
He tied me to the operating table with his own hands, ordering them to flay me alive. To ensure the skin graft
was successful, they didn’t even give me anesthetic, letting me constantly fade in and out of consciousness
from the unbearable pain.
When the surgery finally ended, the operating room floor was saturated with my blood, leaving only a blood-
soaked, barely breathing version of me, stripped of most of my skin.
Faintly, I heard my brother’s voice from beyond the door: “No one is to help her without my command. This
little pain, she must endure it twofold.”
My blood drained away, drip by painful drip, and my wounds became repeatedly infected. On the verge of
death, I wanted to say one last word to him, but then I heard his voice from the other end of the phone: “She‘
s just losing a bit of skin and already making a scene? Why didn’t you think about their pain when you hurt
Seraphina? Want to see me? Only after you’re dead!”
But when he truly learned I was gone, my brother went mad.
1
My urn was carried back to Willow Creek Orphanage by Eleanor Vance just as a group of men ransacked the place, overturning everything. The children screamed, their cries echoing through the rooms, but a tall, stern-
faced man stood in the distance, a look of disdain etched across his features.
He was my brother, Alexander.
Eleanor shielded the terrified children behind her, her voice raw and hoarse. “Alexander, you tortured Audrey
to death, literally. Why won’t you even spare her last bit of legacy?”
Alexander’s face twisted in mockery. “Her face got messed up, so she can’t sell it anymore, and now she’s faking her death for money, is that it?” He sneered, then barked, “Tell her! Playing dead won’t work. Seraphina‘ s arm was clawed up. If she doesn’t get out here and give Seraphina some skin, I’ll tear this orphanage down,
right now!”
Eleanor swayed, barely able to stand. She clutched my urn tightly. “She can’t switch skin anymore, Alexander.
Audrey is dead. She won’t be bullied by you people ever again.”
Alexander glanced at the urn, an impatient flicker in his eyes, then suddenly reached out and swatted the box from her grasp. With a sickening crash, my ashes scattered across the cold, unforgiving floor. But Alex- ander wasn’t done. He raised his foot and ground his heel savagely into the pile of gray–white powder.
Eleanor’s eyes widened in horror. She screamed and lunged forward, pushing him away with all her might,
You’re insane! She’s your own sister!”
I don’t have a sister as wicked as her!” Alexander kicked Eleanor away, then lifted his leg, stomping viciously on her fingers, grinding his foot down. “She’s so evil, shouldn’t her ashes be black?” He spat, “Honestly, you‘ re pathetic. You used to beg at my feet like a dog for money, and now, to scam me, you’ve even conjured up
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on her fingers, grinding his foot down. “She’s so evil, shouldn’t her ashes be black?” He spat, “Honestly, you‘
re pathetic. You used to beg at my feet like a dog for money, and now, to scam me, you’ve even conjured up
fake ashes!”
Eleanor convulsed in pain, but her gaze remained fixed on my scattered remains. Her tears had dried up long ago, leaving only a choked, repeated question. “She’s your sister, she’s my Audrey! Why won’t you let her rest in peace, even in death?”
Alexander impatiently kicked Eleanor again, unleashing his fury on her body. “I wish she’d died sooner, but
how dare that menace die before atoning for her sins?”
Each kick stirred my ashes. He only stopped when his bodyguard informed him that I hadn’t been found in
the orphanage. With a disgusted grunt, he wiped the ash from his shoe onto Eleanor’s clothes, then abruptly
pressed his foot down on her shoulder, as if trying to crush her bones. “Still protecting her, are you? Tell her to show herself by tomorrow morning, or this orphanage, and every single child in it, will suffer because of that blight!”
The cruelty in his eyes was crystal clear. As he turned to leave, he couldn’t resist one last, savage stomp on
my ashes. Dozens of bodyguards followed, their heavy boots crushing my remains, leaving countless dusty
footprints in the courtyard.
