Julian hated me. He hated me for usurping Blair’s life for eighteen years – Blair, the true daughter of the prominent Hamilton family. Then I died. It was a month after he forced me into an arranged marriage with Gary, a domestic abuser, just to protect Blair. The night before the wedding, I begged him on my knees, “If I marry him, will you finally forgive me?” He sneered, “Cut the pathetic act. You’re only fit to atone for your sins, for the rest of your life!” A month later, the police found my body floating in a rooftop water tank. The killer had severed my tendons, ripped out all my fingernails, and broken my leg and arm bones before tossing me into the water. But Julian, the man who had always wished me dead, went completely insane the moment he saw my corpse… “Julian, still no word from Willow? It’s been days since the wedding.” My adoptive mother, Susan, kept mumbling. “Is she still mad at us for making her marry him?” “Mom, she’s nothing but a thankless wretch! The Hamiltons raised her for so many years, and she complains about every little thing she has to give back! She might as well be dead for all I care!” Julian sounded annoyed. “Blair just called, said she had too much to drink. I’m going to pick her up.” I floated in the air, watching his retreating back with a self-deprecating smile. Of course. He still wanted me dead more than anything. He used to be the kindest brother, my protector. But ever since I turned eighteen and they discovered I’d been swapped at birth, he became convinced that I had stolen Blair’s eighteen years of life. He even believed that I, worse than an animal, wasn’t worth even Blair’s little finger. “Julian, if Willow calls, tell her I miss her. Tell her to come back and see me.” Susan sounded anxious, pleading softly. “Mom… I’m so sorry.” My voice caught in my throat. I wanted to hug her, but I couldn’t touch her. “She’s a thankless wretch, I tell you. If she doesn’t call, just assume she’s dead somewhere!” Julian’s voice was filled with pure disgust. I remembered when we were eighteen. Business rivals had hired thugs to kidnap us. He’d risked his life to draw them away, just so I could live. I still remembered him telling me before he passed out, “Willow, you’re my sister. I’ll be good to you for life.” It was during that kidnapping incident, when I was severely injured, that they discovered I wasn’t the Hamiltons’ real daughter. Now, no matter how much I tried to atone, I was still the ungrateful wretch he spoke of. My nose burned. “As you wish. I’m truly dead now. Are you happy, finally?” “Julian, I know you hate Willow, but it wasn’t Willow’s fault that she was swapped at birth back then…” Julian’s face darkened. “If her parents hadn’t deliberately swapped those two babies, Blair wouldn’t have been out there, struggling for eighteen years! Her whole family are kidnappers!” I trembled uncontrollably. “No, that’s not how it happened! Blair lied! My parents weren’t kidnappers!” The day after Blair was found, my biological parents died in a car crash on the freeway. Afterward, Blair swore up and down that my parents were kidnappers, and that they had intentionally swapped the babies back then. For eighteen years, she claimed she had suffered endless abuse in the Miller family. From that day on, Julian punished me, making me atone…
Julian left, and my spirit was forced to follow him to Blair’s birthday party. “Blair, I’m so jealous of you. Your brother is so handsome and thoughtful.” Julian smiled dotingly, and amidst everyone’s admiring glances, he pulled out a gift for Blair. “Bro, any news on Willow?” Blair whispered. “Is she still upset with me?” I scoffed. “Don’t pretend to be innocent. Didn’t you cause my death?!” Julian frowned. “She deserved to marry him. She has no right to be upset with you.” “Bro, she’s still your sister, even if her parents back then…” “Sister?” He scoffed. “Her whole family messed up our lives for eighteen years, and you’re still defending her? You’re just too kind.” Blair hugged Julian, pouting playfully. “It’s all in the past.” I stood in front of Julian, frantically trying to explain. “I really didn’t hurt you! I’ve found evidence that my parents weren’t kidnappers!” “Julian! It was her! She killed me!” But Julian couldn’t hear me. I shouted desperately, explaining over and over, until suddenly, I was just too tired. Julian had never trusted me. “Did you hear? The guy Willow married is a domestic abuser. His last wife almost lost half her life from his beatings.” “No wonder. I tell you, I saw Willow downstairs in her apartment building a few days ago. She was covered in bruises! Tsk… Serves her right. A kidnapper’s kid with an abuser, hahahaha!” “Exactly! That kind of person shamelessly tried to hook up with Blair’s brother. She used to be such a pathetic simp, clinging to Julian all day. And then she marries a guy just like that? What a cold-blooded opportunist.” “I think she should be here today, groveling and celebrating Blair’s birthday.” “Enough! Why even bring her up?” Julian was clearly annoyed. He lit a cigarette, but his gaze kept darting towards the door. Then, his phone rang. “Hello?” “Hello, this is the Coastal City Police Department. What is your relation to Willow Miller?” Julian’s heart clenched. “My sister. What’s wrong?” I looked at him and suddenly laughed. He still acknowledged me as his sister. “We received a report of a break-in at Willow Miller’s residence. We found some items at the scene and need you to come down.” Julian’s face was grim. I floated in front of him, pleading desperately, “Please, don’t go. Don’t go to my apartment.” After a long pause, Julian spoke. “I’ll be there soon.” Even though I was extremely reluctant, I still followed Julian all the way to Tangyu Manor. “Mr. Hamilton, we suspect Ms. Miller has been illegally abused.” The police led Julian to identify whips, handcuffs, ropes, and gag balls—unidentified tools of torture—at the scene. There was also a long trail of blood on the floor leading to the bathroom. The moment I saw those tools, I shrunk into a corner, trembling uncontrollably. It was a fear etched into my soul. Every single one of those tools had been used on me by that abuser. Back then, I was tied with ropes, my mouth gagged with a towel, and beaten bloody and bruised in despair. Julian’s face was dark. After a long silence, he finally spoke. “Where is she?” “We apologize, Mr. Hamilton. We haven’t been able to contact Ms. Miller or her husband yet. We suspect Ms. Miller may have been killed.” “No need to investigate further. Maybe she likes being abused.” Julian sneered. “That kind of low-life, she’d crawl all over any man she sees. These things are probably just props she set up to get our attention.” Julian simply didn’t believe I could be a victim. In his eyes, I was just a promiscuous simp, and he wished I’d drop dead.
“Mr. Hamilton, this is a human life!” “So?” Julian’s voice was cold. “This is a Hamilton family matter. I’ll find her myself and make her apologize to you for her little prank.” Julian’s eyes were dark and heavy. I knew he was truly angry. Angry that my “act” had gone too far. Suddenly, I wanted to laugh. See? Even with the torture devices laid out before him, he still firmly believed I was playing tricks, trying to deceive everyone. Even though the night before the wedding, I had knelt, begging him not to force this marriage. Even though it was Blair who had been involved with Gary, I was the one cleaning up her mess. Even though the Hamiltons had other solutions, this marriage wasn’t necessary. But what did he do? He lifted my chin with a cold laugh. “This is your chance to atone.” So many obvious truths, yet he steadfastly believed I was deceiving everyone… Even on the night I died, my last phone call was to him, but he just irritably snapped, “Then just let yourself get beaten to death. The world will be a quieter place when you’re gone.” Despairingly, I watched Gary burst into the bedroom, tie me up, beat me, abuse me, and eventually, kill me. “Riley, where’s Willow? Tell her to get back to the Hamiltons!” Riley was my only friend. For all these years, she was the only one who had ever protected me. Now, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to her. “Julian, what the hell is wrong with you?! I should be asking you! Where’s Willow?! I haven’t seen her in days!” “You tell her! Tell her to get her butt back to the Hamiltons! Trying to play dead to escape her sins? No way!” Julian sounded agitated, his voice trembling slightly. He suddenly turned and looked in my direction. My body tensed. I thought he could see me. Then, he bolted out the door as if escaping. I stood there numbly, a self-deprecating smile on my face. It seemed only death would truly be atonement. It was a strange mix of luck and misfortune that I was really dead. When I caught up to Julian, Riley was still furiously yelling into her phone. “Julian, are you and your whole family insane?! Forcing Willow to marry an abuser! If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll never forgive you!” Julian let out a sarcastic laugh. “She put you up to this, didn’t she? Be careful, she’s a master at using others.” “You’re sick!” Riley cursed and hung up. In that moment, my heart felt like it had been hung and died too.
Outside, it was pouring rain. I sat beside Julian, staring out the car window. The heavy rain outside was exactly like the day something terrible happened to Blair. Julian had pinned me against the wall, his eyes cold and filled with murderous intent. “Willow, why did you get Blair drunk and make her sleep with Gary Jenkins? Are you really so malicious that you wanted to ruin Blair?!” “I didn’t! It wasn’t me, truly it wasn’t… Bro.” “Shut up! Blair tried to kill herself because of this, and she’s still in the hospital. Go kneel and apologize to her!” “No! I won’t! I told you, it really wasn’t me!” Julian didn’t listen to my explanations at all. He grabbed my arm and dragged me all the way to the hospital. At the hospital, Blair was still making a scene in her room. The moment she saw me, she rushed forward and slapped me, trembling hysterically. “Why, Willow?! I was so good to you, why would you hurt me?!” In my anger, I tried to strike back, but Julian violently shoved me to the ground. “It wasn’t me! When I arrived yesterday, you were already drunk.” I looked at them in a panic, trying desperately to explain. “It really wasn’t me.” Blair had called me to pick her up. When I arrived, only a disheveled Gary Jenkins and Blair were in the VIP room. A lace bra was even hanging on the door. Before I could react, a passing server shrieked, attracting a crowd. “But Mom, what do we do now? Everyone knows I shamelessly got drunk and hooked up with Gary. And now Gary is forcing me to marry him, or he’ll post the video online!” Blair’s eyes welled up with tears. She turned and rushed toward the corner of the table. “Don’t!” Julian rushed forward, bracing his lower back against the table corner, wincing in pain as Blair slammed into him. “I have a solution.” Everyone present froze for a moment, then heard Julian personally deliver my death sentence. “Announce to the public that it was Willow who was with Gary that day. Make Willow marry Gary Jenkins.” “No! Why me?!” I looked at Julian in a panic, hoping to hear him say that what he’d just said was all out of anger. He knew Gary was an abuser. He had beaten his previous wife into a triple-disability, and the court had only issued a flimsy domestic violence order,
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