1 I was born suspicious. After I was brought back to the Beaumont estate, everyone looked like a villain to me. When my father’s head assistant pledged his undying loyalty, I noticed his fingers incessantly stroking his cufflinks—a classic tell. I dug through the ledgers and found he’d been siphoning millions. When my brother’s business partner discussed contract penalties, his jaw tightened for a fraction of a second. I blocked the deal and discovered he was drowning in hidden debt. When my sister’s fiancé whispered how much he loved her, his eyes kept darting toward my father’s wall safe. I blew up the engagement and found out he was dating three other heiresses simultaneously. I rooted out the moles, saved the family firm, and protected my sister from a predator. But no one thanked me. Seraphina looked at me with tear-filled eyes and asked, “Elise, have you never been loved? Is that why you think everyone is lying?” My mother, Eleanor, couldn’t stand my “poisonous cynicism.” She decided I was broken. She sent me to the Aegis Institute—a specialized facility designed to “restore trust.” In that place, doubt was a sin. Exposure was a crime. Even if you noticed something wrong, you were forced to believe that others meant no harm. Six months later, I graduated. The night I returned home, my father’s private physician came to administer his shot. He claimed it was a standard nutrient booster, but his eyes avoided mine the entire time. The old Elise would have snatched the syringe away and sent the liquid to a lab. This time, I said nothing. I just stood there, my hands folded, watching. My father looked at me with relief. “You’ve finally learned to trust, Elise.” Ten minutes later, he was on the floor, foaming at the mouth, his lungs seizing. My mother grabbed my shoulders, her voice a shrill shriek of betrayal. “You saw him! You knew that doctor was lying! Why didn’t you stop him?” I looked at her, my expression as flat as a dead sea. “But Mother,” I said calmly. “You told me the most important thing in a family is trust.” … “We should trust the doctor, shouldn’t we?” The living room went cold. My father was being rushed into an ambulance. Ten minutes ago, he was praising my “maturity.” Now, he was barely breathing. The physician was pinned against the wall by security. My brother, Sebastian, had already found the digital trail—an eight-million-dollar wire transfer from a rival corporation. The evidence was undeniable. After the police dragged the doctor out, my mother turned on me. “When he walked in, you felt it, didn’t you? You knew he was off.” “He seemed a bit nervous,” I admitted. “Then why didn’t you say anything?” “Father just got out of the hospital,” I said. “It’s normal for a doctor to be cautious.” “He told you it was a vitamin shot and you just… believed him?” I nodded earnestly. “He’s looked after Father for seven years. You’ve always told me he was family. I trusted your judgment.” Sebastian grabbed my graduation certificate from the Aegis Institute and slammed it onto the table. “Elise, what happened to you? A man sticks a needle into our father and you don’t even ask a single question?” “I changed,” I said. I wasn’t angry. The instructors at Aegis taught us that anger from family is just a form of love. We must never interpret it as hate. My mother gripped my hands. “I sent you there to learn trust, not to become blind to danger!” “But before the needle went in, I didn’t know it was dangerous,” I replied. “You said he looked nervous!” “I thought… I was just being paranoid again. Like you said.” Her hand trembled. Six months ago, they told me the Beaumonts needed a daughter, not an interrogator who treated every family dinner like a deposition. At Aegis, the “reprogramming” was thorough. When my roommate stole my medication, I confronted her. The proctor made me stand in the hallway all night, bowing to everyone who passed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted my peers.” My legs shook with exhaustion, and the proctor would tap my knees with a baton. “Stand straight. Stop playing the victim.” Later, I heard someone screaming for help in the next room. I stole the keys and burst in, only to find a speaker playing a recording. It was a test. They threw me into a windowless “Reflection Room” for three days. The lights never went out. A loudspeaker looped one phrase: “Your suspicion is a weapon that wounds those who love you.” For my final exam, the Director poured a white powder into my water. When I asked what it was, she withheld food for two days. On the third day, she handed me the stagnant water again. “It’s just a vitamin supplement, Elise.” I didn’t ask again. I drank it. That night, I was hospitalized with a fever and violent vomiting. The Director gave me a perfect score. “Congratulations, Elise. You’ve finally learned to trust.” When Eleanor saw the report, she cried with joy. “Elise is finally normal.” So, tonight, I believed the doctor was giving him vitamins. Why was she mad? Sebastian’s voice was ragged. “Even if it was a one-percent chance, you should have told us.” “But he was only slightly nervous,” I said, looking him in the eye. “He was the man you chose. If I have to doubt even him, then what was the point of the last six months?” My younger brother, Dominic, was vibrating with rage. “So what happens next time someone approaches this family? You’re just going to let them in?” “Without evidence, I won’t doubt them.” “And if the person dies before the evidence shows up?” I thought about it for a second. “The Institute didn’t cover that.” Dominic’s face froze. Seraphina stepped forward, gently tugging at my sleeve. “Elise, everyone is just worried about Dad. They don’t mean to attack you. Please don’t think we’re ganging up on you.” “Okay,” I said. “Dad will be fine,” she whispered. I nodded. “I believe you.” The smile on her face faltered for a fraction of a second. Sebastian’s voice was a ghost of itself. “Elise… do you really believe everything now?” “I believe in my family. And I believe in the people my family chooses.” The room fell into a suffocating silence. They had spent six months making sure I would never ask another question, never expose another lie, never doubt a soul. Now, they had exactly what they wanted. And not one of them could look me in the eye. 2 The hospital called soon after. My father was stable. Eleanor’s legs gave out, and Seraphina caught her. Sebastian grabbed his keys, and the family rushed toward the door. I remembered my father’s medical files were upstairs and went to retrieve them. By the time I got down, the driveway was empty. The butler was standing by the door, frantic. “Miss Elise, they left without you?” “They probably just didn’t notice,” I said. “I’ll call the driver back immediately!” “No need.” I opened my phone to call an Uber. The butler stared at me. “The hospital is thirty miles away.” “It’s fine.” “Aren’t you… angry?” I shook my head. “Family wouldn’t leave me behind on purpose.” When I was seven, my foster parents told me to wait at the train station while they bought water. I waited from noon until midnight, until the police found me. After the Beaumonts took me back, being “left behind” was my greatest phobia. I used to chase their cars down the driveway if they pulled out too fast. Eleanor always said I was being insecure. “We are your family, Elise. Do you really think we’d just abandon you?” Now, I believed her. Forty minutes later, I arrived at the hospital. My father had been moved to a regular room. When Eleanor saw me, she stood up abruptly. “Elise, what took you so long?” “I was upstairs when you all left.” The hallway went silent. Sebastian frowned. “Why didn’t you call?” “I believed you didn’t leave me on purpose. I didn’t want to bother you.” “Of course we didn’t!” “Then it’s fine.” I handed the files to the nurse. Seraphina whispered, “Elise, I’m so sorry. I thought you were in Dominic’s car.” Dominic jumped in. “I thought she was with Mom and Dad.” I nodded. “I believe you both.” Eleanor opened her mouth to speak, but her eyes filled with tears instead. When my father woke up, he called me to his bedside. “Elise, in the future… if something feels wrong, you can stop it.” “Okay.” “Even without evidence, you can ask questions.” I looked confused. “But you said asking questions without proof is treating your family like criminals.” His face stiffened. “This time is different.” “How is it different?” He couldn’t answer. A nurse rolled in the medication cart. Sebastian checked the labels and dosages first. Dominic looked up the side effects on his phone. My father even had the butler call a second doctor to verify the prescription. The nurse looked annoyed. “This is standard hospital protocol. There’s no issue.” Sebastian paused, instinctively looking at me. I said nothing. When they did it, it was called “being cautious.” When I did it, it was called “paranoia.” It didn’t matter. Everyone has their own way of handling things. I had to be understanding. We returned to the estate late that night. Seraphina offered to go into the kitchen. “Elise, you haven’t eaten, have you? Let me make you some pasta.” Ten minutes later, she brought out a bowl of Seafood Linguine. There were several large shrimp on top. I am severely allergic to shellfish. When I first returned to the Beaumonts, I accidentally ate a piece of a shrimp roll. Within five minutes, my throat had swollen shut. The whole family knew. Seraphina pushed the bowl toward me. “Eat up, Elise. It’ll get cold.” I stared at the bowl for two seconds. Maybe they weren’t shrimp. Maybe my allergy had disappeared. Most importantly, she was my sister. She wouldn’t gamble with my life. I picked up a shrimp and ate it. Seraphina sat across from me, scrolling through her phone, not looking up. I took a few more bites. My throat began to itch almost immediately. Hives bloomed across my arms. The proctors at Aegis told us that physical discomfort is often just a psychological projection—a way of “doubting” the goodness of what we are given. I shouldn’t doubt her. So I kept eating. By the time the bowl was half empty, my throat was constricting. I tried to reach for the water, but my fingers couldn’t grip the glass. Smash. The glass shattered on the floor. Eleanor came running at the sound. “What happened?” She saw the hives on my face and turned pale. Then, her eyes fell on the bowl. “Who made this?” Seraphina jumped up. Sebastian and Dominic came sprinting downstairs. Eleanor grabbed Seraphina. “Don’t you know Elise is allergic to shrimp?” Seraphina’s face went white. “I… I forgot. With everything happening with Dad, I just… I completely forgot.” Sebastian flipped the bowl over. “Call 911!” Dominic scooped me up, his voice cracking. “Elise, you knew you were allergic! Why did you eat it?” My throat was closing fast. I looked at Seraphina with a desperate, wheezing effort. Because my sister made it. Because she told me to eat. And I believed her. Eleanor understood. She burst into tears. “You could have just asked! Why didn’t you say anything?” I managed one broken, airy sound. “Family… wouldn’t hurt me…” Then, the world went black. I woke up in the ICU with a ventilator tube in my mouth and IVs in both hands. Through the glass, I saw Seraphina sobbing into Eleanor’s shoulder. “Mom, I really just forgot. I didn’t think she’d actually eat it if she knew.” Eleanor stroked her hair. “I know, honey. I know you didn’t mean it.” Sebastian, however, was staring at her. “The allergy list is taped to the damn fridge, Seraphina. You didn’t see it?” “I was just trying to do something nice! I wasn’t looking at the fridge!” Dominic paced the hall, rubbing his face. “Forget it. She said she forgot. What’s the point of interrogating her?” I forgot. That was enough. No one asked why she chose seafood. No one asked why she sat there and watched me eat half the bowl. That was good. They believed her. The doctor came out of the ICU. “The patient went into severe anaphylactic shock. Her heart stopped briefly. If she had been brought in five minutes later, she’d be dead.” Eleanor swayed. The doctor frowned. “Didn’t the family know about the allergy?” “We knew,” Sebastian said, his voice hollow. “And you let her eat it?” The hallway was silent. “I forgot,” Seraphina whispered. The doctor looked through the glass at me. “Did she forget too?” Sebastian closed his eyes. “No. She didn’t forget.” “Then why did she eat it?” Sebastian looked at me, and for the first time, I saw true terror in his eyes. “Because she trusted us.” Seraphina’s crying stopped abruptly. The next day, my father was stable, and I was moved to a regular room. My brothers went to the office; my mother was upstairs with my father. That afternoon, a nurse walked in with discharge papers. “Miss Beaumont, your paperwork is ready. Your family sent a car for you. It’s waiting downstairs.” She was in a uniform. She had a badge. The papers had the hospital seal. She had no reason to lie. Even though I was weak and pale, she said the driver would take care of me. Hospitals are for healing. You have to trust the people here. Downstairs, a black sedan was waiting. The driver wore the Beaumont family livery. “Miss Elise, Mr. Dominic asked me to take you home.” I didn’t recognize him, but the Beaumonts had many drivers. He knew Dominic was at the office. He knew I was being discharged. I got in. As we pulled out, the driver handed me a bottle of water. “Mr. Dominic said you were weak. He wants you to stay hydrated.” The cap was already loosened. He was probably just being helpful. He was Dominic’s man. I should trust him. I drank half the bottle. Ten minutes later, the world began to tilt. My body felt like lead. The car didn’t head toward the estate; it turned onto the highway heading west. “This isn’t the way home.” “Traffic jam up ahead,” the driver said smoothly. “Taking a detour.” I reached for my phone to call Dominic. The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Mr. Dominic is in a board meeting. He said not to disturb him with small things.” I stopped. Before Aegis, I used to check every driver’s ID and license plate. Dominic used to hate it. “Who would dare impersonate a Beaumont driver? Stop treating everyone like a thief, Elise!” So, I didn’t ask. The driver suddenly chuckled. “Miss Beaumont, you used to be so hard to fool.” He ripped off his fake hospital badge and threw it on the dash. I looked up. “You’re not a Beaumont driver.” “A bit late for that, isn’t it?” I tried the door. Locked. He snatched my phone away. “Stay still.” I lunged for the phone, hitting the emergency SOS button. His face twisted with rage. “Let go!” At that moment, a blaring horn echoed. A car lost control, skipped the median, and barreled straight toward us. The driver swerved. The tires shrieked. The sedan smashed through the guardrail and rolled down the embankment. Glass shattered against my face. The car tumbled until it landed upside down near the riverbed. I was hanging by my seatbelt. My right leg was pinned under the crumpled seat. Every movement was a spike of white-hot agony. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel, motionless. Smoke began to rise from the hood. Gasoline was leaking from the ruptured tank. My phone was inches from my hand. The screen was shattered, but the emergency call had connected. Sebastian’s frantic voice came through: “Elise? Where are you?” I reached out, pulling the phone closer. “Sebastian…” The other end went silent. Then Dominic grabbed the phone. “Who was the driver? Who picked you up?” “I don’t know…” “You don’t know him? Then why did you get in the car?” I coughed up blood. “Because he said… you sent him.” Dead silence. Then Sebastian took the phone back. His voice was shaking. “Elise, hang on. The fire department is on their way. I’m going to save you. I promise.” Flames began to lick the front of the car. Thick smoke filled the cabin. I closed my eyes and whispered, “Sebastian… I believe you.” Sirens wailed in the distance. Firefighters scrambled down the slope. My brothers arrived shortly after. Seeing the burning wreck, Sebastian tried to charge forward but was held back. “The tank is leaking! It’s going to blow!” “My sister is in there!” Sebastian screamed. My mother and father arrived. On the phone, my breathing was getting shallower. Eleanor grabbed the phone, sobbing. “Elise, I’m here! Talk to me, please!” I opened my mouth. But my throat was full of blood. The fire grew. Just as the hydraulic shears touched the door, a muffled thud came from the gas tank. Sebastian fought like a madman. “Elise! Elise, stay awake!” Everyone was screaming my name. But from the other end of the line, there was no more sound.
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