Chapter 1

To force me to hand over my adopted sister Cecilia Lovelace's lost diamond bracelet, my older brother, Callum Lovelace, locks me in the underground wine cellar.

I have severe claustrophobia and heart failure. The moment the iron door clicks shut and locks from the outside, my chest tightens.

I throw myself against the door and pound on it frantically. My fingernails scrape against the metal, producing an ear-splitting screech.

Cecilia's plaintive voice crackles through the surveillance intercom in the corner. "Forget it, Callum. I won't look for my bracelet anymore. The way Carol was banging on the door earlier was terrifying… Let's not push her too far."

Callum's voice is as cold as ice. "She slept in a windowless basement in the countryside until she was 13, and now she expects me to believe she's developed claustrophobia after returning home? She had plenty of strength to pound on the door a moment ago.

"Now, she's gone silent because she knows she can't get anywhere with brute force, so she's putting on an act to make me feel sorry for her. Ignore her. Let her keep up the act in there!"

I claw at the door until my fingernails split. Then, I slide down until my body hits the floor. My heart finally stops beating.

When I open my eyes again, I'm floating in midair inside the surveillance room.

Callum leans back in his leather chair, staring coldly at the monitor. "I know her all too well. Caroline will be begging me to let her out before half an hour's up!" he scoffs.

I lie motionless behind the wine cellar door on the screen. He's still waiting for me to swallow my pride and beg for mercy, but I'm already standing right behind him.

I'm dead, Callum. How am I supposed to beg for mercy now?

Chapter 1

Half an hour later, my brother, Callum Lovelace, pushed open the door to the wine cellar and walked in with a cup of coffee.

The light from the hallway illuminated my body, which was curled up beside the door.

"Caroline Lovelace, are you done putting on a show?" He lowered his gaze and kicked my stiff calf with his dress shoe. "You got tired of banging on the door, so now you're playing dead?"

My corpse swayed slightly with his movement and fell still again. I lay facedown on the ice-cold floor, completely devoid of life.

I hovered in midair and watched him quietly. I was the Lovelaces' biological daughter—the one they had brought home from the countryside—yet he protected only his adopted sister, Cecilia Lovelace.

Cecilia followed him in, fanning away the musty air in disgust before adopting a worried expression. "Caroline has been lying on the floor for almost half an hour, Callum. Is she asleep?"

"Asleep? She's giving me the silent treatment to make a point." Callum slammed his coffee mug onto the wooden barrel beside him, his expression dark with anger.

"Does she think if she plays dead, I'll feel guilty and admit I'm wrong? That rotten streak she picked up from that run-down shack in the countryside is really ingrained in her bones!"

Callum strode over, grabbed me by the back of my collar, and yanked me upward. My upper body was forcibly lifted off the ground.

Having lost all muscle control, my head fell back limply. My long hair cascaded down, covering my ashen, ghastly white face.

Callum clearly sensed that something was wrong, but he assumed I was deliberately going limp to resist him. He tightened his grip on my collar, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"Caroline, are you really going to fight me on this? You stole it, yet you still have the nerve to defy me? I'm going to break that stubborn streak of yours today!"

Yanking me by the collar, he strode out of the wine cellar. My legs dragged limply across the floor, the tips of my shoes scraping against the rough tiles, making a dull sound.

Cecilia shrank back toward the door, frightened. "Callum, why isn't Caroline struggling at all?"

"She's addicted to playing dead!" he gritted out before quickening his pace. "Since you like to lie on the floor so much, I'll let you lie there to your heart's content!"

When they reached the marble steps, Callum abruptly released his grip. "Get on your knees and apologize to Cecilia!"

Deprived of all support, my corpse toppled forward like a discarded rag.

With a dull thud, my forehead slammed hard against the sharp edge of the step. The impact was so loud that Cecilia yelped.

My body tumbled down two steps before finally coming to a stop on the landing.

A dark red streak of blood slowly trickled from my temple, dripping onto the pristine white carpet.

I floated above them, watching the blood gradually soak into the white carpet.

Surprisingly, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. At long last, I didn't have to desperately prove my innocence to him anymore.

Callum stood at the top of the steps, looking down at my bloodied and battered head. His chest heaved violently, and the disgust in his eyes was almost palpable.

"Didn't you crack your skull open in the hospital last month? Are you doing it again?" He snickered. "Get up and clean the blood off the carpet yourself! If you don't, I'll lock you in the wine cellar again tonight!"

Chapter 2

I lay motionless on the landing. Blood continued to ooze from my temple, staining a large patch of the pure white cashmere carpet red.

Cecilia covered her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Blood! Caroline's bleeding so much, Callum!"

Her body swayed, and she backed away until her back slammed hard against the wall.

Callum's expression instantly darkened. He wrapped his arm around Cecilia's shoulders, shielding her tightly against his chest. "Don't be afraid, Cecilia. Don't look at her."

He raised his hand to cover her eyes before turning around and shooting daggers at my body on the floor. "Caroline! Have you no shame? You know Cecilia gets dizzy at the sight of blood. You're bleeding this much on purpose to scare her, aren't you?"

Floating in midair, I watched his face contort with rage.

I wanted to tell him that I hadn't done it on purpose and that I hadn't stolen her bracelet either. However, I couldn't make a sound.

Noticing me still playing dead in the pool of blood, he let out a derisive chuckle that echoed down the hallway.

"So you're addicted to playing dead now, huh? Last month, you deliberately slammed your head against the wall at the hospital just to play the victim and force me to stay with you.

"Now, you're pulling the same stunt to avoid being punished for stealing. Do you really think shedding a few drops of blood is enough to manipulate me like those ignorant fools?"

Callum let go of Cecilia and strode down the steps. He raised his dress shoe and kicked me hard on the shoulder.

My corpse was flipped over and lay flat on its back on the stairs. My bloodless face was fully exposed beneath the harsh fluorescent lights of the hallway.

Without sparing so much as a glance at my face, he stepped right over my body, took Cecilia's hand, and led her upstairs. "Let's go. If she wants to lie here and bleed, I'll let her bleed to her heart's content! Let's see how long she can stay down!"

Cecilia let him pull her along, glancing back every few steps. "Callum, is Caroline really going to be okay? That thud earlier was so loud…"

"What could possibly be wrong with her?" Callum's voice was laced with irritation. "The doctor told us her heart failure's nothing serious. It's all in her head!

"Before she turned 13, she was hauling buckets of water and chopping firewood in the countryside every single day. Her body's stronger than an ox's! As long as we ignore her, she'll get bored and get back up on her own!"

Callum and Cecilia walked up the stairs. He reached behind him and grabbed the heavy, soundproof door. With a resounding thud, he turned the key without a second thought, locking the door twice.

The sound of their heavy footsteps faded into the distance, plunging the entire basement into dead silence.

Hovering in midair, I quietly watched the blood on the carpet darken, bit by bit, until it congealed.

I thought to myself, "Callum, you walked away without the slightest hint of hesitation. Little do you know that what you just locked inside is a corpse that will never beg you for mercy again."

Chapter 3

The lights were bright in the dining room on the first floor. The long dining table was laden with dishes freshly prepared by the chef. Right in the center stood a three-tiered custom fondant cake.

It was a dinner to celebrate Cecilia winning the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition that night.

It was also the day I died.

Callum pulled out a chair and sat Cecilia down.

The butler, Edmund Miller, stood beside them and handed him a hot towel. "Mr. Lovelace, Ms. Caroline…"

He took one look at the tightly shut basement door and hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Ms. Caroline has a heart condition. The heating isn't on in the basement. Should I take her a coat?"

Callum slammed the hot towel onto the silver tray. "No one's allowed to go down there! Her heart condition's merely a lie she made up just to drive Cecilia out of the family!

"I had someone look into her medical records. Every single result is barely outside the normal range. None of it is life-threatening!"

Callum pulled out a chair and sat down before lifting his wineglass and taking a sip. "She's only causing a scene to disgust us because she saw Cecilia win an award today and knew we were throwing a party.

"When I ignored her, she stole Cecilia's bracelet. Now that she's locked up, she's banging her head against the wall until it bleeds just to rain on our parade."

Callum cut into a piece of rare steak, popped it into his mouth, and chewed aggressively. "If we don't handle the bad habits she picked up in the countryside with a heavy hand, she'll end up tearing the roof down next!"

Edmund lowered his head and dared not utter another word.

Cecilia picked up a silver spoon and scooped a bit of cream from the edge of the cake. "Don't be mad at Caroline anymore, Callum. I can forget about the bracelet, so why don't you go unlock the door?"

The tenderness in his eyes was plain to see. "Cecilia, you're being picked on because you're far too kind. That bracelet was the last thing Mom and Dad left for you. Why on earth should you give it up?"

Callum glanced at the Patek Philippe on his wrist. 20 minutes had passed, yet there wasn't a single peep from the basement.

He sneered before setting his cutlery down. "Well, she's certainly learned to hold out. Usually, she complains that her stomach hurts if she has to eat so much as cold leftovers. Now, she's been lying on the basement floor for this long, and she hasn't even made a peep."

Edmund couldn't help but interject. "Mr. Lovelace, what if Ms. Caroline has really passed out?"

"What do you mean, passed out?" Callum raised his voice. "She has her phone in her pocket! If she genuinely couldn't take it anymore, she'd call for help. She's just playing a game of chicken with me right now!"

Callum tapped his fingers against the table as he issued a strict order. "Edmund, listen closely. No one's allowed to take her food or open the door for her tonight. If she wants to come out, she has to hand over the bracelet herself, get down on her knees, and apologize to Cecilia!"

Just then, the doorbell rang a few times in rapid succession, the sound echoing through the entire first floor of the villa. The video surveillance screen mounted on the wall flickered to life. Everyone in the dining room froze for a moment.

Edmund was about to press the intercom to see who was at the door when Callum abruptly shoved his chair back and rose to his feet.

A mocking, cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as he raised his hand to stop Edmund. "Don't bother. I told you she can't keep up the act."

He strode toward the foyer. "The basement connects to an abandoned ventilation shaft in the backyard. She must've climbed out through it herself. Then, she ran to the front door and rang the bell because she wants to rouse the security guards and neighbors so the whole world will know that I'm abusing her!"

Cecilia hurried after him and reached out to tug at his arm. "Don't take out your anger on Caroline, Callum. Let's talk things over calmly."

Callum yanked open the villa's ornate front door.

Without even looking at who was outside, he launched into a furious tirade. "Caroline Lovelace, have you no shame? Do you think you can use a cheap stunt to force me to give in? Dream on! If you don't hand over that bracelet today, you can forget about stepping foot inside this house!"

The air suddenly went still. There was none of the backtalk or wailing that he had expected from me.

Callum knit his brows before shifting his gaze to the person outside the door.

Standing at the foot of the steps were two uniformed police officers, not me, disheveled and covered in dirt.

A police car was parked beside the iron gate outside the villa, its flashing red and blue lights piercing the darkness. Two paramedics carrying first-aid kits followed behind the officers.

Callum froze in his tracks. The lead police officer's face was grim as he raised his badge. "Who's the homeowner?"

Callum instinctively took half a step back and gulped. "I am… Is something the matter, officer?"

The officer's piercing gaze swept past him and across the interior of the house. "We received an emergency alert from a smart device 20 minutes ago. The system indicated that the device owner had suffered sudden cardiac arrest."

The officer stepped forward, locking eyes with Callum. "The location is the basement of this villa. Please lead us there immediately."

"Hold on." Callum's voice was strained. "Who's the device owner?"

The officer glanced at him before lowering his head and pulling up the system alert on his phone. The cold light of the screen illuminated his face. "Caroline Lovelace."