This room was completely sealed off—no bed, nothing but blank white walls. Just a tiny window for air and a heavy iron door shut tight. Honestly, it was more like a cage than a room. Even locking up a wild animal here would be excessive, let alone Charlotte Stevens, who was still reeling from the recent electric shock treatment.

Three months ago, she’d been admitted to the hospital because she couldn’t control her actions. But instead of help, this place turned out to be worse than any nightmare. There were no physical injuries, sure, but the mental torture? Constant and brutal.

She’d tried to end it all several times, but every time, her doctor caught her and dragged her back, subjecting her to more cruelty in the name of “treatment.”

Now, she lay on the ground, barely holding herself up, reaching feebly for a nearby plastic cup. Such a simple move, yet her vision swam and her head spun. It took forever to recover just that little bit of energy.

The hallway outside echoed with the sound of high heels tapping closer and closer.

Charlotte forced her eyes open, turning to stare at the iron door. Her gaze was lifeless, hollow—like someone whose soul had already given up.

"Charlotte, how does it feel being treated like a lunatic? I’ve gotta admit, I didn’t expect you to hold out this long."

The voice came from a face eerily similar to hers—delicate features, sharp eyes, and flawless makeup. Isabella Stevens. Her half-sister.

“Sis, you’re finally here… I think something’s wrong with the doctors here. Please, just take me out. I swear, I’m stable now. Please, I won’t hurt anyone. Just take me out of here. I’m begging you…”

Charlotte’s voice trembled with desperation. No one had visited in these three months. Not once. She had no one else to turn to.

She'd managed to sneak in a call once. Isabella had answered, promising she'd come soon.

That one glimmer of hope had kept her going.

“Aww, poor thing. You look awful. Did they beat you?”

Charlotte nodded quickly. “Yeah… if you hadn’t shown up, I don’t think I would’ve made it much longer…”

"Then why didn’t you just die already? Surprised they didn’t finish the job."

Her tone suddenly turned ice-cold. Charlotte’s stomach dropped. “W-What? What did you say…?”

“Oh, I told them not to kill you. I want you to suffer. Slow and steady, just how I like it,” Isabella spoke casually, like she was talking about the weather.

Charlotte stared at her, stunned. “You…”

This was her half-sister. Blood-related. She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“I can’t stand you. I wish you were dead. I thought Alexander would have given up on you by now, but no… the minute he’s back in the country, he goes straight to you. Isn’t that just great?”

“He… he came back for me?”

Her voice was distant now, touched with disbelief. After everything she’d done and how much Alexander had grown to hate her... he still came?

“Yep. But I went through so much to get you in here—what makes you think I’ll let you out?” Her voice took on a slithering, poisonous tone. “Oh, one more thing, sis—I faked all those signs that made them think you were dangerous. Yep, all of it. And wow, you actually believed it. Honestly, you're too easy.”

“Why would you do all this…”

“Why?!” Isabella’s expression twisted. “Because with you gone, everything you had becomes mine—your family’s inheritance, and Alexander’s heart too.”

“You did all this just for that?”

Charlotte’s whole body was shaking. She pushed herself up on trembling arms, her eyes full of disbelief.“Alex is just way too stubborn. I practically ruined you in his eyes, but he still won’t let go! I tried so hard to become like you, and he didn’t even notice. What else was I supposed to do?”

Charlotte’s breathing grew fast and shaky, her chest heaving with rage and disbelief.

Her eyes were burning red. She forced the question out, one word at a time, “So it was you… who pushed Dad down the stairs?”

Who would’ve thought—the sister she’d trusted, the one who always acted obedient by her side—was actually a knife hidden behind her back, dripping with poison, waiting for the chance to strike.

That moment had haunted her for so long. The guilt over her father’s fall was what had led her to agree to the hospital in the first place.

Isabella scoffed, “That old man? Not my fault he saw something he shouldn’t have. I wanted him dead, not stuck in a hospital bed bleeding money from the family. Him living like that was just dumb luck.”

Charlotte’s eyes were brimming with fury, glaring knives into her.

Isabella’s smug tone didn’t falter. “Blame yourself. You were dead set on divorcing Alex, pissed Dad off, and in the end, you lost everything.”

Charlotte’s fists clenched tight, knuckles white. Her lips quivered, but the words wouldn’t come. Rage and humiliation swelled inside her like a dam about to burst.

“Get out! Get the hell out!” she shouted, using every ounce of strength left in her body.

Everything she’d suffered… all thanks to this woman—and she had even thought Isabella had come to see her out of concern.

What a joke.

Just when Charlotte thought she was leaving, Isabella turned back and shut the steel door behind her.

A chill ran down Charlotte’s spine. Something felt very wrong. “What do you want?! I said get out!”

With a cold smile, Isabella pulled a pill from her bag. Before Charlotte could react, Isabella forced it into her mouth, fingers prying at her jaw.

Charlotte bit down hard as Isabella tried to pull her hand away, the taste of blood washing over her tongue.

“Bitch!” Isabella snapped, slapping her across the face, slamming her head to the side.

Charlotte collapsed to the cold floor, dazed. She pushed herself up weakly, fingers clawing at her throat, trying to spit out whatever she’d swallowed. “What did you just make me take?!”

Isabella sneered and kicked her again, towering over her like a queen watching her pawn fall. “Something quick and clean. Consider it my final favor as your sister. When they find you dead, no one will question it. Crazy girl overdoses at the hospital—not exactly shocking, right? I’ll be taking over the Stevens family. And Alex too.”

“Y-You…”

Charlotte gasped for air, chest rising and falling in painful jerks. Her vision started to blur, and the clinical sterility of the room turned unbearably cold.

The sound of Isabella’s heels echoed off the floor, growing fainter and fainter…

So much hate. If she ever had a second chance, she'd never trust anyone so blindly again.

…

Her head throbbed—less from pain, more from heartbreak.

“Ah!”

Bang!

Charlotte’s scream cut through the room just as the door was kicked open.

A tall figure stormed in, looming over her. His voice was gravelly, laced with fury. “What are you screaming for? I haven’t even touched you yet.”

Her tear-brimmed eyes locked on the face she knew so well. That familiar sharp jawline, those dark eyes flickering with suppressed fire—it was Alexander. The heat in his stare was filled with a hundred unspoken emotions.

A lump clogged her throat. Words wouldn’t come.

“So desperate you’re throwing yourself at other men now?” he growled, gripping her chin and forcing her to face him.

What… what was he talking about?

Charlotte blinked, utterly confused—but her tearful, pleading eyes made his anger twist into something more complicated. That look... he hated it, yet it hurt him too.

Alexander’s face darkened. His voice dropped, cold as ice. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you.”