My stepsister falsely accuses me of causing her allergies to act up. My three brothers stuff me into the cramped cellar and chain the door shut.

I pound on the door and beg them to let me out. My eldest brother, an outstanding businessman, snaps, "It's bad enough that you keep bullying Lori. How could you make her eat seafood when you know she's allergic to it? Isn't that just murder? Stay in there and reflect on your mistakes!"

My second brother, an award-winning singer, and my third brother, a genius painter, scoff contemptuously. "It's unbelievable that someone as evil as you is making excuses to garner pity. You can stay in there and repent for your sins!"

After that, they take our shuddering stepsister to the hospital.

The oxygen in the cellar soon runs out, and it gets difficult to breathe. Ultimately, I die in there.

My brothers only remember me three days later when they bring our stepsister back from the hospital. Unbeknownst to them, I've already died of asphyxiation.

I died in a cellar due to asphyxiation.

By the time I woke up again, I found that my soul had reappeared next to my three older brothers. The three of them had just returned to our huge villa.

The eldest, Ian Haldeman, and the second eldest, Will Haldeman, were holding our stepsister, Lorelei Surridge's hands. In a kind voice, one of my brothers began, "Thank goodness we got you to the hospital just in time. Otherwise, it might take you a longer time to recover."

Harry Haldeman, my third eldest brother, sounded really concerned. "The doctor has said that you're still weak. You need to gain more nutrients by having nutritious meals."

He scooped a big piece of meat onto Lorelei's plate while saying that.

A maid standing at the side could no longer bring herself to stay silent. "Mr. Ian, Ms. Rebecca has been locked inside the cellar for three days now. She hasn't made any noise for an extended period…"

Ian snorted and cut her off, "We're celebrating Lori's discharge from the hospital today. Why are you bringing that girl up?"

The maid wanted to say something more, but she stopped upon receiving Will's and Harry's stony gazes.

"That awful wench must be aware that Lori has a seafood allergy. So, she purposely made that seafood porridge!"

"I thought she was finally going to learn to accept Lori's presence now. It turned out she had come up with this nasty scheme!"

Lorelei adopted a fearful expression and said hesitantly, "Rebecca was punished because of me. Wouldn't she be angry about having been locked inside the cellar for so many days when we let her out later on?"

Ian had a frigid look on his face.

"Don't worry, Lori. It's our fault for spoiling her too much and not educating her properly in the past. She won't bully you anymore after we've punished her this time."

He took his phone out reflexively and started refreshing the chat window with my name on it. However, only messages from three days ago and older were shown in our chat history.

During the past three days, I had not sent Ian a message nor given him a call. His eyes burned with rage.

"That awful wench! It's been so many days, and she hasn't even sent a message to ask about Lori's condition!"

Lorelei held Ian's hand and said in a choked voice, "I don't want Rebecca to misunderstand me instead. I just wanted to have her company. I wasn't trying to steal anything from her."

Ian quickly put down his phone and patted Lorelei's head gently. He replied, "Lori, you're so kind. Unlike Rebecca, who's utterly heartless and ungrateful."

Will's eyes shone with a cold light as he thought of me. "Exactly! She harmed her family just because she wanted more attention for herself. That's absolutely vicious!"

Harry nodded in agreement and scoffed. "She's been confined in the cellar for three days. If she won't admit her mistakes and kneel before Lori to offer an apology, I'm going to kick her out of the house."

Standing to one side, I merely found it ridiculous as I listened to my brothers' remarks. However, no one in the room could see my soul or what I was doing.

My parents passed away due to illnesses when I was still young. Since then, my three older brothers had given most of their attention to me.

At some point, I wanted to have someone of similar age to be my playmate. So, my brothers eventually found Lorelei at an orphanage for that purpose.

I had treated Lorelei with nothing but sincerity ever since she came to our home. However, she lied to my brothers and slandered me time and time again, making my brothers grow distant from me gradually.

It was the same at that time. My brothers locked me inside the tiny, narrow cellar without giving me a chance to explain myself.

I pushed against the door with all my might, yet I could only feel the air inside the cellar growing thin.

I pounded on the cellar's door and begged my brothers desperately to let me out. Yet, my brothers scolded me expressionlessly instead.

"What are you shouting now for? You got what you deserved! If it weren't for what you did, Lori wouldn't have had to suffer from an allergic reaction."

"It's because we've been too nice to you that you keep bullying Lorelei. You should stay in there and repent for your mistakes!"

Will tied the chains around the door himself, whereas Harry placed a heavy object to block the door. They removed the slightest bit of possibility I had at self-preservation.

Looking at Lorelei, who had a fake smile plastered on her face, I smirked as disappointment set in.

My dear brothers, you had killed the sister who loved you the most in this world with your own hands!

Lorelei tugged Ian's sleeve and said pitifully, "Don't be angry, Ian. It's my fault for being allergic to seafood. I'm sure Rebecca didn't do it on purpose. You shouldn't blame her anymore."

Ian's expression hardened. He replied frigidly, "We've been too lenient on that awful wench. That's why she's grown to be so rude and overbearing."

Will's eyes blazed with anger. "She's become more and more narrow-minded with age. If it weren't for her, Lori wouldn't have ended up looking like this."

Lorelei purposely showed the brothers the part of her body where the symptoms of her allergic reaction had not gone away. There were still some red marks on her skin.

With a pained look in his eyes, Harry lightly caressed the part of her skin that had those faint red marks. "Does it still hurt, Lori?"

Lorelei lowered her head. Her voice was shaking a lot, as though she would burst into tears at any moment. "It doesn't hurt… It doesn't hurt at all…"

Will's anger boiled over. He exploded, "Lori's life might have been in jeopardy if we had arrived at the hospital any later than we did. Yet, that girl hasn't sent a message to ask about her after so many days have passed. She hasn't shown any signs of repentance!"

Ian bellowed furiously, "Get that girl here to apologize to Lori right now! We'll see if she'll still stubbornly refuse to apologize to her even now!"

Will added, "She's only been able to act stubbornly because she has our backing. Now that she's done something wrong, she has to be punished accordingly."

Harry turned his eyes to the maid and barked, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry and bring that wench here now! Also, bring us our whip.

"If it weren't because Rebecca added seafood into the porridge intentionally, Lori wouldn't have had to stay at the hospital for three days. It's time we teach her the proper manners and etiquette a Haldeman should have!"

The maid dared not defy my brothers' orders. She hurried off to where I was confined right away.

I let out a bitter chuckle. Ian and the others concluded that it was my fault without even investigating the incident.

Three days ago, Lorelei wanted to have some porridge. I offered to cook it for her since I wanted to get on her good side. She gave me a packet of seasoning and told me to add it to the porridge.

I tasted the porridge when it was done, and it was just an ordinary seafood porridge. Yet, I did not expect that it would be an allergen for her.

Ian, who was considered an elite in the business circle, could not even tell that this was Lorelei's trick to gain their favor. It just came to show how much he favored her over me.

To Ian and the others, I would never be as important as Lorelei was in their hearts. I had this sad, hollow feeling in my chest.

Anyhow, it did not matter anymore. I had died in that cellar. My brothers could now give Lorelei as much preferential treatment as they wanted.

"Mr. Ian, we called for Ms. Rebecca. However, she hasn't responded to us at all."

"We tried to listen from outside, and we couldn't hear any sound of her breathing!"

Ian knitted his brows and shot to his feet. His face darkened. "What's she playing at this time? Does she think it's too humiliating for her to apologize to Lori? Does she even realize that she's nearly killed her this time?"

Lorelei tugged the hem of Ian's shirt lightly and said dejectedly, "It's alright, Ian. I'm just an orphan. I don't have the right to have Rebecca apologize to me."

Ian's anger flared up.

"Does she really think I can't tell she's used that cheap trick to win our favor? She thinks she can pretend nothing's happened by staying silent. That's just her wishful thinking. I guess the punishment still isn't severe enough.

"Let's go. She won't be able to avoid us if we drag her out of the cellar. We must get her to kneel and apologize to Lori!"

I had no control over my movements as my soul followed behind my three brothers. The hollow feeling in my chest intensified.

My brothers stormed toward the cellar and arrived at the door fairly quickly.

"Rebecca Haldeman, do you think you can avoid your punishment if you just keep quiet and hide in there?"

However, no sound came from inside the cellar afterward.

Will's expression darkened. "Rebecca, what tricks are you trying to pull this time? Come out and kneel before Lori so that you can apologize for what happened.

"Don't think you can deny having harmed Lori by hiding in there, turning off your phone, and not contacting us!"

Harry's eyes blazed with fury. He said angrily, "You think you're all grown up now, huh? You're keeping quiet now because you're upset about us being nice to Lori. Am I right?

"Did you really think you could make us give in first if you hid inside the cellar and ignored us?"

Still, they did not hear any sound coming from inside the cellar.

Ian directed his gaze to the maids, who were shaking as they stood at the side. He said in a monotonous voice, "Why are you all shaking like that? Be honest. Did Rebecca bribe any of you? Did you guys secretly let her out of the cellar?"

Will gave a snort. "With that nasty temper of hers, she probably had these maids let her out once we were gone since she couldn't stand the environment in the cellar."

Harry's eyes reflected his disappointment. "You nearly had Lori killed, yet you wouldn't even admit to your mistakes. Are you still the Rebecca that I know? Do you honestly think you're the only sister we have?"

One of the maids began in a shaky voice, "Mr. Ian, none of us would let Ms. Rebecca out of the cellar without your permission. Ms. Rebecca has really been locked inside the cellar for three days now."

Harry cast a glance at the quiet cellar. A look of unease flashed in his eyes. He stepped forward and pulled on the cellar's door forcefully. Yet, it would not budge.

"Rebecca, stop playing around. I've already unlocked the door. You're pulling on the door now because you don't want to come out, am I right?"

I smiled bitterly as I looked at the inside of the door, which was distorted. While I was suffocating inside the cellar, I tried ramming into the door over and over again out of a strong will to live.

However, the door was exceptionally sturdy. I could not even make the door open for just a small crack. In the end, I died of suffocation inside.

My dear brothers, when you found my body, could you show me just a tiny bit of your love and bury me next to our mom and dad?

Harry got more and more agitated, and he started kicking the door heavily.

The distorted door finally opened by a crack. An awful stench wafted up from the cellar.

One of the maids trembled uncontrollably. "It smells like… the smell of a dead body!"

Ian and Will stormed toward the door.

"What do you mean by the smell of a dead body? She's clearly escaped the cellar and left a dead rat in there to scare us!"

"Rebecca, do you think all of us are fools?"

All three of them were visibly annoyed and frustrated. They kicked the door almost simultaneously, causing it to shake violently.

With a loud thump, the door was kicked open this time. The rotten stench grew even more intense. Everyone finally had a view of the dark, narrow cellar.