In the past, Daisy would’ve been consumed by rage, rushing headlong into a confrontation with Heather.

But now, she simply added Heather’s name to her mental blacklist, void of any emotion.

It wasn’t until later, when Daisy woke from her coma, that the truth slowly unraveled before her.

During her absence, her parents had been swallowed by their grief and in a desperate attempt to fill the void, Desmond had turned to Heather, a girl who bore an uncanny resemblance to Daisy.

With her sweet words and effortless charm, Heather quickly wove her way into their hearts, soothing their pain.

At first, Daisy had been grateful, even finding joy in the idea of gaining a younger sister.

When she heard her parents had taken Heather in as their foster daughter, Daisy had thought it was a beautiful thing, a way to bring light back into their lives.

But soon, Daisy saw the truth unraveling before her.

Things weren’t as she had imagined. Heather, with her charm and subtle manipulation, began to take center stage in everyone’s life.

When Heather casually showed interest in Daisy’s room, their parents insisted she give it up without a second thought.

If Heather admired a necklace once gifted to Daisy, it would immediately become hers.

The dowry Daisy’s grandmother had left her, a token of love and legacy, was quietly claimed by Heather without a word from her parents.

But what truly cut the deepest was Desmond. His gaze, once filled with adoration for Daisy, now softened with an indulgent affection for Heather.

On her birthday, he left her alone, choosing instead to spend the day with Heather.

On a cold mountaintop in the dead of night, he had abandoned Daisy, all because of Heather.

Even the grand wedding he had promised Daisy faded into nothingness, swallowed whole by Heather’s influence.

Despite her outward innocence, Heather was a master of manipulation.

Since Daisy had woken up from her coma, Heather had worked tirelessly to drive a wedge between her and her parents, as well as between her and Desmond.

Daisy had no means to counter her cunning. In just two short years, Daisy’s parents grew increasingly distant and Desmond’s humiliation of her became a cruel, familiar routine.

Daisy had fought, argued and caused scenes, all in vain.

Each time, it only pushed them further away.

Slowly, she began to understand that Heather’s triumph in driving a wedge between them wasn’t just her doing.

It was because the ones Daisy had once trusted with her heart no longer cared.

Love didn’t vanish; it simply transformed. Daisy had never believed that before, but now she understood it all too well.

Even if she exposed Heather’s cruel messages to the world, she knew how it would go.

Her parents and Desmond would just accuse her of fabricating lies to tarnish Heather’s image. In the end, Daisy would be the one left holding the pieces.

She set her phone down with a sigh, her gaze drifting to the empty yard.

The house that once felt like home had long since lost that warmth. Even if Heather didn’t push her out, Daisy knew she would leave on her own terms.

Then, out of nowhere, something dark and bloody flew from the side, startling Daisy. She froze, her heart skipping a beat.

It was Heather’s pet Ragdoll cat, the one she doted on so fondly. Now, it lay lifeless, its soft fur matted with blood.

Daisy’s hand flew to her mouth in horror, her breath catching in her throat.

Desmond, who happened to walk by, was also taken aback. “What’s going on?”

“Desmond, it…”

Before Daisy could finish, a sharp scream shattered the air. Heather rushed over, scooping up the bloodied cat, her face contorted with feigned distress.

“Sister, why would you hurt Althea?”

Daisy froze.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you’re angry about the wedding,” Heather sobbed, her voice trembling. “But if you have a problem with me, take it out on me. Why would you take revenge on Althea?”

Tears streamed down Heather’s face and Daisy’s mind raced. It all clicked. This was another setup.

This had happened time and time again, but framing her for something like this, killing a pet, was a new low.

If Daisy remembered correctly, this cat had been left behind by her mother before she passed.

A cold shiver ran down her spine. As always, everyone would side with Heather. Still, she couldn't remain silent. “It wasn’t me. Someone just threw it over here.”

“But the cuts on Althea are clearly from someone with professional skills,” Heather sobbed, her eyes overflowing with tears. “And you’re the only one in this family who studied medicine. If not you, then who should I suspect?”

Upon hearing the news, Heather’s expression hardened as he gestured for a servant and whispered something low.

Moments later, a doctor in a white coat arrived, carefully took the cat’s lifeless body and began his examination.

“It’s true that the wounds were inflicted with a knife, the method eerily precise. The cat was drained of blood and died in agony.”

Soon after, security personnel rushed in to report, “We reviewed the surveillance footage. This afternoon, only the eldest young miss entered the garden.”

Heather’s expression darkened, her eyes locking on Daisy with a cold, commanding gaze. “Do you have anything else to say?”

Daisy’s lips parted, but no words came out.

She had known it would come to this.

Finally, Daisy spoke softly, “What can I say? You’ve never believed me. What’s left for me to say?”

Desmond hesitated, his gaze faltering for a moment.

“Sister, are you saying I purposely framed you?”

Heather shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes as she sobbed harder. “Althea was the only thing my mother left me. Even if I wanted to frame you, how could I bear to sacrifice her life for it?”

With that, Heather collapsed, overcome with grief.

Desmond immediately caught her, his expression hardening again. “Daisy, I never imagined you could become so vicious.”

“At the wedding, I was the one who abandoned you. If you want to hate someone, hate me. Taking it out on Heather’s cat, what kind of person does that?”

His eyes were filled with disappointment. “The Thomas Family can’t accept a daughter-in-law who’s so cruel and underhanded. If this is how it is, let’s cancel the engagement.”

“Fine,” Daisy replied, calm and steady.

Desmond’s anger froze, his expression darkening further. “I’m not joking. Don’t regret this later.”

Before he could continue, Daisy’s parents arrived in a hurry.

Without a second of hesitation, Samuel slapped Daisy hard across the face. “How could I have raised such a wicked daughter?!”

Daisy’s face, already bruised from an earlier beating, split open again from the fresh slap.

But her father, still seething, raised his hand once more. “Today, you kill a cat. Tomorrow, you’ll kill a person!”

“Ever since you woke up, all you’ve brought is chaos into this family!”

“If I’d known you’d turn out like this, I would’ve preferred you died in that car accident!”

“Someone, lock her up! No food! She’ll stay locked up until she truly reflects on her actions!”

The sting of the slap spread like a thousand needles pricking at her skin. Her head pounded, nausea churned in her stomach and she dry-heaved, but no pain could match the ache in her chest.

Years ago, during the car accident, she had dragged her parents and Desmond out of the car one by one as it teetered on the edge of an explosion.

She had only become a shell of herself, lying unconscious for three long years, all because she had sacrificed her life to save them.

And now, they cursed her for not dying in that accident.

Daisy felt the wetness on her face and couldn’t tell whether it was blood or tears. She lifted her head, eyes searching for the faces of those who had once meant the world to her.

But now, their expressions were unrecognizably cold and cruel.

Daisy let out a soft, hollow laugh, but her eyes were empty as if something vital had drained from her soul, never to return.

For a brief moment, Desmond and Hannah, Daisy’s mother felt an unsettling emptiness in their hearts, as if they had lost something precious and irreplaceable. Their instincts screamed to reach out, to beg for forgiveness for Daisy.

But before they could act, Heather stepped in front of them.

“Mom, Desmond,” she began, “as much as I hate seeing my sister suffer, Father’s actions aren’t unjust. Letting her learn now is better than waiting for her to destroy everything.”

“After all, we can protect her here, but the outside world won’t be as kind.”

At her words, Hannah’s hand fell to her side.

Desmond nodded reluctantly. “You’re right. She needs to learn now.”

Daisy was dragged away, her body limp as they locked her in the abandoned garage, her fate sealed.

Leaning against Desmond’s shoulder, Heather allowed a faint, triumphant smile to tug at her lips, though she masked it with a veneer of concern. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring my sister some food. I won’t let her starve.”

Desmond nodded gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you.”

Once Heather left, Desmond glanced at Daisy’s state, a flicker of guilt tugging at him. His expression softened slightly. “What I said before was that it was in the heat of the moment. Once Heather’s feeling better, we’ll set a new date for the wedding. Daisy, you don’t have to take it this far.”

He checked the calendar and added, “The third of next month seems perfect.”

But Daisy’s heart felt like stone, unaffected by his words.

She had long given up on this fiancé.

The third of next month would indeed be her wedding day, but Desmond wouldn’t be the one at the altar.

Outside the door, Heather overheard, her teeth grinding together. A malicious gleam flashed in her eyes.

Heather hadn’t anticipated that, after all the schemes and all the years of waiting, Desmond would still refuse to let Daisy slip away.

Her nails dug painfully into her palms as frustration boiled over. Once in her room, she immediately dialed a number. “Make it look like an accident. Kill Daisy.”

And as the night deepened, the fire began to spread, silently licking its way through the shadows.

Daisy had no idea that death’s blade hovered over her, unseen but inevitable.

For more than twenty years, her existence had been defined by her parents and Desmond. Now, extracting them from her heart left a raw, empty wound that nothing could fill.

Curled in the cold, she felt a searing pain that made even the simplest of breaths feel like a cruel torment. The anguish gnawed at her as if her very soul were being pulled apart.

In that agonizing moment, she felt the pull to surrender, as if nothing in the world was worth holding on to.

And when the fire erupted in the room, Daisy remained unmoving.

Outside, the shrill sound of alarms pierced the silence of the Johnson villa.

“What’s happening?”

“The garage where the eldest daughter was locked... it’s on fire!”

Desmond’s face shifted instantly, a flash of panic overtaking his features. He sprinted toward the garage, but someone beat him to it, kicking open the door with force. "Sister!"

Seeing Heather rush in, Desmond’s heart dropped. "Heather, it’s too dangerous!"

But Heather, as if deaf to his warning, ran straight into the fire.

Desmond had no choice but to follow.

As Desmond stepped through the flames, Daisy’s blank gaze, locked onto the oncoming inferno, flickered with the faintest trace of life.

But before she could even process it, Heather, running ahead of Desmond, turned, a sly smile playing on her lips as she mouthed silently to Daisy, "Sister, guess who he’ll save, you or me?"

Before Daisy could react, Heather screamed and crumpled to the ground.

Desmond caught her instinctively, his eyes flickering between her and Daisy, the hesitation burning in his chest.

Ultimately, he lifted Heather in his arms and said to Daisy, the fire closing in, "I’ll take Heather out first... then I’ll come back for you."

But the fire spread like a beast unleashed, swallowing the space between them. There was no chance for him to return.

The faint light in Daisy’s eyes dimmed and then died, extinguished completely.

She watched, unmoving, as Desmond’s figure grew more distant, his footsteps hastening. Her parents rushed toward Heather, their faces twisted with concern and focus, yet not a glance in her direction.

She had become invisible in just five short years.

Daisy sank back to the ground, her expression blank. The air around her was thick with smoke and the sound of falling beams.

This was fine.

Death might have been a release.

As Daisy’s consciousness slipped away, the faces of the people on the other side of the flames blurred, their outlines dissolving into the smoke.

She tilted her head back, forcing the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks to stay hidden. In silence, she wished that, in another life, she would never cross paths with Desmond or her parents again.

She couldn’t tell how long had passed, but when she opened her eyes again, she saw the harsh white of the hospital ceiling.

It was then that she realized she had somehow survived.

A cold, humorless laugh cut through the air beside her.