They wanted me to live in disgrace, drowning in the contempt of others, unable to lift my head.

And now... who were they putting on this act for?

A doctor rushed in with a stretcher, pushing me toward the operating room. Before I was wheeled inside, Marco gently ruffled my hair, his voice was full of tenderness.

"Be good, Elaina. We’ll be right outside waiting for you. It’ll be over soon."

Shortly after, the cold, sterile instruments invaded my body, twisting and churning.

And just like that, any last remnants of warmth within me were extinguished.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the hospital ward.

The doctor’s voice was heavy with regret. "The delay was too long. The damage to her pelvis is permanent—she likely won’t be able to walk again. As for the uterus, we had to remove it."

"The most severe issue is the extensive damage to her lower body. She will no longer be able to take care of herself and will require constant assistance."

Marco’s eyes turned red. "No... No... How could this happen...?"

"Doctor, please, I'm begging you—save my sister! She’s still so young... She can’t..." His voice broke, and in the next moment, he was holding me tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Elaina, I swear I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life. If needed, we’ll go abroad for treatment. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you just like before."

Silent tears slid down my cheeks.

I wanted to ask him—

"Brother, is this the outcome you wanted?"

But before I could say anything, his phone rang.

The moment he glanced at the caller ID, the corners of his lips twitched upward, unable to suppress his joy.

Yet, perhaps feeling guilty, he hesitated to leave me alone in the room.

So instead, he hurriedly pulled up a movie on his work laptop before rushing out.

Left alone, I was overcome by a strange impulse.

I browsed through his computer files and discovered a private folder labeled [Val].

Clicking into it, I was met with an overwhelming sea of photos.

Thousands of images—9999 to be exact—all taken over the past few years during summer and winter vacations.

Every single one captured moments of the three of them—Marco, Colson, and Valerie—traveling together.

Each photo was saved in duplicate.

One set was carefully labeled: [My dearest little sister—today she ate this, wore that.]

The other set bore a different title: [My proud elder sister—today she said this, sang that.]

Meanwhile—the pictures I had sent them—of myself at the school track, in the cafeteria, the library—

They were all in the recycle bin.

Not a single one was missing.

It all made sense now.

Every time I asked to travel with them, Marco had said he was too busy with work.

Colson had claimed he had club activities.

But the truth was, they weren’t busy.

They were just traveling the world with someone else.

And I—I had spent years pushing myself to excel, struggling to get into the best economics graduate program, all so I could ease Marco’s burdens.

Only for him to hand over my future to another person without a second thought.

The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. I felt myself shattered completely.

For a long time, I lay in bed, unmoving. Then, I picked up my phone and dialed my mentor's number.

"Professor, about that research project abroad... I’ve decided to accept the offer."

There was a brief pause before he responded with enthusiasm.

"Good! I knew you should go abroad instead of staying stuck at home!"

Yes.

I had turned down countless opportunities over the years—because I couldn’t bear to leave Marcos and Colson behind.

But now, they had made the choice for me.

"I just have one request," I continued. "I want my identity permanently erased."

A short silence ensued. Then, he agreed. "Understood. When can you leave?"

"I'll leave the day after tomorrow," I answered firmly.

"Who’s leaving?"

The call had barely ended when the door swung open. Marco stood there, his expression was unreadable.

Obviously, he had heard everything.

A flicker of panic crossed his face.

I swiftly locked my phone screen, keeping my expression neutral.

"It’s nothing," I said smoothly, my voice steady. "I was just asking how soon I can be discharged."

Hearing my response, Marco visibly relaxed.

"Elaina, the doctor said you still need to stay in the hospital for observation. There's no rush to be discharged."

For some reason, there was a trace of unease in his eyes as he spoke.

The next morning, I woke up to find that both Marco and Colson, who had been by my bedside last night, were nowhere to be seen.

Left alone, I struggled onto my wheelchair and made my way home to grab a few things.

But the moment I pushed open the gate, I was met with a shocking sight.

The lavender I had carefully nurtured for years had been completely uprooted—every last stalk was gone.

In its place were vast stretches of brilliant peonies.

And standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows were faces I knew all too well...

Marco stood there, pushing an enormous ten-tiered cake while Colson held a diamond-studded crown.

Surrounding them were classmates, teachers, and even a large number of employees from our company.

Everyone was there—except me.

And then I saw it.

The bright red banner hanging on the wall, each word stabbing deep into my heart.

[Congratulations to Valerie for securing her graduate school admission!]

I was still reeling from the shock when she appeared.

Dressed in an exquisite designer gown, the beloved princess of the hour, Valerie, noticed me immediately.

With an exaggerated show of concern, she walked up to me.

"Sis, I heard you were badly injured. I was just thinking of visiting you."

She hesitated, then covered her mouth as if struggling with what to say. "It's just that... Marco told me that you're incontinent now, and he was afraid I'd be scared if I saw you."

"So... is it true? Have you really become that filthy?"

The moment the words left her lips, murmurs spread through the crowd. She openly voiced the harsh truths I couldn't bring myself to say, stirring up a whirlwind of discussion around me.

Shame surged through me as I felt their disgusted stares piercing into me.

At the back, Marco, who had been cutting the cake, hurried over.

When he saw me, a flicker of embarrassment flashed across his face.

"Ela... Elaina, why are you here? Didn’t the doctor say you needed to rest in the hospital?"

I ignored the disdainful whispers around me and forced my voice to remain steady.

"I missed Max, so I came back to see him."

Max was my dog. I had raised him for ten years, and Marco knew how much he meant to me.

He immediately pushed my wheelchair forward and said, "He’s in your room."

But before we could move, Valerie stepped in our way, her voice dripping with self-righteousness.

"Sis, today is my celebration banquet. You know how hard I’ve worked for this all these years..."

At her words, the people around us shifted their focus to me, their gazes accusing me.

They whispered that I had used my lack of morals to achieve high grades, nearly robbing a truly hardworking student of her rightful place.

And yet—who would acknowledge the countless nights I had stayed up studying, burning the midnight oil, pushing myself to the brink?

However, there was no point arguing.

I merely nodded and said flatly, "Congratulations."

Only then did Valerie step aside, satisfied.

As soon as I opened my bedroom door, Marco hastily left.

I scanned my room and realized it had been ransacked, and everything was in disarray.

And beneath my bed—Max lay there, barely breathing.

At that instant, the tears I had been holding back finally broke free.

I understood now.

The seaside home Marco had built for me after our father remarried—it no longer belonged to me.

Since that was the case, I didn’t want it anymore.

I would only take Max with me.

Just as I steeled myself to leave, Valerie pushed the door open and stepped inside.

She held a piece of cake in her hand, but her eyes were filled with pure hatred.

"Elaina, look at yourself now. You’re no different from this worthless mutt!" She sneered, her voice full of venom.

"I told you before—anything that belongs to you, I will take it away. One by one. Your father, your brother, your younger brother... They all belong to me now!"

Her lips curled into a cruel smile as she added, "Oh, right. Do you want to know how your mother died?"

She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "I deliberately made sure she saw a video of your father sleeping with my mother. She already had postpartum depression, so the moment she saw it, she snapped and—boom—jumped straight off the balcony."

My eyes burned red with fury, and I wanted nothing more than to strangle her. But before I could move, I slipped from the wheelchair and hit the ground.

Seeing me in such a pathetic state, Valerie smirked and stomped down on my hand, grinding her heel into my skin.

Max, despite his frail body, lunged forward and bit onto her pant leg in a desperate attempt to protect me.

However, she simply flung him aside, her eyes flashing with amusement.

And then, before I could react, she grabbed a pair of scissors and slashed three deep cuts into her own leg.

"Ah! Help—!"

The scream echoed through the room.

Moments later, Marco burst through the door in a panic, and Colson trampled over my hand as he rushed past me to hold Valerie.

"What happened?! What’s going on?!"

Valerie buried herself into Marco’s embrace, sobbing pitifully.

"I... I just wanted to cut the biggest piece of cake for Elaina... but she said I was trying to poison her! She even... even ordered that dog to attack me!"

She lifted her pant leg, revealing the self-inflicted wounds, and let out a heartbreaking wail, as if utterly terrified.

Marco’s expression darkened with rage. He furiously pointed his finger at me and roared, "Elaina, when did you become so vicious?! No wonder you were the only one who got assaulted—this is all your own doing!"

Even Colson looked at me with a coldness I had never seen before.

"Sis, I never thought you would bully Valerie behind our backs. No wonder she always seemed so afraid when we mentioned you. You must’ve tormented her all the time!"

Without uttering a single word, I had already been condemned.

But it no longer mattered. My heart had died long ago.

Then, the next words out of Marco’s mouth shattered me completely.

His gaze locked onto the barely-breathing Max.

"Since you’ve done wrong, you need to be punished. Kill this beast."

I froze in disbelief.

Then, dropping to my knees, I pleaded, "Brother, I was wrong. I won’t do it again. I’ll stay far away from her—I’ll never appear in front of her again."

"Max is innocent! Don’t you remember? Ten years ago, after Mom passed away, you were the one who bought him for me!"

I kowtowed over and over, begging him to spare Max.

But he didn’t listen.

Instead, he ordered the butler to bring him a golf club.

Before he struck, he looked at me and said, "Back then, I nearly died from leukemia. It was Valerie who saved me with her bone marrow. So I won’t allow anyone to harm her."

I was stunned.

Then what about the finger-wide scar on my spine?

What about the countless fevers I suffered every season?

Who saved whom?

But before I could process my thoughts, Marco had already swung the club.

"No—!!"

The blow landed with a sickening crunch.

Max collapsed in front of me, his body mangled beyond recognition.

Satisfied, Marco picked up Valerie and carried her away.

Colson shot me a look full of hatred and sneered. "Since you love this mutt so much, then stay here and keep it company!"

With that, the door slammed shut and locked.

I dragged myself across the floor, cradling Max’s lifeless body in my arms.

At that moment, my world shattered completely.

Mom.

Dad.

Brother.

Younger brother.

Max.

They were all gone...

—

After leaving, Marco went through great lengths to summon the best specialists in the city for Valerie.

In the end, all she needed was a simple bandage and a rabies shot.

Marco sighed in relief, but his brows furrowed as he recalled Elaina's tear-stricken face as they left.

As he took out his phone, preparing to tell the butler to buy an identical dog, the butler suddenly came running in, breathless.

"S-Sir Marco! Something terrible has happened—Miss... Miss Elaina jumped into the sea from the attic, holding the dog! All she left behind was a phone!"