I was the real daughter—unloved, unwanted, and cast aside.

The design draft I poured my heart into was stolen by my second brother and gifted to the fake daughter.

Then he accused me of being a plagiarist. My father, the richest man in the city, had me blacklisted from the entire industry.

The fake daughter pretended to apologize, then pushed me off a cliff.

When I woke up, nearly all my bones had been shattered. I called my fiancé, the captain of the rescue team, but he was cradling the fake daughter's sprained ankle.

He scoffed, "Oh, you had an accident too? Want me to save you? Why don't you just die already?"

My body grew colder under the crushing pain.

My eldest brother, the forensic pathologist, cut open my rotting corpse while grumbling that he was late for the fake daughter's birthday.

Yet when they finally saw me again, they all cried, begging for my forgiveness.

My eldest brother, Orlando Zimmerman, rushed to the crime scene. "What's the situation?"

He looked at the decayed, mutilated body in front of him, furrowing his brow. Ironically, this was the first time I'd ever seen him anxious on my account.

Flies buzzed over what was left of me. My face had been flayed off; the features gnawed beyond recognition by animals.

His assistant, Neville Newton, swallowed hard. "The facial skin was cut off. A brutal death. Murder hasn't been ruled out."

Orlando examined the remains, his voice low and heavy. "Blunt-force trauma to the occiput. This was a homicide."

Just then, his phone rang. A voice came through. "Come home early tonight. We're celebrating. Gina's jewelry design just made it into the finals."

Orlando hesitated, a troubled expression crossing his face. I knew what was bothering him. The autopsy would delay him from accompanying the fake daughter, Gina Zimmerman.

If he knew the corpse waiting on his table was mine, he'd probably curse me for being troublesome even in death.

Now, even I could barely recognize this ruined thing as myself, not to mention Orlando, who had always hated me. He'd never suspected it was me.

"I might not make it tonight," he replied with a frown. "There's still work to do. You guys keep her company. Don't let her get upset because of that lunatic."

A bitter laugh escaped me. The "lunatic" he mentioned was undoubtedly me.

On the other end of the phone, my second brother, Jeremy Zimmerman, snorted, "Mabel? She's nothing. How could she ever make Gina upset? If she dares come home and act out, I'll break her legs."

I lowered my eyes, hiding the sting in them. I could never go home again. That place was never my home to begin with.

Who would believe that the real daughter of the richest family lived in a dark, damp basement? All because Gina once said she wasn't used to suddenly having an older sister.

I had been locked outside in blizzards, forced to sleep in the dog kennel.

Orlando paused, noticed the bracelet on the corpse's wrist. It was a gift he'd once given me.

"I'll call you back," he said hurriedly. "I've got work."

He studied the bracelet carefully, doubt flickering in his eyes. Then he shook his head and muttered, "Mabel's bracelet was broken ages ago. Lots of people wear the same accessory."

He dropped it into an evidence bag. I sighed, tears slipping from my eyes.

He had recognized it after all. It had been a gift from the jeweler when he ordered custom pieces for Gina.

He had tossed it into my lap the way someone might toss a bone to a stray dog. "Gina doesn't like tacky stuff. You can have it."

I had treated it like a sacred treasure. It was the first gift I ever received after returning to that house five years earlier.

Orlando had been surprised by my joy. A rare warmth softened his usually cold face.

I was so happy I never noticed the venom in Gina's eyes.

A few days later, after showering, I found the bracelet thrown into dirty fertilizer.

Orlando saw it, snapping, "If you don't want it, throw it away! Don't pretend you like it so much!"

Even after I paid a fortune to have it restored, he never looked at me again.

Maybe death was the best outcome for me. At least, I no longer had to endure their cruelty.

The autopsy was grueling, yet Orlando still rushed home that evening.

It was Gina's victory banquet, after all. He would never miss a chance to celebrate his beloved little sister.

When Orlando arrived, tired and dusty, Gina was nestled beside my fiancé, Leo Sawyer, giggling.

Jeremy pointed to the mountain of gift boxes stacked nearby. "Only the best for our genius sister."

Our dad, Nicolas Zimmerman, who usually looked at me with coldness and disdain, now gazed lovingly at them.

My chest ached. These people were supposed to be my family, yet I was forever the outsider.

Even sewer rats could peek at happiness, while I was locked in the basement, hearing the laughter and joy from above.

Now, even as a ghost, I had to listen to them slander me.

Gina sipped the drink Leo handed her, her eyes sparkling. "I want to call Mabel back to celebrate with us."

Jeremy's face darkened. "You're still thinking about that vixen? She only ever bullies you. Gina, you're too kind."

Orlando nodded. "She stole your designs, tricked you into going out, and pushed you. It would be best if she never came back."

"She called me a few days ago, pretending to be injured and begging me to rescue her," Leo chimed in with a sneer, his words cutting me.

None of those things were true. They were dirt that Gina had thrown onto me.

When I was first brought back home, I knew nothing about luxury. Desperate to bond with Gina, who had grown up in my place, I studied high-end brands and taught myself jewelry design.

I ended up genuinely loving it.

Gina coveted my sketches and stole them one by one. When I secretly entered a contest and won, she wept, claiming I had plagiarized her.

Jeremy grabbed a baseball bat and struck me, demanding that I apologize. I bit my lips bloody but never bowed to the real thief.

Yet in the end, I was the one branded a plagiarist.

Nicolas pressed his lips together. "Since Gina wants to see her, let her come back. But if she refuses to apologize, I will disown her."

The resolution in his words made me laugh.

The outsiders only knew Gina as the beloved daughter, while I was seen as a distant relative trying to climb the social ladder. Except for the few people revolving around Gina, no one knew I was the true daughter of the Zimmerman family.

With Nicolas's consent, Gina eagerly dialed my number. She was desperate to have the family humiliate me for leaving without a word.

Listening to the beeps on the line, she fought to suppress her smugness. Putting on a sad face, she said, "Her phone is off. Is she mad at us? She hasn't come home in days, and we can't reach her. She didn't even return for Mom's death anniversary."

Nicolas narrowed his eyes. "That ungrateful wretch! Does she expect me to beg her? She couldn't even be bothered to honor her mother's memorial. We never should have brought her back."

Jeremy slammed his fist down on the table. "The one who should have died that year was Mabel. Trash like her doesn't deserve to live."

Seeing their angry faces, I couldn't help but feel a strange amusement.

I had been kidnapped when they took me to the amusement park. My mother died in a car accident while searching for me.

They never blamed themselves for losing me. Instead, they pinned it all on me.

Orlando frowned. "Ever since she came home, she's caused nothing but trouble. If not for Mom's dying wish, we should have left her to rot wherever she was."

I felt a dazed emptiness, struggling to believe the words I was hearing.

Before I was brought back, I had dreamed of a warm, loving family. Instead, my life became hell.

They mocked my quiet personality, my lack of interest in life, and my tattered clothes. They called me timid and awkward.

Jeremy once crept into my room at night and strangled me until I saw stars, warning me never to bully Gina or dream of their love.

I had been just as cold then as I was now—dead.

Listening to their relentless insults and suspicions, I felt trapped in an icy abyss. If it were true, I would have preferred never to have returned to this so-called richest household that everyone envied.

Leo's grandfather kept saying that I was the one promised to him in an arranged marriage. Gina, with tears in her eyes, claimed she was willing to give him up to me. No one had ever asked me what I wanted.

I tried to learn proper etiquette, but they mocked me for trying to imitate others. When I bought a dress, Nicolas scolded me for being vain. Whenever Gina frowned, Jeremy would punish me.

I covered my ears, trembling and curling up in a corner, unwilling to listen to their cold sarcasm and mockery.

Just then, Gina's phone rang, interrupting their accusations. A mysterious voice came from the other end. "Gina, I saw your poor relative at the OB-GYN department!"

Gina flinched at the news. After all, she had pushed me off that cliff with her own hands.

Her expression tightened. "W-When did you see her? She has been out of touch for a while. Everyone's worried sick."

The caller paused, recalling, "A few days ago. I went to the hospital and ran into her. Her face was deathly pale."

Gina let out a tiny breath of relief, quickly masking it with performed panic. "Don't talk nonsense. Mabel isn't like that."

Nicolas exhaled sharply through his nose, his face reddening with fury. "That disgraceful tramp, embarrassing us out there for the world to see! How did I end up with such a shameless daughter?"

Jeremy patted Leo's shoulder. "Good thing you never liked her. Mabel's just a lying, filthy witch."

Leo nodded solemnly, then looked at Gina tenderly. "The only woman I love is Gina. I would never marry someone as shameless as Mabel."

Listening to his righteous tone, I gave a cold, mocking smile.

Of course. Whether it was my fault or not, none of them had listened to my explanations. They just convicted me in their heads, no evidence required.

I had lived on eggshells, praying only to survive. But they made even that an impossible dream.

I could have lived. After Gina knocked me unconscious and pushed me off the cliff, I woke up with 1% battery left on my phone.

Thinking of Nicolas and my brothers, who blamed me for my mother's death and always sided with Gina, I made a desperate choice and called the one person who was supposed to save me—Leo Sawyer, captain of the rescue team.

I still remembered vaguely, before I was kidnapped as a child, how he had held my hand and sworn, "Mabel, I'll protect you forever."

But memories had become nothing but chains keeping me cold and alone.

With the last breath left in me, I had begged, "My phone's dying. Please come save me."

Before I could even say where I was, he had cut me off with irritation. "Another accident? You think I'd believe you? Die somewhere I don't have to see you."

Before the line went dead, I heard him coo to Gina, "Does your ankle hurt? Mabel caused all this by dragging you alone to hike. And now she's faking an injury and asking me to save her. Pathetic."

I felt as though I could hear my blood spilling out of me. Heavy raindrops beat against the torn skin on my face. The pain was gone; only a hollow numbness remained.

The tight, sour pull of my heart reminded me of the cruel reality. That was the day I died, abandoned by the entire world.

And even then, I still foolishly longed for my family to accept me, to clear my name, to have my brothers apologize, and to have Nicolas hold me and believe me.

Gina's voice brought me back, fake concern dripping from every syllable. "Maybe we should wait for her to come home and ask whose child she is carrying. If Mom were alive to see this, she'd be heartbroken."

Nicolas patted her shoulder, comforting her. "Don't worry. I'll make her get rid of that child. Once she comes back, I'll cut ties with her. Your mother died looking for her, and she wouldn't even come home to pay her respects."

Just like that, Gina easily stoked their rage again. She lowered her gaze, hiding the gloat in her eyes.

"Guys, don't be upset," she murmured. "She just blames you for adopting me. She never cared about Mom or this family."

Jeremy's veins bulged on his neck as he ground out, "That ungrateful piece of trash! Dad was too lenient, just blacklisting her. We should have broken her legs and locked her in an asylum."

All the pain and hatred I had swallowed for years exploded inside me. I wanted to grab him and scream that I'd never done anything wrong.

I'd gone to the OB-GYN clinic only because I found a pregnant woman fainting on the street and rushed her to the hospital.

But my family never even looked at the medical report. They simply decided that I had fooled around and gotten pregnant.

Gina stole my design work, leaving me no choice but to get a job, but Nicolas shut every door. He threw a teacup at my forehead, not caring about the blood running down my face.

"You're the daughter of the richest man in the city, and you want to take a menial job?" he roared. "You want to humiliate me?"

Desperate, I entered small anonymous contests to survive. With the prize money I earned, I bought them gifts, only to be tossed straight into the trash.

To them, everything I did was just a ploy to get more of their money. When I tried to break off the engagement with Leo so he could be with Gina, he slapped me hard enough to make my ears ring.

The man who once promised to protect me sneered, "You want to break the engagement now? So, people will think Gina bullied you? You just want to ruin her reputation."

Orlando's phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. Neville's panicked voice came through. "Boss, is your sister at home?"

Orlando glanced fondly at Gina. "Of course, she's home. Calling to congratulate her on entering the finals?"

Neville let out a shaky breath. "I mean Mabel."

Orlando's face darkened instantly. "Why are you asking about her? She's off doing God knows what. Her phone's been off for days. No one can find her."

After a pause, Neville spoke again, his voice tight like a wire about to snap. "You should come to the station right now. We think she has been murdered."