On the day I was awarded the highest honor in the vampire world—the Order of the Night—I died.

Three hours after my death,my parents, my brother, and my Consort had just finished celebrating my sister’s Nightfall Commencement.

While my sister Olivia was posting warm, smiling family photos on the vampire social network,I was locked in the basement,dragging my tongue across my phone screen,desperately trying to make a call for help.

The only person who answered was my Consort—Julian.

He said only one thing:

“Bella, stop acting. Olivia’s Nightfall Commencement is important. Stop throwing a tantrum.”

That was the ninety-ninth time they had disappointed me.And the last.

I lay in a pool of blood so dark it was nearly black,my breathing fading into nothing.

They thought I was just sulking somewhere,hiding as usual.

They believed that if they taught me a lesson,I would crawl back obediently, like I always did.

But they didn’t know.

I had never left the house.

I was already dead.

At midnight, my soul drifted out of the basement.

The door to my bedroom was pushed open. My brother, Leo, stormed in. Not seeing me, he let out a scoff.

“You’re not a child anymore. Playing hide-and-seek and throwing tantrums—don’t you think that’s childish?”

Normally, I would have argued back.

But this time, I only hovered beside him, unable to make a sound.

Leo called my phone. There was no answer. Irritated, he ran a hand through his hair and casually flipped through the notebook on my desk.

There was only one number written inside.

99.

The number of times they had disappointed me over the years.

Leo didn’t understand. He frowned, tossed the notebook onto the floor, and left a voice message.

“Stop playing these stupid games. Olivia wants to eat the Blood Tart you make, so get back here and bake it for her.”

“Today is her Commencement. Don’t you dare ruin it. Come home within an hour, and I’ll forgive you.”

Leo slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned to the living room.

“Bella’s not in her room, and she’s not answering,” he told our parents.

“She’s always like this—making a big deal out of nothing, disappearing, waiting for us to beg her to come back.”

“We spoiled her,” my father finally said.

“This time, no one contact her. Let her learn her lesson. Once she calms down, she’ll crawl back on her own tomorrow.”

Olivia walked over and gently tugged at our father’s sleeve, her face full of concern.

“Dad, don’t say that. What if something really happened to Bella?”

“Maybe I should text her? You know Bella and I are very close.”

She lowered her eyes, looking innocent and gentle, like a frightened doe.

I watched as she took out her phone, her slender fingers tapping against the screen.

[Hope you’re having fun being bullied by those thugs. Who are you fooling around with now?

By the way, the party was great. Thanks for not coming.

It’d be even better if you were dead.]

After sending it, she deleted the message and retyped another.

[Little sister, are you okay? We’re all so worried about you.

If you’re angry, take it out on me. Please come home.]

She held the phone up for everyone to see, perfectly playing the role of a caring sister.

Mother pulled her into her arms, her voice full of sympathy.

“You’re always so kind, Olivia. This has nothing to do with you. Bella is just too immature.”

Immature?

My soul let out a bitter laugh, though no one could hear it.

In their eyes, everything revolved around Olivia.

Who would remember that today was supposed to be the day I received the Order of the Night—

an honor awarded only once every three years?

I knew they would all be celebrating Olivia’s Nightfall Commencement, so I told them not to attend my award ceremony.

I had never tried to compete with Olivia for their love.

But just as I was about to leave for the ceremony, three thugs broke in and dragged me into the basement.

I struggled in terror. “How do you have the key to our house?”

One of the men dangled a key ring in front of me.

It was Olivia’s.

“Don’t waste your strength,” he sneered.

“You’re not leaving this basement today.”

“I won’t tell anyone, I swear. Please… please don’t kill me…”

In the end, they ignored my pleas. They pinned me to the floor, assaulted me, bit into my neck, and took countless photos amid their vicious laughter.

I fought with everything I had. In the struggle, my head slammed into the corner of the table.

Blood burst out instantly.

Panicked, they fled.

With the last of my strength, I dragged myself toward my phone and used my tongue to swipe the screen, trying to call for help.

Every vampire can sense a family member in danger through the coven blood bond,

but they all thought I was only seeking attention—so they severed the bond.

Not only did they refuse to answer my calls, they even sent me a message.

[Fake suffocation again? Stop acting!

Your father and I don’t have time to play these games with you!]

Only my Consort—Julian—answered.

“Help me… Julian, I’m going to die…”

His response was cold and sharp.

“Bella, stop acting. Today is Olivia’s big day.

There’s a limit to how much attention you can demand.

I already told you I’d make it up to you with a gift.”

But… Julian.

I really was dying.

A faint, bitter smile crossed my lips.

What a pity. You’ll never have the chance to make it up to me now.

Within twenty-four hours, the smell of cold iron and dried blood would seep out of that basement no one entered.

Olivia always said she wished I were dead—

so no one would compete with her for your love.

Now, her wish had come true.

My soul was trapped in the living room,forced to watch their warm, intimate family scene.

Vampires rarely need sleep.

Yet my father, who usually entered his resting state before midnight, was wide awake now, sitting there in high spirits as he watched Olivia unwrap her Nightfall Commencement gifts.

My mother was browsing the Tailors’ Guild catalog on the light screen, selecting gowns suitable for night travel and banquets, promising to prepare an entire new wardrobe for Olivia’s graduation trip.

“Mom, I already have so many clothes,” Olivia said sweetly.

“My closet is completely full.”

“Then move them into Bella’s room,” my mother replied casually.

“She’s always focused on her own work and never buys new clothes. She doesn’t need the closet space.”

“Is that really okay? Bella might get upset…”

My mother frowned.

“Olivia, you don’t need to be so timid. This is something Bella should do for you as an older sister.”

Leo sat beside them, quietly cracking pistachios for Olivia, one after another.

I couldn’t say a single word.

I could only watch the warm scene before me.

So it turns out—even a soul can cry.

Warmth belonged to them.

Loneliness belonged to me.

“But Bella still hasn’t come back,” Olivia said softly, sounding pitiful.

“She hasn’t replied to my messages either. Is she still angry with us? When she’s not here, I feel so sad.”

At Olivia’s words, the three of them finally shifted their attention away from her

and remembered me.

My father frowned instinctively.

“Don’t worry about her. She just wants everyone focused on her. When will she finally grow up?”

A flash of irritation crossed my mother’s face.

“It’s just an Order of the Night. They give it out every three years.”

“Doesn’t she know Olivia’s Commencement only happens once? Why does she have to throw a tantrum on a day like this?”

Olivia puckered her lips playfully at my mother.

“Mom, don’t say that. Bella would be hurt if she heard it.”

“She practically begged for that award…”

“Oh—did I just let something slip?”

She said it lightly,but the triumph in her eyes was impossible to hide.

I had always known—Olivia was never innocent.

Growing up, her academic results were never better than mine.

Even though Father, Mother, and Leo doted on her and always put her first,

Olivia would still fabricate evidence from time to time, accusing me of cheating or plagiarizing research at the vampire academy.

And every time, Father would punish me without asking a single question.

From a young age, I kept telling myself that one day,I would find my own Consort,and experience what it felt like to be someone’s first choice.

But I never imagined that after knowing Julian for three years,his heart would begin to tilt toward Olivia as well.

I should have felt heartbroken.

But perhaps I was already numb.

My soul was so numb that it couldn’t even feel pain anymore.

A maid brought in a tray of desserts—all of them Olivia’s favorites.

Naturally,they stopped talking about me.

Olivia smiled brightly, showing off her achievements at the academy.

She had already secured a position as a trainee Blood Councilor in the Night Hawk Coven’s council chamber.

For vampires born outside the noble bloodlines,blood rank was almost fixed at birth.

Being able to serve in the Coven council was nearly the highest social honor.

Father and Leo listened, praising her endlessly.

And I simply drifted quietly at the side.

The clock pointed to one in the morning.

I still hadn’t appeared.

My mother seemed to feel a trace of guilt and finally remembered me.

She placed a Cold Blood Pastry—a flavor Olivia disliked—

onto an empty plate and handed it to my brother.

Her expression was a little stiff.

“Leo, save this for Bella. She can eat it when she calms down and comes back.”

“Don’t let her think we only favor Olivia. See? We left something for her.”

I stared at the few pastries,feeling nothing at all.

Leo hesitated for a moment and reached out to take the plate.

Suddenly, Olivia let out a sharp scream and yanked her hand back from the gifts.

“Mom—! It hurts!”

“This gift— it’s silver!”

Father, Mother, and Leo rushed to her side at once.

When they saw the red mark on Olivia’s palm—raw and angry, like a burn—they all panicked.

“We didn’t come into contact with any humans at the night banquet,” someone said sharply.

“What kind of vampire would give a silver gift?”

My mother’s gaze swept across the room before stopping on an opened gift box.

“That gift box…”Her voice hesitated.“Wasn’t it Bella’s?”

Olivia immediately looked as if she were about to cry.

“Mom, please don’t blame Bella. The gift was on my bedside table this morning. I was just happy she wanted to give me something.”

In an instant, disappointment and anger filled Father’s and Leo’s faces.

“I knew it!”

“No wonder she kept dragging her feet and refusing to come home. She was plotting to hurt Olivia!”

“How could I have such a vicious sister?”

“Enough!” Father snapped.

“Stop arguing and take Olivia to the Coven’s Blood Healer, now!”

He kicked the gift box—the very one Olivia had taken from my room—

then slammed his fist down on the table in rage.

“We’re out of bandages,” Leo said.

“I’ll go to the basement and get some.”

He turned to leave.

Olivia’s eyes flickered.

She grabbed Leo’s arm.

“Don’t go,” she said quickly.

“The Blood Healer will have bandages.”

“It hurts so much…”

If Leo had taken even one more step toward the basement,he would have smelled the overwhelming scent of blood.

But that never happened.

At Olivia’s words, the family hurried out together,leaving only my soul drifting in the now-empty living room.

I wanted to scream that I had done nothing.

But I could no longer speak.

And I knew—even if I could, they would never believe me.

So be it.

The head housekeeper heard the commotion and came out to clean up the mess.

She sighed softly.

“Miss Bella… why do you never learn how to protect yourself?”

My soul drifted back to my room.

When I saw the notebook on the desk, memories surged forward.

When I was ten years old,the Black Hawk Coven held its once-every-decade Bloodline Awakening.

That day determined every vampire’s future standing within the Coven,as well as the upper limit their bloodline could ever reach.

Leo went first.

His bloodline manifested as the shadow of jet-black blood wings,a sign of power and administrative potential.

Father looked at him without hiding his pride.

When it was Olivia’s turn,

her bloodline manifested as a rare silver-white glow,

carrying a naturally soothing resonance

that gradually calmed the blood of everyone around her.

Mother pulled her into her arms and called her the family’s treasure.

Not wanting to disappoint them,I stepped onto the Awakening platform full of hope.

But when my bloodline responded—everyone fell silent.

My manifestation was painfully ordinary.

No phenomenon.

No rare traits.

Only the most basic blood resonance,so common it could be lost among the rest of the Coven without notice.

From that day on,I became the family’s “ordinary one”—someone not worth investing extra resources in.

Even later,when I received the highest academic honor personally awarded by the Vampire King,they still believed—

bloodline decided everything.

And I was ordinary.Disposable.