The gentle expressions on my adoptive family members' faces were something I had never seen before. No… That wasn't quite right. It wasn't that I had never seen it. It was just that they had never shown me that expression. That kind of affection belonged only to my cousin, Isabelle Cox.

Isabelle was the little princess everyone envied. When people mentioned the Cox family of Norvale, the first thing that came to mind wasn't their thriving business but their precious daughter.

Ever since she passed away, my adoptive parents seemed to treat me like I was their own daughter. They cared about my feelings and took the trouble to learn my preferences. They were willing to give me the love and sense of security I had always lacked.

In my previous life, I lapped it all up gratefully like an idiot. I did whatever they said, hoping things would stay this way forever.

In reality, I ignored the fact that they had never liked me in the past. They had often treated me like I was air in the house. Sometimes, they even seemed to despise me.

Cedric would scold me and look down on me. He would accuse me of being greedy and disgusting. And all those insults stemmed from Isabelle once giving me a piece of her new jewelry.

He had said he hated my face the most. He told me that even if I looked somewhat like Isabelle, I couldn't compare to her in the slightest.

However, did they really dislike my face just because I resembled Isabelle?

Back then, they adopted me because Isabelle had fallen seriously ill. She was diagnosed with bone cancer. They wanted to fulfill her wish of having a younger sister, and I happened to be the one she took a liking to.

My adoptive parents used instilling proper upbringing in me as an excuse to forbid me from acting unladylike or eating too excessively. I had to stay by Isabelle's side and keep her happy.

Only Isabelle treated me well and regarded me as family.

Gradually, I began to depend on her. I cherished her kindness and agreed to her requests…

Snapping back from my memories, I looked at Vivian.

She patted my hand and said, "I'm glad you like it. I had a small wooden bed custom-made for her and placed it by your bedside. I've already asked someone to take it upstairs to your room."

They relaxed, and satisfied smiles appeared on their faces.

"There are other gifts too. Later, we'll help you decorate your new room," Vivian added.

I thought about the room I had already been living in for half a month…

My heart suddenly sank into my stomach.

Then, I coughed a few times. "Mom, I think I've caught a cold. Can I open the windows for some fresh air?"

Vivian's voice rose slightly. "Are you sick?"

She immediately brushed my arm aside and took the doll back into her arms. I looked at her in confusion.

She averted her eyes for a moment and said, "Of course. You should move back to your old room for now and stay there for the next few days. I'll keep Baby with me. It wouldn't be good if it got contaminated. Karen, take a few maids with you upstairs and open the windows. Clean and disinfect everything."

My adoptive father, Jasper Cox, called out to Cedric, who was about to go upstairs. "Cedric, have a doctor come over later."

"Dad, it's not necessary. It's just a minor cold. I'll be fine after taking medicine for a couple of days," I said.

At that moment, my mind was racing for a solution. Once I moved into that carefully prepared room, it would be hard for me to ever leave.

In my previous life, I placed the doll on that willow bed every night. The next morning, it would mysteriously change positions. At the time, I didn't think much of it. I assumed Vivian came to check on me at night.

I slept very deeply at night, and it was extremely hard for me to wake up. Later, I became more and more lethargic. My complexion grew increasingly pale too.

I thought I was sick and wanted Jasper and Vivian to take me to the hospital.

However, they had insisted that I only needed proper rest and hired a caregiver to brush me off.

I lay in bed all day. How could I have known that my soul was slowly being stripped away from my body?

I started sleeping longer and longer. One day, I realized I couldn't move or speak at all when I woke up.

Suddenly, a pair of pale hands—so pale that the veins were visible—gripped me tightly.

A familiar face wore a vicious smile as she said, "It finally worked…"

"I" was smiling at me! Who was inside my body? And where was I trapped now?

The moment I saw my adoptive parents, I tried to scream in panic. I had hoped they would save me, as I was suffocating…

However, they just stared at me indifferently.

"That thing's useless now. Just get rid of it as soon as possible. Don't let it taint our home," urged Vivian while handing "me" a pair of scissors.

"I" took them with eyes full of malice and ranted, "Why should I have to endure all the torment from being ill. It hurts so much that I can't sleep all night, while you run around happily like an idiot every day! Do you know how badly I want a healthy body?"

She tore at my hair with her bare hands. Next, she cut apart my limbs with the scissors.

Pain spread through every inch of my body, but I couldn't make a sound.

"Burn it, Belle. Once it's burned, she won't have any lingering resentment, and her soul will disappear completely," Vivian urged again.

Only then did I realize that the one inside my body was Isabelle, the person who had once treated me the best!

In that instant, I finally understood. The person who promised that I would always be her favorite little sister had only lured me to her so that I could die in her place.

I spent the entire night drawing up plans in my room. Then, on the fourth day, I went out carrying a thick volume of hand-copied scriptures. I even put it in a fine wooden box and wrapped it up with a piece of red cloth.

I went to a shrine and had the two maids who followed me out bury it in front of Isabelle's tombstone. When they were busy doing that, I retrieved the items I had ordered two days earlier and secretly hid them away.

When I got home, Vivian came up to greet me, holding the doll in her arms.

She took my hand and said gently, "You're our precious darling, Beth. Come on, I'll take you to see your room."

The curtains were wide open now, and the floor-to-ceiling windows made the whole room look bright and spacious. Yet somehow, the sunlight still couldn't quite reach inside.

On the dark brown willow bed meant solely for the doll were expensive silk beddings. The bed wasn't small. In fact, it could fit an adult.

At the center of the room hung a dazzling crystal chandelier. Two new bedside lamps had been added as well. They were covered with bud-shaped lamp shades, and at the foot of the bed stood two round floor lamps pressed against the wall.

If one ignored the carpets, murals, and various decorative dolls and vases, and looked only at the lights, their abstract arrangement seemed to form the shape of a seated person. My bed and the doll's bed were positioned in the middle. Its bed was placed horizontally, facing the head of my bed.

In my previous life, I had been dazzled by these luxurious and beautiful things. How could I have noticed such unusual details?

Now, there was a trace of wariness in my eyes.

Vivian said, "These lights are all quite dim. Don't worry about wasting electricity. Just leave them on every night when you sleep. Belle said girls like cute and cozy rooms like this. She went on and on about ambient lighting.

"I don't really understand these things. Take a look and see if there's anything else you'd like to add."

I replied, "Thank you, Mom. This is already perfect. There's no need to add anything else."

The bedside cabinet was filled with expensive aromatherapy oils. The bottles glowed faintly with a soft orange hue.

Vivian took out one bottle and held it in front of me. "I know you haven't been sleeping well lately, so I specially bought you a fragrance that induces sleep."

She took a whiff and smiled. "There's a slight lilac scent. Light one every night. Once you use these, you'll be able to sleep well for a long time."

I forced down the wave of nausea rising in my stomach.

I put on a look of surprise and delight as I exclaimed, "You're so thoughtful, Mom!"

Vivian stroked the doll's smooth hair, placed it on the bed, and even tucked it in under the blanket.

She said, "She'll keep you company from tonight onward. Tomorrow, I'll bring new clothes and accessories for her to change her outfit."

I responded in confusion, "Mom, does the doll need to change every day? Maybe we can do it less often, so it's not too much trouble for you."

Her tone turned indifferent, and it carried a hint of an enigmatic emotion. "It has to be changed. It also needs to be washed every two days. After all, you'll be holding her every day. If she gets dirty, that wouldn't be nice."

I sneered inwardly. So, she thought I was dirty.

After she left, I locked the door from the inside and sat on the bed.

Then, I let out a sigh and muttered, "But this doll is really ugly. I feel so annoyed looking at it."

The very next second, I saw those black pupils shift ever so slightly from the corner of my eye.

My lips curled into a faint smirk.

"Ugly freak!" I muttered under my breath, flipping the doll over and covering it with a pillow.

For now, I wasn't sure whether Isabelle, who was trapped inside it, could somehow communicate with my adoptive parents.

So, I had to test it out carefully.

I put on a mask and gloves. Then, I carried Vivian's small bottle of aromatherapy oil into the bathroom carefully.

After putting the bottle in scalding hot water, I heated the contents inside until they melted. Next, I poured everything, including the tiny fragments of talisman paper at the bottom, into the toilet and flushed it away.

After I was done, I quickly took out the aromatherapy oil I had bought and placed it in the original spot. I added a few drops of diluted lilac essential oil into it.

Throughout the entire process, my heart pounded so hard that it felt like it might leap out of my throat. I was terrified that something might go wrong and that they might notice even the tiniest of clues.

This bottle was almost identical to the previous one. As long as no one examined it closely, they wouldn't discover that it was different.

Money made the world go round.

These replicas had cost me nearly 100 thousand dollars. Fortunately, Isabelle had transferred a lot of money to me back when she wanted to gain my trust.

The one I bought was a genuine plant-based aromatherapy oil with real calming effects.

However, the one Vivian gave me was made from Isabelle's ashes. It was mixed with some mummy powder and infused with a sinister burned talisman.

It could make a person fall into a deep coma almost instantly by causing the soul to leave the body… It was lethal.

That night, I viciously jabbed the doll's head a few times with an embroidery needle. Then, I flipped it back and restored it to its original position before leisurely climbing into bed.

Just like in my previous life, Vivian came in to tuck me in before I went to sleep. She turned on the dim, eerie bedside lamps and floor lights.

Then, she picked up the bottle of aromatherapy oil and lit it with practiced ease before placing it back on the nightstand.

As she watched the pale yellow smoke curl upward, a satisfied smile appeared on her face. She gently urged me to sleep early.

After she left, I didn't lie down right away. Instead, I took out a few exercise books and pretended to do my homework.

Then, I rested my head on the desk and pretended to sleep through the entire night. Only when dawn was about to break did I quietly climb back into bed and close my eyes.

It wasn't until after 11:00 am that Vivian came to wake me. Her expression was the same as usual as she picked up the doll and said she would choose new clothes for it.

The tension I'd been feeling eased slightly.

When I went downstairs, Cedric looked at my somewhat drowsy face and smiled. "Did you sleep well last night, Beth?"

Scratching my head shyly, I replied, "Yes, I did. I slept so deeply, but I still feel like I haven't slept enough."

Cedric exchanged a glance with Jasper, and their smiles widened. Vivian's attitude toward me was noticeably more affectionate today.

As I held the doll that was now dressed in new clothes, I put on a happy expression too. I could finally relax a little.

As I had suspected, it seemed that Isabelle was currently trapped inside the doll. She was unable to move or speak.

That night, I repeated the same steps as before. I secretly replaced the fatal aromatherapy oil.

This time, I didn't rest at the desk. Instead, I lay in bed and had a genuinely comfortable sleep.

However, in the middle of the night, I suddenly felt a chilling cold seeping from the direction of the willow bed beside me. The lights in the room, which had been on the entire time, suddenly went off.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

There came an extremely faint sound. It was like small leather shoes stepping on the floor.

Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…

The sound was stiff. Step by step, the sound slowly came closer to my bedside.

After a while, a faint, cool breeze brushed over me. The skin on my exposed arms and neck tingled, as if strands of someone's hair had fallen over them.

A dark shadow silently loomed above me. It carried the eerie chill of a corpse as it slowly pressed down on me...

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open!

Under the dim light, a pair of creepy, black, and hollow eyes met mine.