On my birthday, my adopted sister, Sophia Norris, frames me for soiling her dress and causing her to not be able to attend the banquet.

My older brothers, Gerald and Gary Moore, immediately demand that I give my gown to Sophia. Otherwise, they will cancel the birthday banquet.

Furious, I point at them while screaming, "I didn't ruin her dress at all! She was the one who splashed red wine onto it!

"Also, I will never give my gown to her! My best friend designed it for me!"

As soon as my words fall, Gerald commands the bodyguards to tear the gown from my body. At the same time, Gary picks up a wine glass and dumps red wine onto my face.

"It's bad enough that you constantly bully Sophia! Today, her crush, Zachary Green, will be attending the banquet too! Do you have any idea how long she has prepared for this day to come?"

Gerald adds, "A vile woman like you doesn't have the right to be born, let alone celebrate your birthday!"

After that, a few bodyguards drag me into the basement. Immediately, pitch-black darkness swallows me.

I have severe asthma. Breathing becomes insanely difficult for me as seconds tick by. I keep screaming loudly and calling for help, but all I hear is laughter coming from the banquet upstairs.

It isn't until the banquet is well underway that Gerald and Gary remember that I exist. But I've already died in the cramped basement.

I, Giselle Moore, died on the day of my 21st birthday.

When I peeled my eyes open again, I was no longer in the hellish basement where I'd been trapped. Instead, I was in the grand hall. I should have been the star of the night. Instead, my adopted sister, Sophia Norris, stood in my place.

She had donned a new gown bejeweled with rubies and emeralds. Her sparkling attire made her the center of attention.

I watched the scene unfold, my chest heaving as if I were stuck in a trance. My mother had intended that gown for me—a gift to celebrate my transition into adulthood. However, she passed away before she could give it to me.

To me, the dress was a sacred memento. Yet, Sophia was now wearing it.

A lump formed in my throat. With eyes brimming with tears, I watched my brothers, Gerald and Gary Moore, crowding around Sophia.

Gerald, always cold and unapproachable, gently caught Sophia's hand as she reached for a plate. "Don't eat that. Have you forgotten your seafood allergy?"

Gary flicked Sophia's forehead playfully. "You're like a hungry kitten. You'd be oblivious even if someone poisoned you."

Suddenly, one of the helpers, Alicia Norton, spoke up. "Mr. Gerald, Mr. Gary, it's already 11 o'clock. Should we send food to the basement? Ms. Giselle is quite weak. I'm afraid she'll pass out from starvation."

Gary snorted. He pointed at the crumbs on the table. "Sure. Why don't we give her these? If she's truly hungry, she won't be picky."

Gerald's expression turned grim. "Don't joke around. If you ask me, she should just stay hungry. Perhaps it will finally teach her a lesson."

Alicia tried to protest, but she was so intimidated by their icy glares that she couldn't muster another word.

"I think that little bitch destroyed Sophia's dress on purpose, knowing how much she looked forward to this banquet."

"I totally agree. She tried to grab everything Sophia likes, even men. I saw her chatting with Zachary Green in the garden a while ago. Sophia cried her eyes out upon seeing them."

At the mention of Zachary, Sophia's expression crumbled into one of devastation. "Do you think Giselle will try to get back at me for locking her in the basement by latching onto Zachary?"

Gerald patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll have people watching her 24/7. She won't get near him."

Gary chuckled. "You're always one step ahead, Gerald. Now we'll know exactly what she's up to if she tries anything funny."

Sophia listened calmly, without a shred of nervousness, because she knew I was dead. Their schemes would never come to fruition.

Suddenly, a sharply dressed man appeared, swirling his champagne with deliberate ease.

The man was none other than Zachary Green.

He surveyed the trio before asking, "Isn't it Ms. Giselle Moore's birthday today? Why is she absent?"

"She's sick!" Sophia answered instantly.

Zachary's face fell. "Is it something serious? Which hospital is she in?"

Jealousy flashed in Sophia's eyes, but she quickly masked it with a fake smile, hooking her arm through his. "She's at a private hospital. Let's visit her together after the banquet."

As Sophia and Zachary walked away, Gerald and Gary exchanged displeased glances.

"What scheme did Giselle use to make Zachary so enamored with her?"

"Gerald, something has to change. Sophia is too soft-spoken. We have to help her."

Gary immediately pulled out the phone I had left behind. Finding my chat with Zachary, he typed, "Can you stop harassing me? It's disgusting. For the last time, I already have someone I like!"

Smirking victoriously, Gary said, "I'll be damned if Zachary still likes her after reading that, considering how prideful he is."

Gerald nodded. "Giselle has always disliked Sophia. Why don't we take a peek at their chat history? If we find evidence of her abusing Sophia, we can send screenshots to Zachary. Once he sees her true colors, he'll lose all interest."

Gary thought it was a brilliant idea. He immediately began scrolling through my chat with Sophia.

My heart seized. Finally, they were going to see how Sophia had always been the instigator.

Our chat history was filled with evidence of Sophia bullying me. For example, she'd accused me of causing my parents' death. She also bragged about how she had deluded Gary and Gerald, calling them utter idiots.

Every time I tried to show someone these messages, Sophia would either cut me off or threaten me into silence.

Finally…

But just as Gary opened our chat, Sophia rushed back and snatched my phone away.

"Gary, stop worrying about me. You should be enjoying the banquet!"

Her sudden panic should have set off alarm bells. Gary had always been perceptive, yet he simply patted her head. "You're too thoughtful, Sophia. But we should seize this chance to expose Giselle so you can win Zachary over."

"I agree," Gerald added. "Once she's out of the basement, who knows how she'll pester him?"

Sophia shook her head resolutely. "I want to chase him on the same footing as Giselle. I'm not about to backstab her. If that were my plan, I'd have done it long before now, right?"

Gerald and Gary exchanged a look before shaking their heads with quiet resignation. Then they turned to Sophia with fondness, though pity lingered in their eyes.

"You're just too kind, Sophia. If you were half as cunning as Giselle, Zachary would've been yours already."

I stood to the side, watching their disgusted expressions. A heavy melancholy settled over me. Things hadn't always been this way. Everything changed the moment our parents, Brian Moore and Melanie Palmer, passed away.

After my parents passed away, Gerald and Gary took turns caring for me around the clock. They feared I might take my own life in grief.

Eventually, worried that I was lonely, they adopted a girl my age from the orphanage—Sophia Norris.

But Sophia's arrival shattered our family. She took my dresses, stole my jewelry, and finally smashed my parents' portrait.

That was the breaking point. I slapped her, but at that exact moment, Gerald and Gary walked in.

Sophia framed me, claiming I had destroyed the portrait deliberately. She wanted them to lose faith in me, to cast me out.

At first, they didn't believe her. But when she revealed her wounds and sobbed that I had abused her, they never saw me in the same light again. They grew cold, distant, and treated me like a stranger.

As Sophia's accusations piled up, my brothers' affection turned into hatred. Eventually, they sided with her in every quarrel, never sparing a thought for me.

Like today, they locked me in the suffocating basement after a trivial argument. Gerald and Gary knew I had asthma; they knew the stagnant air could kill me.

When we were children, I once got trapped in a storeroom, and they had pounded on the door until they suffered fractures.

Now, their only response to my cries and pleas was a laugh.

"It's just for a while. Why the dramatics? We've obviously been too soft on you."

"Gerald, stop wasting your time on her. Sophia will worry if we're gone too long."

Then Gerald turned to the guards. "You can all leave for the night."

He looked at me, "Don't you love screaming? I'll let you get your fill. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will save you. Don't blame me for being cruel. You brought this on yourself."

And just like that, I died on my birthday.

I gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. A lifetime with my brothers meant nothing compared to four short years with Sophia.

Suddenly, Zachary stormed in, furious. "Take me to Ms. Moore right now! I want an explanation from her!"

His phone displayed the message Gary had sent her. Sophia quickly tugged at Zachary's sleeve. "Calm down, Zachary. Giselle must be delirious from her fever. I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you."

Gary sneered. "Delirious from her fever? That's just her vile personality. Mr. Green, you're lucky she doesn't like you. Someone like her doesn't deserve you."

Gerald nodded. "Exactly. You'd be better off paying attention to the people already around you."

Sophia gazed up at Zachary shyly, her eyes glimmering with affection.

However, Zachary just shoved her aside and declared impatiently, "Giselle isn't that type of person!"

He glared at Gerald and Gary. "What would your parents think if they knew how you've mistreated your own sister? If you won't take me to Giselle, I'll find her myself!"

Zachary shook off Sophia's grip and left without looking back.

Tears immediately welled in her eyes.

At that, both Gerald and Gary were enraged on her behalf. Gerald slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Mistreating? She deserves it! If she treated Sophia better, would we need to punish her?"

Gary smirked. "You want to find her? Send ten men to guard the basement entrance. No one is to approach her without my permission!"

As guards rushed downstairs, my heart sank.

Gerald, Gary, there was no need for that. I was already long gone.

Even if Zachary came to my rescue, he would find only a corpse.

I drifted to the corner of the banquet hall and looked out the window. I didn't want to continue looking at their display of sibling affection—their new perfect version of a family.

Outside, snow fell more heavily. A man held his sister close, breathing warmth into her hands.

My eyes stung at the sight of that. My brothers used to treat me like that.

Just as I was lost in memory, a guard burst in. "Mr. Gerald, Mr. Gary, Ms. Giselle isn't moving. When I got close, I couldn't hear her breathing."

Gerald froze for a moment. Recovering his composure, he slammed his palm against the table. His voice thundered, "Giselle's acting is getting better! Barely two hours in the basement, and this is what she pulls?"

Gary remained silent for a beat before speaking, his tone uneasy. "Gerald, Giselle has asthma. Could it be…"

The two exchanged wary glances, doubt flickering in their eyes. Sophia interjected quickly, "Asthma? But hasn't Giselle always carried her medication? I don't think anything serious would happen to her."

Relief washed over Gerald and Gary, but their anger soon returned.

Gary summoned a guard. "If she keeps pretending to be unconscious after half an hour, head in and slap awake. Got it?

"She thinks fainting will spare her punishment? How naive. Once she's up, drag her here. If Giselle refuses to apologize to Sophia today, she'll rot in that basement for the rest of her life."

Sophia tugged at Gary's shirt, looking up at him pitifully. "Don't hit Giselle, Gary. She's your biological sister, and I'm just an orphan. How could she ever apologize to me?"

"What nonsense is that? To us, you mean just as much as she does. You are both my sisters," Gary said, pulling Sophia into an embrace.

Gerald approached and patted her head. "I agree. I'd rather have you as my sister than Giselle."

I thought I had grown numb to the world, but hearing those words still cut deep.

Suddenly, a guard rushed in, exclaiming, "Bad news! Mr. Green overheard the maids and discovered Ms. Giselle's whereabouts. He's at the entrance of the basement, shouting that he'll save her!"

Sophia's eyes welled with tears, while Gerald and Gary were livid.

"He's truly besotted with her! What a pity he's chosen the wrong woman!"

"Let's head to the basement. I'll make Giselle kneel and apologize to Sophia. Let's see if Zachary still wants her once she's been thoroughly humiliated."

Gerald and Gary strode out of the room. I followed in silence, listening to them hurl insults at me with every step they took.