My sister aims her camera at my face as she livestreams. She forces me to get on my knees before her as everyone in her class watches. Then, she tells me to lick her shoe clean.

My parents know about her behavior but don't care how it affects me. Their indulgence only makes my sister's behavior worse.

This is precisely what I want, though. If one wants to ruin someone, the first step is to turn her into a psycho!

To be honest, the people I called my parents weren't my biological parents. Instead, they were my uncle, Charles Brown, and his wife, Nancy Baker. My sister wasn't my biological sister, either. She was my cousin, Amy Brown.

I was an orphan.

An accident had killed my parents when I was 14. Other people would probably assume that such things only happened in the news or some TV drama.

However, this accident had actually happened in my life, and it had even taken place on my birthday.

My parents had been on a business trip out of the city, and they had taken the trouble to drive all the way back home to celebrate my birthday.

Halfway through their journey, a large truck transporting coal collided with a car, causing the truck to overturn.

My parents' car had just so happened to be driving past. The overturned truck had fallen toward my parents' car along with the mountain of coal it was carrying. In an instant, my parents' small car had been crushed and buried under the coal.

My dad had died on the spot. My mom had been gravely injured, and she had been sent to the hospital. She was almost gone by the time I had hurried over.

My grandparents had died early on, and my only close relatives were my other aunt, Elizabeth Sparks, and Uncle Charles. I was just a kid, so if none of my relatives were willing to take me in, I would have to be sent to the orphanage.

Elizabeth was a single mother, so she already had a lot on her plate. So, she wasn't willing to take me in.

In her final moments, my mom entrusted Charles with guardianship rights. Holding my hand, Charles had promised my mom that he would take good care of me. He had claimed that he would treat me even better than he would treat his own daughter.

When my mom heard that, she gazed longingly at me before taking her final breath.

Since then, my birthday had also become the day my parents died.

I had thought that this was the worst tragedy of my life, but sadly, something even worse was on the horizon.

After holding a simple funeral for my parents, Charles showed me the guardianship agreement my mom had signed before she passed away. Then, he said to me, "Julia, come live with me from now on. Nancy and I will protect you and treat you well forever."

Charles and Nancy told me that from then on, I could refer to them as my parents in public so that I would seem close to them.

Three days after my parents' passing, Charles' family moved into my house. They claimed that they were moving in to take care of me.

My house had a two-room layout. It wasn't huge, but it was situated in the city. It was also in a highly sought-after school district, so it was worth quite a lot.

As soon as Nancy walked in through the entrance, she began scrutinizing my house with a greedy look in her eyes. She said, "I never noticed how well-kept this house is. What a nice place! The housing market is doing well right now, so this house could fetch us a tidy sum of money."

Charles, who was sitting on the couch, pulled up a property listing app on his phone right away. He then started looking at the housing prices in our residential area. He suggested, "Why don't you sell this place, Julia? I'll chip in a little, and then we can all move into a bigger house. What do you think?"

Immediately after that, Nancy looked at me with a gleam in her eyes as well.

I felt myself shuddering from head to toe. I hadn't expected them to have ulterior motives like that when they took me in!

Also, my parents were just buried yesterday, but Charles and Nancy were already raring to go right now!

I dug my nails into my palms. A moment later, my eyes turned red as I started wailing. I said, "Uncle Charles, I miss Dad and Mom dearly. This house is the only thing they've left me. I don't want to leave this place."

Charles' expression shifted when he saw me covering my face and sobbing. He seemed to have realized that this matter should not be rushed. "It's not urgent, anyway. I just hope that you'll remember my suggestion and think about it carefully."

When Nancy heard what Charles said, she scoffed in annoyance. She muttered, "Ugh, crying again? She'll be the death of us all."

I sniffled as I wiped my tears on my sleeve. I lowered my head, hiding all the rage in my eyes.

I was still young, so I wasn't powerful enough to fight back. At that moment, faking weakness became my only weapon against them.

I watched as Charles and Nancy moved into the master bedroom that previously belonged to my parents. My room was also taken over by my cousin Amy, who was only several months younger than me.

When Charles was out that night, Nancy summoned me to the master bedroom. She was wearing my mom's silk pajamas as she sat on my mom's bed. She applied my mom's skincare products on her skin as she spoke nonchalantly.

"Julia, you'd want to be more considerate of your sister, right? She has to fit a piano in her room, so there really is no space for your bed anymore. Why don't you sleep in the living room from now on? You're quite small, so the couch should be big enough for you to sleep on."

My dad had given my mom those silk pajamas as a birthday gift, and they were also my mom's favorite sleepwear.

Also, my mom's skincare products were all high-end imported goods. If it were before, Nancy could never afford them at all.

I gritted my teeth before forcing a sweet smile on my face. I said, "I'm fine with sleeping in the living room. My parents' photos are placed in the living room, anyway, so I'll pretend they're keeping me company. But…"

I was hesitant to speak. Nancy frowned a little as she looked at me, prodding, "But what?"

I whispered, "Aunt Nancy, I read in a book that you're not supposed to use a dead person's belongings. It's really bad luck! Look, my mom's photo is looking right at you!"

I extended my hand and pointed at the photos of my parents placed next to the TV in the living room.

When Nancy heard that, she looked up to find that she was meeting the gaze of the person in the photo. Startled, she looked like she wasn't interested in the high-end skincare products anymore. She shoved them aside in disdain.

I subtly turned up the corners of my lips, deciding to add more fuel to the fire.

I went to the living room and retrieved the first aid kit stored there. Taking out a tube of ointment meant for skin abscesses, I graciously handed it to Nancy.

I said, "Here, Aunt Nancy. My mom always had skin infections when she was alive. I'm not sure if it can be transmitted via clothing, though. Anyway, this ointment is the one she always uses. It's pretty effective."

"Skin infections?" Nancy frowned deeply as she leaped off the bed in panic, exclaiming, "You brat! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

With that, she hurriedly grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom connected to the master bedroom.

I exited the master bedroom and proceeded to sit on the couch. I stared at my mom's photo.

I said in my mind, "Mom, I'm sorry for lying that you had skin infections. I should've been more respectful of you. Still, I was doing it to protect your belongings. I had no choice.

"Dad, Mom, please protect me as you watch over me from above. I have to protect everything our family has and teach these evil people a lesson for trying to hurt us."

Just then, Amy tossed my school bag and books out of my room, treating them like trash. My stuff crashed heavily onto the floor. "Julia, this room is mine now, so take your garbage with you."

The pink princess-like dress she was wearing was a dress my mom had bought for me. It was an expensive branded item.

As expected, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Both Amy and her mother had a weird tendency to wear other people's clothes.

"Well, Amy, since all my stuff is garbage to you and you hate me so much, why don't you take off that dress and give it back to me?" I retorted nonchalantly.

Amy instantly had a foul look on her face as she said, "Did you think I'd care? From today onward, you're nothing but my maid, so your things naturally belong to me, too."

"I'm your maid, you say? Who made that decision, you or Uncle Charles? Why don't we go ask him about it?" I retorted. Then, I took her hand and pretended that I was going out to look for Charles.

Amy's expression froze as she silently retracted her hand.

She turned around to go back to her room, but then, she happened to catch sight of my parents' photos in the living room. Stopping in her steps, she said mockingly, "Do you suppose you're the sort of person who brings bad luck, Julia? Were you the reason your parents died when you were only 14?"

My gaze instantly turned cold. I didn't mind them mistreating or bullying me, but I couldn't tolerate them talking bad about my parents, especially when they were taking over my house like robbers!

Just then, I heard the sound of the key turning in the door lock. Calming down, I put on a look of indignation as I said, "That's not impossible. If you're worried that I might bring death and bad luck to you too, I can get Uncle Charles to revoke his guardianship rights."

Charles had just entered the house when he heard me talking about getting his guardianship rights revoked. His expression shifted in anxiety. "Julia, don't listen to Amy. We don't think that at all."

They hadn't gotten their hands on my family's house and the password for the bank cards. Of course, they wouldn't want to have the guardianship rights revoked right now.

Getting the guardianship rights revoked was a clean hit to Charles' critical weakness.

"But Uncle Charles, Amy just said that I was the reason my parents died. She might be right. I don't want to get you and your family in trouble too," I said, biting my lip and trying to look as pitiful as possible.

Fearing that I might actually get the guardianship rights revoked, Charles hastily glared at Amy and shouted angrily, "Amy, apologize to Julia right now! I'll teach you a lesson if you say those things again!"

Amy was Charles and Nancy's only daughter and the apple of their eye, so of course, Charles' harsh tone startled her. Her eyes instantly reddened as she began sobbing pitifully. She said stubbornly, "No way! She really does bring bad luck, and she'll be the death of our family!"

When I heard that, I pursed my lips and put on an even sadder expression. I lamented, "It's all my fault, Uncle Charles. I don't think you should take me in, after all. Just leave me alone to fend for myself."

In his panic, Charles raised his hand and slapped Amy across the face. He shouted, "Come on, Amy! Apologize!"

Amy's cheek quickly became red and swollen. She was stunned by the slap. Charles and Nancy had pampered her all her life, so the slap came as a surprise.

She lay on the floor as if she were throwing a tantrum. Then, she began wailing and making a fuss about it, crying, "Save me, Mom! Dad hit me because of Julia! Waaah! Save me, Mom…"

Back in the master bedroom, Nancy had already taken a shower and changed into her own clothes. She walked out of the bedroom.

When Nancy saw her precious daughter crying on the floor, her heart ached terribly for Amy. She shoved me and Charles aside as she hastily helped Amy up.

Turning around, Nancy stared coldly at me as she warned, "Do you really have to cause such a ruckus in this house, Julia?

"You said that you want to get the guardianship rights revoked, so does that mean you want to be sent to an orphanage? You can't even behave at home, so I can only imagine how much you'll suffer there!"

I lowered my head. I knew that this wasn't the right time to completely turn against them. So, I said calmly, "Uncle Charles, I know that Amy is still a clueless kid, so I shouldn't hold it against her. However, Amy has said that I was the reason my parents died. She should at least apologize for it, right?"

Charles hastily gave Nancy a look. Nancy understood what Charles meant. She had to choose between money and her poor daughter's pride. She eventually decided to choose the former.

Caressing the top of Amy's head, Nancy coaxed gently, "Amy, I've taught you to be patient, right? So, please be a good girl and apologize. I'll buy lots of dresses and dolls for you when the time comes, promise."

"When the time comes?" I thought. Nancy was probably talking about when she and Charles had completely wrestled my home and the bank cards out of my hands.

It was only the first day, but their greed was already in full view.

The angrier I felt inside, the calmer I appeared on the outside.

A long while later, I finally heard Amy's reluctant apology. "I'm sorry, Julia. It was my fault. Please forgive me."

She was apologizing, but I could see the rage and malice in her eyes. I knew that she wouldn't stop there.

However, I would show her that I wasn't someone to be trifled with, either.