My brother was a twisted, paranoid psychopath.

When I was ten, my parents were murdered. Both my legs broke off while I tried to save my brother.

I became his only family and also Achilles’ heel.

Those who mocked me as a crippled would have their bones broken, and anyone who tried to hurt me would be smashed into a pulp.

As he reclaimed our family’s fortune, he became “the Devil” in Amberwater, a man no one dared to offend. Yet, he alone spoiled me like I was a little princess.

Everyone knew that Lucas’s sister was untouchable.

He had sent me abroad to receive the best treatment. The day that I could finally stand up again, I received an invitation to my brother’s engagement banquet.

“Veronica, we’re going to have a new family member soon.”

I heard that his fiancee was the daughter of a wealthy family. She was gentle and virtuous. I dressed beautifully to meet her and planned to give her the jade bracelet that my mother had left behind.

However, she had me kidnapped and taken to an abandoned construction building.

“You lowly little witch. I’ll rip that face of yours since you’re such a seductress. I’ll see how you’ll steal my man now!”

She crushed my mother’s heirloom, broke all my limbs, and ripped my face off. Then, she ordered a dozen men to torment me to death.

In the end, she stuffed me into a gift box and sent it to my brother.

“Dearest, this is your wedding gift. Do you like it?”

My body was sent to my brother in a beautiful gift box.

The skin on my face had been stripped off when I was alive. All that was left was a mass of bloody rotten flesh. My limbs were broken and twisted at weird angles.

My skirt had been torn into tattered strips of cloth, and my body had traces of abuse all over. Blood and bits of my organs were flowing out too. It was a gory sight.

Just yesterday, I was speaking playfully with my brother over the phone. But before I knew it, I was stuffed into a box like a broken rag doll. I would have to wait for him to open it himself.

It was the day of my brother’s engagement banquet.

As I walked out of the airport, I immediately spotted a woman being surrounded by the crowd.

She was Kimberly Clark, my brother’s fiancee.

Ever since I learned that my brother was in a relationship, I had been pestering him for all the details about his romantic life.

In his words, Kimberly was beautiful and gentle. Although she came from a wealthy family, she was not arrogant or domineering. She was a simple and kind-hearted person.

When I saw her, I felt a familial bond with her.

Kimberly seemed to recognize me, and she approached me alongside a group of people.

I thought that she was there to greet me, so I immediately smiled in return. I prepared to give her a bracelet from Mom.

However, she greeted me with a heavy slap instead.

I froze in shock.

Before I could react, someone grabbed my hair and tugged on it hard. I lost my balance and stumbled to the ground.

Someone then stepped on my hand with sharp leather high heels.

“Argh!” I screamed in pain.

Kimberly held my face in a rough manner, and her sharp fingernails dug deep into my flesh.

“You witch. How dare you seduce my man?

“Do you scream like that in bed too?”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I kept shaking my head.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t seduce—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Kimberly slapped me again.

“Do you still refuse to admit that you’re his mistress? Lucas and I are getting married soon. Why else would you show up now if not to steal my man?”

I tasted blood in my mouth, and my cheeks were red as well as swollen. “You’ve misunderstood. My brother and I aren’t in a relationship,” I explained.

Her expression darkened, and she kicked me hard in the chest. “Brother? Drop the act, you little tart! You must have seduced him with that face of yours.”

After that, Kimberly pulled out a voice recorder and said, “Listen to yourself and hear how much of a witch you are!”

The sound of my phone conversation with my brother came through the recorder. As my brother’s gentle, affectionate voice echoed, her expression darkened further.

The recording was not complete; it only captured a brief moment when my brother and I wished each other “good night.” It would definitely be easy for a stranger to misunderstand that.

I was about to explain when her little lackey looked at me with disdain and said, “I’ve never heard Mr. Walker speak so softly to anyone. You really are quite a vixen, huh?”

His remark was like gasoline to a fire, and Kimberly’s face twisted into a snarl.

“Don’t think that just because you have a pretty face, you can steal Lucas from me. I’m telling you that Lucas loves me a lot. Apart from his sister, I’m the most important woman in his life!”

“Exactly. Look at yourself. You’re such a lowly woman, but you dare seduce Ms. Clark’s man? You must have a death wish.”

I raised my arm and tried to free myself from her grip, but she saw the bracelet on my wrist.

Right then, I saw a hint of evil in her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

She snatched the bracelet away with a sinister laugh. “Someone lowly like you probably couldn’t afford such an expensive thing, right?

“Tell me. Did you get Lucas to buy it for you?”

“It’s an heirloom from my mother! Give it back!”

Kimberly laughed mockingly.

“I’m about to marry Lucas, so his money will be mine. You spent my money on this bracelet and still won’t admit it?

“You truly are shameless. It’s no surprise that you would stoop so low and become his mistress.”

Two men then stepped out from behind her on either side and seized me by the arms.

“Since no one’s taught you any manners, I’ll be the generous person for once and teach you some proper etiquette.

“I’ll make sure you understand that a person like you has no right to step into the world of the rich!”

She watched me struggle with contempt. With a flick of her wrist, the jade bracelet fell to the ground with a loud crack and shattered into pieces.

My eyes instantly welled up, but Kimberly glanced at me indifferently.

“Take her away.”

After that, they dragged me to an abandoned construction site.

Kimberly tossed me to the ground. Gasping for air, I cried out, “I’m Veronica, Lucas’s sister! You’ve all made a mistake!”

She was stunned, and she narrowed her eyes to look at me.

I thought that she would see the resemblance between me and my brother. But at the next second, she sneered and kicked my lower abdomen with the pointy part of her hard shoe.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Lucas’s sister is crippled. Everyone in Amberwater knows this. Are you trying to use her to deceive me?”

I was startled.

I had not told Lucas that I could finally stand because I wanted to give him a surprise.

It never occurred to me that it would put me in such a dangerous situation.

“I hate liars the most, but since you enjoy seducing men, I’ll make sure you have a good time.”

She waved her hand, and several burly men stepped out from behind her again. They started to close in on me.

I wanted to run away, but they pinned me to the ground.

The men ripped apart my carefully-tailored suit without mercy, and the buttons scattered across the floor.

“Let go of me! I really am Lucas’s sister! If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself!”

Kimberly ignored my pleas. In fact, her cruelty escalated as she took away the last of my dignity.

“So, you think you can play the helpless little sister in front of him, huh? Listen. Don’t even dream about it. Today, I’ll make sure that he sees just what kind of shameless, promiscuous woman you really are!”

I was barely clothed as I lay on the ground. My skin was also raw from the rough cement. The deep and red marks only made me look more pitiful.

One of the lackeys hesitated and spoke with uncertainty. “Ms. Clark… should we ask Mr. Walker about this first? What if—”

Before she could finish speaking, Kimberly gave her a hard slap on the face.

“Who do you think you are to advise me? Don’t forget that I’m the future hostess of the Walker family. You all know how much Lucas dotes on me, don’t you? I could murder someone, and he’d still clean up the mess for me, especially if it involves a little witch like her.

“Even if she ends up being Lucas’s sister, I’ll just apologize to him. He’ll forgive me. He always does.”

Kimberly appeared smug and satisfied with herself. Meanwhile, the lady beside her quietly stepped back.

Everyone in the room feared Kimberly.

“Since you want to pretend to be Lucas’s sister, let me help you make it more convincing.

“His sister’s a cripple, so why don’t I make you one too?”

I watched in a panic as she picked up a steel pipe. Before I could make a sound, I felt an intense sharp pain in my calf.

At the same time, I heard the deafening crack of my bones.

The pain was so intense that my vision blurred. For a moment, everything seemed to spin into darkness.

My leg had just healed. The doctor had warned me that if I hurt it again, I might never stand again for the rest of my life.

I had planned to give Lucas a surprise. But at this point, all I could do was break his heart even more.

Trembling with fury, I clutched my leg as I shouted, “If you lay a hand on me, my brother will never marry you!”

Kimberly’s expression darkened instantly.

She slammed her foot down on my injured leg, and the searing pain shot through me. I felt a wave of dizziness, and my arms were forcibly pinned to the ground.

“You dare to curse me?”

She locked her eyes on my face, and they were filled with venomous hatred.

“What if you continue to seduce other men? No, I shouldn’t let mistresses like you mistreat women.”

Right then, she took out a small knife and said, “As someone with a strong sense of justice, I have no choice but to eliminate threats like you to society. Do you honestly think that if I strip that shameless face of yours away, you’d still have any power over men?”

I recoiled in terror, and the cold sharp blade scratched my cheek. The cut separated my skin from my flesh, and the pain made me twitch all over. Kimberly laughed happily when she saw me in agony.

“Perfect! Now, let’s see which man would still be foolish enough to fall for your tricks!”

She grabbed the skin on my face and tugged on it so hard that she ended up ripping it off entirely.

“Ah!”

I seemed to see a flash of white light before my mind went blank. All that was left was the taste of blood rising from my hoarse throat.

“Look! She looks so ugly now. I’m afraid to look at her…”

Kimberly covered her mouth in an exaggerated manner and kicked me in disgust.

Blood covered my eyes, and I could not see her clearly. I could only gasp as my body shook uncontrollably.

My whole body felt as if I had been thrown into a fire. I was burning and convulsing, yet I had no strength left.

“I’m giving her to you.”