Annie froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into a hysterical scream.

Oh, so her beauty mark was fake after all. It seemed like she knew she was just an impostor too.

The two girls standing behind her seemed uneasy. “Annie, maybe you should ask who she is before doing anything. You don’t want to mess with the wrong family and get in trouble with your dad again.”

Annie sneered. “George is throwing a birthday party at the company today. Anyone important is at the event hosted by the Larson Group. What kind of heiress would be sneaking around here, trying to break into my house?

“Only a rat from the gutter would dream of pretending to be someone else and using dirty tricks to climb the social ladder. You want to be Mrs. Larson? Dream on.”

Annie spoke each word slowly and deliberately, all while raising the heel of her shoe high in the air.

The next moment, the sharp heel stabbed straight into my eye. A wave of excruciating pain shot through my head, followed by a rush of warm liquid pouring down my face. The pain was worse than when I had slit my own throat.

Was I finally going to die? Was I finally free?

Through the blinding pain, my mind suddenly cleared. I could feel the blood pouring from my eye and my body trembling uncontrollably.

Annie’s maniacal laughter echoed around me.

“For the rest of your life, you’ll be blind! I’ve destroyed the one thing that looked like me. Let’s see how you plan to seduce George now, you shameless thing!”

For the rest of my life? What a cruel curse.

Why? Why was it so hard just to die?

I laughed bitterly and, with whatever strength I had left, grabbed Annie’s collar. Although my vision was gone, I could hear the sickening crunch of my damaged eye, and the blood continued to pour out.

“Shameless? My skin is way better than yours! George applies my skincare himself every single day!

“Are you mad? You’ll never be better than me, so go ahead, kill me!”

I put everything I had into my grip, and Annie could not break free. She took several slaps from me before collapsing to the ground, and I fell right beside her.

For all I cared, Annie could either kill me or die with me. Thus, I reached out blindly, grabbing Annie’s arm and sinking my teeth into it as hard as I could. I bit down with all my strength, almost to the bone.

Annie screamed in rage, pressing down on my wounded eye, until I was nearly unconscious and finally let go.

“You psycho! I’ll kill you today! Somebody, tie this lunatic up!”

I had forgotten Annie was not alone.

There was a moment of hesitation as the others stood still, unsure, but soon I heard the rustling of someone searching for a rope. They quickly tied up my arms and legs again.

I could not move at all, but several of them still held me down, pinning my arms and legs, afraid I would fight back.

Then, something sharp started jabbing into my face over and over again. It felt like a thick, metallic needle stabbing brutally into my cheeks, my nose, my chin…

“So, you think your skin’s better than mine, huh? Is that why George is always pampering you? Well, let’s see how pretty you are after this! I’ll ruin your face, every inch of it! Let’s see how you can steal him from me!”

I could feel that my face was completely shredded. Even the slightest twitch sent waves of agony through my body, but I could not see anything anymore.

“George is mine, you filthy little homewrecker! Pretending to be me to get close to him? Dream on!”

With that, she grabbed a pair of garden shears from the ground.

“Trying to copy my style by wearing cheap knock-offs, huh? Pathetic! All my clothes are custom, handpicked by George himself. And here you are, parading around in fakes, feeling proud?

“Take it off! You don’t deserve to wear anything like mine!”

Annie screamed like a madwoman while wildly hacking at my clothes with the scissors.

Most of my outfit was slashed to pieces, and my skin was cut up so badly that blood was dripping everywhere, from my face, arms, and body. I was covered in it.

Annie’s clothes had also started ripping at the seams with all the wild movements, but she did not care. She just kept swinging the scissors at me.

What she did not realize was that her clothes were the real knock-offs.

As the clothes George gave me were all exclusive, one-of-a-kind pieces, in order to create a fake version of me, he had to send people to hunt down knock-offs.

The pain was unbearable. Why was I not dead yet? Why was I not reunited with my parents?

Suddenly, a voice broke through the haze, tinged with impatience.

“What are you doing here?” George sounded irritated.

Annie let out an instinctive yelp and quickly released her grip on me.

My body, which had been suspended in the air, dropped suddenly, limbs contorting in unnatural ways as I hit the ground. My own weight crushed me, and I heard the sickening sound of bones snapping.

All my bones must be broken now, and I thought, ‘George, do I finally look like a doll to you? The one you always wanted me to be?’

I suddenly wondered what expression was on George’s face. It was too bad I could not see it anymore.

Annie’s lackeys hurriedly stuffed me into a filthy garbage bag, but I did not struggle. I just lay there obediently.

Annie's voice wavered with panic. "George, I couldn’t reach you, so I thought I’d wait for you here at the estate..."

“You know, without my permission, no one is allowed to set foot into this part of the estate.” George's voice carried an undeniable authority, and I could sense Annie collapsing to the ground in fear.

It was getting boring. Could they just hurry up and stop with the bickering? I wanted George to come and witness my death with his own eyes. I wanted him to see what he had done to the free-spirited life I once had—how he tortured me.

I could not wait much longer. As my mind started to slip, I felt my life ebbing away. Images of George and me flashed in my mind.

When we first met, I saved him from drowning during one of his asthma attacks. He had clutched my hand so tightly, refusing to let go until I told him my name and address.

Even then, George was a madman, and as we grew older, I became George’s greatest obsession.

“Luna, my life belongs to you. If you’re unhappy, you can take it any time.

“Luna, as long as you stay, I’ll agree to anything. I’d even die if you asked.

“Luna, don’t be foolish. You don’t have a home anymore. Where could you possibly run to?

“Luna, you pushed me to this. From now on, you won’t leave this estate, not even a step.

“Luna, if you try to end it all again, I’ll die with you. Even in death, we’ll be together—forever. You can’t escape me.

“Luna…”

"Take this woman and throw her into the sea. But be gentle, don’t scare her."

A familiar voice echoed, blending with my memories. It was George.

By the time he got to the second half of the sentence, his voice had softened, even carrying a trace of amusement.

He seemed to have thought of something and quietly instructed the people around him, "Oh, check if she's awake. If she is, take her down to have some cake. It’s her favorite flavor."

Annie, hearing George's last sentence, naturally assumed that the "she" he was referring to was herself, so she relaxed again.

"George, I knew you were just trying to scare me. You wouldn’t really leave me, right? Oh, and George, I have a birthday present for you!" she said.

George clicked his tongue in irritation, but Annie did not seem to notice. She gave me a swift kick, then yanked me up by my hair and tossed me at George’s feet. There was a smug smile on her face.

"I caught someone trying to sneak into the estate. Do you want to take a look at the trash, George?"

George, who clearly was not focused on Annie, replied indifferently, "Just toss it where trash belongs."

Annie sneered, "Exactly! And get this, she had the nerve to get plastic surgery to look like me. Look at her, wearing knockoff clothes and trying to imitate my style!"

"Oh?" George sounded smug. "No matter how hard they try, no one can compare to you. You’re my masterpiece… You’re simply perfect."

I heard footsteps approaching, and soon enough, I felt George standing in front of me. He casually kicked the corner of the garbage bag I was in with his shoe, probably curious to see who had the audacity to break into his estate.

However, the stench of blood and garbage must have hit him hard because he abruptly stopped. Covering his nose, he stepped back a couple of paces.

"Disgusting. Get rid of it, now."