: 1

After the Vaughn Family found me and brought me back, all I wanted was to build a good relationship with my three brothers. I even transferred all the company shares in my name to them.

But there was always a barrier between my brothers and me: the fake heiress who had been switched with me.

She merely got drunk by accident at a dinner party, and for that, my brothers shoved me into a wine barrel.

They said coldly, "Since you can't take good care of Elara, you can stay in there and reflect on what you've done."

They knew full well I was claustrophobic. Facing the endless darkness, all I could do was desperately beg them for help.

But instead, they sealed the barrel and locked me in the wine cellar, leaving me surrounded by silence.

I was left alone to struggle and pound on the walls in despair...

It wasn't until one week later that their hearts finally softened, and they decided to end the punishment.

What they didn't know was that my corpse had already decomposed into a putrid slurry, my features barely recognizable.

—

1

「5:00 PM」

My three brothers had just gotten home when Butler Cole hurried over, a troubled expression on his face.

"Young Masters, Second Miss Vaughn... she... she's been in the wine cellar... for a week now."

"Do you think... perhaps... we should let Second Miss Vaughn... out first?"

My eldest brother, Devon Vaughn, froze mid-motion as he was about to sit down, likely thinking of me in the wine barrel.

A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a frosty expression.

"There's no need. She'll be fine even if she's locked up for a few more days."

Butler Cole glanced hesitantly at Second Brother, Julian Vaughn, but he only saw an expressionless face.

Still, he steeled himself and said,

"But... the barrel that Second Miss Vaughn is in has started to give off a foul odor. I'm afraid something might have happened to her. Shouldn't we get a doctor to take a look?"

Second Brother Julian Vaughn opened his laptop and looked at a work report on the screen, replying without so much as lifting his head.

"Don't worry. It's normal for there to be a smell after this long."

"For someone like her, forget one week. You could lock her up for a year or two and she'd still be fine."

Butler Cole was about to say something else, but Third Brother Adrian Vaughn cut him off.

"That's enough. If you have time to worry about this,"

"you'd be better off going to the cellar, bringing up her barrel, and putting it out in the sun to sterilize. We can't let her ruin a good barrel."

Hearing the Third Brother's words, Butler Cole's face went white as he exclaimed in horror,

"But it's five degrees Fahrenheit outside! If you move the barrel out there, Second Miss Vaughn will freeze to death!"

Seeing their utter lack of compassion, Butler Cole wanted to try and persuade them further.

But at that moment,

the fake heiress, Elara Vaughn, slowly descended the stairs and looked at the three brothers.

With a wronged expression, she said directly,

"Brothers, please don't be angry. It's all my fault. If I hadn't gotten drunk at the dinner party, my sister wouldn't have been punished."

"I don't care if she hits me or yells at me when she gets out. As long as she isn't angry at you, I'll do anything. I really don't want you to fight with her because of me."

"After all, you and she are the real siblings..."

Seeing Elara Vaughn's pitiful act, Eldest Brother Devon Vaughn quickly pulled her into his embrace.

His face was full of heartache as he said,

"She wouldn't dare!"

Second Brother Julian Vaughn also hurried forward, gently stroking her dark hair as he reassured her.

"Elara, don't be afraid. So what if she's the one related by blood? In our hearts, you are our real sister!"

Third Brother Adrian Vaughn also chimed in reassuringly,

"Elara, don't be afraid. We will always have your back!"

With their assurances, Elara Vaughn leaned into Eldest Brother Devon Vaughn's embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist.

She spoke with a playful pout.

"I knew you brothers were the best to me."

"But I just want our family to live together in peace. As long as my sister can accept me, I don't mind suffering a little."

Second Brother Julian Vaughn looked at her with gratified relief, his tone filled with emotion.

"Our Elara is always the most considerate one."

: Death

I floated in mid-air, watching the four of them sitting together in blissful harmony, but my heart was filled with despair.

I wanted to go to them and ask why. If they never loved me, why did they bring me home? Why did they do this to me?

But they couldn't hear my voice anymore.

After all, I was already dead.

I died in that sunless wine cellar.

Only at the moment of death did I finally break free from that cramped wine barrel.

From the outside, I watched as the vessel once filled with red wine was now stuffed with my tiny body.

Even the barrel's only air vent had been maliciously plugged, as if to trap the person inside for all eternity.

For all of eternity, never to be reincarnated.

So even as a soul, watching this scene unfold, I couldn't stop myself from trembling.

And my brothers, separated from me by only a single floor, were whispering softly, coaxing Elara Vaughn to take another bite.

"Didn't you say yesterday that your stomach was bothering you? Hurry and drink your soup, or you'll be in pain again tonight."

Elara Vaughn ducked coquettishly behind Second Brother, Julian Vaughn, her expression reluctant as she spoke.

"But I don't want to, Eldest Brother. I'm really full. I can't eat another bite."

But Second Brother simply pulled her out in front of him, patiently coaxing her with the promise of buying her the latest designer dress.

Even Third Brother, who was always so cold and aloof, was smiling at the scene.

Only I stood behind them, my heart already in ruins.

But perhaps because of the immense grief, an ache actually began to spread through my otherwise empty chest.

The wine barrel was small, so to stuff me inside, they had deliberately shattered my limbs with a hammer.

The broken bones dug into my flesh, making every second an unbearable agony.

But in their eyes, all the pain I had endured was nothing compared to Elara Vaughn's hangover from a banquet.

But I was the real heiress of the Vaughn Family, their true sister, connected by flesh and blood...

Even in the very last moments, as my life slipped away.

I was still hoping.

Hoping they wouldn't actually hurt me, hoping they still loved me.

After all, I was their real sister.

So, in the final moments of my life, I kept trying to defend myself, to prove that I had done nothing wrong.

But the only answer that came was...

"Butler Cole."

"Get some men to stack all these other barrels on top. When Second Miss Vaughn finally learns her lesson, you can move them."

At that moment, I pounded on the side of the barrel in utter despair,

until the barrel was hoisted up and countless heavy objects were piled on top, the weight so immense I couldn't even breathe.

That's when I heard them say.

"If she still won't behave, turn on the cellar's refrigeration. Let her cool off for a while."

In that moment, despair flooded the small space.

Leaving me alone to stare into the endless darkness, completely and utterly hopeless.

Until the pain in my body slowly faded, until my life finally came to an end...

: Three

After dinner, Elara Vaughn walked over to the sofa and leaned against her Eldest Brother, Devon Vaughn.

She spoke, her voice brimming with grievance.

"Eldest Brother, even though I was the one who got drunk at the banquet, it has nothing to do with my sister."

"So, can we please let her out now?"

At the mention of me, Devon Vaughn's expression immediately soured, and he said in a cold voice,

"The banquet was crowded. What if something had happened to you when you were drunk? I'm sure she did it on purpose. She was probably waiting for the right moment to pull some nasty trick on you."

"And you're the only one foolish enough to still be pleading her case."

Second Brother Julian Vaughn's eyes were also filled with rage as he snapped,

"If we'd known that bitch was so malicious, we never should have brought her back in the first place!"

When Elara Vaughn heard this, a flicker of triumph flashed in her eyes.

But her own eyes welled with tears as she said,

"Second Brother, how can you say that? After all, she is your biological sister."

Third Brother Adrian Vaughn immediately pulled Elara Vaughn into his arms, patting her back comfortingly. His voice was full of tender concern as he said,

"What nonsense are you talking about? *You're* our real sister."

Elara Vaughn lowered her head, burying her face in Third Brother Adrian Vaughn's chest.

She sobbed,

"I know, but... Elara just wants her brothers and sister to be happy... I don't mind being wronged a little."

As she spoke, she casually revealed a scratch on her wrist—a single, clean cut that was clearly meant to look accidental.

Third Brother Adrian Vaughn's eyes immediately fell upon the faint mark, and he grabbed Elara Vaughn's wrist.

He stroked the wound tenderly, the rage in his eyes becoming almost palpable.

"That bitch! How dare she scratch you!"

Elara Vaughn kept her head down, her voice thick with unshed tears and feigned hurt.

"No... Don't blame my sister. I must have done something wrong to make her treat me this way."

This completely ignited the fury in Second Brother Julian Vaughn's heart. He smashed the wine glass in his hand onto the floor.

He turned to Butler Cole, who was standing nearby, and ordered furiously,

"It looks like that bitch has it way too easy!"

"Butler Cole, go right now and drag that girl here. I want her on her knees, apologizing to our Elara!"

Butler Cole looked at them, a troubled expression on his face.

But my Eldest Brother had already turned to another servant behind him, his expression dark. He spoke, his voice cold as ice.

"You, go."

"Bring the cane from my office. Since she enjoys hurting Elara so much, today I'm going to teach her a thing or two about what proper ladylike virtues are!"

Seeing this, Butler Cole dared not delay any longer and could only head toward the wine cellar in the basement.

I, however, found the whole scene laughable.

The truth was, at the banquet one week ago, Elara Vaughn had been upset simply because the man she had a crush on had asked me for directions.

That was why she had deliberately come up to me and said with a haughty expression,

"Who the hell do you think you are, daring to make a spectacle of yourself here?"

"Believe it or not, with just one word from me, you'll be on your knees apologizing!"

I didn't want to get tangled up with her, so I turned to head back to my room.

But she blocked my path, a look of smug certainty on her face. As I stared at her in confusion,

she turned, walked to the center of the banquet hall, and started downing glass after glass of wine.

Then, once she was in a drunken haze, she deliberately sought out my three brothers and told them it was all my fault.

She claimed that was why she'd had too much to drink, and then begged them not to blame me.

Anyone with eyes could see it was a deliberate ploy to frame me.

But in the eyes of those brothers of mine, it was just more proof of my wickedness.

'I suddenly found myself wondering... what expressions my three brothers would wear when they received the news of my death.'

'What kind of expressions would they have?'