Chapter 1

No one knew I was dead.

At eleven, they returned, laughing, from her birthday party.

My brother Marcus thundered up the stairs and pounded on my bedroom door.

"Eileen! Stop pretending to sleep! Get out here. Lena's still waiting for you to help blow out the candles."

When no response came, Marcus simply shouldered the door open. He was dressed in a sharp suit, but his face was etched with impatience.

"Still playing dead?" Marcus strode toward the bed. "Tonight's Lena's coming-of-age party. Don't tell me you plan to sleep through until tomorrow."

He yanked back the covers. The bed was empty.

Only a worn stuffed animal lay on the pillow, clutching a notebook in its arms. On the notebook's cover, a number was written in black ink: 88.

Marcus paused. He picked up the notebook and flipped through a few pages.

I saw his brow furrow. But only for an instant. The next second, he tossed the notebook back onto the bed.

"What kind of mystical nonsense is this now?" he muttered, pulling out his phone to call me.

The phone rang somewhere, but no one answered.

Marcus left a voicemail.

"Fine, you skipped the party. Now the whole family's waiting to celebrate Lena's birthday and you're pulling another disappearing act?"

"Since she clearly doesn’t matter to you, then just never come back!"

He hung up, slammed the door behind him.

If he'd looked at that notebook one more time, if he'd actually read through those 88 entries, would it have made a difference?

Laughter and voices drifted up from downstairs.

My soul drifted involuntarily toward the great hall.

"She's not in her room, won't answer her phone." Marcus walked into the hall, irritation coloring his voice. "God knows where she's hiding now."

My father, Dominic, set down his wine glass.

"Forget about her," he said icily. "We've indulged her too much. Let's cut Lena's cake first."

Mother Isabella nodded, but Lena—my sister—suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Mom," tears welled in Lena's eyes, "shouldn't we wait a bit longer for Eileen?"

Her voice was soft and gentle, her face full of concern.

If I didn't know her true nature, I might almost believe she actually cared about me.

Isabella pulled Lena into her arms, gently patting her hand.

"What does Eileen's little tantrum have to do with you? She just can't stand to see you happy."

"Maybe I should text her."

I watched Lena look down at her phone. Her fingers flew across the screen.

[How were those degenerates' services? The party was spectacular—thanks for being considerate enough to stay away. Better if you just disappeared for good.]

But quickly, Lena deleted it.

She typed again, this time with completely different content.

[Sis, where are you? Everyone's so worried. Did I make you angry? I'm sorry, please come back, okay?]

She held up her phone to show our parents.

"Look," Lena's voice caught with a sob, "I've sent her so many messages, but she won't reply..."

Isabella looked at it briefly, then hugged her daughter even more tenderly.

Dominic just snorted coldly. "She's doing it on purpose. Don't worry about her."

Today was supposed to be the day I received the Family Honor Medal. That award was given to only one person each year—the most outstanding member of the entire family.

When I learned the award date, I volunteered that they didn't need to attend the ceremony.

Because it happened to fall on Lena's coming-of-age party.

But when the moment actually came, I still held out hope.

I picked up my phone and took one last look at the family group chat before heading to the ceremony.

It was full of messages about Lena's party.

[The hotel ballroom's all decorated. Pink theme—Lena will love it.]

[Flowers are arranged too. Marcus, try to get off work early.]

[Got it, I'll come back early to help set up.]

No one mentioned me.

I closed my phone screen, took a deep breath, and prepared to leave.

Just as I reached the backyard, the storage room door suddenly burst open.

Three strange men rushed out. Before I could react, I was dragged inside.

"You—" I struggled, "how did you get access keys to the estate?"

The lead man dangled a keychain in front of my face.

It was Lena's exclusive keychain. Pink, with her monogrammed initials hanging from it.

Before I could react, they pinned me to the ground. I felt my clothes being torn, searing pain shooting through my neck.Their filthy laughter echoing in my ears.

I kept struggling, then my hand brushed against the voice recorder in my pocket—my “friend,” always listening when it counts.

I pressed the button. At least there would be evidence.

In one final act of resistance, the back of my head slammed hard against the metal edge of a shelf.

Warm liquid flowed down from my skull.

The pain began to blur my vision.

The men fled, leaving me alone in a pool of blood.

I used my last reserves of strength to crawl toward my phone lying on the floor.

My trembling fingers pressed the power button five times. Emergency SOS activated.

The phone began automatically sending distress signals and my location to emergency contacts.

Mom's phone rang first.

I could sense her reaction. She glanced at the caller ID and frowned.

She hung up, then sent a text message:

[Trying to ruin Lena's moment again? I've had enough!]

The phone continued to the next number.

Dad and Marcus. They hung up too.

Finally, the phone called My fiancé's number.

"Adrian..." I used the last of my strength, "please come save me... I'm at..."

"Enough, Eileen," Adrian's voice was cold and impatient. "That routine's getting old. Can you drop the act?"

The phone screen then went dark.

I lay on the cold floor, blood slowly flowing from beneath me, spreading into a dark crimson lake on the ground.

My consciousness began to fade.

Lena had told me her birthday wish last night—she wanted me to disappear from this world.

That way, our parents could give all their love to her alone.

Tonight, her wish had come true ahead of schedule.