Chapter 1
"Katrina, you pushed Lena and refuse to apologize? Then stay in this snake room!"
Katrina Fontaine's legs were coiled by two thick snakes. Terror prickled across her scalp, and she nearly fainted.
Through her overwhelming fear, she lifted her head, wanting to beg for help.
But her eldest brother Brandon stood outside the glass enclosure, coldly watching her being cornered.
A wave of shock hit her.
Hadn't she died?
How was she seeing this familiar scene again? Could it be that she'd been reborn to the day of her twenty-second birthday, when Helena framed her?
Helena Swift was her uncle's daughter. Uncle had donated a kidney to save Mother, but died from post-surgical infection. Mother also passed away from guilt.
Father and her three brothers then brought Helena into the Fontaine family.
But from that day on, she became the outsider, constantly targeted.
At her birthday party, Helena fell down the stairs but framed her for it. Brandon, without a word, forced her to kneel and apologize.
Naturally, she refused.
So he shoved her into the snake room. She was terrified, begging him desperately to let her out.
He just watched as she was scared into unconsciousness.
When she woke, she was left with severe psychological trauma, becoming timid and weak, always groveling to please them.
But her tolerance only made them worse!
Helena stole credit for her saving the head of the Quinn family, vaulting herself into high society.
Afraid she'd cause trouble, Brandon drugged her, leaving her unable to speak for months.
Helena forcibly took the dance dress Mother had tailored for her, simply because she "liked it." Second Brother then gave all of Mother's belongings to Helena.
When Helena got sick and needed bone marrow, Third Brother personally drew her blood for typing. He then strapped her to the operating table with his own hands to save Helena's life.
Under prolonged suffering, she became depressed.
She collected evidence of Helena plagiarizing others' musical works, only to have Father discover it. Without hesitation, Father threw her into a psychiatric hospital, locking her up for ten years.
She endured inhuman abuse—electroshock, beatings, molestation, near-drownings...
At thirty-two, she jumped from the seventh floor, ending her pain.
She never imagined she'd be reborn!
Now, looking at the coldly expressionless man outside the glass enclosure, her heart ached and went numb.
How absurd.
She was clearly their biological sister, their daughter. In the end, she couldn't compare to an outsider.
Just then, the snake slithered up her back, its tongue flicking against her cheek.
She screamed, and darkness swallowed her.
Outside the glass enclosure, Brandon kept checking his phone, inquiring about Helena's condition.
Until he heard Katrina's scream.
"Katy!" His expression changed drastically. He quickly had someone open the door and carried her out.
At that moment, Helena limped over. Seeing this scene, venom flashed through her innocent-looking eyes.
Fainted from just that? Good. Better if she died!
But her words said otherwise. "Bran, what happened to Katy? I'll go get a doctor right now."
She turned to leave. After two steps, she pretended to collapse weakly. "Oh no, my foot..."
Seeing this, Brandon's heart ached. He immediately shoved Katrina into a maid's arms and went to help Helena.
"You just injured your foot. How can you be so careless? I'll carry you to see the doctor again."
"But what about Katy?"
"She just fainted, she's not dead. Besides, she deserves it!" Brandon's voice was urgent.
Without even a glance at Katrina, he hurried off carrying Helena.
Katrina remained unconscious for a day and night before finally regaining awareness.
Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on the soft bed in her bedroom. Her throat was dry, her body ached. The terrifying scenes before she passed out replayed in her mind.
She endured the pain, telling herself that with this rare second chance at life, she absolutely couldn't be defeated by a little setback.
In this life, she would live well for herself.
With that thought, her emotions gradually calmed.
The door was pushed open. A tall, slender figure walked in—Brandon.
His face was cold as he glanced at her. Before he could speak, she felt the air pressure in the room drop.
"Now that you're awake, apologize. Then we'll put this behind us."
His tone was like a handout.
Then he turned and helped Helena, who stood in the doorway, into the room.
Helena leaned on crutches, her foot wrapped in thick bandages. She said softly, "Bran, Katy definitely didn't mean it. We're all family—no need to apologize."
She also glanced at Katrina. As her eyes lowered, triumph and provocation flashed through them.
"You're just too kind, that's why people keep bullying you. If she doesn't apologize today, this isn't over!" Brandon glared coldly at Katrina.
On the bed, Katrina watched these two performing their duet and felt nauseous.
How did she endure this in her past life?
She laughed softly, looking at Helena's harmless face. "When you framed me, did you not know there are security cameras in the stairwell?"
The moment those words came out, Helena's expression froze instantly. But she quickly relaxed again.
She feigned hurt. "Katy, what do you mean? Are you trying to tell everyone that I framed you?"
"Katrina, stop this nonsense. Lena's already letting it go—don't push your luck!" Brandon also looked displeased, regarding Katrina like a stray dog on the roadside.
Watching these two in their act, Katrina suddenly felt exhausted.
She said nothing more. She got out of bed, heading for the surveillance room.
"Katy, your body hasn't recovered yet. Rest first, okay?" Helena hurriedly grabbed her.
"Let go!"
Katrina shoved Helena off. The latter fell to the ground, tears instantly flooding her eyes.
"Katy, I was just..."
"Katrina!" Brandon roared. "Have you lost your mind? Can't you see Lena's foot is injured?"
As he spoke, he gently helped Helena up. But Katrina completely ignored them, already out the door and heading downstairs.
"Bran, go after her!" Helena panicked slightly, her voice trembling.
She wasn't afraid of Katrina producing evidence. After all, her setup was flawless—Katrina really had touched her.
She just felt that today's Katrina was different. She had to be kept down, or she'd definitely climb over her in the future!
Brandon nodded. "Don't worry."
At the same time, Katrina had already pulled up the surveillance footage from the incident.
This surveillance covered every angle with no blind spots. Even the slightest abnormality would show.
By the time those two hypocrites arrived, she'd just rewound the video to the critical moment.
In the footage, Helena grabbed her arm persistently. Impatiently, she merely tried to pull her hand back when Helena cried out and fell backward, as if violently pushed.
Anyone who wasn't blind could see Helena's scheme.
"You think producing some random video can frame Lena?" came Brandon's cold laugh from behind her.
Katrina felt chilled to the bone.
She took a deep breath and turned the computer toward him. "Please look carefully."
Brandon looked at the computer. The words on his lips instantly choked back. His face turned iron-dark.
A few seconds later, he suddenly slammed the table. "If you hadn't deliberately antagonized Lena, would she have gotten hurt? Besides, who knows how much force you used!"
Watching him throw all reason aside to protect Helena, Katrina just found it laughable.
She'd actually hoped to prove her innocence.
How pointless.
"Fine." She smiled with relief, the last trace of hope vanishing from her heart. "I apologize. I wronged her. Happy now?"
