On the opposite side of the flames stood Cathy Carter. She wore a crimson dress that looked even more striking beneath the fire's flickering light.
A smile rested on her face, and the triumph shining in her eyes was completely undisguised.
"Gracie," Cathy said with a smile. "From this moment on, Mom and Dad belong to me. My brothers belong to me too. Even your fiance is mine now. You can die with that in your heart."
She spoke quietly, yet every word cut deeper than the flames surrounding them.
Gracie looked at her through blurred vision. Blood filled her mouth, making it impossible to speak more than broken fragments of words.
At that moment, hatred for Cathy consumed her completely.
The resentment inside her ran so deep that not even the blazing fire could reduce it to ashes.
Two decades earlier, she and Cathy had been accidentally exchanged as newborns.
One girl had grown up treasured as the Carter family's beloved princess, while the other had been forced to survive far from that life, suffering through years of poverty, hunger, and hardship.
When the Carter family eventually located her, Gracie truly believed the painful years were finally behind her.
She had imagined she would finally have loving parents, caring siblings, and a home where she truly belonged.
Alas, she could not have been more mistaken.
Instead of the affection she had longed for, her return to the Carter family had been met with endless schemes and carefully laid traps.
Whenever Cathy shed a few tears, their parents immediately decided Gracie was the problem. Whenever Cathy played the victim, their brothers became convinced Gracie was heartless. And whenever Cathy casually spun a few lies, even the man who was supposed to marry Gracie looked at her with nothing but disgust.
Not a single soul bothered to look for the facts, and no one ever gave her the chance to explain herself.
No matter what Cathy said, they accepted it as absolute gospel.
"If you could be even half as understanding as Cathy, you wouldn't shame this family the way you do."
"A cruel person like you has no right to call herself my sister."
"Someone like you will never become part of the Phillips family."
Those harsh voices echoed through Gracie's mind one after another, crushing the final thread of hope she had still clung to.
What did sharing the same bloodline even matter?
It could never compete with the twenty years Cathy had already spent growing up beside them.
The flames raged even harder, and the searing heat swallowed what little awareness Gracie still had left.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the room.
Richard and Elaine Carter rushed over with their sons close behind them.
Cathy immediately ran into Elaine's embrace. Her eyes were swollen with tears, and her voice quivered as she spoke. "Dad, Mom... I'm sorry. It's all because of me. If I'd managed to stop Gracie sooner, this never would have happened."
"What are you apologizing for?" Jason Carter, Gracie's second brother, shot back through clenched teeth. Barely able to contain his fury, he continued, "She started this fire herself. If she dies in it, that's exactly what she deserves."
"That's right." Elaine wrapped her arms around Cathy even more tightly, every bit of her concern reserved for the daughter she was holding. "Someone as disgraceful as her should never have returned to the Carter family."
Richard remained standing nearby with a dark expression. When he finally spoke, his tone was firm and completely without mercy. "Leave it. Once the fire finishes its job, she won't be around to cause this family any more problems."
Cathy hid her face against Elaine's shoulder, her body shaking as though she could no longer hold back her tears.
A moment later, she quietly raised her head and looked beyond everyone else, meeting Gracie's eyes through the flames.
There wasn't the slightest trace of sadness in her gaze. It was filled only with victory and blatant provocation.
"But... Gracie is still your biological daughter..." Cathy whispered in a trembling voice.
Jason let out a scornful laugh. "So what? From today onward, Mom and Dad have only one daughter, and that's you."
Those words shattered the last thing holding Gracie together.
She looked at the people before her, and for some reason, she almost wanted to laugh.
So this was the family whose acceptance she had nearly sacrificed everything to earn. In their eyes, she had never been worth a thing.
Fire spread to the edge of her dress, scorching her flesh, yet the agony barely registered anymore.
The only thing left inside her was hatred.
If fate ever allowed her to live again, she would never waste another ounce of hope on the Carter family.
Not ever again.
...
Gracie abruptly opened her eyes.
She sucked in uneven breaths as her chest rose and fell rapidly. Beads of cold sweat covered her forehead. Acting on instinct, she threw up an arm to shield herself from the fire, only to touch nothing but empty, cool air.
The flames were gone. So was the blood.
She stayed perfectly still for several moments before cautiously looking around the room.
Cream-colored walls surrounded her. Light gray curtains hung over the window, and the worn suitcase she had carried with her when she first arrived at the Carter residence rested quietly in the corner.
It was the guest room where she had been placed after the Carter family first brought her back.
In her previous life, Cathy had quickly found a way to have her moved into the storage room. It had been damp, freezing, and in even worse condition than the servants' living quarters.
Gracie hurried out of bed and made her way into the bathroom. She opened the tap and repeatedly splashed icy water across her face.
The cold water drove away the last traces of her daze.
The young woman reflected in the mirror had a pale face, and a hint of fear still lingered in her eyes. It was undeniably the version of herself from a year earlier.
She kept her gaze fixed on the mirror while her grip on the sink gradually grew tighter.
Abrupt, forceful knocks shattered the silence.
"Gracie! Get out here right now!"
The voice was one she knew all too well, along with the anger behind it.
It belonged to Jason, her second brother.
Still facing the mirror, Gracie slowly lifted her gaze. A faint, icy smile gradually appeared at the corner of her lips.
The moment was instantly familiar to her.
In her previous life, everything had begun on this very day. Cathy had deliberately fallen down the staircase before bursting into tears and accusing Gracie of shoving her.
Jason had rushed over in a fury, convinced she was to blame. Gracie had frantically tried to explain what really happened, but no one believed a word she said. Before the day was over, she had been thrown into the storage room.
From the other side of the door, Jason's furious voice rang out once more.
"You shoved Cathy down the stairs? Have you completely lost your mind?"
Gracie remained motionless for a brief moment. Then she calmly swept her hair together and secured it behind her head with smooth, practiced motions.
The reflection staring back at her no longer held even a trace of meekness.
Every shred of self-doubt, fear, and longing for their approval disappeared completely.
She had been given a second chance in life.
Since fate had granted her the chance to start over, she refused to keep pretending the Carters were the loving family they claimed to be.
This time, she wanted nothing to do with any of them.
From now on, the only person she intended to love and protect was herself.
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