chapter 2

The cold wind roared in through the unclosed windows, rolled up the white curtains, and took away most of the warmth in the basement.

The temperature dropped sharply, and the young woman on the bed shivered and slowly woke up from the anesthesia coma.

She opened her lips, but her dry throat only produced a strange, inarticulate tone.

The cold wind kept pouring in, and the young woman was shivering with cold.

I don't know how long it took before the closed door was opened from the outside. The man glanced condescendingly at the young woman on the bed, then walked slowly and closed the window. The cold wind was blocked out, and the young woman felt better.

She slowly turned her neck and stared at the man with her cloudy eyes, as if she wanted to say something. The man pulled up a chair and sat down slowly beside the young woman's bed.

"LISA," the man spoke slowly.

Lisa's eyes fluttered. She tried to sit up with her eyes wide open. After the anesthesia wore off, she shifted and felt a sudden twinge in her chest wound. Intense pain engulfed her instantly. Lisa's breathing quickened, and a clammy cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Sliding down, she managed to half-sit up before weakly and heavily falling back onto the bed.

From start to finish, the man sitting on the chair remained motionless, observing her with cold eyes as she struggled.

"Hoho——"

Lisa's throat emitted a heavy, wheezing sound, akin to an old windmill, which was particularly unpleasant to hear.

The man did not conceal the disgust in his eyes, treating Lisa as if she were a filthy object; he looked away.

When Lisa on the hospital bed lacked the strength to struggle further, he spoke slowly, "I didn't intend to say these words to you, but you can't endure today. Considering our past, I will tell you with great mercy."

"Your adoptive parents died in a car accident on their way to see you yesterday."

These words were like waking up a switch in Lisa. She ignored the bleeding wound and began to struggle like crazy. She stretched out her arm to grab the man's sleeve, but he easily dodged it.

The man stood up, took a step back, and continued: "But you don't need to worry. You should go and accompany them soon. Just this morning, the Lu family announced that Lucy has died. The cause of death was congenital heart disease. From now on, Lucy will take over your identity and live well in the Lu family. And you, as Lucy, will die for her."

"But this is your own fault. If you hadn't returned to Lu's house and taken away Lucy's love, she wouldn't have been depressed, and her condition wouldn't have worsened. You are Lucy's twin sister; your heart and hers are the best match. This is the only way to keep Lucy alive."

"Lisa, if you want to blame, blame yourself. It's all your fault."

Lisa's chest rose and fell violently; severe pain emanated from the unhealed wound on her left chest, and a fishy sweetness surged in her throat. Lisa's eyes turned black, and tears fell from her eyes.

She didn't know where she got the strength to sit up in one breath.

The man was startled. Just as he was about to scold Lisa, he saw Lisa falling to the ground like a kite with its string broken.

The equipment beside the bed was beeping like crazy. In the chaos, Lisa opened her eyes for the last time.

She opened her lips and finally let out a lament that only she could hear -

"But it was you who begged me to come back in the first place." A continuous "beep" sound came, and the electrocardiogram on the meter turned into a straight line without fluctuations. Lisa closed her eyes forever.