After I beat up the fake heiress, my brothers threw me into a psych ward. When I finally got out, I was exceptionally well-behaved. If my brothers told me to go East, I didn’t even dare glance West. But why did the fake heiress suddenly become even more well-behaved than me? Dr. Keller always told me: if they don’t throw the first punch, I can’t hit back. That’s the basic code of conduct for a psychiatric patient. Huh? What a joke. Making someone throw the first punch? That’s easy. I have a million ways to make that happen. 1 The day my second brother, Liam, came to pick me up from the asylum, I was wearing a babydoll top and denim overalls. My hands were obediently folded in front of me, and my eyes were cast downward. All traces of my former arrogance were completely wiped clean. Liam looked me up and down and finally spoke, sounding satisfied. "Do you know what you did wrong?" I nodded obediently and recited the exact script Dr. Keller had drilled into me. "I'm sorry, Liam. I was jealous of Chloe, and that's why I paid those thugs to bully her. I was wrong. I'll never do it again." Just the right amount of grievance. Just the right amount of remorse. Eyes brimming with tears, but so full of shame that I didn't dare let them fall. I had spent a long time practicing this exact look, modeling it perfectly after Chloe. Sure enough, Liam bought it. He raised his noble hand and patted my head like he was bestowing a grand charity. "Good girl. If you hadn't gone so far this time, Arthur wouldn't have locked you up in the psych ward." "From now on, get along with Chloe." I mimicked Chloe again, nuzzling gently into his palm. Just as I expected, Liam smiled, genuinely pleased. Neither of us noticed Dr. Evans, the asylum director, standing nearby, violently shuddering. I tilted my head and shot him a sideways glance. Cold sweat immediately beaded on his forehead. "M-Mr. Sterling, if there's nothing else you need, I'll leave you to your sibling reunion." Liam nodded. "You did a good job. The Sterling family's investment funds will be wired over shortly." "Th-thank you!" After thanking him, Dr. Evans hastily turned to practically sprint away. "The Director sure is quick on his feet..." I commented softly. Thud. Dr. Evans face-planted onto the pavement. Then, under Liam's bewildered gaze, he scrambled up and ran for his life, looking as if the devil himself was chasing him. "Liam, can I go home now?" Seeing my docile expression, Liam nodded. But he didn't forget to warn me, "If you ever bully Chloe again, even if Arthur doesn't lock you up, I will!" "Okay." I nodded obediently. 2 When we arrived at that familiar, massive estate, I stopped at the front door and didn't dare step inside. Chloe had told me this was her home. The parents were hers. The brothers were hers. I was the outsider. How could I just walk into someone else's home? It wasn't until Liam said, "Come inside," that I put on a flattered, timid smile. "Can I really?" Just as I hoped, Liam felt a pang of guilt. His eyes even reddened slightly. But remembering my past viciousness, he quickly pushed the emotion down. Not long after, my oldest brother, Arthur, arrived home with Chloe. "Arthur, I brought Harper back," Liam said. "Has it already been six months?" Fast? I lived a fate worse than death in that place. Every day felt like a year, yet they thought the time flew by. "Yeah. Dr. Evans specifically called to remind me this morning. I completely forgot. Turns out we actually left her in there three days extra." Arthur didn't seem to care, acting as if leaving me to rot in that hellhole was no big deal. He scrutinized me with a harsh, judging gaze. I immediately gave him an obedient half-bow. Seeing me, Chloe looked absolutely terrified and quickly hid behind Arthur. Arthur patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't be scared, I'm here. If she dares lay a finger on you again, I promise you, she will never set foot outside that asylum until the day she dies!" Arthur glared at me like I was his mortal enemy. I quietly rubbed my chest. So... even a psychiatric patient's heart can still hurt, huh? "I'm very good now. I'm very obedient," I said, my eyes sincere, looking slightly pathetic. Arthur looked at me with pure disgust and led Chloe away to wash up for dinner. 3 Dinner, unsurprisingly, consisted entirely of Chloe's favorite dishes. Suppressing her supposed "fear," Chloe proactively placed a piece of crispy fried pork into my bowl. "Here, Harper, have some." Pepper coating Szechuan peppercorns, and the peppercorns themselves marinated in mango juice... This piece of pork perfectly hit every single one of my severe food allergies. Arthur gently rubbed her back. "Chloe, I raised you myself. You aren't inferior to anyone, and you don't need to suck up to anyone!" Chloe lowered her head to eat, tears welling in her eyes. I was genuinely confused. They gave her the best of everything. They even cooked her favorite foods every single day. Why did they always act like she was the one being wronged? Dr. Keller always said: The kid who knows how to put on a show gets the candy. I sat there obediently, staring at the piece of pork, swallowing hard. Then, I asked the question that made all of their faces turn black. "Can... can I eat this?" Arthur: ... Liam: ... Chloe: (Grinding her teeth). Seeing that no one objected, I obediently picked up my chopsticks and started shoveling food into my mouth. I was starving. I hadn't eaten normal food in so long. In that moment, I wanted to swallow the entire table whole. Seeing my completely unrefined, ravenous eating habits, my brothers looked disgusted. "Harper, did they not feed you in there?" Liam asked. I shook my head. "They did! But there wasn't any meat in the slop buckets..." Slam! Arthur threw his chopsticks down. "Harper, who the hell are you trying to guilt-trip?!" "That facility is heavily funded by the Sterling family! Even if Dr. Evans had the guts, he would never dare abuse you like that!" "If you're going to lie, at least make it believable!" He wouldn't dare? Arthur, have you ever seen a bed of nails? Have you ever experienced electroshock therapy? Have you ever been forced to fight stray dogs for a scrap of food? Of course, Arthur hadn't seen any of that. But Chloe, safely tucked under his wing, smiled. If she hadn't kept her head down, her grin would have reached her ears. I stood there, trembling and completely lost, not daring to speak, looking at furious Arthur with wide, terrified eyes. Liam frowned and tried to calm him down. "Arthur, Harper just got back today. Can't we just have one peaceful family dinner?" Arthur forced his anger down, his disgust for me only growing deeper. Liam sighed helplessly and handed me a clean pair of chopsticks. "If you're hungry, eat as much as you want." I smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Liam." Liam's pupils contracted. Did his sister know how to smile? And could she smile this beautifully? Why hadn't he seen it once in all these years? So... as long as he treated her a little better, she would smile this sweetly and call him her brother... For a split second, Liam felt something squeeze his heart. Arthur's eyes flickered too, but it didn't change his attitude toward me. 4 Just as I finished washing up and was about to get into bed, Chloe walked in. "Harper, I brought you some warm milk." She walked in without knocking. I took it obediently. "Thank you." Those two words had never, ever come out of my mouth when addressing her. Because every time she played nice, there was a trap waiting. Chloe froze for a second, then started laughing. "Wow, you really have become quite the obedient little dog." The next second, her hand "slipped," spilling the entire glass of milk all over my pajamas. "Oh no! Harper, why didn't you hold it steady?" Her eyes gleamed maliciously, but I didn't move an inch. She then picked up the only gifts my two brothers had ever given me—the year I first returned to the family—and threw them straight into the trash can. I still didn't move. She looked around the room, her eyes finally landing on the framed photo on my desk. It was the only photo I had with my biological parents. This time, I moved. I grabbed her wrist. Chloe finally smiled triumphantly. With her other hand, she snatched the frame and smashed it violently onto the floor. My eyes burned with fury. "Ooh, are you mad? Hit me if you dare!" Naked, blatant provocation! As a psychiatric patient, the very first thing I learned was how to follow the rules. I raised my arm and slapped her across the face with everything I had. Chloe was completely stunned by the slap. It took her several seconds to start her performance. "Arthur! Liam! Help me!" Both brothers charged into the room instantly, pulling Chloe behind them, glaring at me like they wanted to kill me. "Harper! Have you lost your damn mind?!" I folded my hands obediently in front of me. "She told me to hit her." Chloe covered her face, sobbing hysterically. "I just came in to bring her milk, and I saw her throwing the gifts you gave her into the trash! And then she tried to rip up the photo of Mom and Dad! I tried to stop her, and she just hit me... sob..." The gifts were in the trash. The photo was on the floor, the frame completely shattered. The evidence was irrefutable. I couldn't deny it. "Harper, do you still hate us this much? Do you still hate the Sterling family? You being switched at birth wasn't Mom and Dad's fault, and it wasn't the Sterling family's fault..." Liam looked profoundly disappointed. Hate? Probably. I wandered the streets for ten years. My "adoptive" parents trained me to beg for money. When I got older, I ran with street kids, stealing food just to survive. Getting beaten half to death was a regular occurrence. I struggled to survive at the absolute bottom of society, living like a cockroach. But the Sterling family? They treated my replacement like an absolute princess. How could I not hate them? I hated them for not finding me sooner. I hated them for losing me. I hated that after losing me, they just went and adopted a replacement... I also hated that every time Chloe plotted against me, they never believed me. They always stood by her side. "If I had known you would turn out like this, I would have just let you get beaten to death on the streets!" Arthur finally said what was really on his mind. I looked up at him, my expression shifting back to eerily docile. "Chloe threw the gifts in the trash. Chloe smashed the photo..." "You..." If my brothers had beards, they would be bristling with rage right now. I pulled out my discharge certificate and showed it to them. "I swear on my honor as a certified psychiatric patient, I am not lying!" Psychiatric patient? My brothers' pupils contracted. Liam quickly snatched the certificate from my hand, his fingers trembling. "This... this looks real..." I nodded. "Dr. Keller said that as psychiatric patients, we must be docile and obedient in the outside world if we want to survive." Arthur glanced at the certificate and suddenly let out a cold scoff. Clearly, he didn't believe me. "Docile? Obedient? Fine. Then pack your things and move out of this room right now. Let Chloe live here!" This room was the "princess suite" my parents had personally designed for me. My mom designed it, my dad oversaw the renovations. It was the cozy little sanctuary they built to welcome me back to the Sterling family. Chloe had tried to steal it countless times before, and I always fought her tooth and nail to keep it. But today... "Okay." I nodded obediently and immediately started packing my meager belongings. Arthur, Liam, and even Chloe froze. They all knew this room was my absolute bottom line. When I actually walked out, Chloe looked thrilled. She could finally move into this room legitimately! But on the surface, she timidly tugged at Arthur's sleeve. "Arthur, can I really stay here?" Arthur's face looked a bit grim. "If she can live here, why can't you?" Turning around, he clearly wasn't done punishing me. He pointed to the tiny storage closet downstairs. "From now on, you sleep in there." I nodded obediently again and cheerfully carried my blanket inside. Arthur's arm froze mid-air before he could even put it down. He watched with a thunderous expression as I set up my blanket in the cramped, windowless space. I could feel his chest practically vibrating with rage. I was genuinely confused. Isn't this what you wanted? Why are you so mad? Seeing me about to lie down and go to sleep, he spoke again: "Wait!" I stood perfectly still. The next second, the housekeeper brought in a bucket of ice water and dumped it directly onto my blanket. "Now you can sleep." Arthur stared at me, his face devoid of emotion. He was absolutely certain I wouldn't be able to tolerate this. He was waiting for me to snap and expose my "true" nature. Unfortunately for him, he was going to be disappointed. I lay down fully clothed in the soaking wet, freezing bed, and within minutes, I was snoring softly and sweetly. Arthur: !!! 5 When I woke up again, I was lying in a comfortable guest bedroom. Liam was sitting by my bed, muttering to himself, "How long has it been since she actually slept? She's been asleep for ten hours straight..." Seeing my eyes open, he looked at me with deep concern. "Harper, are you really..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, but I knew what he meant. "I am a psychiatric patient, but I'm not insecure about it at all." Liam: ... Arthur, of course, wasn't going to believe me that easily. He tested me continuously for half a month. If he told me to go East, I absolutely wouldn't dare look West. If he told me to eat rice, I absolutely wouldn't dare touch the chicken. He even placed a fat, wriggling grub—my absolute biggest fear—directly onto my hand. I shook uncontrollably from terror, but I didn't dare shake the bug off. Arthur's face grew darker and darker. Finally, one day, he couldn't hold back and asked Chloe, "Did you really do all those things?" Chloe had never faced this kind of questioning or grievance before. That very day, she sought out the housekeeper to scheme. "Doesn't your son want to buy a bigger house?" "Get this done, and the money on this card is yours!" The housekeeper's eyes gleamed with greed. Over the years, the money she had squeezed out of tormenting me was enough to buy her a house already! Highly motivated, the housekeeper snuck into my room that night and used her signature move—viciously pinching me awake. "Don't make a sound!" I was very obedient. I didn't make a sound. I just stared at her innocently with wide eyes. Perhaps my submissiveness gave her courage. The housekeeper let out a sinister chuckle. "Get up. Take your clothes off." I obediently sat up, but I absolutely refused to take my clothes off. Dr. Keller always said: A girl must maintain her boundaries, no matter the circumstances. The housekeeper started getting angry. She pulled out a long sewing needle. "Do you remember how this feels? If you don't take them off, I'll stab you to death!" I tilted my head, recalling some very unpleasant memories. Once, I had a terrible fever. My brothers took Chloe on a ski trip and left me, burning up at 102 degrees, in the care of this housekeeper. I was too sick to get out of bed. For three days, she didn't give me a single bite of food or a drop of water. I almost died of starvation and dehydration. In my feverish delirium, right as I was about to fall asleep, she would stab me with a needle... That time, I really almost died. When my brothers came back, I told them about her abuse. Arthur slapped me hard across the face. I found out later that while I was suffering in hell, the housekeeper had been calling them every single day, sobbing about how unreasonable I was, how I was physically abusing her, and even showing them fake injuries she made on her own arms... That was the day I realized my place in their hearts was lower than a hired servant's. "Scared now? Are you going to listen?" The housekeeper's fat face twisted into a grotesque sneer. Dr. Keller said that people at the bottom of the hierarchy, who are used to suppressing their true nature and acting submissive, become exceptionally vicious the second they get the chance to dominate someone else. Dr. Keller also said: There is no need to show mercy to vicious people. The next second, I grabbed her by the hair, smashed her head violently against the wall, grabbed the hand holding the needle, and plunged it deep into her own thigh. A pig-like squeal echoed through the entire mansion. "Shh, you can't do that. Disturbing the peace means you get locked in the water dungeon..." But she didn't seem to understand human language. I frowned, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her out the door. My brothers were jolted awake and rushed downstairs. "H-Harper, what are you doing?!" Liam's face went completely white with terror. "She's too loud. She's so loud I can't sleep. Where's my thirty-meter machete? I need to cut her tongue out." A freezing chill shot straight from Liam's feet to his scalp. He was absolutely terrified and frantically tried to stop me. "There's no machete!" "Harper, how about I help you throw her outside? If we throw her out, she won't be loud anymore!" I tilted my head. "Is that how it works?" Liam had to coax and plead to finally rescue the housekeeper's head from my grip. He threw the housekeeper out the front door, and surprisingly, it really was quiet again! I went back to my room, got into bed, and went to sleep. Soon, the sound of my sweet, soft snoring drifted from the room. The remaining people stood there, staring at each other in shock. The entire mansion descended into a deathly, suffocating silence.
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