Chapter 00
Why is my life such a mess?
“Isaac, hang in there. Please, stay with me.”
My clothes were soaked with the blood Isaac had shed.
He was only nine years old. Just a child. I couldn’t even imagine how much pain he must be in, stabbed like that.
“Aunt… it… hurts…”
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Isaac. Auntie’s here. I’ll protect you.”
Just ten minutes ago, we were sitting on the bed playing a board game. How did it come to this—Isaac stabbed and dying, and me running from a murderer?
The killer, covered in the blood of our servants, mistook Isaac for me because he was the one who opened the door—and he slashed Isaac’s throat.
It made sense in a twisted way. The man looked visibly startled when he realized he had struck a child. Aiming for my chest or stomach, he must’ve hit Isaac’s neck instead.
“Isaac, just hold on. Auntie will… I’ll… ngh!”
Damn this body.
“H-hngh! Hngh!”
My chest tightened. It was a delayed reaction, considering I’d been running while carrying a nine-year-old.
It was a miracle I hadn’t passed out from stress and adrenaline alone.
I spotted the infirmary in the distance. Thankfully, it wasn’t far—part of the east wing where I lived.
But I couldn’t breathe. My throat was completely closed.
“Ugh! Hkk!”
Just fifty more meters to the infirmary, but it felt impossibly far.
I gently laid Isaac down and dug into my pocket for medicine. Blood kept gushing from his neck.
“Hnnngh, hngh.”
I slammed my chest and threw a pill into my mouth, trying to swallow it dry. But before I could get it down, a man appeared at the end of the hallway.
Even though I hadn’t breathed in seconds, and my heart felt like it would explode, I picked Isaac up again.
I will protect him.
There were no adults in the house that day due to an event in the city. All the staff had been killed by that unknown man.
I was just an eighteen-year-old girl, not even a year into adulthood. But at that moment, I was Isaac’s guardian.
I just need to hold out until my brothers arrive. Just a little longer…
I chewed the pill fiercely as I ran.
I’d thrown something behind me to slow the killer down, but the shattered ceramic shards ended up cutting into my skin as I ran.
Blood poured from my feet, making the marble floors slippery.
“Ahh!”
I slipped on the blood and stumbled. As I fell, I curled up to protect Isaac.
My forehead slammed against the hard floor. I felt like my neck might snap. I couldn’t think clearly. The half-melted pill slipped out of my mouth.
“Khak! Khak!”
A shadow loomed over me. I couldn’t tell if I’d passed out for a second or if the man was just that fast.
Blue eyes—dark, ocean-deep eyes—stared down at me. I felt my knees buckle from sheer terror. The murderous aura radiating from him made tears spill down my cheeks.
“Hkk!”
I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was dying. But still, I wanted to speak.
Please save him. Please, just save Isaac.
The man grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground.
Isaac slipped from my arms, and I dangled helplessly in the air, held up by his brutal strength.
Blood from my torn forehead blurred my vision. But still, my tears kept falling.
“Hkk!”
Was it money he wanted? Or was he sent by my brothers’ enemies?
I couldn’t breathe. My vision started fading. Just as I was about to lose consciousness, my airway suddenly cleared and blood circulation resumed.
“Haaah!”
I could finally breathe. The words burst out before I could stop them.
“Please spare me…”
It was the first time I’d ever begged in my life.
Who would’ve imagined this day would come for Scarlett White? A lifelong sheltered flower of the White family, their precious princess.
“Please spare me. Just Isaac. Please, save Isaac.”
I didn’t even know I was capable of begging like this. My prideful nature had never allowed it before—but now I knew.
My vision dimmed, but I kept pleading.
“Please save Isaac. You can kill me, but he’s innocent. He’s just a child.”
Not Isaac. Not my sweet little nephew. My croissant.
Just ten minutes ago, we were wrestling over who would roll the dice first… Isaac, I swear I’ll save you. Just you…
“Please… not Isaac. Take me instead. I’m begging you.”
Suddenly, a thunderous noise rang out. Someone had fired a magic bullet at the man. Startled, he dropped me.
He turned around to see who had attacked him, and I scooped up Isaac and ran.
I must’ve twisted my ankle during the fall—my foot had gone numb, and my body swayed as if it might collapse.
Unless I was playing with Isaac or Abigail, I rarely ran. Physically and mentally, this was overwhelming.
Finally!
I reached the infirmary. I laid Isaac on the table, locked the door, and propped a chair against it.
“Isaac, hold on. Where’s the coagulant…? Where is it?!”
I tore through the drawers, found something labeled “coagulant,” and poured it onto Isaac’s neck. Then I wrapped it with bandages. Just then, a knock came at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The polite knocking sent chills down my spine.
I rolled up the carpet, removed the marble tiles underneath. I was the only one who knew about the hidden space beneath the infirmary floor.
Isaac blinked his black eyes, pale as a corpse. My blood dripped onto his red curls. I kissed his forehead and whispered.
“Isaac. Listen carefully. Don’t make a sound.”
He opened his mouth to speak.
I’m okay.
My poor, sweet nephew. Even now, he was trying to comfort me. I covered his mouth and whispered.
“Promise me, Isaac. Stay quiet until help comes. Okay? I’ll go get someone. Just wait a little longer. I love you. My little croissant.”
I kissed him one last time, then sealed the floor.
I shattered the window with my bare hand. Glass embedded in my arms and hands, ripping my skin to shreds. I didn’t care. I had to make it look like Isaac had escaped.
If the man thought Isaac had fled, he wouldn’t search the infirmary and find him.
Every second made my heart pound harder. The blood on the doorknob made it slippery—I couldn’t open it properly.
Bang!
The door burst open. I met the killer’s purple eyes. I never realized violet could be such a cruel color—so cold, so inhuman.
He saw me. Before I could leap out the window, he strode over, grabbed my hair, and yanked me back inside.
“Ugh!”
I had to swallow my scream. If Isaac heard, he might cry out too.
The man was drenched in even more blood than before. Maybe he had killed the person who shot at him.
“What… did I do to deserve this…?”
Why was he doing this to me?
“Just… kill me.”
The rest didn’t come out—his grip choked off my words.
Dangling in mid-air, I pounded my fists against his arm. But he didn’t even flinch.
Even in my final moments, I clung to one desperate hope—that I had saved Isaac. That he’d be rescued, alive.
“Ahhh!”
Is this what it feels like to burn alive?
True hell was just beginning. The man killed me, so cruelly, so viciously I couldn’t even imagine.
He stabbed me five times. When he was done, he threw my body against the wall, still holding me by the collar.
I died without screaming, for Isaac’s sake. That was how I died.
