"Evelyn Rivers, you really are hard to kill, huh? I’ve done all this to you and you're still hanging on?"

Evelyn’s mouth was stuffed with cotton, her muffled cries trembled in the dark room, eyes locked on Fiona Rivers—the sister she once risked everything to protect.

But that girl—fragile, soft-spoken, always looking pitiful—was long gone.

Now, all Evelyn saw was a face twisted with cruelty and smugness.

Her heart pounded with rage so fierce it nearly smothered her. She had begged to be accepted by the Rivers family, chasing after just a sliver of familial warmth. She’d poured everything into being a good sister, even signing away her kidney without hesitation when Fiona was diagnosed with failure in both of hers.

She’d believed they were blood. That Fiona was someone worth sacrificing for.

But the truth? The so-called sisterhood? Just one big, carefully spun lie.

Fiona seemed to thrive on Evelyn’s pain, basking in it like it was entertainment.

In a voice light as if commenting on the weather, she tossed out a gut-wrenching detail.

"You remember how your mom died, Evelyn? Fell down the stairs, cracked her head open—dead on the spot."

She leaned in with a wicked grin, drinking in the horror on Evelyn’s face. “That was me. I pushed her. Timed it, too—knew Victor Halifax was just about to show up. Perfect timing, right? He walks in just after she falls. All neat and tidy, so I pinned it on him.”

Evelyn felt her blood boil, a rush of fury surging straight to her head.

Her mother—killed by Fiona’s hands!?

And what had she done? She dumped all her grief and hatred onto Victor, the man Fiona had framed.

Fiona wasn’t done. She twisted the knife deeper.

"You really didn’t let me down, you know. Lose-it-level crazy, going after Victor for revenge. Blinded by hate, like a total idiot. It was hilarious."

Each word was like a blade to Evelyn’s heart.

The pain wasn’t just physical—it was the soul-tearing kind that comes when everything you ever believed is shattered.

And that... was only the beginning.

Fiona stepped closer, her voice almost playful.

"Your brother? You thought Victor killed him too? Nope. That was me again."

"When he found out how miserable you were, that fool actually thought of taking you back from Victor. No way I was letting you return to the family, not a chance. Why should you come back and fight me for what’s mine? Rivers family belongs to me!"

"So I lured him out. Told him I had a way to get you away from your husband. And guess what? He believed me. Smart all his life, and boom—dead by my hand."

"Oh, and you probably didn’t know this—his last breath? Still calling your name. He adored you till the very end. Sickening, really. Watching him die while still loving you? Sweetest moment of my life."

"As for Victor Halifax? Of course he had to take the fall. You already hated him so much, it just made things easier. I dropped his name and you didn’t even hesitate—you never even checked for proof. Just believed me. Am I right?"

"Anyway, after all that, I bet you’re dying to know why you’re lying here now, huh?"Fiona Rivers slowly ran her eyes over Evelyn Rivers, strapped down tightly on the operating table, before fixing her gaze right on Evelyn’s chest.

"It’s all because of... this heart of yours."

She lifted a finger and tapped the spot where Evelyn’s heart beat beneath her skin. "You’ve got a rare blood type, and your heart’s in great shape. Easy to sell, good money too."

She shrugged, her face a mix of fake innocence and selfish satisfaction. "So, don’t blame me. I’m just running errands, y’know? Might as well make a little cash on the side."

Then her eyes moved to Evelyn’s waist—right where the kidneys were.

"As for your kidneys... well, once your heart’s gone, you won’t need them anyway. I’ll just take those too. Bit of a waste not to, right? I mean, we're both rare matches. One’s donation, so might as well be two. Solves my problem. Don’t worry, Sis—I’ll put them to good use."

Before Evelyn could even panic, the black market doctor who’d been silently standing nearby made his move. The scalpel sliced through her chest with a surgeon’s precision.

Even with most of the pain numbed, Evelyn still felt the sharp, searing agony tearing through her body.

Fiona laughed, completely pleased with herself. "Evelyn, what do you think Victor Halifax would do if he saw you like this? Chest ripped open, heart dug out, kidneys taken—left here like some trashed puppet on a cold metal slab. Think he’d totally lose it?"

She watched the light slowly vanish from Evelyn’s eyes, grinning like she’d just completed some twisted masterpiece. Her smile was cruel, the kind only a winner basking in her destruction could wear.

Evelyn was gripped by a suffocating fear, worse than any pain running through her butchered body.

She’d gone out of her way to please her family, worshiped every one of them—except the one person who truly loved her: Victor.

She’d blamed him for everything. Her mother’s death. Her brother’s fate. Every bit of pain she carried, she dumped it all on him.

She treated him like a monster. Pushed him away, hated him, humiliated him.

All while using his love to keep hurting him again and again.

But now... God, no...

She didn’t want Victor to see her like this.

He would break—completely.

She’d been wrong. So wrong, it made her sick.

Her brother—he’d died trying to protect her. And she? She became the reason he got killed.

It was her blind hatred that handed Fiona the knife.

Her fault. All of it.

She let her anger block out reason. She never trusted Victor.

She pushed away the man who loved her most. The one who tried to shield her from it all.

If only she had another shot...

She’d protect them. All of them. Keep them safe and happy.

Maybe she’d tell Victor she loved him. Let him know she would willingly be his wife.

But no... It was too late.

Her head pounded.

Her stomach ached, empty.

With a groan, Evelyn slowly opened her eyes.

Wasn’t this... her old room? The one she lived in before marrying Victor?

Didn’t it burn down later?

Thinking it was just a dream, she blinked hard and rubbed her eyes.

When she looked again—it was still there.

Everything was the same.

Evelyn sat up sharply, pulse racing.

This... this really was that room. The one that should’ve been gone.

She wasn’t dead.

She’d come back.

She was alive again—back to the time right before marrying Victor Halifax...