They Said They Loved Me, But I'm Already Dead

I died on the day my family threw a lavish birthday banquet for the fake heiress.

While I was being held by their enemies, making desperate call after call, they were celebrating Diana Henson.

Today is Diana's birthday. I don't want to lose my temper with you, but if you insist on being this stubborn, don't bother coming back to the Henson family.

Those were the words from my own flesh and blood. My biological parents, my biological brotherthey all treated me like the villain. Because of what he said, the kidnappers tortured me for seven straight hours.

In the end, I stopped fighting. I died on a sunny afternoon, but all I felt was cold.

"With resentment this heavy, if it isn't resolved, you'll become a vengeful ghost. I'll give you seven days. Rememberyou're already dead. Only those who feel guilty toward you can see you."

I stood and walked out numbly. A sudden burning sensation made me gasp.

"Hey, you're already dead!"

I turned slowly to look at the corpse on the ground. Covered in blood. The white dress had long since turned red.

By the time I reached the Henson estate, darkness had fallen. I carried an oil-paper umbrella, completely out of place. Inside, speakers blared, and the air was thick with laughter and celebration.

"Mom, Dad, big brotheris it really okay to ignore Fiona? What if she really was kidnapped?"

"If she'd actually been kidnapped, would she have time to keep calling us? Forget about her. Today, you're the star."

Mom and Jordan Henson stood beside Diana as she cut her cake, their faces soft with affection.

I'd almost forgotten how many years it had been since they'd looked at me that way. All I could remember was the last call the kidnappers made on my behalf.

"Let her die first, then come collect the body!"

I touched my chest. My heart had clearly stopped beating. So why did it still hurt?

"God, you scared me! Diana, why is your sister just standing there like a ghost? And carrying something meant for the dead?"

I stepped inside. Their frowns deepened. Some covered their mouths.

"What is that smell!"

"Ugh..."

Mom glanced at my dress with open disgust. Maybe because it was mixed with so much else, the bloodstains didn't show anymore.

"It's Diana's birthday, and you show up looking like this. When will you ever learn?"

"Fiona, don't play these kidnapping games anymore. You worried Mom, Dad, and Jordan."

Diana's words made everyone remember my so-called kidnapping. They pointed and whispered, and my parents took her words as proof I'd staged the whole thing. But I didn't rush to defend myself like I used to.

I just nodded and admitted fault.

"I understand. Sorry for the trouble. It won't happen again."

"What kind of act is this now?"

Jordan was clearly irritated, convinced I was stirring up drama. He grabbed my handthen recoiled from how ice-cold it was. He pointed at my umbrella.

"Throw that thing out. You brought it on Diana's birthday on purpose, didn't you? If you really want to die, then die somewhere else. Don't come back."

Even now, those words made my whole body ache. I lowered my head, throat bitter.

"Mom, if I died... would you all be happy?"

"What, threatening us now? Fineif you want to die, do it far away from here. Don't scare Diana."

I knew they didn't like me. They thought I wasn't as accomplished as Diana, couldn't make them proud like she could, couldn't be sweet and charming like she could.

I just never expected them to hate me enough to want me dead.

Can you wait a little longer? In seven days, you'll get what you want!

Even if they heard I'd died, they'd assume it was just another bid for attention. They wouldn't care at all.

I watched them crowd around Diana, showering her with blessings and gifts.

Did they forget today was my birthday too? I was only a few hours younger than her. I died on my eighteenth birthday.

"Mom, today is my little sister's birthday too. Did we forget? She must be upset with usthat's probably why she's acting this way."

Awkwardness flickered across their faces. They'd remembered the adopted daughter's birthday but forgotten their biological daughter's. Only they could manage that.

They were people who'd seen the world. To avoid gossip, they pulled out the only card they had on them.

"Here's ten thousand dollars. Buy yourself something nice. Consider it a gift from your father and me."

Jordan took out the freebie that came with Diana's present.

I looked at their impatient faces, and something in my chest went cold. I didn't take it.

"No need. Even if I took it, I wouldn't be able to use it."

They were disgusted by my response, convinced I didn't know when to be grateful.

After the banquet ended, Diana couldn't wait to gloat.

"If I were you, I wouldn't have come back. Coming back just means more humiliation."

"This is my home. Or did you forget you're just a cuckoo in someone else's nest?"

Nothing enraged her more than being called a fake heiress. She'd worked too hard, for too many years, to make everyone rememberthe Henson family had only one daughter, and it was her.

"So what? In this family, I'll always matter more than you. You're nothing but a spare part."

"Get out. This is my room."

"Ah!"

Her scream brought all three of them running. They rushed straight to her.

The slap came without warning. I stared at the woman in front of me in disbelief. I hadn't said a single word, and she'd already decided I was guilty. My voice cracked.

"Mom!"

"Don't call me that. I don't have a daughter as vicious as you. You've caused chaos all day. This morning you lied about being kidnapped, but when we checked, you'd been out shopping the whole time. We let it go as one of your tantrums. Now you're bullying Diana again. What will it take to make you stop?"

"I wasn't shopping"

I turned sharply toward Diana. The smug look on her face told me everything.

"It was you!"

"Still making excuses. Wrong is wrong. When will you ever be as sensible as Diana? I'm so disappointed in you."

"Forget it. Just forget it."

The disappointment in their eyes made it hard to breathe.

"How did you turn out like this?"

Jordan's question made my eyes burn. I stayed silentbut he took that as an admission. That everything was my fault. That I'd done it all on purpose.

"You being my biological sister won't change. But you never should have kept bullying Diana and letting her take the blame for you."

I watched his retreating back and couldn't help asking.

"Did you ever actually believe me?"

"I only believe what I see with my own eyes."

My eyes stung badly. I reached up to wipe away tears, but my face was dry. Only then did I rememberI was already dead. I had no tears left to cry.

They treated Diana so well. So well it made me jealous. Every time we went out together, the same thought would claw at me: Push her down. If she were gone, they'd finally look at me.

It wasn't until after I died that I realized they never loved me at all.

Diana got the Aldridge admission letter so easily, and they couldn't wait to announce it to the worldtheir most outstanding daughter, their pride and joy.

But that was mine.

"If you'd just been a little more obedient, you wouldn't have turned out so badly. Even without being exceptional."

I looked at Jordan and laugheda bitter, angry laugh.

"Have you ever once seen what I'm capable of? If I told you that admission letter was mine, would you believe me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Diana earned that on her own merit."

Right. Her own meritthe merit of sleeping her way in and swapping my name for hers. If I hadn't overheard it by accident, I never would have known.

"Stop being jealous of her."

"Jordan, this might be the last time I call you my brother. If I died someday, would you even be sad?"

"No. But I hope you don't let us know. Just pretend you never existed."

I watched his retreating back and smileda broken, miserable smile. He hadn't hesitated for even a second. The certainty in his eyes told me he genuinely wanted me dead.

"How pitiful." Diana's voice dripped with mockery. "I'm telling youfrom now on, everything you have is mine. Including this."

I reached out to snatch it back, but my body felt light, weightless. One push and I toppled over. Diana looked puzzled for a moment but didn't dwell on it.

"Oh, and those kidnappers that day? I'm the one who found them. Told them to treat you real well." She smiled. "I'm going to pay them extra, actually. Seeing you so wrecked made me so happy."

My whole body trembled. It was her. It was her all along.

Something dark and terrible rose inside me, so intense that Diana actually flinched. I lunged at her.

"I'll kill you! You murderer!"

I was like a madwoman. Maybe the hatred had consumed me completely, possessed me with something inhuman. No matter how Diana struggled, she couldn't break free. Real fear finally crept into her voice.

"Mom! Dad! Jordan! Help me! Fiona's trying to kill me!"

Bang. I was slammed hard against the wall. I'd already lost all reason. All I could think about was the torture that dayI had to kill Diana, drag her down to hell with me.

I lunged again, fingers closing around her throat, when my father's hand cracked across my face. The chaos stopped instantly. He glanced at his palm, and whatever guilt flickered there vanished the moment he saw Diana's state.

"Ungrateful wretch! Diana is your older sister!"

"Fiona, make another scene and I'm cutting ties with you for good."

The scene burned into my eyes. I wanted to cry, but no tears came. The raw dryness made it hard to breathe.

"She's the one who had me kidnapped! She killed meshe killed me!"

"How long are you going to keep this up? Now you're accusing Diana of murder? You're standing right here!"

This is only my vengeful spirit. My resentment was so heavy that the King of Hell let me return.

But I couldn't explain that. And they wouldn't believe it anyway.

"If you want to die so badly, then go die! Just go!"

Already dead, yet I could still taste blood in my throat. I walked away laughing. They found it deeply unsettlingI was right in front of them, yet somehow impossible to grasp.

They clutched their chests, a sudden ache blooming there.

"Mom, Dad, Jordandon't be upset." Diana's voice turned soft, pitiful. "Fiona will come around eventually. If me leaving would help, then"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

They ignored the pain spreading through their hearts.

Not long after, Diana got a call from the kidnappers.

"When are you paying up?"

"You've got nerve asking me for moneywhat happened to our deal?"

The man on the other end bristled. "What do you mean? I did exactly what you said. Tortured her until she was covered in wounds. Just bad luckshe couldn't handle it. Played her to death. Now pay up. We need to run, or none of us will make it."

A chill crawled up Diana's spine, but she quickly decided he was running a scam.

"She's been with me every day. Just now she almost strangled me to death, and you're still lying?"

"What the hell are you talking about? We made sure she was dead before we left. Day before yesterday, my guy went to checkher body's still there. Nobody's collected it."

Now Diana was certain they were trying to cheat her.

"Nice try. Not happening."

She hung up, but her heart wouldn't stop racing. Her steps felt unsteady.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Mom. The banquet's startedlet's go!"

She pulled Rose toward the front hall. When she spotted me standing at the end of the corridor, she turned and bolted.

"Thank you all for coming to celebrate my daughter's college acceptance!"

Samuel and Rose basked in the praise, practically glowing. The screen behind them began playing clips of Diana's hardworking childhood.

Then the footage changed.

The day I was kidnapped.

"I'm the Henson heiress. My parents won't ignore me."

Then came Samuel and Rose's voicescold, heartless.

"If you want to die that badly, die outside. I'll act like I don't have a daughter like you."

Then me, kowtowing over and over.

"I'll call my brother. He won't ignore me. PleaseI'm begging you."

I kowtowed until my forehead bled, but no one expected Jordan to be even more ruthless.

"Die first. Then I'll come collect your body."

My hands dropped. The despair on my face made the entire room feel like they couldn't breathe.

Jordan's face went white as bone. If he hadn't gripped the table, he would've collapsed.

Rose's lips trembled violently. Their hearts seized as one.

At least their daughter was still here. Otherwise they'd regret it forever

But then came the next scene.

What followed made guests physically sick. Some vomited on the spot. Even Jordan, a grown man, nearly lost it.

"Damn, so unlucky. We barely played and she stopped breathing!"

A blond guy put his hand under my nose.

"She's really dead. Let's gobad luck!"

Dead?

The room erupted in screams.