...

Hearing my cries, Mom rushed over and picked me up.

When she saw my fingers red from hot water, her face turned cold.

"What happened?"

Rachel, who was nearby, answered cautiously.

"Probably a mosquito bite."

Bullshit! That's no mosquito bite. It was clearly my wicked sister Katherine who burned me.

Unfortunately, I was only three and a half and couldn't say so much at once. I could only point at her and stammer.

"S-sister... burned... burned me."

This was the first time I tattled in front of Mom, so everyone looked surprised.

"Mom, little sister is young. You can't take her words seriously."

The usually quiet big brother suddenly had a lot to say.

"Oh?"

Mom looked meaningfully at big brother. "Betty is young, not stupid. She knows who bullied her."

Big brother raised his head without changing expression. "We're all Betty's brothers and sisters. How could we really bully her?"

"Even if Katherine did it, it was an accident."

Rachel chimed in right after.

"Madam, bumps and scrapes between kids are normal. Don't make a big deal."

Make a big deal?

I stared hard at that wrinkled old hag.

In my past life, after I died, I learned she was Katherine's birth mother.

She was the one who came up with the plan to kill me and take the fortune.

Mom looked at the self-righteous group and her voice turned sharp.

"Whether it was on purpose or not, we'll see."

Katherine's face instantly paled. She looked at Mom guiltily.

"S-see what?"

Mom didn't waste words. She had the butler pull up the surveillance.

They didn't know that since my birth, the whole house except the bathrooms and bedrooms had 360-degree surveillance.

In my past life, Mom didn't mention the surveillance because she trusted them.

In the video, I was sitting quietly playing on the floor. Katherine came out of her room looking annoyed.

In her anger, she kicked me right in the chest.

I cried out in pain. Seeing that, she pinched me hard several times.

Finally, she stuck my fingers into the hot water kettle.

"Cry, cry, cry! I can't even nap in peace!"

"If you don't stop, I'll throw you out to feed the dogs, you little bitch."

After the video, the room fell dead silent.

Katherine grabbed Mom's pants leg and begged.

"Mom, Betty was crying too loud. It disturbed my rest.

I know I was wrong. I promise I'll never do it again. Please don't be mad."

Mom looked at the blisters on my fingers, heartbroken.

She kicked Katherine aside.

"Get out. Don't ever come back to my house."

As soon as she said that, all six brothers knelt before Mom.

"Mom, please don't kick Katherine out. We'll treat little sister well."

We grew up with Kate, we won't let her leave.

Yeah, Kate's your daughter too, how could you be so heartless...

They all talked at once, determined to keep Katherine from leaving.

Mom gave a cold laugh, standing firm,

"Either she goes, or you all go with her!"

With that, Mom carried me back to the room, leaving them sobbing uncontrollably in the living room.

By dinner, Katherine was gone from the house.

My brothers looked at me with eyes full of resentment.

After feeding me, Mom gazed at me tenderly.

"Sweetie, Mom has a business trip for a few days. Be good at home."

At Mom's words, fleeting looks of glee crossed their faces.

I knew their chance to strike had come.

The next morning, I was wailing from hunger.

Kathleen carried me to the dining table with an impatient look, but with surveillance cameras around, she couldn't do anything outrageous.

"Eat." She tossed me a bowl of cold leftover porridge.

The sour stench hit my nose. I pushed the bowl away in disgust. "Stinky... stinky."

She glared at me and scooped a spoonful of spoiled porridge toward my mouth.

"Worthless girl, eat up. Such a nuisance." How dare!

Call me worthless?

I stretched my leg and knocked the entire bowl onto her.

She shrieked sharply. "My new limited edition!"

Yours?

That's Mom's!

Every time Mom's away, she wears Mom's clothes.

Now that it's stained, let's see how she explains!

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Second brother rushed over at the noise.

He took one look at the mess on her and understood.

"Betty, seems we've spoiled you. Apologize to Rachel now!"

Apologize?

Dream on! When I didn't budge, Rachel squeezed out tears. "Young master, it's nothing. Our lowly lives aren't as precious as the young miss."

Calling it "lowly life" like we're oppressing her?

Go ask around—who pays higher wages than us besides the Roberts family?

Second brother sympathetically led Kathleen to his room, ignoring his starving three-year-old sister.

I struggled off the chair and tiptoed to squat outside his door.

"Mom, are you hurt?" Just as I guessed—Katherine was still here, hiding in his room.

Kathleen's mournful voice drifted out.

"Mom's fine. As long as you and the young masters are well, I'll do anything." Suddenly Katherine's voice turned shrill.

"Blame that little bitch Betty! First she got me kicked out, now she ruined your clothes. I won't forgive her!" Then the brothers' firm voices echoed.

"Katherine, relax. Whatever you do, we'll always back you."

"You're our only real sister. Betty's just an outsider."

"With Mom traveling and Betty being a babbling baby, we decide how to deal with her."

Ungrateful wolves!

But I'm no pushover. I dragged butler Gerald to second brother's door.

Second brother yanked it open, annoyed.

"I'm studying. What do you want?" I hid behind Gerald, pointing at the room with a baby voice.

"There's a sister inside."

Our family detests nothing more than pretending to obey while acting against orders. Mom just ordered her out, and you immediately hid her here.

Isn't this blatant disrespect toward the lady of the house?

Even the usually unflappable second brother was now sweating.

"H...how could that be?

Betty, if you keep spouting nonsense, don't blame me—"

"What will you do!"

Gerald cut him off, face stern. "This household prioritizes Miss Betty above all!"

"Second Young Master, step aside."

At this point, further refusal would prove their guilt.

Second brother nervously glanced into the room before forcing a magnanimous tone.

"Go ahead. See who's talking nonsense."

Gerald led me inside where only Kathleen and my brothers stood.

"Why aren't you working?"

Kathleen lowered her head guiltily under Gerald's questioning.

"I brought fruit for the young masters."

"Where is it?"

Gerald pressed.

"F...fruit?"

First brother smoothly intervened.

"We finished the fruit."

The butler eyed him skeptically.

"Really?"

I released Gerald's hand and dashed toward the restroom.

"Halt!"

Second brother blocked me.

"A girl shouldn't run into the men's restroom."

Huh?

I gazed at him pitifully.

"Brother, I need to go."

Second brother hastily summoned Kathleen.

"Take Miss Betty to the restroom."

Just as everyone relaxed, I pointed at the restroom screaming.

"Brother's lying! Someone's inside!"

The butler marched up to second brother.

"Young master, open the restroom."

Second brother snapped.

"You dare order me, a mere butler? Want to keep your job?"

Gerald smiled faintly.

"Madam authorized me to handle anything endangering Miss Betty."

Second brother instantly deflated.

Everyone knew why Katherine was expelled.

"F...fine! But if it's empty, you'll apologize."

"Naturally."

Under collective scrutiny, second brother reached for the doorknob.

Kathleen suddenly shrieked, drawing all eyes.

She trembled, extending a bloodied hand.

"Sorry, Miss. I dropped the glass."

Broken shards littered the floor below.

Gerald frowned.

"Careless. Clean this up."

Kathleen shook her head wildly.

"I'm fine! Get Miss out now—if glass cuts her, my life won't suffice!"

Clearly trying to divert us.

But I refused to comply.

I stared at second brother.

"Open it, second brother. I'm scared."

Glaring, he reluctantly opened the door.

"See? Empty."

Gerald peered inside skeptically—indeed vacant.

"Well? Apologize now!"

Just as Gerald was about to bow and apologize to him, I dashed to the wardrobe and pulled the door open.

I exclaimed excitedly:

"Betty's in here!"

I knew Katherine was hiding in the wardrobe from the very beginning; I was just teasing them.

"Young Master, how do you explain this?" The second brother kept looking around for help, until the eldest brother stepped forward.

"It was my decision to let Katherine stay home."

"She grew up here. Where do you expect a girl to go if you suddenly kick her out?" The eldest brother's tone dripped with resentment.

Gerald didn't indulge him.

"Young Master, this is Madam's order. Defying her warrants punishment." Katherine shielded the eldest brother behind her.

"Punish me instead! I refused to leave—it's got nothing to do with him!" Kathleen walked over, blood still oozing from her hand.

"Have mercy! Don't tell Madam—I'm begging on my knees." The eldest brother stared at us grimly.

"Must you destroy us all?"

I hid behind Gerald, trembling.

"Brother's scary... Betty's scared." Something in those words snapped Katherine's control. She yanked my collar and hauled me up.

"You little bitch! Stop playing innocent—this is all your fault!" "Just die!"

She lifted me to hurl me down. Gerald caught me mid-air.

I wailed hysterically. The other brothers paled at Katherine's frenzy.

"Have you lost your mind?" The eldest brother clamped her shoulders.

Katherine wore a martyr's resolve.

"What's so special about her? Why must everyone orbit around her?"

"Let's see what a milk-drinking brat can do to me!" After checking I was unharmed, Gerald seized Katherine's throat.

"Seeking death? How dare you assault Miss!" The stunned brothers scrambled to pull Gerald off.

"Gerald, release Katherine! Let's discuss this calmly!" "Hurry! She can't breathe!" I tugged Gerald's collar, pleading.

Yet Katherine's eyes still burned with hatred toward me.

"Guards! Administer family discipline!"

At Gerald's command, the villa echoed with Katherine and the eldest brother's shrieks. The remaining brothers quaked in terror.

Finally, bodyguards dumped Katherine—barely breathing—outside the gates.

"Betty, I was wrong today. Don't tell Mom, okay?" The usually aloof eldest brother now stood meekly before me.

He produced a lollipop.

"Keep quiet, and this candy's yours."

For someone starved of sweets, that lollipop was irresistible. I crammed it into my mouth, nodding wildly.

Midnight brought knife-like stomach pains.

I staggered to my door and flung it open. All six brothers squatted in the hallway.

"Brother... my tum... hurts." The eldest brother sneered, clamped a hand over my mouth, and snarled:

"You bastard spawn! Let's see who saves you now!"

I struggled desperately, but no matter how mature my mental age was, I was after all just a three-and-a-half-year-old child.

By the time I realized what was happening, I had already been taken to an abandoned factory.

"Katherine, we brought her to you."

The eldest brother threw me at Katherine's feet as if to claim credit.

She snorted lightly and kicked me several times.

Then she grabbed my hair and slammed my head hard against the ground.

"You little bitch, how dare you oppose me? Today is your death day!"

At the critical moment, the eldest brother stopped her.

"Katherine, this bitch can't die yet." Katherine looked at him with a sad expression.

"Brother, you're actually protecting her? Have you forgotten who gave me these injuries?"

The eldest brother held her in his arms, heartbroken.

"We want her dead too! But now is not the time. If she really dies, that old woman will definitely kick us out. Then we'll have nothing." "We brought her out tonight just so you could vent. After you're done venting, we have to take her back." Katherine looked confused.

"If she goes back and complains to that old woman, we're all finished." The second brother walked over and patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I have a way." With this promise from the second brother, Katherine immediately stopped torturing me.

There wasn't a single patch of unbruised skin on my body.

After Katherine had had her fill, the second brother applied some kind of liquid medicine to my body.

In the blink of an eye, all the scars on my body healed without a trace.

"See? I didn't lie to you." Katherine happily threw herself into the second brother's arms.

Little did she know that this action aroused deep jealousy in the other brothers.

With this miracle liquid, they abused me every day.

But I had no evidence.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and knocked on the door of the neighboring villa.

"What do you want?" The one who opened the door was none other than Paul, whom my mother had warned me not to provoke.

"Paul, can you protect me?"