- 16 hours ago
Apologize to My Dead Body Sub Esp
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I fought with wild dogs for food and prayed to them, but it was useless, and in the end, I
00:06still died.
00:07I was Manhattan's most spoiled heiress, until my award-winning actor brother sent me to a reality show called Rich
00:13Girls Reformed.
00:14I slept in a pig pen covered in manure for three months, fighting dogs for scraps of food.
00:20Any resistance meant being dunked in water tanks, or worse, electroshock.
00:25The only thing keeping me alive was the mute old man who delivered the meals.
00:30He'd snuck me medicine, listened to me cry, and begged my brother to save me.
00:34He even promised to help me escape.
00:36I swore that once I got out, I'd tell my brother I'd learned my lesson.
00:40Until that day, when my high fever triggered a heart attack, and I collapsed in the mud, convulsing.
00:46I saw the mute old man I'd clung to as my lifeline reach up and tear off his mud-caked
00:52wig and mask, revealing my fiancé's face.
00:55This is what you get for drugging Sophia, even if it was just a laxident.
01:01These three months in the pig pet should make up for the scare you gave her.
01:05Director cut the cameras.
01:06Sophia says she can't bear watching me act and suffer.
01:09She feels bad.
01:10I watched my fiancé walk away with his arm around the scholarship girl.
01:15My heart stopped beating.
01:16Sophia finally got what she wanted.
01:18From the moment we met, she made it clear.
01:21Girls like me didn't deserve what we were born into.
01:24Too rich.
01:25Too spoiled.
01:26Too empty-headed, in her words.
01:29One day, she said, she would take it all.
01:31And she did.
01:32It didn't take schemes or grand plans.
01:35Just two years of quiet performances.
01:37A stumble here.
01:38A trembling voice there.
01:40A well-timed tear.
01:42Every time, it ended the same.
01:44My brother at her side.
01:45My fiancé just behind him.
01:47Both looking at me like I was something rotten.
01:50All she ever had to do was make it seem like I hurt her.
01:53And really, who would believe otherwise?
01:55A rich heiress bullied by a scholarship girl who was gentle and hardworking?
02:00Of course not.
02:01In their eyes, it could only ever be the other way around.
02:05I floated above, looking down at myself lying in the filth.
02:09Covered in pig shit.
02:10Fingernails caked with mud.
02:12Cut!
02:14Perfect!
02:15Absolutely perfect!
02:16That dying look in her eyes is incredible!
02:19Quick, get a close-up!
02:20A dozen cameras instantly zoomed in on my face.
02:23A pair of fancy leather shoes stopped beside my face.
02:27Lucas Carter, my fiancé.
02:30Alright, stop pretending.
02:31The director called cut.
02:32Why are you still lying there?
02:33Getting addicted to acting?
02:34Seeing no reaction from me,
02:36he casually nudged my face with his foot.
02:38The corpse swayed with the force of his nudge,
02:41but didn't respond.
02:42Lucas frowned,
02:43then crouched down to check if I was still breathing.
02:46What the heck?
02:48Is Ashford now?
02:50Don't let her bring those filthy clothes into my car.
02:53It's disgusting.
02:54Sophia hasn't been feeling well lately.
02:56She can't handle the smell.
02:58Then...
02:58Find a trash bag.
03:00Throw her in the trunk.
03:01Since she likes playing dead so much,
03:03let her play dead all the way home.
03:04At least it'll spare me from listening to her fake crying.
03:08Yes, sir.
03:08I watched two stagehands lift my stiff corpse
03:11and stuff it into a trash bag.
03:13Lucas was wiping raindrops from Sophia's hair.
03:16He didn't look at me once.
03:18The trunk slammed shut.
03:19The car started.
03:20A trail of blood silently drenched the bag.
03:23I floated nearby, almost wanting to laugh.
03:26I remembered when I was 18,
03:28I accidentally bumped my head in the car.
03:30Ethan didn't say a word.
03:33He'd said,
03:34Why keep something that hurt our Vivian?
03:36But now,
03:37my corpse was being knocked around in the trunk.
03:39Ethan,
03:40were you acting back then too?
03:42Or is it that once Sophia appeared,
03:44your own sister deserved to be thrown away like this?
03:47Ethan,
03:48do you think Vivian will be mad at us
03:50for putting her in the trunk when she wakes up?
03:52Ethan drove with a cold snort.
03:54She doesn't get a choice.
03:57Once we're home,
03:58I have ways to keep her from throwing a tantrum.
04:01Tomorrow's apology press conference is already arranged.
04:04If she dares to mess it up,
04:06I'll send her right back to these mountains
04:08for another three months.
04:10She'd better know her place.
04:12Sophia was hospitalized for three days
04:15because of that laxative.
04:16These three months of suffering barely make up for it.
04:19I floated above the car,
04:20watching these three people.
04:22I never put laxatives in that drink.
04:25Sophia stole my heart medication,
04:27then accused me of trying to poison her.
04:29No one believed me,
04:30and I can't explain anymore.
04:32The car bumped along the road,
04:34my corpse rattling in the trunk the whole way.
04:37Ethan got out without calling the servants.
04:39He opened the trunk
04:40and grabbed the trash bag with one hand,
04:42dragging it out.
04:43My head hit each step
04:45as he dragged me up the stairs.
04:46My soul trembled.
04:48I reached out to protect my head.
04:51Ethan, be gentle!
04:53That's my head!
04:55Really heavy.
04:56Playing dead pretty thoroughly.
04:58Not making a sound.
04:59He dragged the trash bag into the living room
05:01and dropped it on the rug.
05:03The zipper opened,
05:04revealing my mud-covered face,
05:06eyes closed,
05:07lips purple.
05:08All right, we're home.
05:11Stop pretending.
05:14Get up and wash yourself off.
05:16Don't dirty the carpet.
05:17She ran unconscious.
05:19Her face looks so scary.
05:22That's special effects makeup.
05:24Weren't you there on set?
05:26She fakes passing out all the time
05:27to get out of work.
05:28The doctor said she's in perfect health.
05:29This level of cold won't kill her.
05:31Ethan lost his patience.
05:32He walked over to the thermostat
05:34and turned it down to the lowest setting.
05:36Want to play dead?
05:37Then lie there.
05:38No one gives her a blanket tonight.
05:40Let's see how long she can keep it up.
05:41With that,
05:42all three went to their rooms,
05:44leaving only the cold air
05:45blowing over my corpse.
05:47I floated in midair,
05:48looking at my body
05:49lying alone on the floor,
05:51watching the lividity
05:52spread across my neck
05:53and the back of my arms.
05:55Early in the morning,
05:56the Ashford family's
05:57styling team arrived.
05:58Today was the apology press conference
06:00Ethan had arranged for me,
06:02live-streamed to the whole country.
06:04The makeup artist touched my hand
06:06Oh, Jesus!
06:07So cold!
06:09She looked at Sophia.
06:10Miss White,
06:11Miss Ashford's temperature?
06:12Is she really okay?
06:13Oh, she spent three months
06:14freezing in the mountains.
06:16Of course she's cold.
06:18Plus she trained herself
06:19to withstand cold
06:20for the pathetic effect.
06:21Don't make a fuss.
06:23Just put more blush on her.
06:25That complexion is awful.
06:26Put these purple marks on her skin.
06:28Those are bruises
06:29from falling in the mountains.
06:31Cover them with foundation.
06:32Today's theme is rebirth.
06:34Don't let people see her
06:35looking like a corpse
06:36and embarrass the Ashford family.
06:38The makeup artist
06:38didn't dare argue.
06:40She grabbed concealer
06:41and started smearing it
06:42on my face.
06:43I watched from the side,
06:44finding it almost funny.
06:46Concealer could cover lividity,
06:47but not the smell of death.
06:49This outfit reeks.
06:51Change her clothes.
06:52Put her in this one.
06:52It was the style
06:54Sophia had rejected.
06:55A size too small.
06:56Two assistants came over
06:58to help change my clothes,
06:59but there was a problem.
07:00Because of rigor mortis,
07:02my limbs were stiff.
07:03Mr. Ashford,
07:04Ms. Ashford is too stiff.
07:06She won't cooperate.
07:07Like, she is dead.
07:11She won't cooperate.
07:13We can't bend her arms.
07:14Ethan's face darkened.
07:16Vivian!
07:17How long are you gonna keep this up?
07:18Won't even put on clothes?
07:20Do you want to apologize naked?
07:21The corpse naturally
07:22didn't answer him.
07:23Lucas frowned and strode over.
07:25Since she wants to be stubborn,
07:28don't blame me for not being gentle.
07:30He grabbed my stiff left arm
07:32and yanked it outward.
07:33I floated in midair,
07:35instinctively clutching my arm
07:36and screaming.
07:38Then I remembered.
07:39I was dead.
07:40My body couldn't feel pain anymore.
07:43Hmph.
07:45Strong grip.
07:46Playing the virtual murder?
07:48Hurry up and dress her!
07:49The assistants trembled
07:50as they pulled the pink dress
07:52onto my corpse.
07:52To hide the twisted arm,
07:54they folded my hands
07:55across my abdomen.
07:56After all the manipulation,
07:58I'd been handled like a doll
07:59with no dignity.
08:00Lipstick covered my purple lips.
08:02Foundation hid my pallor.
08:04A ribbon bow concealed
08:05the dog collar marks
08:06on my neck.
08:07That's better.
08:08Looks like these three months
08:09weren't wasted.
08:10Knocked that nasty temper
08:11right out of her.
08:13As long as she doesn't talk,
08:16she's still the good little sister
08:17she used to be.
08:18When we get to the venue,
08:20if you dare mess up
08:21or say the wrong thing,
08:22I'll make sure you spend
08:24the rest of your life
08:24in a wheelchair.
08:25Don't worry, Ethan.
08:27I'll be in a wheelchair
08:28for the rest of my life anyway.
08:29And I'll never speak again.
08:31Let's go.
08:32Don't keep the reporters waiting.
08:33The sunlight was blinding,
08:35but I felt no warmth.
08:36The ballroom backstage
08:37was packed with reporters.
08:38Sophia had changed
08:39into a white haute couture gown.
08:42She had the makeup artist
08:43give her a pitiful victim look.
08:45While Ethan and Lucas
08:45were schmoozing with the media,
08:47Sophia walked over
08:48to my wheelchair.
08:49Vivian,
08:50you're so quiet today.
08:52I like it.
08:53Didn't you love
08:54calling me a bitch before?
08:55Why so quiet now?
08:56Running out of energy?
08:58Don't worry.
08:59There's an even bigger surprise
09:00waiting for you on stage.
09:02Seeing no reaction from me,
09:03Sophia pouted.
09:04You can really take it,
09:06but I guess you should behave.
09:07You're about to lose
09:08your engagement anyway.
09:10Lose my engagement?
09:11I jerked my head up
09:12to look at Lucas.
09:13He was standing in the spotlight,
09:15turning to say something to Ethan.
09:16I floated over
09:17and heard it clearly.
09:18Today's perfect.
09:20With a live stream,
09:21the whole country can witness it.
09:23I'm cutting this stain
09:24loose, completely.
09:26Ethan was silent for a moment,
09:27glancing at me in the corner.
09:28She brought this on herself.
09:30Can't blame anyone else.
09:31My soul felt that sharp pain again.
09:34So, in your minds,
09:35I'm not even worth a title.
09:36I don't even deserve
09:37basic human dignity.
09:39Three, two, one, action.
09:42The spotlight came on.
09:43I was wheeled onto the stage.
09:45Because I was strapped in,
09:46I sat perfectly straight.
09:48That's the Ashford heiress?
09:49She looks like a model.
09:51Heard she slept in a pig pen
09:52for three months,
09:53probably brain damaged.
09:54They say she was so arrogant before,
09:55even drugged the scholarship girl.
09:56Those vicious whispers
09:57drilled into my ears,
09:59every single one.
09:59Ethan picked up the microphone,
10:01his face full of regret.
10:03Ladies and gentlemen of the press,
10:04everyone online,
10:05hello.
10:06I'm Ethan Ashfield.
10:07Today's live stream
10:08has only one purpose,
10:10repentance.
10:11My sister Vivian,
10:12out of jealousy and selfishness,
10:13caused tremendous harm
10:14to our company's artist,
10:16Sophia White.
10:17After three months
10:17of reconformation,
10:18she's deeply recognized
10:19her mistakes.
10:20Today, she's here
10:21in front of the entire country
10:22to apologize to Sophia.
10:24The comments exploded.
10:25Ethan Ashford
10:26standing up to family,
10:27so inspiring.
10:28This is proper elite
10:30family discipline.
10:31Ethan turned around,
10:32walked up to me,
10:33blocking half the cameras.
10:35With his back to the audience,
10:36he hissed,
10:37Stop playing dead.
10:40Speak.
10:41Tell everyone
10:42what you did wrong.
10:43I didn't respond,
10:44so he reached out
10:45and pinched
10:46the soft flesh of my arm.
10:47The corpse swayed
10:49with the force.
10:50Ethan,
10:51don't be like this.
10:51She's probably
10:52too ashamed to speak.
10:53It's okay.
10:54I forgive her.
10:55She picked up
10:55a glass of red wine
10:56and forced it
10:57into my broken hand.
11:01Vivian,
11:02drink this,
11:03and we'll still
11:04be sisters.
11:05The wine glass tilted,
11:06wine falling into my dress.
11:08I'm sorry.
11:10Sophia looked hurt
11:11toward the camera.
11:11I guess she still
11:12won't forgive me.
11:14Too much.
11:15Sophia's being so humble
11:16and she's still
11:17putting on airs.
11:18This woman's hopeless.
11:19Mr. Ashford,
11:20send her to a psych room.
11:22Lucas took the microphone
11:24and strode to center stage,
11:26standing beside my wheelchair.
11:27Since Ms. Ashford
11:28insists on protesting
11:30with silence,
11:31I don't need to
11:32save face for you anymore.
11:34He pulled a velvet box
11:36from his pocket.
11:37For a moment,
11:38my heart flickered
11:39with hope.
11:39Was it our engagement ring?
11:41He opened the box.
11:42Inside was a brand new
11:43pink diamond ring.
11:45Lucas turned around
11:46and in front of me,
11:47in front of tens of millions
11:49of viewers online,
11:50he knelt on one knee
11:51before Sophia.
11:53Ms. Sophia White,
11:54for the past three years,
11:55you've been by my side.
11:57Your kindness,
11:59your purity,
12:00that's what the lady
12:01of the Carter family
12:02should be like.
12:04This vicious,
12:06unrepentant woman
12:07who only knows
12:07how to put on an act
12:08doesn't deserve
12:09to enter the Carter family.
12:11Every word
12:12lashed my soul.
12:13He stood beside my corpse
12:14and proposed
12:15to another woman.
12:16He trampled my dignity
12:18into the dirt
12:19in front of the entire country,
12:20then ground it in deeper.
12:23Lucas!
12:24The reporter started chanting.
12:26Lucas pulled out
12:27the simple engagement ring
12:28that had been mine.
12:29He casually tossed it.
12:30Clang!
12:31The ring fell
12:32into a nearby trash can.
12:33From today on,
12:34Sophia is my only fiance.
12:36He took Sophia's hand
12:37and slid the pink diamond
12:39onto her finger.
12:40Then,
12:40he lowered his head
12:41and kissed her deeply.
12:44Three years ago,
12:46Lucas had knelt in the snow
12:47for three days and nights
12:49to propose to me.
12:52Vivian,
12:52this ring is my life.
12:54Once you wear it,
12:56my life belongs to you.
12:57Turns out your life
12:58is pretty worthless.
13:00After Sophia came along,
13:01you kept saying I'd changed.
13:03But I didn't change.
13:04You just gave her
13:05all the patience
13:05and love you used to give me.
13:07The ring in the trash,
13:09along with the Lucas
13:09who once said he loved me,
13:11both rotting here together.
13:12The number of online users
13:14is still rising
13:14and has already broken
13:15the platform record.
13:16The live stream
13:17had broken the platform's
13:18record for viewership.
13:19Hairpash Carter Luca public,
13:21Hairpash when Kuj
13:21refuses to apology,
13:23Ash when Sophia White
13:24takes over.
13:25All three hashtags
13:25instantly dominated
13:26the top trending topics.
13:35Move!
13:36Everyone move!
13:38Get out of my way!
13:40It was Dr. William,
13:42the Ashford family doctor
13:43who'd watched me grow up.
13:45Dr. William,
13:46what are you doing here?
13:47Mrs. Ashford,
13:48she told me to check on Vivian!
13:51Why hasn't she moved at all?
13:52Is she sick?
13:53Sick?
13:54What's sick?
13:55She's just pretending to sleep.
13:57I've seen this
13:58attention-seeking act
14:00a thousand times.
14:01Dr. William,
14:02don't let her fool you.
14:04Give her a shot
14:04and make her get up right now.
14:06Lucas,
14:07with his arm around Sophia,
14:08added,
14:09Perfect timing, Dr. William.
14:10expose her act in front of everyone
14:13and let them see
14:14just how shameless
14:15this Miss Ashford can be
14:16clinging to an engagement.
14:18Dr. William froze,
14:19staring at the figure
14:20in the wheelchair.
14:21His face changed.
14:23I need to examine her first.
14:25Under pressure from Ethan and Lucas,
14:27Dr. William had no choice
14:29but to walk shakily onto the stage.
14:31Everyone waited
14:32to see the spectacle,
14:33to see the evil woman
14:34get jabbed with a needle
14:36and wake up humiliated.
14:37Dr. William approached
14:38the wheelchair
14:39and called out,
14:40no response.
14:41He reached out
14:42to feel the wrist
14:42resting on my abdomen.
14:44The moment he touched
14:45that ice-cold skin,
14:46his face turned white.
14:48His hands started trembling.
14:49He moved from the wrist
14:51to the pulse.
14:52No heartbeat.
14:53This, this,
14:54Dr. William couldn't believe it.
14:56What's wrong?
14:57Did you find her acting
14:58too convincing,
14:59even fooling you?
15:00Stop the act, Dr. William.
15:02Just give her the shot.
15:03Lost your voice?
15:04Speak.
15:05Tell everyone she's faking.
15:08Faking?
15:09She can't fake anymore.
15:11Mr. Ashfield,
15:12Mr. Carter,
15:13can't you see?
15:14She's already dead.
15:19This is liberty.
15:20This is rigor mortis.
15:22You, you've been forcing
15:23a corpse to apologize
15:25this whole time?
15:27Dead?
15:28Dr. William,
15:29you've lost your mind.
15:30Lucas let go
15:31of Sophia's hand.
15:32Stop playing along
15:33with Vivian's sick games.
15:35Livesey?
15:36I think she just put on
15:37special effects makeup.
15:39Vivian,
15:39stop pretending!
15:41Get off!
15:41Don't touch her!
15:42Are you blind?
15:44Feel her hand?
15:45Look at her eyes!
15:47What living person
15:48looks like this?
15:50Dr. William's tears fell
15:51as he untied the bow
15:53at my neck
15:53with shaking hands.
15:54Under the bow,
15:55a circle of purple-black
15:57ligature marks
15:58around my neck.
15:59As the concealer rubbed off,
16:00slight, giant cell formation
16:02appeared on the side
16:03of my neck.
16:04A female reporter
16:05in the front row
16:05covered her mouth,
16:06dry heaving.
16:07The livestream chat
16:08exploded.
16:09Holy shit!
16:10That's actual lividity!
16:12I'm a forensic student,
16:13that's definitely not makeup!
16:15That neck...
16:16My god,
16:17what did she go through?
16:18Is Ethan insane?
16:19He made a corpse
16:20apologize on livestream.
16:22They killed her!
16:23The elites killed someone!
16:25Ethan stared at the
16:26black marks on my neck.
16:27No.
16:29Impossible.
16:31He staggered backwards,
16:33knocking over
16:33the champagne tower.
16:34She was alive yesterday!
16:36When I dragged her home
16:37yesterday,
16:38she groaned!
16:38I heard it!
16:39I really heard it!
16:39I floated above,
16:40watching him.
16:41Tears streaming,
16:43watching him.
16:44Ethan,
16:44that wasn't me groaning.
16:45That was the sound of air
16:47being forced from my lungs
16:48when my head hit the stairs.
16:50Someone call the police!
16:51Get an ambulance!
16:53Hurry!
16:53Workers sprang into action.
16:55Lucas, what do we do?
16:56If she's really dead,
16:58then we...
16:59Cut the livestream!
17:00Security!
17:01Get these reporters out!
17:02I dare anyone to move!
17:04Ethan Ashford,
17:05Lucas Carter,
17:06I think you need to come with us.
17:09He collapsed among the broken glass.
17:11He stared at my lifeless face,
17:13the sister he'd doted on
17:14for 20 years.
17:15Yesterday,
17:16he'd dragged her home like trash.
17:18Today,
17:18he'd forced her to kneel
17:19and apologize to someone else.
17:21And now the police were telling him
17:23she'd been dead all along.
17:24When the coroner took me away,
17:26Ethan tried to rush forward
17:27but was held back by two officers.
17:29Vivian!
17:30Vivian, don't sleep!
17:31I was wrong!
17:33Please open your eyes
17:34and look at me!
17:35My parents rushed back that night.
17:37When they saw the body in the morgue,
17:39my mom fainted on the spot
17:40and was rushed to the ER.
17:42Lucas and Sophia were detained
17:44in the interrogation room.
17:45The coroner paused,
17:46looking at Ethan.
17:48The deceased suffered severe external abuse.
17:50Stomach contents showed only small amounts
17:52of pig feed and mud.
17:54Most critically,
17:55we detected large quantities
17:56of powerful hallucinates
17:57in the deceased system.
17:59This drug makes people feel pain
18:01magnified 10 times while conscious.
18:03The deceased died of a heart attack
18:05caused by long-term malnutrition,
18:07extreme physical abuse,
18:09and massive doses of hallucinarians.
18:11Ethan's head snapped up,
18:13bloodshot eyes wide.
18:14What did you say?
18:16Hallucinotics?
18:17Yes.
18:18That's why her acting seemed so real
18:20when she was being tortured.
18:21Because she was really in pain.
18:22In so much pain,
18:23she wanted to die,
18:25but didn't even have the strength to beg.
18:27What you thought was acting
18:28was her instinct to survive in hell.
18:31Ah!
18:32Ethan rushed to the toilet,
18:34violently vomiting bile.
18:41He remembered those three months.
18:43He'd sat behind the monitors,
18:45watching me convulse in the mud pit,
18:47watching me get dunked in water tanks
18:50until I couldn't breathe.
18:51What had he been doing then?
18:54He'd been laughing.
18:56He'd clinked glasses with Lucas
18:57and said,
19:00Finally knocked some sense into the brat.
19:05She was just too spoiled before.
19:08Turns out it wasn't being spoiled.
19:11It was pain magnified ten times over.
19:16There's also this.
19:18The captain walked in with a USB drive.
19:20We found this in the director's safe
19:21when we searched the production company,
19:22the unedited raw footage.
19:24Mr. Ashford,
19:25you might want to brace yourself.
19:28The projector turned on,
19:30casting images on the white wall.
19:32The screen showed a mountain pig pen.
19:34The instructor poured spoiled rice on the ground
19:37and stepped on it.
19:39Eat!
19:41Miss Ashfield,
19:42isn't this how you used to feed stray dogs?
19:44You can give it a try today.
19:46I was chained by the neck,
19:48crawling on the ground.
19:49I was so delirious with hunger,
19:51I crawled over
19:51and licked the rice off the ground with my tongue.
19:55The instructor laughed
19:56and kicked me in the ribs.
19:58Disgusting!
19:59If that Ethan saw you like this,
20:01his face would surely turn green.
20:03Ethan gripped the table edge so hard,
20:05his nails broke off,
20:06blood dripping.
20:07The scene changed to Sophia.
20:09She wore a hazmat suit,
20:10holding a cattle prop.
20:12Vivian,
20:12this electric current is a bit strong.
20:14Try to bear it, okay?
20:16I convulsed violently,
20:17foaming at the mouth.
20:19Sophia smiled.
20:20Oh, Lucas,
20:21look how beautifully she dances.
20:23Record it?
20:24Send it to that idiot Ethan.
20:26Tell him she's practicing breakdancing.
20:28Lucas patted her head.
20:30As long as you're happy,
20:32play however you want.
20:33Ethan signed the liability waiver anyway.
20:35As long as she doesn't die,
20:36any torture counts as program content.
20:38The final scene showed my last moments before death.
20:41Ethan dropped to his knees,
20:42hands over his head,
20:43wailing.
20:45He'd lost his mind.
20:47He'd personally sent his sister to hell.
20:50Not only had he signed the waiver,
20:51he'd provided all the funding.
20:53He was the murderer.
20:56When police were clearing out my belongings,
20:58they found something hard in the lining of my cotton coat.
21:01It was a small recording pen,
21:03wrapped in three layers of plastic bags,
21:05and sewn into the deepest part of the garment.
21:08The detective captain pressed play in front of Ethan and my parents,
21:11who had just regained consciousness.
21:14After a crackling sound,
21:15Lucas and Sophia's voices came through.
21:17Sophia,
21:18Lucas,
21:19why won't she just die already?
21:20We already doubled the dose.
21:24Be patient.
21:25Once she's dead,
21:26the inheritance goes to Ethan.
21:28Then we follow the plan.
21:29What plan?
21:30The recording continued with Lucas's voice.
21:32That idiot Ethan sure is ruthless with his sister.
21:34Once Vivian dies,
21:35go comfort him through his grief for a few days.
21:36Then slip him some slow-acting neurotoxic.
21:39It's tasteless and odorless.
21:40It'll just make him look like he had a mental breakdown since three years.
21:42Aw,
21:43that's so sad.
21:45But for the Ashford family's billions,
21:47we'll have to sacrifice Ethan.
21:49He's just an actor anyway.
21:51He has no clue how to run a business.
21:54The Ashford empire will be ours.
21:56As long as we get Vivian to sign that post to be a stock transfer agreement,
22:00Ethan becomes useless.
22:01I pretended to be the mute old man to give her hope,
22:04just to watch her fall from heaven into hell.
22:06I'm sorry.
22:07That's the fun part.
22:08The sound of kissing came through the recording.
22:11You are still the smart one.
22:12That frame job was brilliant.
22:13Taking laxatives to frame Vivian,
22:15that turned Ethan the sister conflict into our knife.
22:17If Vivian knew her brother sent her to die just to defend you,
22:20she'd never forgive him even as a ghost.
22:23Sorry!
22:23My dad clutched his chest,
22:25spat out a mouthful of blood,
22:26and collapsed.
22:28What a disaster.
22:30We invited wolves into our home.
22:33Invited wolves?
22:34Mom pounded on Ethan.
22:36It was you!
22:37You killed Vivian!
22:39She was protecting you!
22:41She stayed there to get evidence!
22:43You monster!
22:44Give me back my daughter!
22:46Ethan let Mom beat him.
22:48He'd thought I was evil,
22:50jealous of Sophia.
22:51He'd thought he was educating me,
22:54reforming me.
22:55In reality,
22:56I was trading my life
22:58for a chance to expose their true faces.
23:01During those three months,
23:03every time they stepped on my face,
23:05every time Sophia jabbed me with the cattle prod,
23:08I repeated to myself,
23:10hold on, Vivian.
23:12Just hold on.
23:14Once you get the recording,
23:16Ethan will be safe.
23:17I did it.
23:19I protected my brother.
23:20I protected the Ashford family.
23:23The price was rotting in the dirt,
23:25treated like garbage by the person I loved most.
23:28I'm a monster.
23:30Ethan suddenly started laughing,
23:32laughing while crying.
23:33He grabbed the fruit knife from the table
23:36and stabbed it toward his neck.
23:38Stop him!
23:39The captain shouted
23:40and knocked the knife away.
23:42Ethan collapsed on the floor,
23:44slapping himself over and over.
23:46Don't stop me.
23:47Let me die.
23:48Let me go apologize to Vivian.
23:50Let me die.
23:52Die?
23:53Death would be too easy for you.
23:56Your sister gave her life
23:57to protect the Ashford family.
23:59Instead of figuring out how to defend it
24:02and make the killers pay,
24:04you just want to die?
24:05Ethan Ashford.
24:06That life of yours belongs to your sister.
24:09You have to live with it and suffer.
24:12The evidence was irrefutable.
24:15When Sophia was arrested,
24:16she fought desperately.
24:18I'm innocent.
24:19Lucas forced me to do everything.
24:21I'm a victim.
24:22I have a heart condition.
24:24You can't arrest me.
24:25Heart condition?
24:27Ethan pulled out a document.
24:29Sophia White.
24:30Your medical records from abroad
24:32show your heart is stronger than a bull's.
24:34Your so-called congenital myocarditis
24:37was completely fabricated for sympathy.
24:41Sophia's face went deathly pale.
24:43No.
24:44Ethan.
24:45Let me explain.
24:47Don't call me that.
24:49Ethan's voice was hoarse.
24:50You don't deserve it.
24:52And that laxative.
24:53Ethan threw a restored surveillance video in her face.
24:56The footage showed Sophia putting laxatives in the yogurt herself,
25:00then drinking it.
25:01Vivian never tried to hurt you.
25:03Never.
25:04Each word was agonizing for Ethan.
25:06You were always the one hurting her.
25:08And I, I was your accomplice.
25:11Ethan suddenly reached out and grabbed Sophia by the throat.
25:14Help.
25:14Help.
25:15Sophia rolled her eyes, clawing at Ethan's hands.
25:18Police rushed forward and pulled Ethan off.
25:20Mr. Ashford, the law will judge her.
25:23You can't take matters into your own hands.
25:26Sophia collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
25:29Hair disheveled, makeup smeared.
25:31She was handcuffed and dragged to the police car.
25:34Before getting in, a rotten egg hit her face.
25:37It was thrown by one of Ethan's fans who used to curse me endlessly.
25:41Give Vivian Ashford back.
25:42You witch!
25:44Sophia screamed as she was taken away.
25:46Waiting for her was a murder conviction and the death penalty.
25:50To save the family business, Lucas' father issued an overnight statement disowning his
25:55son and freezing all of Lucas' assets.
25:58But that wasn't enough.
25:59Ethan used every connection he had to get Lucas sent to the most violent cell block in
26:03detention.
26:04And he told the cell boss, this man loves abusing women and making people eat rotten food.
26:09On Lucas' first day inside, he was forced to eat a bucket of food scooped from the toilet.
26:15When he refused, they broke two of his ribs.
26:17He tried to call for help, but his voice had been poisoned mute.
26:21Ethan had sent in the extra meal.
26:23Just like the mute old man Lucas had pretended to be on the show, this time he really became
26:29mute.
26:29On trial day, Lucas was carried into court.
26:32He was skeletal.
26:33Old injuries layered with new ones.
26:35Seeing Ethan in the gallery, his eyes showed bleeding.
26:38He opened his mouth wide, making abba-abba sounds.
26:41But no one could understand.
26:43The judge announced the verdict.
26:45The defendant, Lucas Carter, with multiple counts, is sentenced to death with immediate
26:50execution.
26:51Hearing death penalty, Lucas' eyes rolled back and he wet himself.
26:55He was dragged out.
26:56Before execution, Ethan requested one final visit.
27:00Through the glass, Ethan held up my portrait.
27:03In the photo, I smiled brightly, eyes full of light.
27:06Vivian says she doesn't forgive you.
27:08Ethan looked into Lucas' terrified eyes, enunciating each word.
27:12She says hell is too cold.
27:14She wants you to go down there and be her dog.
27:16Lucas kowtowed frantically, head bleeding.
27:19But Ethan simply turned and left.
27:21In that moment, Lucas finally understood despair.
27:25Lucas died.
27:26Sophia got life imprisonment.
27:27The Ashford family built a memorial garden for me on the Mountain Village site.
27:31They planted it full of sunflowers I loved.
27:34Award-winning actor Ethan Ashford retired at his career peak and disappeared from public
27:39view.
27:40He moved into the basement of the mansion.
27:42It had been renovated into a one-to-one replica of the pig pen.
27:46Late at night, he would hallucinate.
27:48To experience my pain, he even injected himself with the same hallucinogens.
27:53Vivian, he murmured in his dreams, forehead drenched in cold sweat, body convulsing in pain.
28:01It hurt so much.
28:02It hurt this much.
28:05How did you bear it?
28:06How did you bear it?
28:08He reached out, grasping at empty air, trying to grab my hand.
28:13I shouldn't have sent you away.
28:14I deserve to die.
28:16I watched his increasingly gaunt face, watched the white hair appearing at his temples.
28:22I sighed.
28:23Ethan, I don't hurt anymore.
28:26Really.
28:27I tried to reach out, to smooth his furrowed brow.
28:31The instant my fingertips touched his forehead, Ethan's eyes snapped open.
28:36He stared at the empty space where I floated, his gaze focusing.
28:41Vivian, is that you?
28:43I smiled.
28:45Even though he couldn't see me, I still gave him a long lost smile.
28:48Just like when I was little, hiding behind him after getting in trouble, asking for help.
28:53Ethan, I'm leaving now, I said silently in my heart.
28:56This life was too painful.
28:58Next life, I won't be your sister.
29:00I want to be a cloud in the sky, wind in the mountains, free and easy, where no one can
29:05lock
29:05me up again.
29:06Tears streamed down Ethan's face.
29:08He knelt on the straw mat, kowtowing heavily to the empty air.
29:12Okay, he choked out.
29:13Next life, don't meet me.
29:15Don't meet our family.
29:17My soul grew lighter, rising bit by bit.
29:19Before fading away, I looked back one last time.
29:23Ethan was still kneeling there.
29:24The recording pen played my final words.
29:27Tell Ethan, I learned my lesson.
29:29It was a lie, and my final punishment for him.
29:32For the rest of his life, he would live imprisoned in this lie, trapped in a cage of his own
29:37making,
29:38until death.
29:38Until death.
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