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