Chapter 3

"You may leave now, Thomas," Evelyn commanded the butler. "Later, go unlock his door and tell him to come straight to Jonah to apologize. If he refuses, I'll lock him up for another three months."

"Pretending to go on a hunger strike... how pathetic. Anyone with a shred of maturity wouldn't resort to such childish tactics."

Thomas opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but Evelyn waved her hand impatiently, dismissing him.

Jonah smirked slightly when Evelyn wasn't looking, then put on a fake worried face.

"Evelyn, once Cole apologizes, please forgive him. After all, he's your only blood relative. What if he really runs away for good this time...?"

Before he could finish, Evelyn scoffed.

"I’d be thrilled if he did. A useless, malicious parasite like Cole doesn't deserve to be my brother anyway."

"If he hadn't stolen the gift you made for me, your heart wouldn't have failed in the first place."

With that, she gently hugged Jonah, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Watching this, a bitter smile crept onto my face. Even without a heart, why did my soul still feel this stinging pain?

The "gift" Evelyn claimed I stole was actually a Siren’s Wax Candle. I had spent an entire month crafting it by hand.

Burning a Siren's Wax Candle could protect a spellcaster's spiritual aura during high-level rituals.

I knew Evelyn worked late nights casting spells, so I wanted to make this for her.

I had stayed up for weeks, burning my fingers so badly that my skin was peeling off.

But Jonah had found it and tried to snatch it away from me.

During our argument, Evelyn had walked in.

Jonah had immediately dropped to the floor, clutching his chest and panting dramatically.

"I know I'm just an adopted brother, Cole. I know you hate me. But I worked so hard to make this candle for Evelyn."

"I saw her working in the dark every night, and I just wanted to give her some light. Why did you have to take it from me?"

He looked up at Evelyn with tear-filled eyes. "My chest hurts so much... I think my heart is failing again. Evelyn, please take care of yourself if I don't make it."

His acting was flawless.

Evelyn didn't hesitate. She slapped me across the face so hard my lip split, then rushed to cradle Jonah in her arms.

"Jonah, hold on! Please don't leave me! I can't live without you!"

I had tried to explain.

But Evelyn cast a silencing spell on me, locking my jaw so I couldn't utter a single sound.

As the head of the Vance Coven, Evelyn was highly skilled in the mystic arts and healing.

If she had bothered to check Jonah's pulse for even a second, she would have known he was faking it.

But she was so blinded by her favoritism that she didn't even give me a chance to speak.

And when she coldly carved open my chest using our family's forbidden magic, I finally understood.

She wasn't just biased. I simply didn't matter to her at all. Jonah was her true brother; I was nothing.

"Cole, is this how you treat Jonah when I'm not around? Stealing his gift and causing his heart attack?"

"Fine. Since you love hurting him, I’ll give him your heart. Let's see how you like living with a broken chest!"

To avenge Jonah, she performed the forbidden Heart Transfer Ritual, swapping my healthy heart into Jonah’s chest.

Then, she threw me into the dark basement.

A month had passed since then. Only now did she think of letting me out.

But the only thing waiting for her in that room was my decomposing corpse.

Thomas returned, cold sweat dripping down his forehead, his face pale as a ghost.

"My Lady... I went to deliver your message to Master Cole. He... he didn't answer. I opened the door slightly, and... and a horrible smell came out."

"It smelled like... like a decaying corpse!"

I looked at Evelyn, curious to see her reaction to the news of my death.

To my surprise, she laughed. It was a cold, amused sound.

"A decaying corpse? What kind of game is Cole playing now? Is he pretending to be dead just to see if I’ll cry for him?"

"Since he loves playing dead so much, tell the staff to lock up all the food. No one is allowed to give him a single crumb. Let's see how long he can keep up this act."

I laughed silently, a bitter, hollow sound.

In the past, she had used all kinds of cruel punishments to force me to bow down and apologize to Jonah. I had long become numb to it.

But this time, she wouldn't get what she wanted.

Because my body had already been half-eaten by the rats and insects in that dark room.

Thomas stood frozen, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"My Lady..."

Evelyn’s patience finally snapped. "What are you still standing there for?"

"Are you disobeying my orders now?"

Thomas clenched his fists, his voice trembling. "My Lady, I truly believe something has happened to Master Cole!"

"Please... just go and see for yourself!"

Evelyn lost the last of her patience. "How much did Cole pay you to put on this ridiculous show with him?"

"I need to spend time with Jonah. Tell Cole to get his pathetic self over here and apologize right now, or he will regret it!"

Jonah hid a smirk behind his hand, pretending to be worried. "Evelyn, what if Cole really did get hurt?"

Evelyn scoffed. "Then good. At least I’ll only have one brother to worry about from now on."

Hearing this, I clutched my empty chest as phantom tears poured from my eyes.

The pain of having my heart ripped out returned, sharper than ever.