The Daughter Who Died Twice

The loan sharks who kidnapped us wanted payment for my twin sister's gambling debts—in blood.

When my FBI negotiator father showed up with his tactical team, he found Lily with a paper cut, crying her heart out. I was dying from a gunshot wound in a basement below.

I called him with my dying breath: "Dad, please send help. I'm bleeding out."

"Are you kidding me right now, Emily? Your sister just went through hell, and you're pulling this pathetic stunt for attention? How sick are you?"

He hung up. I died alone, dismissed as a liar.

Three days later, they found my body. And the truth that came with it burned their perfect world to ash.

Emily's POV

I was dying from blood loss.

My soul had drifted out of the pitch-black basement and into the makeshift SWAT command vehicle.

My father, Arthur Walker, was wrapping a blanket around my twin sister Lily, his voice soft: "Shh, baby girl, you're safe now. Daddy swears I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

My mother Linda sat beside them, fists clenched, jaw clenched.

"If Emily hadn't dragged Lily to that dangerous neighborhood, none of this would have happened!" she hissed under her breath. "Soon as these cops are done, I'm throwing that little BITCH's stuff straight into the garbage!"

I floated there, watching them with nothing but cold numbness in what remained of my heart.

Don't bother, Mom. I'm already dead. You won't have to work so hard to kick me out anymore.

Inside the command vehicle, several paramedics huddled together. After confirming multiple times that Lily was just shaken up with no real injuries, the young SWAT officer Lucas finally spoke up.

"Commander Walker, shouldn't we send a medic to check on Emily in the basement? When our team went in, the blood loss from her femoral artery looked pretty severe."

When he heard my name, my father's face darkened.

"What's her problem now? That kid's tough as nails—always has been," he said with disgust. "What's she pulling now? Lily already told us she saw that girl self-harm. She's obviously FAKING it to avoid taking responsibility! Just IGNORE her!"

My spirit stared at him in shock, phantom pain still shooting through my thigh wound.

I was his biological daughter too. Didn't he care about me AT ALL?

My father pulled out his phone with a cold expression and dialed my number.

Down in the basement, the medical examiner had just pulled a white sheet over my body when he held my phone to my ear. What I heard wasn't the concern I'd hoped for—it was the same old condemnation.

"Emily, when are you going to drag your ass up here and apologize to your sister on your KNEES?"

I finally let go of my last attachment to this world.

Of course. When the kidnappers had me pinned down earlier, I'd begged him hoarsely through the phone to save me first. All he'd said was, "Stop PRETENDING! You're not even hurt! Don't waste my time when I need to save Lily!" Then he'd cut the communication.

How could he possibly spare even an ounce of love for me?

The medical examiner couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the phone.

"Commander Walker, Emily has no pulse in her carotid artery. She's really dying!"

But my father, convinced I was putting on an act, laughed coldly.

"What, did that little SHIT slip you some cash tonight to help her with this pathetic sob story? I never thought she had the skills to buy people off!"

"Listen up—I don't care what tricks she's pulling. That's an ORDER: tell her to get her ass up here RIGHT NOW!" my father barked before hanging up.

Just then, Lily—who'd been pretending to be unconscious—opened her eyes.

She wrapped her arms weakly around my father's neck, sobbing: "Daddy, don't be angry at Emily. She's probably just scared of you yelling at her. She didn't mean to lead the kidnappers to my school... she's just still upset about the Walker Corporation inheritance thing. I understand why she resents me..."

When my mother heard this, her face went red with rage: "We already said she could stay and help run the company with you! What MORE does she want? Ungrateful little PSYCHO!"

I watched Lily bury her face in my father's chest while shooting a secret, triumphant smile into the air, and felt nothing but sick irony.

Even as a ghost, my pure, innocent sister was still working overtime to turn them against me.

And they never wanted to investigate the dirty truth behind that inheritance grab.

My father patted Lily's back tenderly. "Honey, you've always been so kind. Not like that backstabbing BITCH who only cares about herself. She's not worth the dirt under your fingernails."**

...

Ten minutes passed, and I still hadn't appeared.

My father's expression grew darker. He immediately sent me a voice message.

"Emily, don't test me. The whole family's patience has limits. If you don't get up here RIGHT NOW and bow down to apologize to Lily, you can forget about EVER stepping foot in the Walker house again. We don't have a daughter like you!"

After sending the message, he turned to SWAT officer Lucas, his voice deadly serious.

"That's an ORDER: no matter whether that little BITCH is dead or alive tonight, I don't want ANY news about her disturbing Lily's rest!"

Don't worry, great Commander Walker. I'll never bother you again.

Because I'm already dead.

Killed by your precious Lily's own hands.