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My Family Left Me to Die in the Desert for Their Fake Heiress
Novelix
Completed
Day three in the Sahara. My family's jeep "broke down." My boyfriend "died of thirst." And I hiked fifty miles in 160-degree heat, cutting my own wrist to leave three bottles of blood behind — just so my parents could live. Except none of it was real. They were on a private jet the whole time. Sipping wine. Livestreaming my humiliation. Laughing while I licked sand off the ground to survive. All to make my fake sister smile. Now I'm dead. And I'm about to watch every single one of them burn.
Chapters (3)
第1章
Our jeep broke down in the middle of the Sahara on the third day of our family vacation.
I got separated from my family, too.
Before I passed out, I sliced open my wrist and filled three whole bottles with my blood.
Then I left my final note to my parents:
"Drink my blood, and you can survive a few more days."
Now that I'm dead, my soul drifts half a mile above the desert and spots a private jet.
Inside, there's no scorching sun, just the cool blast of the air conditioning.
My childhood sweetheart, Preston Locke, the man who "died" of thirst days ago after giving me his last bottle of water, is cradling my fake sister, Maisie Sterling.
"Coco's been hiking more than thirty miles in 160 degree heat. That's payback enough, right?"
Maisie bursts out laughing.
"Your fake dead acting was insane. Coco was crying so hard she almost blacked out!"
Mom strokes Maisie's hair with a proud, loving smile.
"Let's hope this teaches Coco a lesson. Maybe she'll finally learn to be more like you, honey."
Dad is grilling wagyu, casually nodding along.
"Don't call in the rescue team yet. Let her walk one more day. See if she ever dares bully Maisie again."
My blood runs cold.
So the whole “desert survival trip” was a setup.
A punishment they cooked up to keep Maisie happy.
....
Maisie is happily munching on Dad's grilled beef, lounging on the jet.
I look down at myself.
My skin is cracked, blistered, and burned red from the sun.
From starvation and thirst, my body already looks like a mummy.
The gash on my wrist is so deep it nearly severed my hand.
I did it right before I died, slashing my wrist with a jagged can lid and using every last bit of strength I had.
I thought if my parents followed the trail I'd marked, they'd find me.
Drink my blood. Eat my flesh. And survive.
But the whole thing was a lie from the very beginning.
While I was fighting for my life in the desert, my entire family was watching me on a luxury jet, sipping cold drinks, laughing.
Maisie glances at the GPS on Preston's phone and pouts.
"Aww, three more miles and Coco reaches the oasis camp."
"I'm not done watching the show! What if… we move the camp further away?"
Something flickers in Preston's eyes. He hesitates.
"But… Coco's been out there three days. I don't know if she can take it."
Maisie's eyes well up instantly. Her lip trembles.
"It's just a little test and now you're worried about her?"
"Did you forget what those junkies and creeps did to me when she dumped me in the projects?!"
Mom rushes over and wipes Maisie's tears.
"You're right, sweetheart. After what Coco did to you, she deserves this lesson."
Preston pulls her into his chest, rocking her gently.
"Shhh, don't cry, Maisie. I'll make Coco walk a few more days. Okay?"
Dad swirls his wine glass and nods.
"Do what Maisie wants. A few more days out there will build her character."
A chill runs straight through me.
Right before our graduate school admissions exam, Maisie vanished on purpose.
She spent a whole week hiding out at an internet café.
Then she stumbled home with her clothes half-torn, sobbing to Mom and Dad，saying I was so jealous of her grades that I hired thugs to drug her and dump her in the projects, making her miss the exam.
I swore on my life it wasn't me. I cried and cried.
Mom and Dad said they believed me.
They even planned a family trip to celebrate my top score.
Now I know they never believed me.
Not for a second.
The whole "family vacation" was a setup. A punishment they cooked up just for me.
On the couch, everyone huddles around Maisie, brainstorming new ways to torture me.
Preston's voice is soft and gentle.
"When Coco makes it to the oasis, I'll have her kneel and bow ten times. Then we call rescue. Sound good?"
Mom suddenly grabs her phone and squeezes Maisie's arm, buzzing with excitement.
"Maisie! Your account is trending!"
第2章
She casts her screen onto the jet's giant LED wall.
The hashtag burns bright red across the display:
— #IceQueenHeiress72HoursInTheSahara #Trending1
It's the most watched video on the internet right now.
A hidden drone captured everything from every angle.
Three days and three nights of me clawing to survive.
I lunge at the screen, screaming.
"NO! I don't want anyone seeing me like that!"
But I'm dead. Nobody can hear me.
The HD screen keeps playing. Every humiliating second, crystal clear.
There I am, kneeling in rags, licking urine mixed with sand off the ground.
Too little liquid. Too much grit.
The second it touches my tongue, I gag and throw it up with bile.
But I still lick the ground clean, sobbing.
"I have to eat… I can't die… Mom and Dad are waiting for me…"
The comments flood in.
"OMG is that the Ice Princess from the Sterling family?? She lost all her dignity to survive lol."
"Hahaha look at her, drinking like some desperate stray."
"People will do anything to live. Wild."
One sane person speaks up:
"Wait, is this real? Is she doing this for clout? Could someone actually die out there?"
But Dad just leans back, legs crossed, looking pleased.
"We spoiled Coco rotten. She was always fighting with Maisie for attention. She needed to suffer a little. Now she'll appreciate everything we gave her."
Mom smiles softly and peels a lychee, feeding it to Maisie by hand.
"After going through this, Coco will finally understand how good she had it."
Preston chuckles along.
"I hope Coco understands you guys did this out of love."
Every word out of their mouths cuts me deeper than the last.
So this is "for my own good."
I was terrified my parents would die of thirst. I hiked day and night looking for water. My throat bled and I didn't stop.
I threw away every ounce of dignity to survive, to lead them out of that desert.
They don't feel even a little guilty.
They actually think they're teaching me a lesson.
They even posted my worst moments online for strangers to laugh at.
Preston smirks and swipes to the next video.
The clip shows the moment before he "died", handing me the last bottle of water.
He leans back, smug as hell.
"I told her it was our last bottle."
"Told her if we didn't find camp soon, we'd all die of thirst."
"The heartbreak on her face, God, it was gorgeous."
Maisie rolls her eyes and fast forwards to me guzzling that water down.
She clings to Mom's arm, whining.
"Coco is so selfish. If it were me, I'd never drink that water. I'd die of thirst before I stopped bringing it back to you guys."
Dad shakes his head, disappointed.
"You really don't know someone until you push them to the edge."
"Coco's ungrateful. Always has been."
Mom snorts.
"Raised her for nothing. Thank God we have Maisie."
I hover above them, crying, shaking my head.
"I'm not ungrateful!"
"I cut my own veins open for you!"
"You have a drone. Go back and look at me! I'm dead, I'm already dead!"
Preston smiles, handing slices of cake to the flight attendants.
"Everybody celebrate with Maisie. Her follower count jumped by 300k this week!"
Everyone claps. Praises Maisie's genius idea.
Mom pats her hair proudly.
"You've always wanted to direct, right? Soon as we're home, I'll get you a PR team. Let's see if Coco's little documentary can win you an international award."
The cabin erupts in cheers.
Nobody cares that Maisie's fame is built on my dead body.
Then Maisie's eyes light up.
"Oh! Since it's blowing up, let's go live!"
"Everyone loves raw, unedited streams. Watching Coco struggle in the Sahara? This is gonna go NUCLEAR!"
She jumps up and posts the announcement:
""Going live with my sister's desert adventure. Come watch the show, babes! "
Then she hits the Bluetooth switch on the drone.
第3章
Far behind me in the sand, the drone whirs to life, controlled by Preston.
The propellers blast hot air, blowing the sand off my body.
The camera has a clear view of me now.
I'm curled up in a small dune. Not moving. Not a twitch.
A comment pops up in the live chat:
"Is she… dead? Why isn't she moving?"
Mom's eyes lock on the screen. The color drains from her face.
"Did Coco pass out?!"
Maisie pouts innocently.
"She's probably just sleeping… Coco's the worst. Mom and Dad are waiting for her to bring rescue, and she's out there napping."
But a bad feeling twists in Dad's gut.
"Something's wrong. She's not in a tent. Her skin is cracked and bleeding."
I clench my fists so hard my palms burn, panic tearing through me.
Are they finally about to realize I'm dead?
Preston's face goes serious. He carefully steers the drone closer to me.
The second he sees me clearly, his face goes white as paper.
"She looks unconscious! There's blood all over her clothes!"
Mom and Dad shoot up, ready to tell the captain to turn back.
But Maisie leaps in front of the screen. She points at the three bottles beside me.
"Mom, Dad, don't fall for it! Look, three bottles of tomato juice right next to her!"
"I knew the tomato juice Coco bought before the trip went missing! She was hiding it!"
"That's obviously tomato juice on her clothes! She figured out we were tricking her, and now she's pretending to be dead to guilt trip us!"
Mom hesitates.
"But… Coco doesn't even like tomatoes."
Maisie freezes for a beat.
Then she whips around to Preston and gasps, dramatic and loud.
"Preston loves tomatoes! Coco must've bought it for him."
She raises her voice like she's cracked some huge case.
"Oh my God! Coco is so selfish!"
"She didn't share the juice with you guys. She didn't even give it to Preston when he was 'dying' of thirst!"
"She didn't care if we live or die! She just wanted to save herself!"
Mom covers her mouth and nods.
"How did I raise such an ungrateful child?"
Dad's face goes dark. He snatches the drone controller and presses the intercom.
"Coco Sterling! I can't believe how badly you've disappointed us."
"This desert survival trip was your heir test."
"And you hid three bottles of tomato juice?! You wanted us to die out here, didn't you? So you'd finally be free of us!"
I can't answer him. I'm dead. Preston loses it.
He screams at my corpse.
"Stop acting! We know you're faking!"
"Apologize to Maisie. Swear you'll never bully her again. Then we bring you home!"
I still don't move.
The chat explodes.
"Hoarding juice to drink alone?? Is she even human??"
"Cold blooded bitch. Didn't even share when her boyfriend was dying."
"I was actually worried for her a second ago. This selfish psycho deserves to die out there."
Every comment stabs into me like a blade.
I scream at them, sobbing.
"No… no, it's not true… Don't listen to Maisie!"
"That's not tomato juice… that's my BLOOD… I left it for YOU!"
I'm on my knees, screaming my throat raw. But they can't hear me.
Dad's face is stone. He grabs the intercom to the cockpit.
"Captain. Turn the plane around."
His jaw is locked so tight, every word grinds out through his teeth.
"I'm going down there personally. I'll teach that ungrateful girl a lesson she'll never forget."
They're actually going to turn back for me.
Then, Maisie collapses backwards, stiff as a board.
Mom shrieks and lunges, catching her.
"Maisie?! Maisie, honey, what's wrong?!"
Maisie's shaking hand holds up a crumpled candy wrapper. Her eyes fill with tears.
"Chocolate…. Coco gave me this chocolate before she left… It's peanut-flavored…"
"She… she was trying to kill me out here!"
