Ninth Hypnosis: The Real Daughter Walks Away

After remembering for the eighth time that I am the real heiress to the wealthy Fletcher family, my brothers are about to hypnotize me again for the ninth time. My three older brothers, Dustin, Dominic, and Derek Fletcher, make me draw lots to decide the role that I'm going to have to assume after I'm hypnotized. The three lots are labeled "fake heiress", "the maid's daughter", and "the impoverished student the family is sponsoring". "Draw one." I don't move a muscle. Dustin's face turns grim first. "If you still want to continue living in the Fletcher household, Autumn, then stop trying to steal Daphne's identity away from her!" Dominic frowns and says impatiently, "Can't you be more reasonable and understanding? Daphne has a weak heart. She deserves our love and care more than you do!" Derek then gives me a sidelong glance. He's my older twin and looks almost similar to me, so I feel like I'm seeing my own reflection staring back at me with disdain and mockery. "So what if we're twins? I will only ever acknowledge Daphne Fletcher as my younger sister. No one else!" I'm already numb to their gaslighting. Even the System can't take it much longer. [I can't take it anymore, Autumn! Let's just call off the mission and stop wasting our time on these dumbasses! [You'll be able to leave this simulation once you die in this world. You can choose to end your life however you want.] My lips curl into a slight grin. Finally, I can go home to my own world! But why are my three elder brothers crying after I really die in their world? Chapter 1 My mission was actually very simple. I just had to gain the approval of my three brothers, Dustin, Dominic, and Derek Fletcher, and become the true heiress of the Fletcher family. However, in the five years I'd returned to the Fletcher household, they'd hypnotized me eight times. They hypnotized me into thinking that I was their maid, their housekeeper, a poor distant cousin living under their roof, and an abandoned orphan adopted by the butler. I had never lived as the Fletcher family's heiress for even a single day in my life. Every time Daphne Fletcher cried, my three brothers would immediately take her side without any hesitation. They were certain that I would never dare to attempt to steal Daphne's identity as long as they erased my true identity as the real heiress. Each time I was hypnotized, the System would then have to expend its energy to forcibly wake me up from the hypnosis. But as the dosage of my hypnotic drugs increased, the time taken for me to wake up from my hypnosis also increased. During my eighth hypnosis, I worked as the Fletcher housemaid for three whole years before the System finally managed to drag me back to reality. I'd had enough. The System also had enough of this bullshit. So, it called off the mission and told me that I was free to go home once I died. I was greatly overjoyed and immediately began scanning my surroundings to find a tool that would help me with my new mission of going home. When Derek saw my eyes flitting around the place, his face fell at once. "It's useless no matter what other stupid ideas you try to come up with, Autumn Fletcher! We're going to hypnotize you today even if we have to tie you down to the chair!" Then, he drew a lot on my behalf and pulled out the one that said "fake heiress". He burst out laughing and threw it in my face. The sharp corner scraped across my skin and left a red, bloody imprint on my cheek. "Oh? You're pretty lucky this time. To think that you'd actually have the chance to pretend to be the heiress for a while." He turned to face Dustin, Dominic, and Daphne, asking casually, "Wanna bet how long this hypnosis is going to last? We'll increase the drug ten times more than the last and see how long it'll take for her to regain her memories again. "I'll start. The last one lasted three years. I bet it's going to last five years this time." Dominic leaned back against the couch and said faintly, "Eight years." Dustin drummed his fingers against the desk, his eyes as cold as ice. "Ten years." Daphne went over to Derek and slid her hand through his arm affectionately. Then, she cast me a smug grin and said coquettishly, "Really? But I think it's going to last 20 years this time." Derek petted her hair lovingly and grinned. "Of course, princess. I'll tell the hypnotist to increase the dosage ten times more. I won't let you lose this bet." In the past, this scene would have been more than enough to break me down. But now, I remained calm and unbothered. I bent over and picked up the stick used for the lot, with the words "fake heiress" still written on it. It was a wooden dowel with a pointy tip. Then, I said quietly, "No. This time, it will last forever." If I died now, then I would never have to regain my memories ever again. A split second later, I gripped the wooden dowel tightly in my hand and stabbed it deep into the carotid artery in my neck under their horrified gazes. Chapter 2 Blood gushed forth, splattering across Daphne's face. "Ah!" Right before losing consciousness, I saw Daphne screaming loudly as Dominic jumped to his feet and Dustin paled in shock. As for Derek, he grabbed at his neck and stared blankly at me. I'd forgotten that he was my twin, and we had some sort of twin telepathy. When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed with thick bandages around my neck. I realized that I wasn't dead yet. The slightest movement sent a dull, tearing pain through my neck. Then, I heard the System talking to me in my head. [Autumn, I've detected your pain sensitivity. Do you wish to activate the pain shield?] "Yes! Please!" Seconds later, the pain vanished, and I finally felt relieved. It wasn't until then that I realized that someone's fierce gaze was on me. It felt like it was about to tear me apart. I turned slightly to the side and immediately met Derek's dark, broody eyes. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?" he demanded, grabbing me by my shirt and yanking me out of bed. He dragged me out of my hospital room and into Daphne's room. He then pointed at her, lying in her bed with a pale face, and began screaming at me. "You knew that Daphne was suffering from a weak heart, so you purposely did this to trigger her so that she'd get a heart attack! "Did you really think that you could take over her identity as the heiress if you managed to kill her? In your dreams! I'm telling you, I will never acknowledge a vicious bitch like you as my younger sister!" I tried pulling away from him, but I couldn't fight against his strength. So, I remained in his grip and said seriously, "I never tried to trigger her. I just wanted to die. However, Derek sounded like he'd heard the biggest joke of the century. He inched closer to me, his eyes filled with contempt, and said, "You just wanted to die? Quit bluffing, Autumn. "Did you think that you'd be able to escape the hypnosis if you tried to kill yourself? You're definitely turning into the fake heiress this time, whether you like it or not! I will never allow you to threaten Daphne's position!" Then, he glanced at the bandages around my neck and said sarcastically, "If you really wanted to die, you'd never have chosen a wooden dowel." Dominic, who was seated next to Daphne's bed, was peeling an apple with his scalpel. When he heard what Derek said, he paused for a while, the blade glinting under the lights. The apple peel fell to the ground. "If you pull another stunt like this, Autumn, don't blame me for being heartless with you." My eyes lit up at once. That scalpel was perfect! I stared at the scalpel with shimmery eyes. Then, I looked at Dominic and begged, "Uh, can you lend me your scalpel for a while? Derek's right. Wooden dowels won't kill anyone. It's better to just use something sharper instead." They all tensed for a second. Derek then burst into angry laughter. He pointed at me and yelled, "This again? How long are you going to keep up with this act? Go on, give her the scalpel! We'll see if she really dares to do anything with it!" Then, he grabbed the scalpel out of Dominic's hand without waiting for his reply and tossed it at my feet. I immediately picked it up like I'd just found gold. Without hesitation, I raised the scalpel in the air and aimed the tip of the blade at my neck. Derek's eyes widened at once. He recalled the sudden pain in the side of his neck from not too long ago and instinctively grabbed the scalpel by the blade. The scalpel sliced through his flesh, and blood began dripping onto the floorboards. I hesitated slightly, meeting Derek's furious eyes as he glared daggers at me. His lips were trembling as he growled hoarsely, "Autumn Fletcher! Are you out of your mind?" Chapter 3 Derek had a deep cut in his palm from the scalpel blade. The flesh was torn open, and it was a gory, bloody mess that would make anyone's scalp crawl. However, he still held on tightly and refused to let go. Dominic saw what was happening, and his expression changed drastically. He rushed over to us and twisted my wrist violently. He used so much force that he nearly crushed my bones, forcing me to loosen my grip. The scalpel hit the floor with a loud clatter. He then kicked it far away before shouting at me, "Are you done making a fuss?" I felt weary and tired. I couldn't even end my own life that easily. Daphne's face turned even paler when she saw Derek getting hurt because of me. She bit her lower lip hard as tears spilled down her face. She fought to sit up in bed and held a hand to her heart, screaming at me, "Autumn! Just hurt me if you have to! Why did you have to hurt Derek instead? Don't hurt him! "It's my fault for being switched at birth! It's my fault for stealing your true identity! Just take out your anger on me instead! "But if you're still not happy, then I'll just kill myself right now!" She then threw the blanket off, stumbled out of bed, and hurried toward the emergency stairwell outside the room. "Daphne!" Dominic's face fell as he frantically ran out after her. Derek also forgot about his bleeding hand and gritted his teeth through the pain to chase after her. Soon, a dramatic situation began playing out at the stairwell. Dominic grabbed Daphne from the back and hugged her while she spread her arms wide and cried so hard that she couldn't stop trembling. "Let go, Dominic! Autumn will only stop making things hard for you all if I disappear from the face of this earth! I'll just jump down from here!" The more she struggled, the harder Dominic hugged her. Meanwhile, Derek hovered around them, anxiously trying to deescalate the situation and pulling at them both. It was a chaotic mess. I slowly made my way over to the stairwell and looked down. We were at least a dozen floors up. I figured that it would be more than enough to complete my mission. "Alright, alright. It's not like you're going to jump in 20 years anyway. Let me do the jumping instead." With that, I flipped over the balustrade and jumped off the railing. Derek seemed to have sensed something and looked in my direction just a split second before I jumped. He then quickly flew toward me like a madman. "Autumn!" He threw himself flat on the ground and managed to grab the very edge of the hem of my shirt. The veins on his right arm bulged hard as my body dangled midair, his blood dripping onto my face. Dominic heard the commotion and turned around abruptly. He then stared at us in extreme shock and disbelief. He let go of Daphne like he'd just jolted awake and rushed over to us, getting down on the floor and helping Derek pull me back up. I got anxious when I saw that I was about to be brought back to safety. I kept swinging my body in the air, flailing my arms about and trying to slip out of my shirt, but eventually, they were still able to drag me back up. Derek fought to catch his breath as he stared at me. His eyes reflected a belated sense of fear in them. "Were you trying to get yourself killed? You could have just told us what you wanted instead of trying to kill yourself like that!" Dominic wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling. "All you wanted was to come home and be the true heiress of the Fletcher family, isn't it? We'll just go back and discuss things with Dustin! Stop torturing us like this!" I was stunned. I would have jumped for joy if they told me this days ago. But now, I just wanted to die in this world and be transported back to my real world. The moment Daphne heard this, her face paled even more, and her reddened eyes welled with unshed tears. A fleeting look of jealousy and viciousness reflected in her eyes at that moment, but it disappeared almost immediately. "I don't know how much longer my body can hold out anymore, Autumn. Please just wait for me. Once I'm dead, you…" Before she could finish, she suddenly clutched at her chest, closed her eyes, and fell straight to the floor. "Daphne!" Chapter 4 Derek immediately released his hold on me and rushed over to Daphne to catch her before she hit the floor. His face was filled with heartbreak and regret. Dominic rushed up to her as well. After checking her condition briefly, his expression turned grave. "Get her to the emergency room now!" They picked her up and rushed off immediately without giving me another glance. I silently returned to Daphne's hospital room and found the scalpel lying in the corner. Derek's blood was still on it. The System appeared in my head just then. [Autumn, your initial mission progress is now at 60%! Would you like to try resuming the old mission again?] [No. I give up.] I shook my head and cleaned the scalpel with a rag. Then, I slipped it into my pocket. I just wanted to find a corner to leave this world quietly. I was just about to step back out of the room when I bumped into Dustin, Dominic, and Derek, who were hurrying up to me. Dustin looked at the bloody bandages on my neck, his eyes glinting with a complex expression. "They told me what happened," he said. "I can let you come home with us and return the true heiress title to you." I didn't speak, waiting for the catch. "However," he continued in a low voice, hesitating for a while. "To the public, Daphne will still be Derek's twin. Her identity will not change. As for you, you will be known as… the new kid the Fletcher family brought back." I scoffed in my head. In other words, he was only giving me a perfunctory title while still making me out to be the illegitimate daughter to the rest of the world. This was even more insulting than trying to turn me into a fake heiress. Before I could reject his offer, he suddenly added, "There's one more condition." I looked at him and asked calmly, "What is it?" "Daphne got a huge shock today, and her heart failed. She needs a transplant at once." Dominic, who was dressed in a doctor's coat, spoke up behind Dustin. "You're the perfect match for her." I was stunned. "So?" "You don't have to be afraid. Medical technology is very advanced now. We'll give you an artificial heart to sustain you after the surgery, and you won't be in danger afterward. We'll then use all of our resources to find you a suitable donor." I laughed angrily. "If there are artificial hearts, then why don't you just give one to her?" Derek got anxious at once. He condemned me in an accusatory tone, "Daphne's body has a special constitution! She's allergic to all sorts of metal, so she can't use an artificial heart! "You're the one who ruined her life. Now that her life is in danger, you'd be literally forcing her to death if you refuse to save her with your heart!" I clutched my throbbing forehead and took a deep breath. Finally, I couldn't take this any longer. "Fine! You want my heart, don't you? I'll give it to her!" The three of them smiled in relief as soon as they heard me say that. "Once the surgery is over, we'll announce to the public—" But, a split second later, I took out the scalpel in my pocket and stabbed it right through my heart. Blood splattered onto their faces. I cackled and said, "The heart you want is right here. Come and get it!" As I collapsed, the three of them staggered as they rushed up to me.