On a night of thunder and lightning, a grand party was in full swing within the opulent manor villa. While the first floor was ablaze with light and filled with lively music, on the second floor, in a certain room, a young and beautiful woman lay in bed, her pale face attached to a ventilator, with the heart monitor beside her showing a gradually decreasing heart rate, signaling the approach of death.
At that moment, as the thunder outside roared, the heart monitor suddenly returned to normal, and the woman on the bed opened her eyes.
The moment Natalie opened her eyes, she quickly sensed something was amiss. She had clearly been shot in the forehead, so why did her chest hurt so much? Looking down, she saw the slender hands and smooth long hair, which clearly did not belong to her!
Removing the ventilator, Natalie got out of bed and approached the vanity mirror. Like a bolt from the blue, her expression turned to shock. As a psychiatrist and a criminal psychology consultant for the Capital District Police Department, she recognized this face鈥攊t belonged to the victim of a notorious kidnapping case a week ago, the once-abducted daughter of the Castle family, Natalie Castle.
This kidnapping case had involved a significant police investigation. Unfortunately, the kidnappers had killed their victim, and the world had been abuzz with rumors that she had died from her injuries despite attempts to save her. The kidnappers, as she had heard at the police station, had died in mysterious circumstances, each apparently committing "guilty" suicide.
It was clear that those kidnappers were not after ransom money for the wealthy heiress but were instructed to kill "Natalie Castle"! At the time, the police had lamented the treacherous waters of the wealthy and powerful, and now she had become Natalie Castle, who was supposed to be "dead."
Her head suddenly began to throb, and she held it, letting out a pained groan. Fragmented memories not belonging to her swarmed into her mind.
She got up and opened the door, immediately hearing the lively noise from below. According to her memories, today was the birthday of the original body, and also the birthday of the "fake princess" Midge Castle.
Midge was the one who had been switched at birth. Although Natalie had been reclaimed by the Castle family five years ago, it had not affected Midges position in the family at all.
Natalie sneered. On the same birthday, her own flesh and blood was left unattended in this empty room, fighting for her life, while the Castle family was throwing a party for Midge?
She quietly made her way to the railing on the corridor and looked down. Among all the guests dressed in their finest, Midge stood out the most. She was wearing a gorgeous gown, a crystal crown on her head, smiling brightly as she entertained all the guests, handling the party she dominated with ease.
A strong sense of hatred welled up in her heart, making Natalies hands tremble uncontrollably. This was the emotion of the original body, perhaps because those memories that surfaced in her mind were too vivid, making Natalie feel it too.
"Midge, do you think Bruce will come today?" asked, standing next to Midge in a low voice.
Midges eyes flickered slightly. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a gasp from the surroundings.
Following the gaze of others, she saw a tall figure entering through the door. He was dressed in a well-tailored black suit, his hair neatly combed back to reveal a full forehead and chiseled features. His face was expressionless, but his eyes carried a strong aura and coldness.
Natalie looked at the handsome face of the man from upstairs, and a memory flashed through her mind. "Natalie, a woman like you shouldnt be in this world!" The mans tone was undisguisedly cold.
He was Natalies fianc茅 and the man she had loved wholeheartedly, but it seemed that he was very disgusted by her existence.
Was Natalies death related to him?
Bruces appearance here was unexpected by everyone.
Autumn, seeing him, immediately smiled and brought Midge to greet him. "Bruce, I didnt expect you to come; Midge must be very happy."
The eagerness in her tone was hard to ignore.
Natalie looked at Midges shy smile and her birth mother, Autumn, whose intentions were written all over her face, and couldnt help but find it ridiculous. Was she so eager to push her favorite adopted daughter onto this promising son-in-law now that the original body was dying?
Ha, that was a nice thought.
Natalie... no, she who had now completely become Natalie, glanced at the stern Bruce, her pale but still beautiful face flashing with a cold look, and turned away from the spot.
Following her memory, she came to the electrical panel...
In fact, Bruce had been forced by his grandfather to come here, and his purpose was simply to inquire about Natalies condition.
As far as he knew, that woman should be close to death.
The fact that the Castle family still had the heart to throw a birthday party here underestimated the cold-bloodedness of this family.
Although Bruce didnt care about Natalies life or death, thinking of his grandfather, he casually asked, "How is she?"
This "she," Midge and Autumn naturally knew who it referred to.
Autumns face stiffened slightly. After observing Bruces expression and finding his question quite perfunctory, she replied with relief, "Ill have someone check on her. Natalie is probably... unlikely to wake up."
Even so, who didnt know that Natalie would definitely not make it through the night?
Autumn sent a servant upstairs to check on Natalie, but just at that moment, the lights in the hall suddenly went out.
In the pitch darkness, the thunder outside the villa was still loud.
"Whats going on? Why is there a power outage? Butler Liu, hurry up and have someone check!" As the mother of the house, Autumn quickly spoke out with dissatisfaction.
Bruce frowned slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the second floor. With the lightning outside, he seemed to see a white figure standing in a corner.
"Madam!"
At this time, the servant Autumn had sent to check on Natalie suddenly ran over, anxiously saying, "Madam, Miss Natalie is gone! I just went to the room, and theres no one inside!"
This statement stunned everyone present.
With the power outage tonight, it all felt a bit eerie.
"Its quite lively tonight, isnt it?"
Suddenly, a womans faint voice came from above, scaring everyone.
Just as the voice fell, a flash of lightning outside illuminated the figure on the second floor.
A woman in a white dress sat on the railing, her long black hair covering her small face.
This scene was too creepy, and the guests couldnt help but scream with intense fear.
Midge naturally recognized that it was Natalie, who was supposed to be lying in bed and never wake up again!
Under the horrified gaze of everyone, Natalie looked at her "own" birth mother鈥擜utumn.
The lady, dressed in luxury, looked at her as if she had seen a ghost and blurted out, "Are you a person or a ghost?"