A Deal with the System

1
To save me from an invader, my parents traded their lives to the System.
After they died, our assets were frozen. My brother, now hating me, was diagnosed with leukemia.
I worked as a movie corpse to pay for his treatment. After ten coffin scenes, I finally had enough for one chemo session.
Then I saw my "dead" parents taking a family photo with Tiana, my lookalike. My mother suggested inviting me, but my healthy brother objected, "This was her punishment. We'll tell her when she's no longer a threat. Besides, she's bad luck now."
Clutching the money, I cried laughing. My phone buzzed: "Get treatment or you'll die, Willow!"
…
“I’m not getting treatment,” I whispered.
I shut off my phone and sat on the curb, the world fading to black around me. The pain, sharp and splintering like broken bones, seized my body again. Fumbling, I pulled out the painkillers I always carried, swallowing more than a dozen pills until the agony receded to a dull throb.
My phone chimed. I opened it to see that their family portrait was trending online.
Though their faces were artfully blurred, I knew it was them. The parents and the brother who had once cherished me. The sense of familiarity was a phantom limb, an ache I couldn't shake.
The caption read: ‘Billionaire and family dote on their beloved princess for a stunning family portrait!’
I had endured the agony of bone cancer without a single tear, but those words… a wave of grief so profound washed over me, and I finally broke.
My brother’s call came through.
“Where’s the money you earned today? Get it to me now! I heard you were in a coffin ten times. I want every single cent!”
“Okay,” I answered, my voice flat as I swallowed the bitterness.
My coldness must have unsettled him. “Don’t try anything funny,” he warned. “Every dollar you earn for the rest of your life belongs to me.”
After hanging up, I drifted to the bus stop in a daze. As I waited, a luxury car glided past. It was only there for a few seconds, but through the window, I saw it all.
My mother, her face glowing with affection, fastened a necklace around Tiana’s neck. My father stood beside them, clapping and smiling. Tiana sat between them… a perfect little princess.
Before she had taken over my life, I was the princess. I was the one they had adored.
In fact, until today, I had believed it was still true. I thought my parents had sacrificed their lives for me, that my brother’s hatred was just a mask for his unbearable grief.
But it was all a lie. The person they loved was Tiana. For her, they had constructed this elaborate, cruel theater to deceive me, to punish me, to ensure I would live forever drowning in guilt for their ‘deaths.’
The pain was coming more frequently now. I stumbled back to my dingy walk-up, collapsing to the floor in a tight, agonized ball. I fumbled with the pill bottle, but just as I was about to shake some out, the door flew open. My brother was there, and he slapped the bottle from my hand, sending pills scattering across the dirty floor.
“What’s with the act? If you want to sleep, go to your room! Don’t lie here like a corpse. Or have you gotten too used to the role?”
I wrapped my arms around myself, my body convulsing in silent, excruciating pain. He kicked me, his voice laced with rage.
“Hey! If you’re going to play dead, don’t do it on my doorstep! Go back to your coffin! You’re such bad luck!”
When I didn’t move, he gave me one last, vicious kick and slammed the door shut.
A moment later, the neighbor, Mrs. Gable, came out to take out her trash. She saw me and gasped.
“Oh my God! Honey, your nose is bleeding!”

2
I scrambled to scoop a handful of the scattered pills from the floor and shoved them into my mouth.
The door creaked open again. My brother stood there, his eyes wide with shock at the sight of my bloodied face and the small pool of crimson on the floor.
He spoke, his concern awkward and forced. “What the hell happened? Why’s your nose bleeding?”
The pills began to work their magic, dulling the sharpest edges of the pain. I used the wall to haul myself to my feet and stumbled inside. “It’s nothing.”
Mrs. Gable’s eyes were filled with worry. Before she left, she called into the apartment, “Young man, you should take your sister to a hospital! She doesn’t look well at all!”
I slumped onto a stool, closing my eyes and waiting for the world to stop spinning.
My brother crossed his arms, studying me with a detached curiosity. “Willow, have you been playing dead for too long? The more I look at you, the more you look like you’re actually dying.” He smirked. “You look more like a patient than I do.”
“Now, where’s the money you earned today? Hand it over. I need to get my prescription.”
I pulled the wad of cash from my pocket—my payment for ten descents into a wooden box—and placed it in his outstretched hand. He slapped it against his other palm and turned to leave, then paused at the door, his gaze cold.
“Don’t go in tomorrow. This is enough for a while. You wouldn’t want to actually die playing the part.”
A bitter smile twisted my lips. I couldn’t tell if it was a flicker of concern or just more of his biting sarcasm.
I must have dozed off, slumped against the wall, because the ping of my phone jolted me awake. The extras’ group chat was blowing up.
“OMG! Who is that CEO brother?! He rented a luxury yacht for his sister for a whole month!”
“I know, right?! He’s the best! He was so happy today he was literally throwing money off the deck! I’d be a janitor on that yacht for a month just to pick up cash all day!”
…
I scrolled up and found the video that had sent them into a frenzy. I pressed play, and the blood in my veins turned to ice.
My brother’s voice, unmistakable and cheerful, filled the air.
“Take it! This money feels tainted anyway! It’s the corpse cash my dead-beat sister earned!”
“If I wasn’t faking being sick, I wouldn’t even touch this stuff.”
With a grand gesture, he flung my hard-earned money into the sea. Then he turned and placed a diamond tiara, worth millions, on Tiana’s head.
My body shook violently. I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob.
He had thrown away my blood and sweat. To pay for his ‘leukemia,’ I hadn’t spent a single dollar on myself. I stretched one meal from the set into three. My clothes were patched and washed so thin they were nearly transparent. The only money I had ever spent was for the hospital visit that had diagnosed my bone cancer. And even then, I hadn’t dared to start treatment. The money was for him.
And now I knew. He thought my money was tainted.
Tears streamed down my face, my shoulders shaking with silent, racking sobs. The emotional shock sent a fresh wave of agony through my bones. Overwhelmed, I pitched forward and the world went black.
When I woke up, I was in a hospital.
It was Mrs. Gable. She had been worried about me, and after wrestling with her thoughts, she had decided to check on me. She’d found me unconscious on the floor and rushed me here.
Her voice was tight with concern. “Honey! How could you, at your age…”
Just then, my brother burst through the door, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “Willow! What the hell are you doing, causing trouble? You get a little sick and I have to come running? I’m busy! You’re messing up my plans!”

3
I stared at him for a moment, a bitter smile touching my lips. A complete stranger could see that I was unwell, but my own brother, who saw me every day, was blind to it. The image of him laughing as he crowned Tiana flashed in my mind, and a single tear traced a path to my temple. His genuine, adoring smile would never be for me again.
Mrs. Gable opened her mouth to tell him the truth, but I gripped her hand and shook my head. She reluctantly fell silent. As she left, she couldn't stop herself from saying, “Young man, stop being so hard on your sister. Just be good to her.”
Ethan ignored her completely, striding over to my bed. He glared at me, then sat down with a sigh, as if forced. “Willow, I have something to tell you. Try not to get too excited.”
I kept my head turned away, my eyes closed.
He didn’t care. He continued, “Mom and Dad aren’t dead. They’re coming back tomorrow.”
His words hit me like a physical blow. I shot up in bed, my mouth opening and closing, unable to form a word.
They were coming back? They hadn’t abandoned me.
Of course. I was their precious daughter, the one they had cherished. How could they discard me for someone like Tiana?
A genuine laugh escaped my lips, a terrifying sound coming from my pale, gaunt face. Ethan recoiled in disgust and left.
Even with the searing pain knitting through my bones, my heart felt light. I ripped the IV from my hand and ran home.
The reflection in the mirror startled me. My complexion was a ghostly, ashen white. My parents would be so worried if they saw me like this.
I dug out a jar from under my bed, filled with years of saved-up coins. Pennies, dimes, nickels. I clutched a handful and ran to a dollar store, buying the cheapest, brightest red lipstick I could find.
The next morning, I was up at dawn. I applied a thick layer of lipstick and dabbed some on my cheeks for color. I checked myself in the mirror again and again, satisfied that the ghastly pallor was hidden. Then, I sat by the door to wait.
The hands on the clock spun, and waves of pain washed over me, each one a trial. Finally, as dusk settled, they arrived.
My mother was dressed in a stunning gown, my father in a tailored suit. I looked down at my own tattered clothes and felt a pang of insecurity.
As tears welled in my eyes, I stepped forward and whispered, “Mom…”
She wrinkled her nose and took several steps back, her eyes filled with undisguised distaste. “Willow, it’s natural for a girl to want to look beautiful, but you don’t have to try so hard. It’s just laughable.”
I forced down the lump in my throat, telling myself, It’s just because we’ve been apart. In a few days, it will be like it was before.
My mother continued, “We came to take you home today.”
“But, I have one condition.”
I nodded eagerly. To spend my last days with them, I would agree to anything.
She gestured toward the door. “Tiana, sweetheart, you can come in.”
A moment later, Ethan walked in, leading Tiana by the hand.
I was confused, until my mother spoke again. “It must be strange for you, seeing Tiana, who looks exactly like you.”
“There can only be one face like this in the world.”
“So…” She placed a small, sharp fruit knife on the table between us.
“Ruin your face.”
For a second, the world stopped. I stumbled back, my mind blank. What… What did she mean?
My father’s cold voice pulled me from my stupor.

4
“Willow? Did you hear your mother’s condition?”
“Just do as she says. Even with a ruined face, you’ll still be our precious daughter.”
So, that was it. This was the reason they had come.
Ethan picked up the knife and pressed it into my hand. “Don’t hesitate. You love Mom and Dad, don’t you? You want to live with them again, right?” He looked away, mumbling, “If you do this, I’ll… I’ll admit you’re still my sister.”
Ha. He couldn’t even bring himself to say it clearly.
I looked at them—the family who had once adored me, now cornering me like a pack of wolves for a stranger.
A wild, unhinged laugh tore from my throat. The cheap lipstick smeared with my tears, running down my cheeks in grotesque, crimson rivers, mocking my foolish hope.
I turned away, wiping my eyes. “You don’t have to do this. I’m going to die soon. Then, there will only be one Tiana.”
Their expressions instantly soured.
Ethan was the first to explode. “Willow! What’s this about dying? Is this your excuse to get out of it? You think playing a corpse makes you an expert on death?”
Even my quiet father couldn’t hold back his anger. “If you don’t want to do it, just say so! Stop playing these manipulative games! You’re a young woman. What kind of person talks about dying all the time?”
“Fine! Let there be two identical faces in the world. We’ll just disown you!”
At his words, Tiana burst into tears, as if she were the one being wronged. “It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have taken over her body. Daddy, Mommy, please don’t be angry!”
“Let me be the one to do it! Let me ruin my face so there’s only one Willow!” She snatched the knife and raised it to her own cheek.
But before the blade could touch her skin, Ethan lunged, grabbing the knife. Blood dripped from his hand. He threw the knife at my feet. “Tiana! You’re not the one in the wrong!”
My mother rushed to Tiana’s side, fussing over her. “Oh, my darling girl, why would you do that? What if you had really hurt yourself?”
I stood outside their circle of four, the villain in their story.
Ethan glared at me, then suddenly lunged forward, snatching the fruit knife from the floor. He tackled me, and a searing line of fire ripped across my cheek. The fall sent a jolt of agony through my already ravaged body.
The sharp, repeated agony of the knife on my face, combined with the deep, grinding pain in my bones, was more than I could bear.
But I didn’t struggle. I didn’t reach for my pills.
My mother stood by, directing him. “Ethan, a few more times. Make sure it’s completely unrecognizable. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of Willow at home. After this, she won’t have to suffer another day.”
He only stopped when my face was a bloody, unrecognizable mess.
They all waited for me to get up, but I could only lie there, convulsing. They stared, their brows furrowed in confusion. Ethan finally nudged me with his foot.
“Hey! Get up. You were always talking about Mom’s cooking. They brought ingredients to make you a meal at home.”
Suddenly, there was a frantic banging on the door. After a few loud thumps, the door burst open, and Mrs. Gable rushed in.
She saw me lying in a pool of my own blood, my body emaciated, and she let out a horrified shriek, her eyes wide with terror.
“My God! What have you done?! The poor girl has bone cancer! She only has days to live! Couldn’t you just let her die in peace?!”

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