My Sister the Saint My Executioner

I woke up as the villain in someone elses love story.

The plot was supposed to be simple, really. A tragedy wrapped in romance. The devoted husband, Ethan, loved his wife, my sister, Lydia. But Lydia was sick, a fragile beauty with a failing heart, and she wasn't long for this world.

This is where I, or rather, the original owner of this body, was supposed to make her grand, ruinous entrance. She was to crawl into her brother-in-law's bed in a moment of weakness.

And Lydia, ever the saint, wouldn't just forgive her little sister. No, she would make Ethan promise to marry her after she was gone. A dying wish. An inescapable trap.

Of course, all of that was just the prologue to the real story. The main event was a new woman arriving in Ethans life, a vibrant soul who would teach him to open his heart again, to heal from the grief. They would get their happy ending.

As for the inconvenient placeholder wife? She would be driven to suicide by public humiliation and her husbands cold shoulder, conveniently clearing the stage for the true heroine.

1

And the timing of my arrival? Just perfect.

I came to consciousness on my sister and brother-in-laws bed, arranged like a sacrifice waiting for the slaughter. But it was the fire raging under my skin, a thick, chemical heat, that told me this wasn't part of the original script.

I tried to push myself up, my muscles screaming in protest. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the plush carpet, a jolt of something sharp and ugly shooting up my spine.

My purse had been tossed near the bed. Inside, among the usual clutter, was my phone and, surprisingly, a digital voice recorder.

Fighting the rising tide of heat and nausea, I flicked the recorder on, slid it under the lip of the nightstand, and stumbled toward the bathroom, my phone clutched in a sweaty palm. I locked the door behind me.

A woman about to seduce her brother-in-law wouldnt drug herself. She wouldnt need to. This was sabotage. The question was, who was the saboteur?

My fingers felt like sausages as I dialed.

911, whats your emergency?

Someone drugged me, I rasped, my voice cracking. I think I think theyre going to try and rape me. Please, you have to get here. Now.

Next, my mother.

Mom, I whispered, the effort immense. Can you come get me? I feel really sick. I dont want to worry Lydia.

I hung up before she could ask too many questions. My consciousness was fraying at the edges. I turned on the tub, fumbling with the faucet, and collapsed into the basin before it was even a quarter full.

The shock of the ice-cold water was a brutal, welcome relief, a temporary dam against the inferno inside me.

God, this was a mess.

My memory of what happened next is a collage of broken sounds. Someone shouting my name.

Audrey? Audrey, where are you?

The heavy thud of a shoulder hitting the bathroom door. Raised, frantic voices.

And then, nothing. Just the silent, welcoming dark.

2

Things got interesting.

Apparently, my picture-perfect sister and her doting husband had been invited downtown for a little chat with the police.

Their story was smooth. After dinner, they realized I was missing. Worried, they started searching. They found my bedroom empty and their own master bathroom locked from the inside. They had no idea why I would be in their room, and fearing the worst, they tried to break down the door.

A date-rape drug? What was that? They had no idea.

With no cameras in the bedroom and no witnesses, it was their word against well, no ones.

Were tracing the source of the drug, the detective told me, his voice a low rumble. You just rest. Dont worry.

His name was Ryan, and hed been here since I woke up. He watched me with a focused, analytical gaze that felt like it could see right through my skin. A cops sixth sense, maybe.

I left a voice recorder by the bed in the master bedroom, I said, my own voice still hoarse. Maybe it picked up something useful.

Ryan gave a curt nod. Got it. Ill have someone check.

He turned to my mother. Maam, you should stay with Audrey. Ill check back in later tonight.

You go on, Ryan. You have work to do. Ill be here with her. Dont you worry.

After Ryan left, my mothers face crumpled with anxiety. Do you think hes angry?

Oh, right. Ryan was my boyfriend. We were supposed to get married at the end of the year.

I raised an eyebrow. Angry? About what? That I was drugged?

How could this happen? she lamented, her hands twisting in her lap. How could something like this happen?

You should ask Lydia, I said flatly.

Her head snapped up, her expression instantly defensive. Thats impossible. Your sister would never do something like that.

The three of us ate the same dinner, I reasoned, keeping my tone level. The only difference was the glass of milk Lydia handed me afterward. Unless the milk itself was poisonous, thats our variable. I held up a hand to stop her protest. Look, Im not accusing her in a court of law. I dont have proof. But some things are obvious to anyone who isnt willfully blind. Even if Lydia didn't physically put the pill in the glass, she knew about it.

My mother stared at me, her mind clearly reeling. Then why did you tell me you were just feeling sick? Why did you say you didnt want to worry her?

I shrugged. What was the alternative? Calling you and screaming that Lydia drugged me? What would have been the first thing you did?

Silence.

I answered for her. You would have called Lydia to ask if it was true. You would have walked me right into the fire. Sometimes, a well-placed lie is a lifeline.

My mother wasnt the type to play favorites. Even with Lydias congenital heart condition, she had always been fair to her younger daughter. In the original story, my mother was one of the witnesses who found me in Ethans bed. She had slapped me, dragged me home, and only relented to the marriage because of Lydias tearful begging. When Ithe original mehad finally jumped from that building, my mothers grief was the most profound.

As the shock began to subside, she reached out and brushed the hair from my forehead. Her eyes, when they met mine, were filled with a new, steely resolve.

I will not let you suffer this injustice, Audrey. I promise you.

3

They found the recorder.

The contents were, to put it mildly, explosive.

Lydia: What happened? I put her on the bed. Where did she go?

Ethan: Maybe she woke up and went back to her room.

Lydia: Ill go check.

Lydia: Shes not there. Ive looked everywhere. Shes gone.

Ethan: The bathroom.

Lydia: Its locked.

A sharp rapping sound.

Lydia: Audrey? Audrey, are you in there? Are you not feeling well? Open the door, sweetie. Let me in.

Ethan: She must have passed out.

Lydia: Break it down.

Ethan: Lydia, lets just stop. This is crazy. I dont want anyone else. I just want you.

Lydia: But Im dying! What will you do when Im gone? What about Leo? The only person in the world who could love Leo like her own son is Audrey.

Ethan: But she clearly knows somethings wrong, or she wouldnt have hidden.

Lydia: It doesnt matter. In the end, Ill be the victim. Everyone will believe me. And Audrey shed never do anything to jeopardize my health.

Wow. That happy couple really showed me the sheer diversity of the human species.

Ryan was watching me again, a deep frown line creasing his forehead.

I cupped my face in my hands and gave him a small smile. Like what you see?

His expression didnt change as he dropped his gaze.

My mother was the one who looked truly devastated. Her face was ashen, and she seemed to be swaying on her feet. How could she? she whispered.

Whether she could or couldnt, she did.

Weve got a lead on the source of the drug, Ryan said, his voice all business. As it stands, this looks like a conspiracy between the two of them. Ethans lawyer wants to speak with you. Hes hoping youll sign a settlement agreement and drop the charges.

Never! my mother snapped.

Ill do it, I said.

They both looked at me. My mothers eyes filled with pain. Audrey, you dont have to consider my feelings. From this day forward, I dont have that daughter.

I wasnt planning on being a saint. Lydia was on deaths door, and Ethans family had deep pockets. He probably wouldnt see much jail time anyway. Besides, for a crime like this, you dont just want justice. You want to destroy the soul.

Is there really no cure for Lydias condition? I asked.

My mother shook her head. Her congenital heart disease meant she was never meant to live a long life. But she had tempted fate. Against all medical advice, she had insisted on having a child for the great love of her life. Shed barely survived giving birth to Leo, and her body had paid the price. For the last six months, her heart failure had been getting progressively worse. She was practically living at the hospital. Her doctors had already told her to get her affairs in order.

She was dying. What a shame. If only she could live another couple of years, she could meet her husbands real true love face-to-face. Now that would be a spectacle. I was genuinely disappointed to miss it.

I turned back to Ryan. Im willing to drop the charges, but on one condition. They both have to get on their knees and apologize to me.

The woman whose life I now inhabited, Audrey, had been drowned in shame and abandoned by everyone she knew. She only survived a year after Lydias death. It was a year of pure, unadulterated agony that ended with a final, desperate leap.

That couple owed her an apology.

Ryan nodded once, his face unreadable. He turned and left without another word.

Watching his strong, steady back, I remembered his fate in the original story. When the whole world had turned on Audrey, Ryan was the only one who believed her. But she, broken and ashamed, felt she was no longer worthy of him. She ended their engagement.

A month later, Ryan died during a high-risk operation.

Audrey secretly attended his funeral. She overheard his captain saying, He wasnt even supposed to be on that mission. He volunteered, insisted on it. He hadnt been himself lately, so much anger bottled up inside him. Its my fault. I never should have approved it.

Boom.

Audreys world shattered. From that day on, she was just a walking corpse.

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