I turned to the window and saw my reflection—I was back in my brother’s body.

The woman sitting next to me, pinning me down, was the same as before. Mabel. The driver, an older woman named Fabienne, was their boss.

They had a system. Fabienne, in her 60s, would play the sweet old lady selling candied apples, luring kids in. Then she and Mabel would smuggle them deep into the mountains and sell them off.

I was just eight years old, so they weren’t exactly on guard around me.

I leaned back in my seat, memories crashing down.

For 10 years, I had only one question. ‘Why?’

‘Why did my own brother do this to me?’

After they found me, I didn’t even get a chance to ask. He swapped back immediately, pinned everything on me, and whispered in my ear.

“Bro, you let me get taken and did nothing. You deserved every bit of it.

“Now that you’re back, you’ll pay for what you did!”

But I did try to stop him! I told him not to go with that woman, but he wouldn’t listen! He even cursed me out, saying I just wanted the candied apple for myself.

He chose to go! And somehow, I was the one to blame…

After we swapped back, he ran to our parents, sobbing, saying I had set him up.

At first, they didn’t believe him.

Then he led them to my pillow, where he had hidden a journal.

A journal that read: [I saw the trafficker take my brother, but I told Mom and Dad I didn’t. Because I didn’t want to share their love. Their love and money should belong to me alone.]

That’s when I realized, ‘For 10 years, my brother hasn’t just taken my body. He’s stolen my entire life!’

He had it all planned from the start. The moment I was found, he’d use his second chance to pin everything on me.

And my so-called real parents? They actually believed them. They were ready to sell me off to some blind old widow as punishment!

I spent 10 years suffering in my brother’s place. When I was finally rescued, I thought Mom and Dad would try to make it up to me with love.

But all I got was a deeper, more gut-wrenching betrayal. That night, I lost all hope. I set a fire and took them down with me!

I clenched my fists and swore to myself.

‘This time, I’ll make them all pay!’

I let out a quiet breath of relief as the scenery outside the window became more and more familiar.

‘Good. In this life, they still decided to sell me off to some backwoods town called Millbrook.’

Last time, I spent 10 years in this place—I know it like the back of my hand.