How Death Became My Rebirth (Cassandra Yates)

Chapter 1 The Demise Of The Real Daughter

"Cassandra, how could you treat me like this? How could you hurt me?" Yulissa Yates' voice quivered as she wept.

For two long years, Cassandra Yates endured the hypocritical voice of her supposed younger sister.

Cassandra felt that her life after she turned 18 was practically a cruel joke.

'Hurt you?' Cassandra parroted mentally.

Truth be told, she truly wished she had hurt Yulissa, as only then could she quell the anguish she had endured these two years.

Their eldest brother, Leonardo Yates, delivered a scornful kick that sent Cassandra sprawling to the ground. "I don't have a malicious sister like you. Yulissa is my only sister. You're! Not! Worthy!"

Frederick Yates, their second older brother, seized Cassandra's throat. "Who gave you the audacity to bully Lisa? Looks like you're really sick of living!"

Jasper Yates, the third older brother, injected a potent drug that intensified the magnitude of pain a human could tolerate tenfold into Cassandra's vein. "Since you dare to harm my sister, you shall pay back tenfold!"

Yohannes Yates, the fourth older brother, refrained from laying a finger on Cassandra. Instead, he regarded her with an indifferent gaze as if he were observing a piece of loathsome trash. "If anything happens to Lisa, I'll make sure you pay with your life!"

Matthew Yates, the fifth older brother, unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks upon Cassandra, who was lying on the ground. "You've truly got a death wish. How dare you bully the little princess of our family? If you wanna die, just say so! I'll grant your wish!"

The sixth older brother, Raymond Yates, wielded an army knife and severed the tendons of Cassandra's hand, then threw out a barrage of punches at her abdomen. "Yulissa is the only beloved daughter of the Yates family. You're just a worthless trash trying to take her place!"

Cassandra stoically allowed her blood to drip from the corner of her mouth while the severed tendons in her hand gushed out blood endlessly.

Irony hung thick in the air.

Cassandra, the biological daughter of the Yates family, was clearly the true victim in this situation. Yet, the roles had inexplicably reversed as they perceived her as the worthless perpetrator. When she was first brought home, they had promised to ensure equal treatment between the two sisters and assured her they could all live in peace under one roof.

However, the truth was-Yulissa remained the apple of the family's eye, whereas Cassandra had to bear the anguish and torments in silence.

There could never be equal treatment when all of the family members played favorites with Yulissa.

Not once did Cassandra's blood-related brothers stand on her side.

Whenever Yulissa shed a tear, the blame would be laid squarely on Cassandra by her biological parents, Benjamin and Miranda Yates. They insisted that Cassandra was intolerant toward Yulissa and reiterated that Cassandra's path to survival could only be secured if Yulissa lived a better life.

Cassandra's six brothers, all indifferent to Cassandra, treated Yulissa like a precious treasure, while Cassandra, their actual biological sister, was treated like dirt.

'Cassandra, oh Cassandra! So, this is the kind of family affection you've yearned for over 18 years? Is it worth it? You left everything behind just to be regarded as trash by this bunch of bloodsuckers. Is it worth it to lose yourself over them?' Cassandra ruminated.

Tolerating the pain, Cassandra slowly got up on her feet.

"Aaah! Cassandra, please, don't hurt me! I'm sorry!" Yulissa screamed in terror as if Cassandra standing up would threaten her life.

Though Cassandra, hunched and battered, did not even lift her arm, Yulissa plunged a knife into the former's chest.

Cassandra stared at the knife in her chest in disbelief, then lifted her head to take a gander at Yulissa.

"Cassandra, aaah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that," Yulissa exclaimed in a frightened manner. She even hurriedly pulled the knife out and tossed it on the ground in a panic.

No longer having the strength to stand, Cassandra collapsed.

Yet, her six biological brothers merely glanced at her with contempt.

With disdainful tones, they cursed, saying she'd best die elsewhere, for she'd bring them bad luck otherwise.

Eventually, as they had hoped, Cassandra succumbed to the injuries caused by this treacherous family.

Leonardo simply uttered coldly, "She's better off dead. Have someone toss her into the mountains to feed the wolves. Let's see if she dares to hurt Lisa again."

With that, Cassandra's body was dragged into the deep mountains by a subordinate.

"Ms. Yates, I don't wish to do this, but I'm merely an employee. When you reach the underworld, cast aside every memory of this life and go get yourself reborn. You've truly suffered too much. I pray that in your next life, you'll be born into a family that genuinely loves you."

Rather than throwing her into the wolf's den, the subordinate dug a hole in a secluded place.

"Ms. Yates, the circumstances are tough, so I dare not prepare a coffin for you. I can only bury you plainly. If luck is on your side, someone might come to claim your body."

The subordinate returned to the Yates residence after burying Cassandra, only to discover that the entire property had been smashed to smithereens.

Benjamin, Miranda, and their six sons, along with the adopted daughter Yulissa, were bound together, covered in bruises from head to toe.

Sobbingly, Yulissa feigned vulnerability, whining to her brothers, "Why is he doing this to me? It hurts!"

"Don't worry, Lisa. We'll protect you," Leonardo comforted her firmly, and the other five brothers echoed the sentiment.

Kenneth Zelinski observed the scene with a stony, predatory gaze as scathing bloodthirstiness emanated from him. "You guys killed your own sister for this impostor?"

Cassandra could not comprehend why she was witnessing this scene.

'Have I become a ghost?' she wondered.

Kenneth, a formidable figure renowned in the capital, Drieso, was supposed to be the sole rightful heir of the Zelinski family. Yet, he found himself thrust into the underground fighting arena in the country of Atharia by his own father, left to fend for himself.

Years later, upon his return to Drieso, he swiftly sidelined his father within a month and sought ruthless revenge on those who had hurt him.

Though notorious for being cunning and savage, Kenneth was undeniably the wealthiest man in Drieso and, quite possibly, the entire country and globe.

'What is he doing here? Is he seeking revenge for me?' Cassandra pondered.

"We only have one sister, and that's Lisa. We don't need a petty, malicious sister like Cassandra!" declared Raymond with conviction.

In the Yates family's view, there was nothing wrong with them loving their little sister.

They believed Cassandra to be malicious and intolerant of Yulissa and unfit to be part of their family.

"Ha! All of you are so blind that you can't even distinguish a pearl from a stone," Kenneth sneered, his smirk tinged with ridicule and viciousness. "Since you guys killed Cassie, you shall die alongside her!” Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Eight gunshots rang out, concluding the fate of the Yates family. Yulissa was the only one who was still alive.

Terrified, she pleaded, "Please don't kill me! It was them who killed Cassandra. I had nothing to do with it!"

'This man actually fired for real! He blew everyone's brains out!

'I don't wanna die! I don't want to!' she thought in a panic. As such, she could only shift the blame onto her already deceased brothers.

"What did Cassie go through before she died?" Kenneth strode toward Yulissa, gazing down at her from above.

"I-I don't know..." Yulissa stammered flusteredly, trying to evade the question.

She knew she couldn't speak the truth, for it would only lead to a more brutal death.

"Then tell me, where did you people dump Cassie's body?"

The notion of Cassandra not receiving a proper burial and being left to be consumed by wild animals fueled Kenneth's hatred. In his despair, he wished he could destroy the entire world, seeking some semblance of compensation for her tragic death.

"I-In the mountains..."

'At this point, Cassandra's body should have already been devoured by wolves and wild dogs.

'Hahahaha! She doesn't even have a proper burial in death. Cassandra, you can never surpass me in this lifetime!' Yulissa thought smugly.

Kenneth's pupils contracted in shock. He thought, 'Son of a gun, I've let the Yates family off too easily! They shouldn't have died such a simple death!'

"I... I know where her body is," interjected the subordinate who buried Cassandra.

"You know?" Kenneth stared at that man with a threatening gaze.

Yannick Zelinski, Kenneth's subordinate, dragged that man to Kenneth.

"It was... Mr. Leonardo Yates who asked me to throw Ms. Cassandra Yates' body into the mountains. I didn't have the heart to do that, so I dug a hole and buried her." That subordinate was being honest.

Kenneth ordered his men to inflict on Yulissa ten times the pain that Cassandra had suffered before her death.

He then followed that subordinate to dig up Cassandra's body and take it away.

Cassandra observed all of this as she floated in the air, feeling rather bewildered.