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00:05I am the only vegetarian in a family of vampires.
00:09While my brother debates the most elegant way to open an artery, I'm pulling weeds in the garden.
00:15While my sister sharpens her teeth for the next hunt, I'm watering the plants.
00:20While the whole family counts down to the next blood moon, I'm picking tomatoes.
00:25Everyone in my family has a favorite blood type. I have a favorite tomato.
00:31Blood makes me gag. Fresh vegetables don't.
00:36I converted our old cellar into a climate-controlled grow room,
00:40and even trained our centuries-old familiar bats to eat fruit and pollinate my plants at night.
00:45My parents took one look at the ancient vampire courtyard disappearing beneath rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs, and gave
00:52up.
00:53Eventually, they took the whole family on a long trip just so they wouldn't have to watch me garden.
01:01I had the castle to myself.
01:05It was perfect.
01:08Until one afternoon, while I was picking beetles off my cucumbers, a black supercar screeched to a stop outside the
01:15gate.
01:16Moving trucks followed behind it.
01:20A young woman in a lace dress stepped out and pointed at my castle.
01:24This one! I'm turning it into my Barbie dream castle!
01:27I recognized her as Paisley, the youngest daughter of the Prescott family.
01:32Her four brothers climbed out behind her.
01:34Before I could speak, workers started carrying pink furniture through my front door.
01:43Ew! She smells like dirt and fertilizer.
01:46Keep her away from me. I'm sweet and soft, like a little strawberry.
01:55Someone had crushed my tomatoes beneath their shoes.
01:58I stared at them for a long moment.
02:00Then I pulled out my phone and called my parents overseas.
02:02Mom? Dad? The buffet just arrived.
02:05Strawberry flavor.
02:06I looked at my tomatoes for a long moment.
02:09They weren't ordinary tomatoes.
02:11They were rare, experimental heirloams I'd spent three seasons breeding.
02:16Each one the size of a cereal bowl.
02:19Now they were pulp beneath a mover's boots.
02:22Hey, dirt girl!
02:23Are you deaf?
02:28I'm talking to you.
02:30Clean up this disgusting dirt patch.
02:32Do I have to spell it out for you?
02:37That dirt patch was my garden.
02:39Eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, herbs, all at their peak.
02:43Ruined produce attracts pests, so I spread wood ash over the crushed tomatoes and began sweeping.
02:48Ew! It stinks!
02:52Clutching her doll, she stamped her feet and buried herself against her oldest brother.
02:58Marcus, I can't breathe!
03:00And look at all this mud!
03:01My poor little feet can't walk through that!
03:04Her oldest brother, Marcus, gently soothed her, then flicked a matte black card at my face.
03:11We're buying this estate.
03:12Name your price.
03:18The black card landed in the crushed tomatoes at my feet.
03:21That card can keep you comfortable for the rest of your life.
03:24Take it and leave.
03:28Behind him, Paisley's second oldest brother folded his arms.
03:34Paisley wants a castle for her birthday, and she refuses to wait for one to be built.
03:39Count yourself lucky she chose this place.
03:42Take the money, and disappear.
03:45They were so certain, as if there were nothing on Earth money couldn't fix.
03:49I didn't even look at the card.
03:51I picked it up, shoved it back into Marcus's suit pocket, and brushed the wood ash off my hands.
03:56Not for sale.
03:58Forget the years I'd spent on my garden.
04:00This castle had belonged to House Vesper for centuries.
04:03Every room was filled with antiques.
04:05His black card wouldn't cover a single floor tile.
04:11Tristan, the third brother, rounded on the workers.
04:14Stop wasting time.
04:15Rip out this ugly garden and cover it with Paisley's favorite pink carpet.
04:17And you strawberry-scented weed killer.
04:19I love strawberries.
04:21The workers charged my vegetable beds.
04:23One tore down a tomato trellis.
04:27Another ripped out a row of peppers and threw them across the flagstones.
04:32My heart clenched.
04:35But the afternoon sun was brutal.
04:37Even beneath the eaves, my skin had begun to sting.
04:41I couldn't use my powers at all.
04:44I could only watch as months of work was crushed under their boots.
04:48These walls are so ugly.
04:50Cover them in pink crystals.
04:52And replace that door with a giant gold bow.
04:59Dust burst from stone older than the Prescott name.
05:03Then a dense flutter rose from inside the castle.
05:19Get those building things away from me!
05:23Her four brothers threw themselves in front of her on reflex.
05:27Fabric tore.
05:28A few thin red lines opened across their cheeks.
05:31It looked ferocious.
05:32It wasn't.
05:33Years ago, these bats would have swarmed anyone bleeding and drunk them dry.
05:37But I'd spent years sending them into the flower beds to feed on fruit and pollinate.
05:42They'd lost all interest in human blood.
05:44So the crew netted them easily.
05:46Three swings and done.
05:55Those disgusting rats got my dress dirty!
05:57This is couture!
06:00Useless!
06:00You can't catch a few rats?
06:02Get a lighter.
06:03Burn them.
06:09Touch a single one of those bats and my parents will make you regret it.
06:14My parents had raised those bats for decades.
06:17They were family.
06:18Aw, don't kill them.
06:19Princesses have pets.
06:21Cinderella had little mice friends.
06:23I want mice friends too.
06:25But they're so, so ugly.
06:29All black.
06:30That does notch my aesthetic.
06:33We have to make them cute.
06:35Give them all nice little baths.
06:40She waved a hand.
06:42A worker rushed over with a basin of bright pink bleach.
06:47I'm gonna dye them pretty in pink!
06:50No!
06:50I lunged.
06:52A bodyguard pinned me.
06:55I could only watch as they dropped my baths into the bleach, one by one.
07:00Their wings beat desperately against the liquid, each struggle weaker than the last.
07:08I wanted to strangle her with my bare hands.
07:11Just like that, the bats that had been with me for decades were murdered by toxic pink chemicals.
07:17Aw, and I didn't even get to be their friend.
07:21So fragile, these little mice.
07:23Then her eyes slid to me and lit up.
07:28A castle princess needs a maid too.
07:32You'll do.
07:33Kinda dirty, but usable.
07:41The guards forced a cheap pink apron over my head, then clamped a rhinestone-covered dog
07:48collar around my neck.
07:51Pasley stared at my flawless skin, and jealousy flashed across her face.
07:56Then she pulled out a marker.
07:59Now it's my turn to draw.
08:01Let's play red light, green light.
08:03If you move, you're a rotten egg.
08:06She scrawled two crooked circles for eyes, and a pig snout across my face.
08:14So ugly!
08:18Her four brothers didn't stop her.
08:20They watched, indulgent, like she'd done something adorable.
08:26I memorized every smiling face.
08:28My family would be home soon.
08:35Keep it.
08:36You made Paisley happy.
08:38Consider it earned.
08:39My hands were bound behind my back, and being dragged out underneath the blazing sun had pushed
08:44my body to the brink.
08:45I couldn't move, and I no longer had the strength to argue with them.
08:48Because I stopped fighting, Paisley got bored.
08:51She flicked the Marco away and yawned.
08:56I'm so, so tired.
08:58I need my beauty sleep.
09:00She went down the line, puckering up for a nap-time kiss from each of her four brothers.
09:05Then she turned around and kicked me hard in the shin.
09:09Where's my room, maid?
09:10Lead the way.
09:18I counted down the hours until my family came home, took a breath, and led her toward
09:22the guest wing.
09:25What is this dump?
09:27I need a pink princess bed, not some ancient plank.
09:30What if it hurts my back?
09:33I'll find my own room.
09:34This castle definitely has one just for me.
09:37Don't wander off.
09:40Paisley stuck out her tongue, then skipped toward a staircase marked private.
09:44Too late.
09:45The castle has seven floors, and Paisley tore through them like she'd found a theme park.
09:50She kicked over a suit of armor.
09:52She ripped an oil painting off the wall.
09:55The torn canvas lay scattered across the floor.
09:57I hurried over.
09:59The ancestor inside glared as if this were my fault.
10:02Next, she barged into my father's private wine cellar.
10:05My dad, Vincent, had spent centuries collecting those wines from around the world.
10:09Every bottle was priceless.
10:10Her eyes gleamed at the wall of racks.
10:12She poured a little into her palm and licked it.
10:15Ugh, yuck.
10:16That's disgusting.
10:17She flung the bottle.
10:18A fortune shattered across the floor.
10:21Then she went down the racks like a tornado.
10:23This bottle's ugly.
10:25Toss it.
10:25This one's not pink.
10:26Toss it.
10:27This one's too heavy for me.
10:28Toss it too.
10:30I stared at the mess, not knowing what to do.
10:35Then a scream came from the next room.
10:43I got there and nearly laughed.
10:45I saw something all sparkly and thought it was jewels.
10:49But it was blood.
10:51It's so, so gross.
10:53And I cut my hand.
10:55This was not a normal room.
10:57It was my sister Lenora's collection.
10:59Lenora had one obsession.
11:01She kept a vial of blood from every human she had ever fed on.
11:04No one was allowed to touch her collection.
11:07Ever.
11:08Now they were all over the floor.
11:09And my sister is famously, deeply vindictive.
11:15Marcus saw Paisley's tears and his eyes went red.
11:18Smash everything in this room, now!
11:24I ducked into a corner, pretended to cower, and settled in for the show.
11:28Paisley kept tearing through the castle until she threw open the grandest set of double doors
11:32at the end of the hall.
11:33My parents' bedroom.
11:39I officially claim this as my princess room!
11:43Then she spotted the jewelry box, gasped, and began holding its egg-sized gemstones against
11:48her dress.
11:49You'd better not touch those, or you're gonna die horribly.
11:53I wasn't lying.
11:54My mother treats her jewelry like her own blood.
11:57Centuries of Vesper heirlooms.
11:58But Paisley was used to everyone giving her whatever she wanted.
12:01My warning meant nothing to her.
12:06Who do you think you are telling Princess what to do?
12:09You're just a filthy gardener!
12:13Don't be scared, Paisley.
12:15If you want it, it's yours.
12:17If you asked, I'd buy you the moon.
12:20Play with whatever you want.
12:21I'll handle the owner.
12:23These colors are so old lady.
12:26I want them painted pink.
12:27Bring me paint!
12:28Just to prove how spoiled you are, stolen jewels won't turn an ugly duckling into a real princess.
12:34She studied her thick, cakey foundation in the vanity mirror, then stared at my nearly
12:37white skin.
12:38She no longer bothered to hide her jealousy.
12:41Tie that dirt girl outside.
12:42Princess is treating her to a nice, long tanning session.
12:49Leave her there until she's extra crispy.
12:54My skin still hadn't recovered from the few seconds outside earlier.
12:58Thrown into full sun, I'd be roasted to ash.
13:00Let go of me!
13:02This is kidnapping!
13:03You'll go to prison for this!
13:06In my castle, I am the law.
13:09At Paisley's command, they dragged me through the front doors and into the blazing sun.
13:13The instant the sunlight hit me, it felt as if I had been thrown straight into hell.
13:18Every inch of my body burned.
13:20Somehow, I found the strength to tear myself free and scramble my hands and knees into the
13:24nearest patch of shade.
13:27I had been exposed for only a few seconds, but black scorch marks were already spreading
13:32across both arms.
13:34Ooh!
13:34What happened to her skin?
13:35It looks so gross and scary.
13:38Probably some kind of skin condition.
13:40I've heard of it.
13:41Sunlight makes the skin blister and break down.
13:44At least her oldest brother had some sense.
13:47Now that he knew more sunlight could kill me, surely Paisley would back off.
13:51So she's just a freak who can't handle daylight?
13:54Before I could recover from the burning pain in my arms, Paisley's syrupy voice rang out
13:59again.
13:59Yay!
14:00Bring me across and tie her to it!
14:02Princess wants to play vampire hunter!
14:05This will kill me!
14:07Are you insane?
14:11So what?
14:12I want to play.
14:13If it gets bad, we'll just put her in a nice hospital.
14:16And Marcus actually dragged over a heavy wooden cross.
14:19Two bodyguards yanked me off the ground, hauled me back into the sunlight, and pinsed me against
14:23the cross.
14:24Paisley was now wearing a Halloween witch hat, waving both arms in the air.
14:29Look, look!
14:30The black spots are coming out!
14:31Woo!
14:33I'm a genius!
14:34I can do magic!
14:36The minutes dragged by beneath the blazing sun.
14:39Thin wisps of white smoke began curling from my scourged skin, and my vision started to
14:44blur.
14:44Finally, bored with her exorcism game, Paisley pulled a sharpened wooden stick from her belt
14:50and aimed it at my heart with a giggle.
14:52Bye-bye, little monster.
14:54Today, the vampire hunter princess is going to save this castle!
14:58I shut my eyes, waiting for an absurd death, but just as the sharpened wooden stick was
15:02about to pierce my chest, then the sky split open with wind and rain.
15:07The stake was ripped from her hand by an unseen force, and four silhouettes appeared at the
15:12castle entrance.
15:16What happened?
15:20Before the brothers could react, Paisley went flying like a snapped kite and slammed into
15:27the ground.
15:28Marcus!
15:28It hurts!
15:30I think my back is broken!
15:33Marcus rushed over to check on her.
15:35Sure enough, the fabric at Paisley's waist had torn, revealing a dark purple bruise along
15:41her side.
15:43From the panic on her brothers' faces, I guessed pain was a new experience for her.
15:49Paisley had been pampered and protected her entire life.
15:53No one had ever dared harm a hair on her head, let alone hurt her this badly.
15:58You hurt a Prescott?
16:01You want to die?
16:04The four brothers rounded on the four figures in the doorway, roaring, but the four figures
16:10complete ignored their fury.
16:13One of them raised a hand, lazily, and the rope and cross holding me crumbled to dust.
16:20In the gray storm light, I finally saw them clearly.
16:23My mother, my father, my sister, my brother, home early from their trip.
16:30You idiot.
16:32This is what happens when you're too soft.
16:34I'd have drained them an hour ago.
16:37If you'd drink blood like a normal vampire, these burns would have healed by now.
16:41But no, you insist on being a vegetarian.
16:46Now you can't even handle a little sunlight?
16:48I let her yell at me.
16:51Underneath all of it, she was terrified.
16:55It was the warmest I'd felt all day.
17:00Behind her, my sister Lenora was absently touching up her clipstick with a compact mirror
17:05in hand.
17:07She suddenly froze.
17:10Her nose twickled.
17:12A faint scent of blood drifted through the air, but it carried traces of many different
17:16humans, all mixed together.
17:18No!
17:19She was gone before I finished blinking.
17:23Streaking up to the third floor collection room, she trembled with rage.
17:29Every vial she'd hoarded over centuries lay shattered.
17:32Blood and glass ground into a single ruined smear across the floor.
17:36Lenora is the most vindictive creature in a family of vindictive creatures.
17:41She stood there, shaking, and did not make a sound.
17:46That was so much worse than screaming.
17:50Who?
17:54Just the one word, very quiet.
17:59Downstairs, Pasley was still whimpering over her bruise, completely unaware of what was
18:05coming.
18:09My parents followed close behind, and discovered that their treasured possessions had been ruined
18:17too.
18:18My dad, Vincent, crouched over the wreckage of his wine room and picked up a shard of glass.
18:23His fangs slid out on their own.
18:25Three hundred years.
18:28I collected these for three hundred years.
18:31I never even let myself drink them!
18:33Inside the bedroom, my mother Carmela said nothing.
18:37She walked to the vanity and lifted a gemstone someone had spray-pinted pink.
18:46The stone crushed to powder, and sifted through her hand like sand.
18:51That's when I knew she was past furious.
18:55Seeing what had happened to everyone else's treasures, my brother Sebastian, bolted for
19:00his library, dread all over his face.
19:03He froze in the doorway.
19:05The books were all still there, neatly shelved.
19:10He exhaled, then he opened one.
19:13Every page was scribbled over in marker.
19:15Some had been torn out entirely.
19:18These are one of a kind.
19:20There are no other copies.
19:22There will never be other copies!
19:24Four voices rose at once, loud enough to rattle the chandeliers.
19:29For one beat, none of us moved.
19:32Broken glass kept settling through the silence, piece by piece.
19:38Who did this?
19:43I did, obviously.
19:47She popped her head out from behind her brothers, giggling, completely missing the fact that death
19:53had just walked into the building.
19:55All those tiny letters were so ugly.
19:58I gave the books an artistic upgrade, and the pages I tore out were boring, so I flushed
20:04them.
20:05Aren't I helpful?
20:06The four brothers, who had been throwing their weight around moments ago, fell silent.
20:12Their swagger vanished, and they instinctively backed away.
20:17By now, they had clearly realized that my family wasn't exactly human.
20:22Pazley did not get the memo.
20:24She was still smiling.
20:26Behind her, Marcus shifted one careful step away.
20:30Graham caught Tristan's sleeve before he could speak.
20:34For the first time since arriving, the brothers looked less like bodyguards, and more like
20:40men deciding whether the nearest window was survivable.
20:44Watching her cheerfully list every irreplaceable thing she'd destroyed to the faces of the four
20:50ancient vampires who owned them.
20:55I felt something almost like sympathy.
20:58I almost felt sorry for her.
21:00Almost.
21:01I genuinely hoped, for her sake, that she was harder to kill than she looked.
21:11So you're the sweet, soft little strawberry Flora mentioned on the phone.
21:16My mother walked toward her at an unherring pace, her heels clicking sharply against the
21:21flagstones.
21:22At the word strawberry, Paisley lifted her chin, delighted.
21:26It was me.
21:27You must be that mud girl's family.
21:30Since you're being so nice, I'll be a generous princess and forgive you for shoving me earlier.
21:35Something dangerous flashed in Carmela's eyes.
21:40I knew that look.
21:42She was holding back enough rage to level the entire estate.
21:46But Paisley was foolish enough to mistake her silence for approval.
21:51But didn't that gardener tell you?
21:53This is my castle now.
21:56You nobodies don't get to walk in.
21:58Your castle?
22:01My mother said it like the funniest joke she'd heard in a century.
22:05Big words.
22:06Go on then.
22:08Call to it.
22:10See if it answers.
22:15The moment she finished speaking, the dead castle came alive.
22:39The sound came from everywhere and nowhere, layered over itself until the stone itself seemed
22:45to breathe.
22:50Her mouth kept opening, but no order came out.
22:54From where I stood, her strawberry perfume could no longer cover the sharp smell of fear.
23:00She turned to run for the door.
23:02She made it three steps before my mother caught her by the back of the neck and lifted her,
23:07dangling, off the floor.
23:11Her brothers surged forward, then stopped together when Lycar Mila looked at them.
23:17Four billionaire heirs, all suddenly unwilling to be first.
23:23Marcus?
23:25Tell her to put me down!
23:27Right now!
23:28Marcus's face tightened.
23:30He forced his voice to stay firm, but he didn't dare take a single step closer.
23:35Put my sister down!
23:38You'd better think carefully before making an enemy of the Prescott family!
23:42My mother tilted Paisley's chin toward the light and studied the bead of blood at her throat.
23:48My mother tilted Paisley's chin toward the light and studied the bead of blood at her throat.
23:51My mother tilted Paisley's chin toward the light and studied the bead of blood at her throat.
23:54My mother tilted Paisley's chin toward the light and studied the bead of blood at her throat.
23:56Strawberry?
23:58That's the cheapest, sourest blood I've ever tasted.
24:01A sewer rat would go down easier.
24:04Paisley's face dissolved into tears and snot.
24:07She shot a desperate look at her four brothers.
24:09The brothers were terrified, but when they realized Paisley's life might be in danger,
24:15they had no choice but to order the bodyguards to attack.
24:21Get them!
24:22They laid hands on Miss Prescott.
24:24Take them all down!
24:26A dozen trained guards rushed in.
24:44My sister smiled for the first time all evening.
24:47She grabbed two of the stiffened men by the collar and started dragging them toward the dark end of the
24:53hall.
24:54I'll take these.
24:55I'm hungry anyway, and I need to start rebuilding my collection.
25:01A moment later, screams echoed up from somewhere deep in the castle.
25:06Each one worse than the last.
25:12Whatever denial the four brothers had been clinging to vanished from their faces.
25:23You have beautiful muscle definition.
25:26Really excellent proportions.
25:29You'd be perfect for studying how to separate flesh from bone.
25:33Elegantly, of course.
25:37A force no one could see flipped Marcus off his feet.
25:46Sebastian dragged the oldest Prescott son toward the laboratory at the end of the hall, like a bag of trash.
25:55At the other end of the great hall, my parents calmly tied Paisley to a cross.
26:02They intended to make her suffer everything she had just put me through.
26:08Sunlight could not burn her, but the ropes made her feel the same helplessness she had treated as a game.
26:19The other three brothers were cornered by a swarm of bats pouring out out of the tower.
26:24Sebastian was still dragging Marcus toward the laboratory by one leg.
26:29Marcus's back scraped across the flagstones as he clawed uselessly at the floor.
26:33Marcus finally realized that if he didn't fight back, he wasn't leaving the castle alive.
26:46You want a war with the Prescott family?
26:49Fine.
26:50You're all dead.
26:52When my grandpa gets here, he's gonna destroy you monsters!
26:57But the panic they were expectant never came.
27:05Sure, let's wait and see what he thinks he can do to me.
27:10The minutes crawled by.
27:15Ten minutes later, an off-road vehicle smashed through the outer gate and suscitted to a stop in the courtyard.
27:32Who dares lay a hand on my family?
27:37Grandpa! It's them! Arrest these monsters!
27:42One look, and Edmund Prescott's knees hit the floor before he could stop them.
27:48My... my queen.
27:55Grandpa, are you insane?
27:58She's the one who hurt me!
28:00How can you bow to her?
28:03Silence!
28:04Do you have any idea who this is, you reckless little fool?
28:16Behind him, the brothers stared from the old end to Carmela, waiting for the punchline.
28:21None came.
28:23This is the Queen of House Vespa.
28:27Centuries ago, when war scattered our ancestors and the Prescott line was nearly wiped out,
28:33it was Her Majesty who took pity on us.
28:36She bound our family to hers with an ancestral blood oath.
28:40That oath is the only reason any Prescott is alive today.
28:46Her Majesty has lived for centuries.
28:49Her holdings are beyond counting.
28:52The Prescott dynasty is nothing but the loose change she once handed her stewards to manage.
29:00What?
29:01What?
29:13You used to tell us the Prescott name was a gift.
29:16That we owed everything to someone we could never offend.
29:21I thought it was just a story to keep us in line.
29:45You're saying the true heir to everything the Prescotts own is her?
29:55So you do still remember your Queen, and yet your Granddaughter did all of this to my daughter.
30:05You'd better thank God that Flora is a vegetarian.
30:09If it had been anyone else in our family, your grandsons would already be lying dead on the floor, drained
30:17dry.
30:20Edmund looked at Paisley, still sniffling on the cross, and rage twisted his face.
30:26He limped over and struck her across the knee.
30:30You little monster.
30:32Get down and apologize to the young mistress.
30:35Now!
30:35But Paisley's princess act snapped right back into place.
30:39She jerked her chin up.
30:41No!
30:43You always said I was the most precious princess in the family.
30:46Princess does not bow to anyone.
30:48Crack.
30:50Edmund's hand caught her across the face.
30:52Blood welled at the corner of her mouth.
30:55The slap silenced even the guards waiting by the door.
31:00I spoiled you into this.
31:02Do you want the rest of the Prescott family wiped out because of you?
31:05Paisley's cheek quickly turned red.
31:08She bit down hard on her lip but kept her chin raised defiantly, refusing to back down.
31:13The brothers stared at the floor.
31:15Not one stepped forward this time.
31:17Paisley desperately searched her brother's faces before looking toward Marcus,
31:21who was still being dragged away by Sebastian.
31:23She expected him to save her like he always did,
31:26but even Marcus was trembling with fear now.
31:32Enough.
31:33Spare me the sob story.
31:35My mother watched the whole scene with icy contempt.
31:39A mistake this big needs real consequences.
31:49She looked down at Edmund like a judge reading a sentence.
31:53First, Paisley.
31:55Paisley is cut off from this family, effective now.
31:57From today, she doesn't touch a single dollar of Prescott money.
32:03Yes, my queen.
32:04Second.
32:05I know the Prescotts have built plenty of their own ventures over the years.
32:10You'll sign over three quarters of everything in your name as restitution to my daughter.
32:15Edmund flinched at the number, but he did not argue.
32:19Then my mother pointed at the four brothers slumped on the floor.
32:23Third.
32:23All of them swear a binding blood oath of restitution to my daughter until every debt is repaid.
32:28No loopholes.
32:29No buying their way out.
32:30The oath would compel them to repair what they had destroyed and work off every dollar of restitution.
32:35They could not abandon the debt or order someone else to serve it for them.
32:41My mother turned to me.
32:46Flora...
32:47How does that sound?
32:49I nodded.
32:50No objections here.
32:52They'd killed my pollinators.
32:55Now they could rebuild my garden and work in the sun until the oath judged their debt paid.
33:05Edmund's face went gray.
33:06I remembered Edmund spending years at our castle when I was younger, personally fulfilling the old family oath.
33:13The shame in his expression told me he remembered every day of it.
33:16He looked at Carmela, then at his grandson's.
33:18His shoulders sagged.
33:20He drew a long breath.
33:21I agree.
33:22Grandpa, Paisley's never suffered a day in her life.
33:25Casting her out is a death sentence.
33:27Marcus's eyes were bloodshot.
33:29Graham jumped in beside him.
33:30If she goes, we all go.
33:32We won't leave her behind.
33:34The other two brothers stood too, faces set.
33:37We stay together or we leave together.
33:39Mom made us promise to protect her before she died.
33:42We won't abandon our sister.
33:45Marcus glared at his kneeling grandfather.
33:47We're not shameless like you.
33:50Serving someone for decades, swallowing the humiliation, and getting nothing out of it.
33:55It was a stirring little speech about family loyalty.
33:58Standing off to the side, I rolled my eyes, so hard it hurt.
34:02They had watched Paisley leach my bats, collar me, and leave me burning in the sun.
34:09Apparently family loyalty only became sacred when consequences reached them.
34:16Nothing out of it?
34:17Everything you wear, everything you eat, where do you think it comes from?
34:20I stepped forward, ticking them off one by one.
34:23Marcus, that custom suit?
34:25The family tailored it for you last month.
34:27Graham, that limited edition attack on your wrist, charged to a Prescott account.
34:31The rest of you.
34:33The supercars.
34:35The pro basketball franchises you keep pouring money into.
34:39Hundreds of millions every year, all on the family's tab.
34:43And you're standing here telling me you've got nothing?
34:46I let a slow, knocking smile spread.
34:49Oh, and one more thing, that black card you flashed to buy my castle?
34:53Also Prescott money.
34:54So you used your benefactor's fortune to perform your touching brotherly devotion.
34:58Have you no shame?
34:59The four brothers flushed dark red, like they'd all been slapped at once.
35:03Their mouths opened.
35:05Nothing came out.
35:06I waited.
35:09For men who had arrived with an answer for everything, the silence was almost refreshing.
35:14You don't get to talk to my brothers like that!
35:16Paisney, still roped to the cross, sobbed in their defense.
35:21They're good people.
35:22Nobody wants your stupid money.
35:25Brothers?
35:25Brothers?
35:26I laughed so hard my eyes watered.
35:29But they're not your brothers at all.
35:36I don't drink human blood.
35:38But my sense for it is hundreds of times sharper than any mortal's.
35:43And there was nothing, nothing of the Prescott bloodline in Peasley's veins.
35:48I had noticed it the moment she brushed past me in the garden.
35:51Instinct was not proof, though.
35:52And four armed men would never have accepted my nose as evidence.
35:56So I had kept it to myself and waited for Carmela, who had records to back it up.
36:02What is that supposed to mean?
36:04The four brothers looked at each other.
36:06It means you've been played.
36:08My mother smiled coldly and snapped her fingers.
36:11A huge screen of light unfolded out of thin air, and the investigators' files bloomed across it.
36:18Your succession reports looked wrong months ago, so I had them audited.
36:22Yes.
36:24Meeting her only confirmed it.
36:27Open your eyes and look at what your precious little sister really is.
36:33The screen filled with documents.
36:35Hospital records, birth certificates, DNA reports.
36:40Marcus leaned toward it despite himself.
36:43Graham shook his head before he had even read the first line.
36:47Peasley stopped crying.
36:49For the first time all day, she looked as if she understood exactly what she was seeing.
36:56My mother walked us through it, file by file.
36:59Archived records from your own Prescott Hospital.
37:02Birth records that were altered 18 years ago.
37:05DNA results.
37:06Employment files putting Nora Reed and Ray Reed, your former nanny and your former driver,
37:10on the payroll the exact month it happened.
37:13The images shifted.
37:15Grainy hospital footage.
37:17A newborn Prescott heiress carried out of the maternity wild and swapped for another infant.
37:22It was not the only proof, but it showed how the altered records had begun.
37:27Then recent footage.
37:28Paisley curled against an older woman calling her mom, bragging.
37:31Those Prescott idiots believe anything I tell them.
37:35So easy.
37:36The screen changed again.
37:38A thin young woman tied to a chair, a bowl of spoiled slub shoved in front of her.
37:42Paisley crouched down and forced her mouth open.
37:45Eat it.
37:46You said you were hungry.
37:48I saved this just for you.
37:50The castle went dead silent.
37:52The four brothers' faces went from white to a sick, bloodless green.
37:56Their whole lives, their proud bond with their little sister, had been a joke from the very first day.
38:06Nora switched her own daughter for the real Prescott heiress at birth.
38:10That girl on the screen, starving, tied to a chair, is Audrey Prescott, the true heir.
38:15And Paisley has known the whole time.
38:17She's been helping her parents keep Audrey locked up for years.
38:22That's fake.
38:24Paisley scratched against the ropes, shaking her head.
38:33The footage is doctored.
38:35You're framing me.
38:37Then take a DNA test.
38:39Right now.
38:44Her mouth opened.
38:45Nothing came out.
38:47We treated you like our blood.
38:49And you played us for fools.
38:51The brothers were shaking with fury.
38:53One of her brothers launched toward the cross.
38:55But another grabbed him before he could reach Paisley.
38:58The other brother cursed at her, looking ready to rush forward and teach her a lesson himself.
39:02Still bound to the cross, Paisley shrunk back and lowered her head.
39:06Edmund clutched his chest, nearly fainting.
39:09The girl he had raised for 18 years.
39:12Every birthday.
39:13Every indulgence.
39:14Every time he had treated her like something too precious to touch.
39:17It all crossed his face before the grief hardened into disgust.
39:21Take her.
39:22She is exiled from the Prescott family.
39:25She never comes back.
39:29Two guards stepped forward and untud Paisley from the cross.
39:33Then they seized her by the arms and hauled her away between them.
39:38When begging and crying got her nowhere, Paisley suddenly went still.
39:43Her face twisted with rage.
39:45Fine.
39:46If you're all going to be this cruel, don't blame me for what happens next.
39:49She screamed toward the dark landing on the second floor.
39:53Mom!
39:54Do it!
39:54Stick to the plan!
39:55Suddenly, the sharp reach of gasoline flooded air the air.
39:59Nora stepped out on the landing above us.
40:01A lighter trembled in her hand.
40:03Behind her, a wet track ran down the stairs and across the first floor rugs.
40:10My blood went cold.
40:15She's going to burn down the castle.
40:19That's right.
40:20The tears on her cheeks weren't even dry, but her smile had gone crooked and wrong.
40:25I'm the little four of you idiots to this castle in the middle of nowhere so I could burn you
40:29alive.
40:29The pink makeover, the trucks, the workers, it was all part of the setup!
40:33Her face twisted with rage as she looked at me.
40:36Everyone would call it an accident and I'd get every dollar in Grandpa's trust.
40:39I planned everything until that mud girl ruined it!
40:43Her eyes filled with open hatred.
40:46But vampires burned too.
40:48So I'll just torch all of you instead.
40:50Same result!
40:51Paisley looked up at Nora and nodded.
40:53Nora struck the lighter and dropped it onto the gasoline-soaked runner.
41:00Flames roared up and swallowed the entire first floor in seconds.
41:04In the chaos, Paisley's loyal bodyguards helped her and Nora escape through a side emergency exit, then locked the heavy
41:11steel door behind them.
41:21The four brothers threw themselves at the main doors.
41:24Heavy chains rattled on the other side.
41:27Through a narrow window, I saw Ray checking the last lock.
41:31They must have sealed the exits while everyone watched Edmund kneel.
41:38Beyond the windows, Paisley watched the inferno, gloating.
41:42Since you all love me so much, don't worry!
41:45I'll collect your ashes when you're done cooking!
41:47And your precious real heiress?
41:49She'll be joining you soon enough!
41:51After 18 years of loving me, you picked some gross stranger just because she shares your blood?
41:56Worst brothers ever!
41:59Inside, the fire was too much, even for my family.
42:04My brother and sister were fading.
42:07My parents were weakening.
42:09Flora, what do we do?
42:13I crossed to an unremarkable slab of stone in the corner and shoved it aside, revealing a low opening, just
42:19wide enough for one person.
42:26This way!
42:27Years ago, to move soil and supplies without my parents noticing my growing garden habit, I'd secretly restored an old
42:34castle service tunnel and extended it.
42:37Tonight, it finally paid off.
42:45One by one, we scrambled into the tunnel.
42:51In the last seconds before the castle collapsed in a roar of fire and stone, we came out into the
42:57open night air.
42:58Outside, Paisley was still barking orders at her nanny mother.
43:01Call the reporters.
43:03Tell them the four Prescott heirs killed each other fighting over the inheritance.
43:07A little late for that, don't you think?
43:09A cold voice spoke directly behind her.
43:12Before she could turn, my father's hand closed around her throat and lifted her off the ground.
43:20How are you?
43:21She stared at all of us, standing perfectly alive behind him, her eyes bulging.
43:26She never got the chance to talk her way out again.
43:29Vincent moved one finger, and a thread of mist slid into the space between her brows.
43:34You love your little performances so much.
43:36Then perform your worst nightmare every single night.
43:40Paisley's gaze went glassy.
43:42She clawed at her own face, shrieking at something only she could see.
43:48In the end, Paisley was committed to a psychiatric hospital, where endless hallucinations tormented her day after day.
43:54Nora and Ray Reed were arrested.
43:56Kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, fraud, arson, attempted murder.
43:59The list ran long.
44:00We didn't forget Audrey.
44:02The team already tracing Paisley's recovered video located the basement before dawn.
44:06The real Prescott Harris came out, malnourished, terrified, but alive.
44:11Edmund wept when he saw her, and this time I understood why.
44:16Rebuilding the castle took months.
44:17We saved the original stone shell, restored the damaged rooms, and replaced what could be replaced.
44:22The collections Paisley destroyed were gone forever, but House Vesper had survived worse than one pink arsonist.
44:28Once the dust settled, I broke ground on a brand new kitchen garden, twice the size of the old one,
44:36with a proper climate-controlled greenhouse.
44:39This time my parents didn't complain.
44:41They helped.
44:42My mother even threw herself into organizing a campy, floodlit, midnight harvest competition.
44:47Vampires versus vegetables.
44:49I won.
44:50Obviously.
44:51My prize heirloom tomato was bigger than a dinner plate, perfectly round, and red enough to make half the audience
44:56hungry.
44:57I held up the trophy and looked out at the crowd, my family clapping, and the four Prescott brothers sweating
45:02miserably in the beds, bound by oath to weed my rose until their debt was paid.
45:06Everyone in my family has a favorite blood type.
45:09My favorite tomatoinily has a trophy.
45:13I looked at my restored home, my greenhouse, and my strange family cheering from the lawn.
45:18This is exactly the life I wanted.