THE VILLAINEST AWAKENING

It was past two in the morning, and Bella was still tossing and turning in her bed. The only light illuminating her cramped room came from the cold glow of her phone screen, which displayed the final page of a wildly popular web novel. The moment she read the concluding lines—‘...and the King of C-Block was stilled forever’—a volcano of sheer fury erupted in her chest.

With a sharp gasp, she flung her phone onto the mattress.

"What utter garbage! What a pathetic excuse for a writer!" Bella yelled, her voice echoing off the empty walls. Her entire body trembled with rage. Ethan... her absolute favorite character, the sole reason she had dragged herself through five hundred agonizing chapters of this novel, had just been brutally murdered in a dark, locked cell.

She snatched the phone back, glaring at the screen as she cursed the author. "Is this writer out of his mind? You spend all this time building up a character to be this cool, god-level badass, only to have him murdered by his own best friend? Where is the logic in that?!"

But her deepest, most visceral hatred was reserved for the novel's primary antagonist: Kate Vanderbilt. Kate—the sole heiress of a billionaire empire, and the living embodiment of cruelty and arrogance.

"The entire story, this witch did nothing but turn Ethan's life into a living hell!" Bella hissed, grinding her teeth. Kate had kept Ethan as her slave and personal servant simply because his parents owed her family millions. Using that debt as a leash, Kate had systematically crushed Ethan’s soul. She had tormented him in her mansion, humiliated him in front of the entire school, and shredded his dignity to pieces in college. Day after day, she trampled his brilliance and self-respect. And the moment Ethan tried to rise, she used her immense wealth and influence to frame him for murder, throwing him into Ironwood Penitentiary—where she ultimately hired assassins to finish him off.

"What a repulsive, low-class villain. And what a trash novel!" Furious, Bella uninstalled the app. Her mood was entirely ruined, but when she glanced at the time, her heart skipped a beat.

It was 2:30 AM. Her part-time night shift at the 24/7 convenience store started at three. She was already exhausted by the relentless grind of her mundane life, and now this terrible ending had sent her blood pressure through the roof.

She grabbed her worn-out jacket, snatched her scooter keys, and stormed out of the house.

Even the biting night air did nothing to soothe Bella’s raging mind. As she navigated the deserted streets on her scooter, her thoughts remained entirely trapped inside the novel's universe. Why did they have to stab Ethan? I swear, if I could just get my hands on that Kate, I’d break every bone in her body...

Suddenly, blinding headlights flooded her vision at the upcoming intersection. An out-of-control truck was hurtling toward her at terrifying speed. Panicking, Bella slammed on her brakes, but her tires lost traction on the asphalt.

A deafening metallic crunch shattered the night—CRASH!

Bella’s body was launched into the air before crashing heavily onto the cold, hard road. Warm blood began to pool on the dark asphalt beneath her head. Her vision blurred, and the distant wail of approaching sirens gradually faded into a hollow, ringing silence. As her heavy eyes closed for the final time, a fleeting thought crossed her mind: At least I’m finally free of this pathetic life... and that garbage novel.

When Bella opened her eyes again, she didn't smell the metallic tang of blood or feel the agony of fractured bones. Instead, the delicate, luxurious scent of lavender and expensive perfume drifted into her nose.

Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. As she slowly forced them open, she froze. Above her was not the gray sky of a city street or the cracked ceiling of her tiny bedroom. Instead, she stared up at a towering, intricately carved ceiling from which hung a massive, glittering golden chandelier. The bed beneath her was so impossibly soft, it felt as though she were floating on a cloud, draped in curtains of heavy, expensive silk.

"Is this... what hospital is this? Am I dead?" Bella tried to mutter, but the voice that came out was remarkably clear, smooth, and laced with an innate, aristocratic authority.

"L-Lady Kate! You’re awake? Thank heavens!"

Hearing a trembling, terrified voice, Bella snapped her head toward the sound. Standing beside the bed was a young girl, clad in a classic black-and-white Victorian maid's uniform. The girl’s face was stark white with fear, and the silver tea tray in her hands was shaking uncontrollably.

Bella narrowed her eyes. "What did you just call me? Lady Kate? And why are you shaking like that? Do you think I'm going to kill you?"

The maid instantly dropped to her knees, looking as though her soul was about to leave her body. "P-Please forgive me, Lady Kate! I was five minutes late with your tea! Please don't send me to the dungeons! Please don't fire my family!"

Bella’s head spun. She threw back the covers and swung her legs out of bed. As her feet touched the floor, she realized she was wearing an exquisitely tailored, ridiculously expensive silk nightgown. She hurried across the room to a magnificent, floor-length golden mirror standing in the corner.

The reflection staring back at her made the ground slip from beneath her feet.

It wasn't Bella. Standing in the mirror was an breathtakingly beautiful girl with sharp, striking features and a cold, haughty gaze that radiated regal dominance. It was the exact face she had seen rendered in the web novel's official cover art and illustrations hundreds of times.

It was Kate Vanderbilt. The very villainess who had ruined Ethan’s life.

"No... no, this can't be happening..." Bella whispered, pressing her hands to her face. In the mirror, Kate did the exact same. She looked down at her palms—these were not the calloused hands of a girl who hauled heavy boxes at a convenience store. These hands were flawlessly soft, pale, and unblemished.

Suddenly, her eyes fell upon the morning newspaper resting on the bedside table. The date printed on the header confirmed her worst fears, but it was the front-page headline that made her heart stop:

"Son of the Vanderbilt Empire's Most Loyal Debtor, Ethan, Sentenced to Ironwood Penitentiary Today!"

Bella’s heart missed a beat. The impossible truth settled over her. She had died and woken up inside that cursed novel. But she wasn't the heroine, nor was she a background extra. She had become the ruthless, sadistic villainess whom she had been cursing just hours ago.

And the most terrifying part? According to the plot, today was the exact day she had used her family's influence to frame Ethan, sending him to the very cell block where he would be brutally murdered.

Bella—now Kate Vanderbilt—clenched her fists. The panic in her eyes dissolved, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp resolve. She looked down at the maid still trembling on the floor and commanded in a low, authoritative voice:

"Get up. Tell them to ready the car immediately. We are going to Ironwood Penitentiary. Now."

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