Chapter 1

I'm the fake heiress blessed with extraordinary luck.

The day the real daughter came back, I packed my own bags and left.

In my last life, before the old Mrs. Pruitt died, I promised her I'd stay with the Pruitts forever, so I chose to stay.

But Narelle Pruitt used every trick she had to frame me and drive me out.

Mom and Dad were done with me.

"We never should have agreed to keep you in this family. You were always going to be an ungrateful stray we could never tame."

Donald Pruitt drove his foot into my chest.

"Narelle is the only sister I have. Wherever you crawled out of, crawl back there."

To settle the score for Narelle, they locked me in a room and starved me to death.

When I opened my eyes again, Mom, Dad, and Donald had Narelle tucked behind them.

"It's time to fix the mistake we made eighteen years ago. Narelle is our real daughter."

They don't know.

The mix-up eighteen years ago was no accident at all.

It was the old Mrs. Pruitt saving this family.

…

Narelle edged out cautiously from behind Donald.

She wore a white dress, her long hair loose over her shoulders, her face carrying a touch of hurt and fear.

"Marian Pruitt, even if I've come back, you can still stay with us. We're still family."

The scene in front of me was exactly like last time.

Back then I'd believed Narelle's words and truly loved her as my little sister.

What I got in return was her hurting herself on purpose, then turning around and pinning it on me, until Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt and Donald despised me more and more.

Oliver Pruitt looked at me, cold-eyed.

"Marian, since you're not our real daughter, it's hardly appropriate for you to keep living in this house."

Cicely Pruitt picked up the thread.

"Narelle's home now. Her place and her things should all go back to their rightful owner."

Donald watched me, guarded.

"This time I won't give you a single chance to hurt Narelle."

I froze for a second.

So I wasn't the only one who'd been reborn.

I gripped the handle of my suitcase and said quietly, "I'll go right now."

They hadn't expected me to give in so easily. Every one of them stood there stunned.

I dragged my suitcase and walked out of the Pruitt house without looking back.

Donald came to his senses and chased after me.

"Marian, wait."

He blocked my way and held out a bank card.

"Mom and Dad will put money in this account every month. Take it, live quietly out there, and don't come back to this family."

I didn't reach for it.

"I don't need it."

Donald glanced at my suitcase and his voice went cold.

"Marian, I knew you didn't really want to leave. Putting on an act so we'll beg you to stay? No wonder this card isn't good enough for you."

"What could a suitcase that small even hold? It's probably empty."

He ordered his bodyguard to snatch it away and open it in front of everyone.

Inside were only a few changes of clothes, a family photo, and the jade thumb ring the old Mrs. Pruitt had given me.

Oliver saw the photo on the ground and his eyes flickered.

"This picture…"

Cicely wavered.

"Donald, maybe we should just let Marian come home."

Just as Donald hesitated, Narelle came over, picked up the jade thumb ring, and cradled it in her palm.

"Is this what Grandmother left behind?"

"If we hadn't been switched, this ring would have been mine, wouldn't it?"

Looking at her reddened eyes, Donald slid the jade thumb ring onto her finger.

"Back to its rightful owner. It's yours now."

"That can't go to her."

Remembering the old Mrs. Pruitt's dying words, I stepped forward to take the jade thumb ring back.

The moment my hand touched Narelle's finger, she let herself fall backward with the pressure.

"Ah—"

The jade thumb ring hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

Narelle lay on the ground, trembling.

"Marian, I'm sorry, I only wanted to look at Grandmother's keepsake, I wasn't trying to take it from you…"

Donald glared at me, furious.

"Marian! Now you're not even bothering to act anymore!"

Oliver and Cicely helped Narelle up and pointed at me, cursing.

"You dare shove Narelle right in front of us. Who knows what you'd do behind our backs!"

"This family has no room for a piece of work like you. Get out, now!"

I ignored them.

I crouched down and gathered up the shards of the jade thumb ring.

The clear green jade had lost its glow.

The thing the old Mrs. Pruitt had feared most before she died had happened after all.

The Pruitt family's fortunes were about to turn.