Chapter 1

### 1

I was reborn. And of all things, I had swapped bodies with my golden-boy, blood-sucking brother.

In my past life, to pay for Leo’s luxury downtown apartment and his endless credit card bills, I had to take a high-paying, deadly job as a skyscraper window washer.

But my parents and Leo set a trap for me. They loosened my safety harness, causing me to plunge from the thirtieth floor.

They used my massive accidental death insurance payout to live like royalty.

They even sold off my intact organs on the black market.

By the time I was buried, I was nothing but a pile of bones.

But in this life? I will play along with their little game and throw every single one of them behind bars myself.

...

"You useless bitch, give me the money right now!"

Before I could even open my eyes, Sarah’s screeching voice pierced my ears.

I was long used to these toxic insults.

But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I froze. I was in Leo’s spacious, well-decorated bedroom. Then, I looked down.

When I pulled back my waistband and saw his male anatomy, the truth hit me like a truck.

I was reborn. And I was in my brother's body.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed outside. Something had slammed onto the floor.

I got out of bed and opened the door, only to see Leo—currently in my female body—sprawled at my feet.

His eyes widened in sheer panic. He scrambled up and grabbed my collar.

"You crazy bitch, give me my body back!" he screamed, his voice trembling.

Before I could even speak, Sarah rushed over. She grabbed Leo by the hair and yanked him backward.

"You’ve lost your mind," Sarah sneered, looking at Leo with utter disgust. "How dare you speak to your brother like that?"

Ignoring Leo's desperate struggles, she shoved him hard against the wall. "If you dare lay a finger on my precious son, I’ll make you regret being born!"

The scene was all too familiar.

In my past life, this was the exact day Sarah had beaten me to the ground.

At that time, I was just a fresh graduate making barely enough to cover my rent in a sketchy neighborhood.

But Sarah wouldn't stop hounding me for money. She wanted cash so Leo could buy thousands of dollars' worth of gifts for TikTok e-girls.

When I refused, Sarah started tearing my clothes off in public to search for cash.

Leo had sat on the sofa, watching with cold indifference.

He even pulled out his phone, filmed the whole thing, and sent it to his frat-boy Snapchat group.

To them, I wasn't family. I was just an ATM.

Thinking of this, I looked at Sarah and said coldly, "Let her go."

Then, without a second thought, I slapped Leo hard across the face.

His head snapped back, his cheek immediately flushing bright red.

I grabbed his chin, squeezing it tightly. "No money? Then don't even think about leaving this room."

He tried to fight back, but I slammed him face-first onto the carpet, pinning his hands behind his back.

I was in a man’s body now. The physical strength was intoxicating.

I looked up at Sarah, putting on Leo’s signature whiny face. "Mom, look at her! Chloe has a job now, but she refuses to help her own family. She’s such an ungrateful parasite!"

Hearing my words, Sarah’s heart melted. She quickly patted my head comfortingly.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I'll get your money." Without a shred of hesitation, she began aggressively searching Leo's pockets.

She stripped his jacket and emptied every single pocket.

In the end, she only found less than fifty bucks.

In my past life, that fifty bucks was my entire grocery budget for the month.

Because of their greed, I had to scavenge for expired food behind the local supermarket just to survive.

While I lived in agony, they lived high on my misery.

A bitter wave of anger washed over me.

"Useless trash! Only this much?" Sarah spat.

Disappointed by the small amount, she began violently pulling at Leo's shirt, ripping the collar and exposing his skin.

Watching Leo undergo this public humiliation, I sat back and watched with cold eyes, just like he had done to me.

In this life, I will make sure every single one of you pays the ultimate price.

### 2

The pocket change Sarah took from Leo didn't last long.

Since Sarah didn't have a job, she quickly turned her sights back on Leo's apartment—the run-down studio I used to rent.

It was located in the most dangerous, damp alley on the edge of the city.

I didn't want to relive those dark memories, so I waited down on the street while Sarah went up.

The walls of that building were paper-thin. Even from the street, I could hear Leo screaming and begging Sarah to leave him alone. But Sarah showed no mercy.

She ransacked the place, grabbing anything she thought was worth a dime.

But since I had been broke, she came down pretty quickly with nothing but a few cheap electronics.

Still, she had a triumphant smile on her face, like a hunter returning with prey.

She ruffled my hair and said, "My sweet boy, today is your birthday. Let's go get something nice to eat!"

Today was Leo’s birthday. It was also mine.

We weren't twins, but we shared the exact same birth date, years apart.

Our old neighbors used to say I was a lucky charm.

They said Sarah had tried for years to have a son, and right after I was born, Leo finally came along.

But Sarah would always snap back angrily, "My precious son is the only lucky charm in this house!"

Back then, I would just stand there awkwardly, enduring the pitying looks of the neighbors.

That was Sarah. She always showed her ugliest, most abusive side to me, while reserving all her maternal warmth for Leo.

Sarah bought a cheap cake and took me home.

She cooked a massive feast, all of Leo's favorite dishes.

It was a luxury I had never once experienced.

She clapped her hands, singing "Happy Birthday" to me, her eyes overflowing with love.

Looking at her, a strange, suffocating feeling filled my chest.

In my entire past life, Sarah had only celebrated my birthday once.

And that was only because it was convenient to lump my celebration in with Leo’s.

I had stood in the corner, watching Leo blow out his candles. The entire family’s attention was locked onto him.

I was just an uninvited ghost at my own party.

After I moved out, I stopped celebrating my birthday altogether.

To me, birthdays were just a painful reminder. A reminder that no one in this world loved me.

I always pretended I didn't care. But the more you pretend, the more it hurts.

Pulling myself back to reality, I blew out the candles. The melting wax looked like the tears I refused to shed.

I took a bite of the cake. The sweet vanilla frosting felt completely tasteless in my mouth.

The cake I had craved for years finally lay before me, but the joy was gone.

Perhaps the years of waiting had already killed whatever happiness I could have felt.

Suddenly, the front door burst open. Leo was back.

He grabbed the cake from the table and threw it right at my face, screaming, "You thief! You stole my life!"

I froze for a second, then laughed out loud.

Slowly, casually, I wiped the frosting from my face.

I stood up, towering over him, and looked down. "I stole your life? Do you have any proof?"

Leo had no proof. He could only scream and throw a tantrum like a toddler.

I watched his pathetic performance with complete indifference.

Losing his mind with rage, Leo pointed a shaking finger at me. "Get out of my house! Get out of my room!"

I burst out laughing. "Your room? Is there a room in this house that actually belongs to you?"

### 3

This house was bought with the money I had scraped together for years—academic scholarships, financial aid, and my grueling night shifts.

The house had three bedrooms.

I had planned for one for Leo, one for my parents, and one for me.

But Sarah had refused to sleep in the same room as Richard, demanding they sleep separately.

When I suggested sharing a room with Leo, Sarah lost her mind. She claimed Leo was a growing boy, and it was inappropriate for a sister and brother to share a room.

Instead, she forced me to share a room with Richard.

She had said so casually, "What, are you actually suspicious of your own father?"

To keep the peace, I compromised.

I gave the only bed in the room to Richard and slept on a thin cot on the floor.

But in the dead of night, I always felt someone touching me.

One night, Richard came home completely wasted.

He threw himself onto my cot, pinning me down with a sickening strength.

His hands began sliding under my shirt. In a panic, I grabbed the heavy metal lamp from the nightstand and smashed it over his head.

With a loud crack, blood began pouring down Richard's forehead.

Sarah rushed in at the noise.

Without asking a single question, she slapped me hard across the face.

She screamed that I was a whore, accusing me of seducing her husband.

Richard, of course, blamed everything on me, playing the innocent victim.

No matter how much I cried and explained, Sarah refused to believe me.

She preferred to believe a disgusting, abusive drunk over her own daughter.

Desperate, I pulled out my phone to call 91