My mother was a tiger mom, grooming me from birth to be the perfect heiress to her empire. Strict was an understatement. So, when my dad and his mistress showered me with affection and let me do whatever I wanted, I made my choice. When my parents divorced, I chose my dad. My dad used my custody to extort a massive alimony settlement from my mom and lived the high life with my stepmom. My mom warned me not to regret it. I just laughed and said, "How could Stepmom Brenda ever hurt me?" Three years after my mom moved abroad, I was assaulted and murdered by my stepbrother, my body dumped in the wilderness. When I opened my eyes again, my mom was standing there with her lawyer, facing off against my dad and his mistress. Her expression was cold as she asked me: "Lily, do you want to live with Daddy or Mommy?" I scrambled across the floor and clung to my billionaire mom's leg for dear life... 1 My name is Lily Sterling. Today is the day my parents get divorced. It is also the first day of my second life. "Lily, think about it. If you go with your mom, it's endless worksheets, private tutors, and extracurriculars you hate." "She controls who you're friends with. If you go with her, you'll just be her puppet for the rest of your life!" "Think about me and Brenda. Have we ever forced you to do anything you didn't want to do?" "If you live with Dad, you never have to take another piano lesson if you don't want to." "You can be friends with whoever you want. Brenda and I will always respect your choices." My dad, Michael, was pleading with me earnestly. Next to him, my future stepmom, Brenda, watched me with a gentle, loving gaze. In my past life, these were the words that swayed me. I chose to live with my dad and Brenda. My betrayal cost my mom dearly in the divorce. My dad had married into the Sterling family with nothing. Even the money he used to spoil his mistress came from my mom. When she found out about the affair, she wanted him to leave with nothing. But because I chose him, she softened. She couldn't bear the thought of me living in poverty. So, in the divorce, my dad got a five-thousand-square-foot villa, twenty million dollars in cash, and fifty thousand dollars a month in child support. The thought that my mom's money had funded the lifestyle of my murderers made me shake with rage. Looking at Brenda's fake smile and my dad's triumphant grin, I suddenly laughed. "Dad, what if Mom says you have to give up all the assets and leave with nothing to get custody of me? Would you still want me?" My dad's face changed instantly. Brenda's smile froze. "Victoria! Did you tell her to say that?" my dad roared at my mom. "I knew it! You only care about money!" My mom, Victoria Sterling, paused. Then she crossed her arms and said coldly: "That's right. Didn't you say you're the one who truly loves Lily?" "Leave with nothing. Sign the agreement right now, and you can have custody." Yes! I cheered internally. That's my mom, the ruthless businesswoman! In this life, I wanted to see if this "loving" father of mine would give up the Sterling fortune for his precious daughter. 2 The negotiations stalled. My dad put on a pained expression and told me Brenda was pregnant. He couldn't disregard his unborn child's future just for me. I almost laughed out loud. So, you fought for custody just so you could use my child support to raise your new kid? Dream on! My dad left with his mistress. I happily followed my mom into her Rolls-Royce. As soon as we got in, I hugged her arm and burst into tears. "Mom, I'm sorry!" Back home, seeing all the things my mom had bought just for me, I realized what a blind fool I had been. My dad and stepmom said they loved me, but their house had nothing for me. My mom never said she loved me, but every inch of this house—from my custom slippers to the grand piano—was chosen with me in mind. In this life, I was going to listen to my mom. I was going to study until my brain hurt! I wanted to see how long my dad and Brenda's "true love" would last without my mom's money. I guessed right. My dad and Brenda barely had time to sit down in their villa before the lawyers arrived. "Mr. Michael Han, Ms. Victoria Sterling has filed for asset preservation. Please vacate this property immediately!" Brenda was stunned. "You can't do this! This house is in my name!" The lawyer smiled thinly. "Oh? Did Mr. Han not tell you whose credit card he used to buy it?" My dad came from a poor rural family. He couldn't even afford college without my grandfather's sponsorship. Where would he get the money for a villa? My grandfather had liked my dad because he seemed hardworking and honest, unlike the rich playboys my mom usually dated. But wealth corrupts. After marrying my mom, my dad got lazy. He used my mom's money to buy a house for his parents, and secretly, for his mistress. He bought Brenda a villa, luxury cars, and gave her a five-thousand-dollar monthly allowance. Brenda thought she had snagged a billionaire. She was about to find out he was just a leech. 3 "Brenda, don't worry. Lily loves me best. If she wants to live with me, Victoria will have to pay up." "She'll want her precious daughter to live in luxury. The villa, the cars, the monthly allowance—it'll all come back." After comforting his pregnant mistress, my dad snuck into my school to find me. "Lily, have you forgotten how your mom treats you?" "You failed one math test, and she made you do twenty practice exams!" "When you were in the hospital, she had your homework sent over so you could study while on an IV drip." "She's a control freak!" "She just wants to turn you into a puppet." "Do you think I wanted to cheat? I did it for you, to give you a warm, loving home!" "Lily, come live with Dad. Brenda only has a son. She's always dreamed of having a beautiful daughter like you." "Live with us, and you can do whatever you want. No one will force you to study ever again." My dad pleaded with me. I sneered internally. Don't force me to study so I grow up useless? So when Mom dies and I inherit the company, you can easily manipulate me and take over? Brenda dreams of having a daughter? I wanted to vomit. In my past life, before I died, her son confessed that Brenda knew I was the sole heir. She wanted her son to get me pregnant so he could marry into the fortune. She didn't want a daughter. She wanted a daughter-in-law she could control. Fearing my dad would try something else, I pretended to hesitate and said I needed to think about it. Then I immediately told my mom. "Good. It seems the Han family is tired of the good life." My mom made a call to her legal team. The next day, Brenda received a legal letter demanding she return everything. The allowance, the jewelry, the designer bags, even the money spent on their trips to Paris and the Swiss Alps—my mom had the bank records for all of it. It was all marital property. My dad had no right to give it away. Then, all of my dad's relatives who worked in my mom's companies were fired. The Han family exploded. 4 My grandparents rushed over from the countryside that night. My grandpa slapped my dad across the face as soon as he saw him. My grandma grabbed Brenda by the hair and started hitting her. "You home-wrecker! You ruined us!" "Mom, stop! Brenda is pregnant! It's a boy!" "You're going to have a grandson!" "What?" My grandparents froze. The only thing my grandparents hated about my mom was that she hadn't given them a grandson. The Sterling family was rich, so why not have more kids? If my mom was too busy running the company, they argued, she could just hand the company over to their son to manage. Any other daughter-in-law would have been beaten for not producing a male heir. But the entire Han family depended on my mom for their lifestyle, so they never dared to say it to her face. Looking at Brenda's slight bump, my grandma pulled my dad aside. "I heard you get half the assets in a divorce." "Just divorce Victoria. Even a few hundred million is enough for our grandson." "Who told you that?" When my dad explained that the Sterling fortune was all pre-marital property and he would get nothing, my grandma nearly fainted. "So what do we do?" "Don't panic. I've thought about it. As long as Lily wants to be with me, Victoria won't let her suffer. She'll secretly give Lily money." "I'm her dad, you're her grandparents. Lily's money is our money." That's exactly what happened in my last life. Because I cried and begged to be with my dad, my mom gave him twenty million and the villa just so I wouldn't suffer. But it wasn't enough. He kept using me to ask for more. When my mom got pancreatic cancer, they tried to set me up with my stepbrother, Jason. They wanted him to marry me to secure the inheritance. But I didn't like Jason. When their plan failed, they panicked. If I married someone else, they'd lose access to the Sterling money forever. That's when they came up with the plan to have Jason rape me. They didn't expect me to fight back so hard that he'd accidentally kill me. In this life, my dad was waiting at the school gate with my grandparents, playing the victim. They told everyone who would listen that my rich, powerful mother was stealing their child. Looking at their hypocritical faces, I sneered internally. Then I put on a hesitant face and asked my dad: "Dad, are you really willing to leave with nothing just to keep me?" My dad paused, a flicker of struggle on his face. But quickly, his eyes filled with determination. "Lily, I love you more than anything!" "I'd give up everything for your happiness." "Really? That's great..." I got into the car and told the driver to take me straight to my mom's office. "Mom, I've decided. Let him leave with nothing. I'm willing to go with him."
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