Before Grandma died, she entrusted me to my Aunt Vanessa. Vanessa looked at me with disgust and refused. Until she learned my parents left me a massive trust fund. Only then did she agree to adopt me. On my eighteenth birthday, the truth exploded. Vanessa's beloved daughter, Chloe, was the fake heiress, switched at birth. I was Vanessa's biological daughter. Chloe, crushed by guilt for stealing my life, left without a word and died in a car crash. Vanessa screamed at me: "I should have strangled you at birth! You are a curse! You killed Chloe!" My biological brother, Ethan, sent me to the remote Blackwood Manor and ordered everyone to ignore me. He said coldly: "Chloe died alone. This is your karma." For three years in Blackwood Manor, I lost my mind. In the end, driven by hallucinations, I stepped off the edge of the roof. I opened my eyes. I was back at Grandma's funeral. The lawyer was saying Aunt Vanessa was willing to adopt me. My face was pale as a ghost. I spoke. "I won't go with her." Chapter 1 The whispers in the funeral hall vanished instantly. Aunt Vanessa snapped her head toward me, disbelief written all over her face. "What did you say?" Grandma's lawyer remained calm. He smoothed things over with Vanessa and took me to a quiet corner. He knelt down to my level and asked patiently: "Hazel, can you tell me why?" I looked down at my shoes. In my past life, for the sake of the trust fund, Vanessa treated me decently. Once feelings grew, they treated me like family and stopped caring about the money. We lived noisily but happily until I was eighteen. But when the truth came out and Chloe died, everything changed. Vanessa hated me to the bone. Ethan, my own brother, looked at me with disgust. After Chloe's funeral, he pulled me out of school. He sent me to Blackwood Manor. A place with only birds and silence. The servants were like robots. They ignored me. Whether I cried, screamed, or smashed things. They had no reaction. Three years. I went from a normal girl to a lunatic. Thinking of the pain when I hit the ground, I shivered. I stayed silent. The lawyer sighed. He tried to explain in simple terms. "You're a minor. You need a guardian. Vanessa is your closest relative, and she's wealthy." "If you go with other relatives, they might fight over your inheritance later." I went silent. I looked up. The other relatives were peeking at me through the curtains. When our eyes met, they flashed fake, predatory smiles. A clueless child with a massive fortune. I was fresh meat. I compromised. Getting into the car, Vanessa was still holding a grudge. "Sit in the front. You smell weird. Don't dirty my seats." I looked at my clothes. Clean. Not a speck of dust. I said nothing. I climbed into the passenger seat and curled my legs tight. Chapter 2 Just like in my past life, I was adopted by the Sterling family. They fed me and clothed me, but offered no warmth. After a while, seeing I was quiet and obedient, Vanessa's attitude softened. Chloe was lively and fearless. I tried to avoid this family, but every morning, my door was pounded on by little Chloe. She screeched like a monkey. "Hazel! Wake up! Let's go play!" I rolled over, covering my ears. Silence. Five minutes later, thump thump thump on the window. I climbed out of bed, hair messy, full of resentment. Chloe was standing on a ladder, grinning at me with big teeth. Below her, terrified nannies held the ladder. I opened the window, trying to scare her off with coldness. "Human interaction requires boundaries. We aren't close. You're crossing the line." Chloe, the six-year-old social butterfly, blinked her empty little head. She processed my words and replied with absolute nonsense. "What? We're eating steak today? But if it's not well-done, we'll get a tummy ache." I took a deep breath. Before I could speak, someone shouted from the gate. "Chloe!" A figure sprinted over. Seeing Chloe so high up, his face went pale. Ethan carefully held the ladder and helped Chloe down. He checked her for injuries frantically. Then he glared at me coldly. "This is the Sterling house. You're an outsider. You dare bully her?" Chloe scratched his arm. "No! She didn't bully me! I went to find her!" Ethan froze. The nanny quickly explained it was Chloe's idea. He looked at me with a complicated expression, mouth opening as if to speak. I closed the window without a word. Maybe because of the ladder incident, Ethan didn't like me. My room was next to Chloe's. Great sunlight. Vanessa didn't mistreat me materially. She had the maid clean it up for me. But after I unpacked, I found the wall between our rooms had been knocked down. The maid was confused and anxious. "We... we weren't told about this." Ethan's voice came from behind, strong and non-negotiable. "Chloe needs space for her things. Go to the third floor and pick a room." The third floor was empty. Cold and lifeless. I stood at the door, holding my suitcase. Ethan glanced at me, his tone slightly softer. "If you have a lot of stuff, let the maid help you." The maid took my suitcase. She was surprised by the weight. "It's so light." Ethan frowned, accusingly. "You haven't even finished packing?" I explained calmly. "I have two outfits and some trinkets. This suitcase holds everything I own." Ethan's eyes flickered. He hesitated. "Maybe you should stay here..." "No need. I'll move." I cut him off. Ethan was hostile toward me. He always thought I would bully Chloe or steal her things. I found it funny. We can't choose our birth. Blood is set. I can't change it. I never wanted to fight Chloe for anything. This time, I just want to live. The "Real Heiress" title doesn't matter. If I stay away, maybe Chloe and I can both survive. Seeing my avoidance, Ethan seemed to realize I found him annoying. He stopped bothering me. Chapter 3 Vanessa was satisfied with my obedience. She sent me to the same private school as Chloe. If a child is a cicada, Chloe was ten cicadas screaming all summer. In elementary school, we were desk mates. Whenever the teacher wasn't looking, Chloe tugged my sleeve, whispering like a thief. "Hazel, let's buy candy after school. We can dodge the driver." I kept a straight face, pretending to be deaf. Chloe got anxious. "Hazel, Hazel, Hazel..." Before she finished, the teacher was looming over us. "What are you two doing?" I stood in the hallway with Chloe for the whole period, numb. For the next few years, this became routine. Chloe buzzed in my ear year after year. The summer after middle school graduation was a rare break. Grades are social currency for rich moms. Chloe and I both did well. Vanessa was proud. She gave us each a credit card, smiling. "Go have fun." Chloe excitedly planned a graduation trip. That evening on the balcony, only Vanessa and I remained. She sat in a rocking chair, looking at my grades on her phone. Her gaze was scrutinizing, but softened by my performance. "You know your mother and I didn't get along. I wasn't planning to raise you." Vanessa was blunt. My fingers clenched. "To be honest, if not for the inheritance, I wouldn't have taken guardianship. But people have feelings. I treat you like my own daughter. When you turn eighteen, the money is yours." She said. I remembered she said the same thing in my past life. In the end, when Chloe died, those words meant nothing. I exhaled deeply, calming myself. I took the card and thanked her. "Thank you, Auntie. I won't let you down." I turned to leave, but she called me. Her hair glowed in the sunset. Her face was soft, like a dream. She patted my shoulder. "Hazel, I'm proud of you too." I prepared myself for a lecture, but her words made my eyes sting. In that moment, I wanted to call her Mom. I wanted to dig up the truth and ask her: Why do you give kindness to your niece, but not a shred of mercy to your own daughter? But I couldn't. I swallowed the words. Back in my room, I slid down the door and cried silently. Rich kids like Ethan usually intern at the family company after graduation, their paths set. I knew after the trip, Vanessa would send us to the best high school. A bright future for a Sterling child. But Mom. I don't want to be your child anymore. Chapter 4 The word "Mom" was alien to me. In my past life, I only learned the truth on my eighteenth birthday. Officially, my mother was Vanessa's older sister. They fought constantly growing up. Vanessa insisted on marrying into a wealthy family despite her family's objections. Once she married into the Sterlings, she cut ties with her maiden family. When Ethan was born, Vanessa was busy. The nanny, grieving her own grandson, resented Ethan. Abusing a baby is easy. The Sterlings trusted the nanny who had served them for twenty years. By the time Vanessa found out, Ethan was one. Due to abuse, he couldn't walk or talk. The Sterlings, initially overjoyed by the first grandson, didn't give up on him at first. But as rumors of his autism spread, the mockery grew. Vanessa's position in the Sterling family became precarious. Then she got pregnant again. She prayed for a healthy boy. Instead, I was born. A girl born into disappointment. Terrified and depressed, Vanessa paid the nanny to send me to an orphanage, claiming I was stolen. The nanny, guilty, dumped me in a remote place instead of the designated orphanage. She took the money and ran. The Sterlings lost a child, but no one looked for her. They urged Vanessa to have another boy. That same year, Ethan started to recover. When he stumbled through his first "Mama," Vanessa remembered me. When he said "Dada," the family rejoiced, and she forgot me forever. Vanessa's sister—my biological aunt—found me by accident in an orphanage. She brought me to Vanessa's door, demanding answers. When the door opened, Vanessa was holding Ethan's hand. I was four. I vaguely remember the beautiful woman looking down at me. She sneered at her sister. "This is your child? Look at her. Thin as a monkey. No fortune in her face." My aunt was furious. They fought. When my aunt mentioned the "stolen" girl, Vanessa snapped. The unspoken truth was buried under Vanessa's cruel words. She stared into my eyes and said, word by word: "You are a short-lived ghost. A curse." I shivered. Even in the orphanage, cold and hungry, I never felt this cold. My aunt slapped her and took me away. She told everyone I was her daughter. She adopted me. That year, Vanessa finally thought of her lost daughter. She checked the orphanage records. Coincidentally, another girl the same age arrived the day I was abandoned. Vanessa thought it was me. She adopted her. She announced she found her biological daughter. That child became Chloe. With a son and a daughter, both healthy, Vanessa secured her place in the Sterling family. She lived a perfect life. I became my aunt's daughter. Until my aunt and her husband died in an accident, leaving me a massive inheritance and entrusting me to Grandma. Grandma died soon after. My guardianship fell to my only living relative. Vanessa. I circled back to her. But this time, I had to call her Aunt. And Vanessa's curse came true. I died young. A short-lived ghost.
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