After my parents died, I was the baggage everyone pushed away. My aunt, Vanessa, rushed back from overseas, saw me living in a doghouse, skinny and dirty. She hugged me with tears in her eyes and promised to adopt me. I followed Aunt Vanessa home, wore new clothes, and slept in a clean, warm bed. I was grateful and swore to repay her when I grew up. Until my 18th birthday, I discovered the truth. Aunt Vanessa only adopted me for my parents' massive inheritance. While I was grieving, I heard an even more shocking secret. Aunt Vanessa's favorite daughter, Scarlett, was the fake heiress, switched at birth. I was Aunt Vanessa's biological daughter. Scarlett felt guilty for stealing my life. She left without a word but died in a car accident. Aunt Vanessa cursed me: "I should have strangled you at birth! You jinx! You killed Scarlett!" My biological brother, Julian, sent me to a remote Cliffside Manor and ordered everyone to ignore me. He said coldly: "Scarlett died alone. This is your karma." Three years in the manor, I went insane. Finally, hallucinating, I stepped off the edge of the roof. Opening my eyes, I was kneeling before my grandmother's memorial. The lawyer said Aunt Vanessa wanted to adopt me. Pale-faced, I suddenly spoke. "I won't go with her." Chapter 1 The whispers in the funeral hall vanished instantly. Aunt Vanessa turned her head sharply, looking at me in disbelief. "What did you say?" My grandmother's lawyer remained calm. He smoothed things over with Vanessa and took me to a quiet corner. He squatted down, asking patiently. "Jade, can you tell me why?" I looked down at my toes. In my past life, for the sake of the inheritance, Vanessa didn't treat me badly. Once we bonded, the family treated me like their own. We lived noisily but happily until I was eighteen. Until the truth exploded, and Scarlett died. Everything changed. Vanessa hated me to the bone. My biological brother, Julian Vance, looked at me with disgust. After Scarlett's funeral, he pulled me out of school. He sent me to the Cliffside Manor, a place with nothing but birds. The servants were like robots, ignoring my existence. Whether I cried, screamed, or smashed things. They had no reaction. In those three years, I was driven mad. Thinking of the pain of falling, I shivered. Since I wouldn't speak, the lawyer tried to reason with me in a way a child would understand. "You are a minor. You need a guardian. Vanessa is your closest relative, and she doesn't need your money." "If you go with other relatives, they might fight over your parents' inheritance later." I went silent. Looking up, other relatives were peeking at me from behind the curtains. Meeting my eyes, they flashed fake smiles. An ignorant child with a huge inheritance was a piece of fat meat without an owner. I finally compromised. In the car, Vanessa held a grudge. "Sit in the front. You smell. Don't dirty my back seat." I looked at my clothes. Clean, neat, not a speck of mud. Wordless, I climbed into the passenger seat, curling my legs carefully. Chapter 2 I was adopted by the Vance family, just like in my past life. Materially, I wasn't mistreated. But emotionally, I was ignored. After a while, seeing I was well-behaved, Vanessa's attitude softened. Scarlett was lively and fearless. I wanted to avoid this family, so I stayed away. But every morning, little six-year-old Scarlett banged on my door. Screaming like a monkey. "Jade! Wake up! Let's go play!" I rolled over, covering my ears in pain. Silence. Five minutes later, thump thump thump on the window. I got up with messy hair, full of resentment. I saw Scarlett standing on a ladder, grinning at me. Below were terrified nannies. I opened the window, trying to scare her off with coldness: "Human interaction requires boundaries. We aren't close. You crossed the line." Scarlett, the social butterfly, was only six. Her brain was empty. She didn't understand, so she replied with nonsense seriously. "What? We are eating steak today? But if it's not cooked, we'll get a tummy ache." I took a deep breath. Just as I was about to tell her to get down, someone shouted from the gate. "Scarlett!" A figure ran over, face pale seeing Scarlett so high up. Julian Vance held the ladder carefully and carried Scarlett down. He checked her frantically for injuries. Then he looked at me coldly. "This is the Vance house. You are an outsider. How dare you bully her?" Scarlett scratched him anxiously. "No! She didn't bully me! I came to play with her!" Julian paused. The nanny explained it was Scarlett's idea. His eyes were complex. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something. I closed the window wordlessly. Maybe because of this incident. Julian didn't like me. My room was next to Scarlett's, with good lighting. Vanessa didn't skimp on me, asking the nanny to clean it up for me. But when I packed, I found the wall between the rooms broken through. The nanny was clueless and anxious. "This... we didn't know." Julian's voice came from behind, strong and non-negotiable. "Scarlett is a girl. She needs space for her things. Go to the third floor and pick a room." The third floor was empty. No life. I stood at the door, holding my suitcase. He glanced at me, tone softening slightly: "If it's heavy, let the nanny help." The nanny took it, surprised by the weight. "So light." Julian frowned, blaming: "You haven't finished packing?" I explained calmly. "I only have two sets of clothes and some junk. This is everything." Julian's eyes flickered. He hesitated. "Maybe you should stay here..." "No need. I'll move." I interrupted him. Julian was hostile towards me. He always thought I would bully Scarlett and steal her things. I found it funny. One cannot choose their birth. Blood is set. I can't change it. I never wanted to fight Scarlett for anything. So this time, I just want to live. Truth or fake heiress, it doesn't matter. This way, both Scarlett and I get what we want. Seeing my deliberate avoidance, Julian seemed to realize I found him annoying. He stopped bothering me. Chapter 3 Vanessa was satisfied with my obedience. She arranged for me and Scarlett to attend the same school. If kids were cicadas, Scarlett would be ten of them, screaming all summer. In elementary school, we were deskmates. Whenever the teacher wasn't looking, Scarlett pulled my sleeve, whispering like a thief. "Jade, let's buy candy after school. Sneak away from the driver." I kept a straight face, pretending not to hear. Scarlett got anxious and kept calling. "Jade, Jade, Jade..." Before she finished, the teacher was there. Asking grimly: "What are you two doing?" I numbly stood in the hallway with Scarlett for the whole class. Over the years, this became routine. Scarlett made noise in my ears year after year. The two months after middle school graduation were a rare vacation. Children's grades were capital for rich wives to show off. Scarlett and I both did well. Vanessa was proud in her circle. She called us over, gave us each a card, smiling: "Since exams are over, go have fun." Scarlett happily took the card to plan a graduation trip with friends. In the evening, on the balcony, only Vanessa and I remained. She sat on the rocking chair, checking grades on her phone. Her scrutinizing gaze softened under the impressive report card. "You should know, I didn't get along with your mom. I didn't plan to raise you." Vanessa said bluntly. My fingers clenched. "To be honest, if not for the inheritance, I wouldn't have taken custody. But people have feelings. I raised you like my own. When you turn 18, the inheritance will be yours, untouched." Vanessa said. I remembered she said the same thing in my past life. In the end, after Scarlett's accident, nothing counted. I exhaled deeply, calming myself. I took the card and thanked her. "Thank you, Auntie. I won't disappoint you." Vanessa nodded, looking at the cheerful Scarlett downstairs. Just as I turned, she called me. Her hair glowed in the sunset. Her face was soft, gentle like a dream. She patted my shoulder. "Jade, Auntie is proud of you too." I expected a lecture, but got this sentence. My eyes stung. In this moment, I really wanted to call her Mom. To reveal the buried truth, look into her eyes and ask: Why give your niece care, but not your own daughter? But I couldn't. I swallowed the words. Back in my room, I slid down the door and let the tears fall. Kids from rich families, like Julian, go straight into the family business after graduation. Every step planned. I knew after our trip, she would arrange the best high schools for us. A bright future for the Vance children. But Mom. I don't want to be your child anymore. Chapter 4 "Mom" was a strange word to me. I only learned the truth on my 18th birthday in my past life. Nominally, my mother was Vanessa's biological sister. They fought since childhood. Vanessa married up despite family objections, and drifted apart from her family. The year Julian was born, Vanessa was busy. The nanny, resentful over her own grandson's death, abused Julian. When Vanessa found out, Julian was one. He was delayed in walking and talking due to abuse. The Vance family was happy with the firstborn initially. But when outsiders mocked his mild autism, no one smiled anymore. Vanessa's position was fragile. Until she got pregnant again. She hoped for a healthy boy. But she gave birth to me. A girl born in disappointment. Vanessa, terrified and depressed, paid a nanny to send me to an orphanage, claiming I was stolen. The nanny, guilty, dumped me in a remote place and fled with the money. The Vances didn't look for the lost child, urging Vanessa to have another boy. That year, Julian recovered. When he called "Mom," Vanessa remembered me. When he called "Dad," making the family happy, she forgot me again. Vanessa's sister, my biological aunt (actually mom), found me in the orphanage by chance. She brought me to Vanessa, demanding answers. Vanessa opened the door, holding Julian. I was four. I remembered the beautiful door opening to a woman looking down on me. She sneered at me in her sister's arms: "This is your kid? Looks like a rat. No fortune." Auntie was furious. Because of malnutrition, I looked younger than my age. They fought. When Auntie mentioned the stolen girl, Vanessa went crazy. The unspoken truth was buried in Vanessa's harsh words. She stared at me, cold and vicious. "You short-lived ghost." I shivered, though I never met this beautiful lady before. Even being bullied in the orphanage wasn't this cold. Auntie slapped her and took me away. She never mentioned my origin again. She said I was her daughter, adopted. That year, Vanessa remembered her lost daughter. She went to the orphanage records. Coincidentally, a girl my age entered the orphanage the day I was dumped. She thought it was her daughter. So she adopted her, claiming she found her biological child. That child became Scarlett. With a son and a daughter, Vanessa stood firm in the wealthy family. Life was perfect. I became Auntie's daughter. Until she and her husband died, leaving me and a fortune to Grandma. Grandma died soon after. Custody fell to my only relative. Back to Vanessa. But this time, I had to call her Auntie. And Vanessa's curse came true. I died young. A short-lived ghost.
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