I was reborn at my first birthday party. Endowed with the powers of a lucky charm, I ignored my parents’ hopeful plea. In my past life, I used my abilities to help my parents become the richest people in the country. My eldest brother became a business tycoon, my second a renowned surgeon, and my third a pop superstar. Only my adopted sister, Julia, received no benefit from my powers due to our lack of a blood connection. She failed her college entrance exams at eighteen, was kidnapped at twenty, and died in an accident at twenty-five. Before she died, she tearfully said, “It’s not Mia’s fault. I was always an outsider. It makes sense she wouldn’t help me.” My entire family believed I had let her suffer out of jealousy. They imprisoned me, conducted horrific experiments to channel my luck and resurrect Julia, and tortured me until I died. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my first birthday party. My father was smiling down at me. “My darling daughter,” he cooed, “do you think Daddy should sign this ten-million-dollar project?” I blinked once, then smeared a handful of mud right across his face. 1 The entire room fell silent. I gripped another handful of wet soil from a nearby flowerpot and slapped it onto my father’s cheek. The hands holding me went rigid, his expression on the verge of crumbling. Guests exchanged uneasy glances. Only Julia, my adopted sister, had a flash of triumph in her eyes before she let out a piercing shriek and rushed forward, her face a mask of concern. “Daddy, are you okay? Oh, Mia is being such a handful!” My father wiped furiously at the mud, then shoved me into a nanny’s arms in disgust. “The mystic clearly said she had a lucky charm aura, that she was born lucky! Why is she acting like a little demon?” Julia bit her lip and whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear, “She’s been with us for a year now, and it’s not like she’s brought us that much good fortune. Maybe it’s not real?” She added, “I was taking care of her the other day, and she bit me. She’s not some child prodigy, she’s more like…” My eldest brother snorted. “A demon child is more like it.” “Mia has done nothing but torment us since she was born,” he said coldly. “Because of her, Julia has been neglected and suffered so much.” “I think this whole lucky charm thing is a scam. She’s nothing but a debt collector sent to ruin us!” My mother studied me with a frown before finally sighing. “She’s just a one-year-old. What does she know?” “Still,” she mused, “the company did go public right after she was born. Maybe throwing the mud was her way of stopping you.” My father paced anxiously. “Fine. I won’t sign the project. We’ll see if she’s really got the magic touch or not.” With that, he hurried off to change, and my first birthday party came to an abrupt, messy end. The moment my parents were gone, Julia’s mask dropped. Her eyes turned venomous as she stared at me. “You really are a lucky charm, little sister. Daddy is such a neat freak, and he didn’t even punish you. I guess blood really is thicker than water.” My eldest brother immediately walked over, casting a disdainful glance at me. “Don’t be sad, Julia. We only see you as our sister.” “If that mystic hadn’t said Mia could bring us good luck, Mom and Dad would have never had her.” “If she ever tries to compete with you for their affection, we’ll always be on your side.” My other two brothers nodded in agreement, taking Julia’s hands to comfort her. In my past life, my parents had given up on having a daughter after three sons and adopted Julia. They had a deep bond. My three biological brothers saw me as an accident, an afterthought, and treated me with absolute indifference. Because my luck never extended to Julia, they were convinced I was deliberately harming her. I was so naive then. I thought that if I just showered them with good fortune, they would finally love me. Instead, I was tortured and dismembered. Watching them now, a happy, loving family unit, I opened my mouth and let out a piercing wail. Julia shot me a cold look and raised her hand, ready to pinch me. “So annoying!” But just then, my father ran back into the room, his face alight with excitement. He swept me into his arms, interrupting her. “The lead company for that project just skipped town with the money! The entire thing was a scam!” He held me tight. “We were saved! Mia, you really are my lucky star!” 2 My father roared with laughter, ordering the butler to have a solid gold security pendant made for me. “We can’t neglect my little lucky star! From now on, the best of everything is for Mia!” My brothers and Julia stared, their eyes wide with shock. My third brother cried out, “Dad, how can you be so biased towards Mia? Julia is our sister!” Julia’s eyes reddened on cue, and she lowered her head, a picture of silent, stoic suffering. My father immediately put me down and cleared his throat. “Now, now. I’ve treated Julia like my own daughter for years. How could I be biased?” He quickly added, “Didn’t Julia have her eye on that twenty-million-dollar necklace the other day? I’ll have it delivered to the house today.” Julia’s tears vanished. She ran over to him, beaming. “Oh, Daddy, you’re the best! I was so worried that after Mia was born, you wouldn’t care about me anymore.” He stroked her hair lovingly. “Silly girl. You’ll always be Mommy and Daddy’s little princess.” She turned and shot me a triumphant smirk. I didn’t understand why Julia was so hostile towards a one-year-old, but it was clear she was determined to crush me from the start. My father often asked for my “lucky” input on his decisions, but I didn’t always oblige. Whenever they tried to make me use my luck for Julia’s benefit, I would burst into tears. And for the following month, bad luck would plague the entire family. My parents’ business would suffer. My eldest brother would be sabotaged by a competitor. My second brother would swear he saw a ghost in the hospital morgue. My third brother would think he’d been discovered by a talent scout, only to be scammed out of all his money. After this happened a few times, they noticed the pattern but couldn’t figure out the cause. I was not yet two, barely able to string a sentence together, so I just pretended not to understand them. Julia’s expression grew uglier by the day. Now, anyone would connect the family’s misfortune directly to her. The breaking point came when another of my father’s business decisions failed catastrophically, nearly bankrupting the company. Julia collapsed into tears, covering her face. “It’s me! The bad luck only affects me! It’s because Mia doesn’t like me.” “I should just leave,” she sobbed. “I can’t drag Mom, Dad, and my brothers down with me.” They all rushed to her side, their faces etched with panic. “Julia, it’s not your fault! You’re our daughter! This will always be your home!” “That’s right! If anyone’s to blame, it’s Mia! She’s stealing our good luck, that’s why everything has been going wrong!” At my second brother’s words, my mother’s gaze turned to me, full of resentment. “I wish Julia were my biological daughter. She’s so sweet and obedient, not like this little monster who’s been causing trouble since she was two.” My father made a decision. He was calling the mystic back. “He said Mia would bring us good fortune! I want to ask him why she’s been doing nothing but cursing us!” When the mystic arrived, he observed me for a long time. I pointed a chubby finger at Julia and managed one, babyish word: “Dark… dark…” My eldest brother’s face darkened. “Julia is fair and beautiful. Mia is already spouting nonsense. No wonder she’s been cursing us.” The others looked displeased, their hearts aching at the sight of Julia’s wounded expression. But the mystic stroked his beard and spoke. “This has nothing to do with Miss Mia. The source of the recent misfortune… is Miss Julia.” 3 The word had barely left his mouth before they all shouted in unison, “Impossible!” My third brother’s voice was shaking with rage. “You’re a fraud! A liar! Julia has lived with us for over a decade. How could she possibly bring us bad luck?” He looked ready to punch the man, but my father held him back. My father’s eyes were narrow and suspicious. “Master,” he demanded, “you told me my daughter would bring good fortune, but you never said Julia would be cursed. Now my entire family is suffering because of Mia. You owe me an explanation.” My mother, her eyes red, pulled Julia into a protective embrace. “Master, please, you have to do something! You have to break this curse!” The mystic simply shook his head. “Mia’s luck can only affect her blood relatives, and she is only two years old. It is likely that your attempts to force her to channel her luck for Julia have caused a backlash. It has turned your good fortune into a curse, and now Miss Julia is shrouded in a dark, malevolent aura.” He gave them a long, meaningful look. “I have said all that I can. The rest is up to you.” With that, he turned and left. Julia let out a choked sob. “I’m just an adopted daughter. I should have never been greedy for the Shaw family’s wealth. Then Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t have been cursed.” She straightened her shoulders. “It’s better to sacrifice me, so that my parents and brothers can have their good fortune back.” Her speech was so noble that, of course, they refused. They swore they would never let her suffer alone. My eldest brother’s voice was firm. “It’s not your fault, Julia. It’s Mia. She’s been biased against you from the start. We will not give in to a toddler’s whims.” My third brother added wistfully, “If only Julia were the lucky charm.” They all nodded in agreement. I wanted to roll my eyes. Julia’s gaze towards me was now laced with fear, and in private, she became even more vicious, pinching me and withholding food. But I wasn’t a real child. Whenever she hurt me, I made sure the whole family paid the price. The Shaws’ attempts to get lucky now only worked one or two times out of ten. After every failure, they would rack their brains, trying to remember if they had accidentally mentioned Julia. And so it went until I was five. My parents’ company was still floundering. My three brothers were still failures. And Julia had hit rock bottom, failing her exams so badly she couldn't even get into a community college. The night the results came out, she cried all night, the entire family gathered around to console her. When she saw me, she lunged, her sharp nails leaving red scratches on my face. “It’s all your fault! Why wouldn’t you give me your luck?” My third brother, startled, moved to stop her. “I can’t even go to college!” she shrieked. “Can’t I even take my anger out on the person who caused it? Don’t you even care about me anymore?” My parents said nothing, turning a blind eye to the scene. My eldest brother took Julia’s hand. “Don’t worry, Julia,” he whispered. “We’ll get back at her for you.” That night, my three brothers dragged me out of the house, blindfolded me, and dumped me in a dark, deserted alley. “Julia, we’re leaving her here to teach her a lesson. This is for you.” I cried out for them, but they never looked back. They left, laughing, on their way to take Julia to an amusement park. The moment the light from their car disappeared, my heart turned to ice. They wanted to punish me, but they forgot one thing. I was a lucky charm. As I stumbled out of the alley, I cashed in all the good luck I had been withholding from my family for years, all for a single wish. Moments later, a car pulled up beside me. “Whose child is this? Are you lost?” I looked up and recognized her instantly. It was Mrs. Sterling, one of the most powerful and philanthropic women in the city. Tears streamed down my face. “My brothers…” I sobbed, my voice trembling. “They’re throwing me away.”
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