The first day I returned to the Ashford family as their long-lost daughter, I heard the voice of our family’s guardian spirit: 【Stop your father from investing in the Westwood project. There’s an ancient tomb underneath. He’ll lose every last cent.】 I convinced my father to abandon the project and invest in the Northgate Industrial Park instead. But who could have known that the factory next to Northgate would have a toxic gas leak? Dozens of employees died overnight. My father was wiped out, financially ruined. As despair settled over our home, the guardian spirit spoke again: 【Money is fleeting. But it's a shame your mother will die in a car crash while going to borrow money from an old friend.】 I immediately stopped my mother from leaving the house. But she dodged the car crash only to die from a sudden heart attack. My father, weeping, told me she had been feeling chest pains for days. She couldn’t bear it any longer and had decided that morning to go to the hospital. The blood in my veins ran cold. By stopping her from leaving, I had sealed her fate. Overcome with grief, my father swallowed poison and died on the spot. Overnight, the only ones left were me and the adopted daughter, Bella Ashford. To pay off the debts, Bella worked three jobs a day, just so I could stay in school. Then the guardian spirit warned me again: 【Your sister is being dragged into an alley. You must save her.】 I ran as fast as I could to the location it described, but I was too late. My sister lay in a pool of her own blood, her last breath gone. 【Clara, this is all your fault. You are a harbinger of doom. You should be the one to die…】 In my despair, I leaped from a high-rise, ending my tragic life. But even as I fell, I couldn't understand. It was supposed to be the Ashford family’s guardian spirit. Why had every one of its warnings pushed my family toward utter destruction? When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I first heard the guardian spirit's voice. 【You are the true heir of the Ashford family. Your birth parents are coming to take you home.】 My hands, halfway through hauling out a bag of kitchen waste, froze. My heart hammered against my ribs. I had been reborn. In my last life, I was working my way through college in the campus cafeteria when I first heard this voice. It claimed to be the Ashford family's guardian spirit and correctly predicted several small events. That's why I trusted it when it warned me about my father's project. But it was this same spirit that led my family to ruin. This time, I didn't glance around in confusion, asking who was there. I pretended I heard nothing and quickened my pace. 【Clara, you have the Ashford blood. I know you can hear me.】 【You may not believe me now, but you will soon learn the truth…】 Before it could finish, the screech of tires cut through the air. "My daughter, my daughter—" A regal, elegantly dressed woman threw herself at me, her face streaked with tears as she pulled me into a tight embrace. "I've finally found you. My child, you've suffered so much." 【See? Now do you believe me? I am the true guardian of the Ashfords.】 I felt the warmth of my mother’s hug, a gentle current flowing through my heart, and I hugged her back. Just like last time, she didn't care that my clothes were dirty or that I smelled of garbage. I made a silent vow: this time, I would protect my family. I went home with my parents. On the way, the guardian spirit spoke again. 【There is an adopted daughter at home, but do not worry. She is a good person.】 【She knows she has been occupying your place all these years and is preparing to leave.】 Hearing these familiar words, I studied my parents' faces, but saw no hint of anything unusual. My mother felt my intense gaze and gently stroked my hair. "What is it, sweetheart?" "Mom," I asked, "do you hear someone talking?" She looked at me, then at my father, a bewildered expression on her face. She slowly shook her head. "No one is talking, dear." It was just like my past life. I was the only one who could hear the voice. The moment I stepped through the front door, I saw a girl my age, suitcase in hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "Sister, you've suffered so much," she said, her voice trembling. "For all these years, it was I who stole the beautiful life that should have been yours. Don't worry, now that you're back, I'll get out of your way immediately." She made a move to leave with her suitcase. My parents’ eyes held a trace of reluctance, but they didn’t stop her. Having lived this once before, I knew Bella wasn't just putting on a show. Her suitcase contained nothing but a few cheap sets of clothes. She genuinely felt she owed me everything. And in my previous life, after my parents died because of my trust in the spirit, it was Bella who worked three jobs to keep me in school. The memory of her brutal death flashed through my mind. I grabbed her hand, my voice filled with sincerity. "You don't have to go. You will always be Mom and Dad's daughter, and my sister." My mother wiped her eyes and pulled us both into her arms. "Clara, you are my only biological daughter. But Bella was never a replacement for you. After you were lost, we searched desperately, but we couldn't find you. Bella is the abandoned daughter of a distant relative. We only brought her home because we pitied her." I nodded. This all matched what the guardian spirit had told me. In my last life, I was skeptical at first, until it correctly predicted a few more minor events. That evening at dinner, the spirit made another prediction. 【Your father is about to spill his water glass. He will then change into his blue pajamas.】 A minute later, my father knocked over his glass. The spirit’s voice was laced with regret. 【If only you had stopped him from picking up the glass, he wouldn't have been scalded.】 It was this very sentence that convinced me last time to start using its predictions to avert disaster for my parents. But in the end, my father went bankrupt, my mother died of a heart attack, and my sister was murdered… This time, I swore I would change our fate. The next morning, I used the hundred thousand dollars my father gave me as pocket money to hire a private investigator to thoroughly look into the Westwood project. Our city wasn't a historical landmark; no dynasty had ever made it their capital. The investigator reported back: "We had a history professor survey the site. He confirmed it's virtually impossible for any ancient tombs to be there." I finally breathed a sigh of relief. A few days later, my father was beaming at the dinner table. "The Westwood deal is sealed," he announced joyfully. "The guaranteed profit is at least a hundred million." He looked at me, his eyes shining. "My daughter Clara will get seventy million, and Bella will get thirty. I won't favor one over the other." Bella immediately waved her hands. "I've already enjoyed so many years of the good life that should have been my sister's. Please, give my share to her." My mother watched us with a gentle smile, and my father roared with laughter. A warmth spread through my chest. This time, I had finally protected my family, hadn't I? The next morning, the headline of the news screamed: Major Ancient Tombs Discovered at Westwood Site; All Development Halted Indefinitely. An icy chill shot through me, plunging me into a frozen abyss. Why? Why were there suddenly tombs at Westwood in this life? There was nothing there last time. I had defied the guardian spirit, so why was my father… bankrupt again? At that moment, a scream came from the living room. "Dad! What's wrong? Are you okay?" The news had hit my father so hard he’d collapsed, the shock so great he coughed up blood. My mother and Bella frantically rushed him to the hospital. My mother cried until she fainted, and Bella stayed by his bedside for days. When my father returned, his hair had turned white overnight, but he didn't say a single word of blame to me. My chest felt tight, as if something was lodged in my throat, and I couldn't breathe. Just then, the haunting voice returned. 【Your mother is going out to borrow money tomorrow. You must not let her leave, or she will be in a car accident.】 I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms. Last time, I stopped her from leaving, and her heart gave out. This time, I would not make the same mistake. I had to save her. I knocked on her door. "Mom," I asked directly, "is your heart bothering you?" Her face was pale, but she shook her head. "I'm fine, don't worry about me… cough cough… The most important thing now is to figure out how to pay back your father's debts. The house is already mortgaged, but I worry about you and Bella…" Her eyes welled up as she took my hand. "My poor child. You just came home, and our family is ruined. I haven't been able to give you a single good day." Tears blurred my vision. "Don't say that, Mom. Just being back with you is all that matters to me. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." I immediately took out my phone and dialed for an ambulance. The spirit said the accident would happen tomorrow. If I got her to the hospital tonight, she would be safe. My mother insisted she was fine, but I was firm. "Mom, your health is the most important thing. Don't worry about the money. My… my boyfriend's family is very wealthy. I can borrow from him. You're going to be okay." She looked at me, a grateful smile on her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Clara, you are such a blessing. Having you back is the best thing that's ever happened to me…" To be safe, I rode in the ambulance with her. The entire way, my palms were slick with nervous sweat. But the journey was smooth. Nothing happened. As the hospital came into view, I finally allowed myself to relax. Suddenly, a deafening BANG! rocked the vehicle. The world spun violently. It happened again. The car crash. Before I lost consciousness, only one thought screamed in my mind: Why… why is it happening again… I tried to crawl towards my mother, but my body wouldn't obey. With a heart full of despair, I succumbed to the darkness. When I woke again, it was to the sound of my father's and sister's suppressed sobs. I forced my eyes open and turned my head. On the bed next to mine, a figure was covered by a white sheet. Mom… was gone. The blood in my veins turned to ice. Was the guardian spirit telling the truth all along? My eyes shot to my father, terrified he would do what he did in my last life. I've already lost my mother; I couldn't lose him too. Just then, he noticed I was awake. The love in his eyes was gone, replaced by bloodshot despair. "Why?" he rasped, his voice raw. "Why did you have to kill your mother?! You hate us, don't you? You hate us for losing you, so you came back for revenge! You want to destroy our family, don't you?!" Tears streamed down my face as I tried to tell him about the guardian spirit. But as the words "guardian spirit" formed on my lips, nothing came out. My father just saw my mouth moving silently. "Clara, what are you trying to do?" he demanded. "This is no time for games…" Desperate, I turned to Bella and tried to say the words again. She just stared at me, confused, and said she couldn't hear anything. "Enough!" my father roared. He lunged at me, his eyes crimson, his hands closing around my neck. "You curse! You're still lying! Once you're dead, our family will finally have peace!" A crushing pressure on my windpipe made me choke, my vision turning black at the edges. Just as I was about to pass out, Bella threw herself at him. "Dad, calm down! She's your daughter! Sister was just worried about Mom's health, that's why she sent her to the hospital! The crash was an accident!" My father's grip loosened. His eyes went vacant. "An accident… it was all an accident… The company is gone, we're bankrupt, the house, the cars, everything… and the debt collectors will be here at the end of the month… It's not her fault… so whose fault is it? Mine?!" His expression turned blank, and then he burst into a fit of insane laughter. "Yes, it's my fault! It's all my fault!" A terrible premonition seized me. I reached out to grab him, but before my fingers could touch his sleeve, he let out a chilling shriek and threw himself headfirst against the wall. My father was dead, too. Bella and I numbly went through the motions of arranging their funerals. Afterwards, she held me tight. "Sister, I'll earn the money for your tuition. You have to finish your degree." I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "No. I'm the one who destroyed our family. I should be the one to work and atone for my sins." Bella gently stroked my hair, forcing a smile. "Sister, your grades are better than mine, and you have a rich boyfriend. Only with a degree can you marry into a powerful family and change your future… Then you can restore the Ashford name. Mom and Dad would be so proud." After much hesitation, I agreed to continue my studies. But a persistent, gnawing anxiety wouldn't leave me. Remembering Bella's fate from my past life, I swallowed my pride and asked my boyfriend, Julian, to hire a bodyguard to secretly protect her. I had always been aware of the class difference between us and never asked for anything, but this time, I had no choice. The bodyguard reported to me daily. Bella's routine was simple: work and home. As I slowly started to feel at ease, the guardian spirit spoke one last time. 【Your sister will be cornered by thugs tonight. She will be killed.】 Panic seized me. I frantically dialed the bodyguard's number, but it wouldn't go through. I had no choice but to run towards Bella's workplace myself. And once again, I arrived to a scene of utter despair. Bella was lying in a pool of blood. With her last ounce of strength, she gasped, "Sister… run…"
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