I was the "fake" heiress, living a life that wasn't mine. The Vanderbilts’ biological child was actually a son. Years later, the "real" son, Julian, was brought back into the fold, and I was demoted from the cherished daughter to the charity case. But the real heir harbored dark, twisted feelings for me. In my past life, right before my engagement to another man, Julian drugged me and imprisoned me in his private villa. To possess me completely, he didn't hesitate to fabricate scandals that ruined my reputation, leaving me with nowhere else to turn. I waited until he was distracted by a commercial marriage meant to save the failing Vanderbilt empire, and I drowned myself in the villa’s bathtub. When I opened my eyes, I was ten years old again. Back to the time before the real heir had twisted into a psychopath. 1 "Riley, that’s the children's home your father sponsored in your name. Do you want to go down and take a look?" "If not, we can just go home and open your birthday presents..." "Mom! I want to go see it!" Mrs. Vanderbilt paused, clearly surprised that her usually spoiled little princess was being so sensible today. "It’s a birthday gift from Dad, after all. If I go look, Dad will be happy too!" I looked at Mrs. Vanderbilt’s youthful face and tried my best to mimic the innocence of a ten-year-old. At this point in time, I hadn't been discarded by the family yet. I hadn't suffered the torture. The person who ruined my entire previous life was currently ten years old, just like me, living inside that brick building Mrs. Vanderbilt had just pointed out. After we got out of the car, the director came out to greet us personally. I spotted him immediately. Julian stood awkwardly in the courtyard, clutching a piece of candy, looking at us with curiosity. He wasn't yet the gloomy, volatile, cruel man from my past life. Even at ten, he looked exactly like Mr. Vanderbilt—a spitting image of him in miniature form. I broke free from Mrs. Vanderbilt’s hand, hiked up my princess dress, and ran toward Julian. Under the confused gazes of the adults, I grabbed his hand. "Mom! He looks just like Dad! I want him to be my brother!" 2 Julian was brought back to the Vanderbilt estate. I didn't miss the suspicion in Mrs. Vanderbilt’s eyes. She would arrange a DNA test very soon. After all, a random orphan looking exactly like her husband screamed "illegitimate child." In my past life, an eighteen-year-old Julian was discovered by my father’s assistant working at a construction site. In that timeline, he had been adopted by a wealthy couple who ran a business. But no one knew that was the beginning of his descent into madness. The wealthy husband was a pervert with violent tendencies; he had long ago beaten his wife into infertility. Julian’s arrival just gave him a new punching bag. Later, when Julian was thirteen, the man noticed how handsome his adopted son was becoming and got twisted ideas. He tried to assault Julian while the wife was out. In the struggle, Julian stabbed the man to death. He didn't spare the wife when she returned, either. In a fit of rage and trauma, he dismembered them both. Because he was under fourteen and the circumstances were complex, he was sent to juvenile detention for three years. When he got out, he had no education and no home. He drifted for two more years before the Vanderbilts found him. He told me all of this while he kept me prisoner in my past life. He said he hated me. He hated that I stole the life that should have been his. ... Back in the present, when Father heard I brought a boy back from the orphanage, he didn't care much. If adopting a playmate made his daughter happy, fine. But when Mr. Vanderbilt saw Julian’s face, he exchanged a look with his wife. The suspicion took root instantly. Money buys efficiency. The DNA results came back the next day. Julian was biologically related to both Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt. I, however, was not. Unlike the public scandal of my past life, this time, the Vanderbilts hid the fact that I wasn't their blood. They simply announced to the public that Julian was their long-lost son. I was hailed as a "little lucky star" who had serendipitously found her brother. 3 Julian was in a daze from the moment I dragged him home to the moment he was officially acknowledged. A ten-year-old boy, suddenly told he had wealthy biological parents and a sister. The guarded look on his exquisite little face slowly melted into a beautiful smile. He would sweetly call me "Sister," hold my hand in the garden, catch butterflies for me, and comb my hair. "Riley, I'm so happy right now." He became brighter and sunnier, while I grew increasingly silent. Julian’s name at the orphanage was Xiao Yang. Mr. Vanderbilt renamed him exactly as he had in the past life: Julian. In this life, every time the Vanderbilts called his name, my scalp tingled with phantom fear. Years later, they would cooperate with their son to drug me. My last memory before the imprisonment was Mrs. Vanderbilt’s sobbing voice: "Julian, she’s a child we raised for over ten years, you..." "Mother, you said you wanted to compensate me. I only want her." I woke up from the nightmare again, gasping for air. It’s a society of laws. I couldn't just eliminate Julian. As long as he was alive, someone would eventually realize he was the Vanderbilt heir. If his return was inevitable, then I had to be the one to find him early. I had to stop him from developing that anti-social personality. I made other preparations, too. I started wearing grey and black clothes. In middle school, I put on thick, oversized glasses. The Vanderbilts doted on their regained son, gradually ignoring my existence. So, I hid my beauty as I grew up. I became withdrawn and silent, making myself transparent. 4 During the summer before high school, I used a summer camp as an excuse to find my biological mother. Julian and I weren't switched at birth in the traditional sense. My birth mother was a D-list actress who had been tricked into becoming a mistress by a scumbag. She got pregnant by accident. When she gave birth to me, her agent lied and told her it was a stillbirth, then casually abandoned me in the hospital nursery. Coincidentally, human traffickers disguised as cleaners stole the Vanderbilt’s baby boy (Julian) and tossed his ID tag onto me. Also coincidentally, Mrs. Vanderbilt had gone into premature labor and was transferred there without family around. No one paid attention to whether she had birthed a boy or a girl in the chaos. That’s how I ended up as the Vanderbilt heiress. It was also why they didn't kick me out immediately—it wasn't my fault. In my past life, before I could find my birth mother, I heard she committed suicide due to depression. All her assets were donated to charity. She was a good woman. She was the only person who could help me escape the Vanderbilts. I was terrified history would repeat itself. I was also terrified that Julian, like me, might suddenly awaken memories of the past. 5 Finding my birth mother wasn't hard. She was now a C-list celebrity named Monica Sterling. Using my identity as the Vanderbilt daughter, I managed to meet her. I told her everything about the mix-up and dragged her to get a DNA test. ... Monica held me and cried for hours. She said she often dreamed of a little girl crying for help, which was why she had been so devoted to charity—praying for her "deceased" daughter. Thankfully, in this life, we found each other. "Mom, this is money I've saved over the years. There's about two million in the account." Monica wiped her tears, surprised, and pushed the card back. "Riley, what is this?" "Mom, this isn't Vanderbilt money. "I've been teaching myself finance. I've been working as an anonymous investment consultant for some small companies. I earned this. "I want to open a company in your name." In my past life, before finding Julian, the Vanderbilts had groomed me as their heir. I had top-tier tutors teaching me business management alongside my regular schooling. When Julian returned in that timeline, I was eighteen and already known as an investment prodigy. In this life, I used the contacts in my memory to reach out to potential clients anonymously. After a few successful tips, they dropped their guard and paid high consulting fees. Everything was done via email, so no one knew I was just a fifteen-year-old kid. But anonymous consulting had a ceiling, and people were starting to investigate me. I needed a trustworthy adult to be my proxy. Reborn with knowledge of the future, it would be a waste not to do business. Monica trusted me completely. During the holiday, under my guidance, we established the company. Using my memories, I reconnected with a fraction of my old network. For now, it was enough. Soon, high school started. I said goodbye to my mother and returned to the Vanderbilt estate. It wasn't time to show my hand yet. Even with my interference, the Vanderbilts were powerful. In this city, crushing me and Monica would be as easy as crushing an ant. I needed money, power, and time to grow.
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