When the true heiress returned, the whole family surrounded her, crying. Her body was covered in bruises, driven to bipolar disorder by my parents’ beatings. To take revenge, she deliberately smashed my gifts and tore my clothes. She even threw herself into the arms of thugs, falsely accusing me of drugging her. I hated her with every fiber of my being, until the day our house caught fire. She broke down the door and carried me out of the flames. But my brother, who had always favored me, reached out and pushed us both back into the inferno. Only then did I realize that he had been the one sowing discord between us all along. When I opened my eyes again, it was the first day of the true heiress’s homecoming. —- “Scarlett, I’m so sorry,” Chloe whispered as we lay trapped in the burning room, the flames closing in around us. As we faced our impending doom, pushed into the fire by my own brother, we finally set aside our differences and confessed the mistakes we had made. So many misunderstandings had led us to this tragic end. “If only we had tried to understand each other from the beginning,” Chloe said softly, “maybe we could have been real sisters.” The burning rafters collapsed, and a sharp piece of metal pierced my brain. In my final moments, I heard my mother’s voice, “Even if we bring Chloe back, we’ll still love you just as much, okay?” When I opened my eyes again, Mom was gently wiping away my tears, her eyes filled with guilt. Chloe? She wasn’t dead? I looked down at myself, realizing there were no flames. Somehow, I had traveled back in time to the day Chloe was brought back to our family. Seeing my troubled expression, Dad squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Come on, we’re going to pick up Chloe this afternoon. No more tantrums, alright?” In my previous life, I couldn’t accept that I wasn’t their biological daughter. I had thrown a huge fit with Mom and Dad. Blake, my brother, had taken advantage of the situation to drive a wedge between Chloe and me, deliberately provoking us both. Remembering all this, I wiped away my tears. “I want to go with you to pick up Chloe this afternoon!” Mom was surprised but smiled. “It’s a long way to that rural area. Why do you want to come?” “If the mix-up hadn’t happened, I would have been living her life. If you want me to accept Chloe, you should let me see how she’s been living with my own eyes.” Seeing my serious expression, Dad exchanged a glance with Mom. Then he laughed and patted my head. “That’s my girl. Alright, you can come with us.” Blake couldn’t make it back from his out-of-town job, so Mom and Dad took only me on the bumpy drive to the countryside. When we arrived at the village, there was only one narrow road for cars. Chloe stood at her front door, with Trisha and Derek – my biological parents – beside her. Trisha grinned widely when she saw our fancy car. “Sister, Chloe hasn’t suffered a bit with us. If you want to take her, you’ll need to compensate us properly.” Mom clearly didn’t want to linger. She took out an envelope of money and asked how much they wanted. “Not much, not much,” Derek said with a sleazy smile. “Just $80,000.” Mom’s hand paused. While that was a small sum for our family, it was an outrageous amount given the local living conditions. Even $20,000 would have been generous for raising a child here. But wanting to resolve things quickly, Mom just frowned slightly and continued reaching for the money. At that moment, I rushed forward and hugged Chloe tightly. She was covered in injuries and pushed me away in pain. Chloe pushed hard enough to make me fall onto the muddy ground with a thud. Everyone froze. The sleeve I had grabbed tore, revealing the skin underneath. Her body was covered in bruises, blue and purple, with fresh bloody wounds on her hands. Derek, realizing things were going south, angrily raised his hand to strike Chloe’s face. “You little brat! Can’t even do this one thing right. I’ve wasted all that food on you!” Chloe screamed and crouched down, covering her head. “Daddy, I’m sorry!” While everyone was still in shock, I rushed forward to shield Chloe with my body. Derek, in a rage, slapped me hard across the face. Just two blows were enough to make me cry from the pain. “Try touching my daughter again!” Dad roared, kicking Derek away just as he was about to land another blow. “It’s okay, sweetie. Mom will take you both to the hospital right away,” Mom said, pulling us close. I immediately buried my face in her embrace, crying and tattling. “Chloe’s hurt even worse! Her wounds are infected!” Mom cursed angrily, “And you dare ask for $80,000? Just wait, I’m calling the police right now!” “It’s a misunderstanding!” Trisha hurriedly tried to explain, but Mom shouted her down. “What misunderstanding? We saw it with our own eyes! You think you can take advantage of us?” After alerting the police, Mom immediately took Chloe and me to the hospital. The doctor said Chloe had severe bipolar disorder. In my previous life, Mom and Dad had brought Chloe straight home. I had run away in anger, meeting her later than Blake did. He had Chloe wear my new dress and deliberately invited my boyfriend over. When I came home to find them all getting along, I angrily flipped the table. Chloe, already on edge from coming home, had an episode due to my provocation. She tore the dress and smashed the tea set my boyfriend had brought for me. Mom, feeling guilty towards Chloe and not wanting to discipline her right away, had scolded me harshly and forced me to apologize to Chloe. That was when our enmity began. “Mom, we don’t have clothes for Chloe at home, right? I’ll go buy her some,” I said, deliberately choosing not to return home with Chloe, as Blake would have wanted. “Chloe, you can borrow my clothes when we get home. Everything except a few new pieces is fine to wear. If you’re not sure, just ask Blake.” Chloe, who had been wearing only a jacket since her clothes were torn, nodded gratefully at my thoughtfulness. Then I called Dominic. “Did Blake invite you over to our house?” “Yeah,” Dominic drawled. “He just hung up, and now you’re calling. What, eager to see me?” “Cut it out. Get over here quick, I’ll wait for you on the way.” In my past life, Dominic had warned me more than once to be wary of Blake, saying you can never truly know what’s in someone’s heart. But I thought we were family, and Blake had always looked out for me, so I hadn’t taken Dominic’s words seriously. Looking back now, I could see how calculated Blake’s every move had been. As soon as we opened the door at home, I saw Chloe arranging clothes as Blake had instructed, her bare back exposed by the dress facing the door. Leaving Dominic behind, I walked straight to Chloe and grabbed her wrist. “Who told you to wear this?” Seeing my anger, Blake’s lips curved into a smile. He thought I would argue with Chloe as he had planned, ultimately bringing Mom’s rebuke upon myself. But to his surprise, I took off my jacket and draped it over Chloe’s shoulders. Then I strode over to Blake. “Didn’t I tell you this was for my gala next week? With all those clothes, you just had to pick this one?” Blake’s smug expression froze. Before he could respond, Chloe played along, blinking innocently. “I said it looked expensive and refused several times, but Blake insisted. Scarlett, you should really scold him.” Taking the cue, I threw my bag onto the sofa in feigned anger. “What’s the meaning of this, Blake? You think I’m not good enough for this dress, so you have to make Chloe wear it?” Both girls stared at him with wide eyes. Realizing the situation was slipping out of his control, Blake quickly tried to explain. “Of course not,” he said seriously. “I just thought the dress was too revealing for the gala. I was planning to buy Scarlett a new one and let Chloe use this one for now.” I raised an eyebrow, studying him. “So where’s this new dress you bought?” Blake gritted his teeth and took out his phone, transferring me $1,000. As he looked up to speak again, I linked my arm with his. “Brother dear,” I said sweetly, “Chloe just came back and will be living and eating with me. Surely you don’t expect me to cover all the expenses?” Blake’s face darkened further. He had thought buying a dress would be enough, but now he was faced with another unexpected demand. “That’s right,” Dominic chimed in. “Didn’t you make a lot of money recently, Blake? Since Chloe just came back, you should give her at least $50,000 for living expenses. We wouldn’t want people thinking you look down on your sister from the countryside, would we?” The room fell silent. Blake turned his head to find my starry-eyed gaze on one side and Chloe’s pitiful, wronged expression on the other. In front of him, Dominic smiled provokingly. Forced into a corner, Blake could barely hold his phone steady. He let out a few dry laughs, but then he directly placed a bank card in my hand. “I see what’s going on. You’re all ganging up to test me,” he said, his brow furrowing for just a moment before he quickly hid his emotions. He pulled me into a hug. “Don’t worry, Scarlett and Chloe are both my precious sisters. If you need money, just say so. I’ve texted you the PIN. Take Chloe shopping for a phone and clothes, okay?” After hugging me, he gently patted Chloe’s head. These simple gestures were enough to dispel Chloe’s slight dissatisfaction, making her blush. “You’re not angry anymore, are you, Scarlett? I really didn’t mean any harm.” Seeing my frown, Blake apologized again with a face full of remorse. What an actor. I swallowed my disgust and gave him a sweet smile. The more someone acts like this, the more I want to see how ugly their death will be when they finally break. Because Chloe had grown up in the countryside, her education couldn’t compare to ours. Unfortunately, she couldn’t attend the same university as me. But she seemed to get along well at her school. She came home and told me about a boy in her class who was very nice to her. “His name is Adam. He saves seats for me and even stands up for me when others bully me.” I knew about this. He would go on to give her many luxury gifts and eventually confess his feelings. It was all arranged by Blake long ago. He knew Chloe came from the countryside with limited experience, and that a few small kindnesses could easily win her heart. He had specifically sent Adam to be by her side, slowly capturing her affections before tricking her into losing her virginity at a bar. Then he would blame it all on me. When it happened before, Mom had been furious, beating my legs with a stick. Dad was disappointed in me too, cutting off all my allowance and doting on Chloe even more. It was because of this incident that Chloe and I had completely fallen out in my past life. I was convinced she had orchestrated the whole sickening play to steal the love that should have been mine. But looking back now, it was clear that Blake had been the one to invite me to that bar. “You say Adam wants to invite you to a bar?” This time, I made sure to correct Chloe’s views on love early on, so she wasn’t head over heels for Adam. “Yeah, I’ve told him several times that I don’t really like those places, but he says there’s a gathering this time.” Chloe looked troubled. I chuckled softly and pulled her into my room. “Then go. I’ll come with you.” After helping her with her makeup, I instructed her, “I’ll be at the same bar. If anything happens, message me right away.” The place Adam invited Chloe to was a very seedy establishment, frequented by lowlifes. It was clearly the same group of people who had taken advantage of Chloe in my past life. Watching Chloe being plied with drink after drink, I messaged her to go to the bathroom. Then I switched clothes with her. Pretending to be drunk, I returned to the table. Because Chloe and I looked very similar and the bar was dimly lit, Adam didn’t notice anything amiss. “Chloe, stop drinking. Let me help you go rest,” Adam said, picking me up when I didn’t respond. The other thugs followed him upstairs. “This is the Task family’s little girl. I wonder how much her parents will pay to cover up this scandal.” “Bro! Stop talking and let’s get on with it. I can’t wait to taste her.” The moment I felt hands on my clothes, I grabbed Adam’s hand and broke his fingers. “You know I’m the Task family’s daughter and you still dare to try this?” Adam screamed in pain, finally realizing who I was. His face turned deathly pale. “Scarlett! Why are you here?!” Seeing my gleeful smile, he shouted even louder. “What are you waiting for? We’re in too deep now. Knock her out and let’s continue—” Before he could finish, I grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall. At that moment, the door creaked open. Dominic entered with the bar owner and ten bouncers, his face dark with anger. “Fuck! You guys—” Adam crawled up from the floor, his face covered in blood, and immediately noticed Dominic adjusting his ring. Dominic flexed his fingers. “You know there are no cameras here. Whatever happens, it’ll be your word against ours.” Compared to offending the Shao family, crossing the Task family suddenly seemed insignificant. Adam didn’t hesitate for a second. He wiped the blood from his nose and said ingratiatingly, “Mr. Shao, I was just drunk, you see.” “Oh?” Dominic’s voice grew heavier. Adam panicked and immediately sold out the mastermind. “It was all Blake’s idea! If it weren’t for him, I’d never dare mess with Miss Task!” Dominic smiled slightly and turned towards the door. “Well, Blake? What do you say?” While I was dealing with Adam, I had instructed Chloe to hide in a crowded corner. I told her to watch the entrance and start recording video as soon as Blake came in. Although she didn’t understand why I wanted her to do this, she obediently followed my instructions, honestly filming all of Blake’s actions as he entered the bar. This included footage of him slipping something into my bag. Blake gritted out a response. “Mr. Shao, you’ve misunderstood.” Adam hadn’t expected Blake to be there either. After a moment of shock, he shouted even louder. “It was you! You told me to get close to Chloe! You said if I could make her lose her virginity, you’d give me $100,000! Now you’re trying to pin all the blame on me?!” “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Blake raised his voice, his expression already showing signs of panic. Then he tried to look hurt and angry. “I’m so sorry, Chloe, Scarlett, that you had to go through this. I’ll have these lunatics arrested right away!” Adam became even more frantic. As the bouncers dragged him away, he kept shouting, “It was you! Blake, you’re trying to hurt your own sister. You’ll get what’s coming to you!” But I pretended not to hear, instead taking Blake’s hand with feigned innocence. “How could I ever doubt you, brother? Even though you suddenly messaged me to come to this bar and put something in my bag, I’m sure you’d never hurt me.” Blake’s smile was on the verge of collapse, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down repeatedly. “So,” I smiled even more brightly, “what exactly did you put in my bag, brother?” ———-This is the breakpoint———- It was a hormone-laden contraceptive pill that would cause physical reactions if taken in large quantities.
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