As I lay weakened, I mustered just enough strength to whisper to my stepmother, “Grandpa left me a hundred million dollars. The money… the money is hidden… it’s…” Before I could finish the sentence, I drew my last breath. My stepmother burst into tears, clutching my lifeless hand. She turned to the doctor, desperation in her eyes. “You heard him, didn’t you? Bring him back! Save him, and I’ll give you half!” The doctor straightened up, his expression suddenly fierce. He spread his arms wide, as if summoning the heavens themselves, and bellowed, “Let the darkness be shattered by thunder!” A deafening crack split the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck my body with terrifying force, reducing it to a smoldering, blackened husk. Now a ghost, I stood off to the side, watching the scene unfold with a calm, amused smile. I tilted my head, gave them a little nod, and said softly, “Thanks for that.” I’d known about my stepmother’s plan to harm me for a while. She wanted to make it look like an accident—how cliché. Don’t ask me how I found out. Let’s just say… I have a little something extra. You see, I have this ability. My soul can leave my body whenever I want. As long as my body’s intact, I can return to it within two hours, no problem. So, when I learned my stepmother was plotting my end, I wasn’t scared. In fact, I was thrilled. I was so sick of pretending to get along with her. It was exhausting. So why not let her think she succeeded? I’d fake my end, slip away, and take my dad’s inheritance with me. Then I’d move abroad, leaving her with nothing but her scheming self. And just like that, my dad wouldn’t have to worry about us tearing each other apart anymore. Perfect plan, right? Except… what the hell is this doctor doing? Did he just burn my body? I watched in stunned silence as my once-gorgeous, perfectly-curvy physique went up in smoke. My stepmother was just as shocked. Her jaw dropped, and for once, she forgot to put on her fake tears. “Wait… is she charred?” The doctor scratched his head awkwardly. “Uh, yeah… sorry about that. I just learned this technique. Guess I got a little overexcited when I heard about the fifty-million-dollar reward.” I was speechless.
I stared at my burned, unrecognizable body and wanted to cry. My beautiful, flawless body—gone, just like that. Regret hit me like a freight train. But what could I do? What’s done is done. The only option now was to find a new body. Preferably someone about to gone. If I could time it right, I could slip in and take over their body just as their soul left. Even someone who’d been gone for a little while could work, as long as they weren’t… you know… rotting. Where do you find people like that? The hospital, obviously. I headed to the operating room and watched as the doctors performed surgery. Blood was everywhere—raw, messy, chaotic. When I heard one of them say, “The patient’s losing too much blood. They won’t make it,” I couldn’t help but grin. But just as I was about to celebrate, I felt someone glaring at me. I turned and saw a woman, her face streaked with tears, staring at me like I’d just kicked her puppy. “I can’t believe you’d be this happy about my end,” she said, her voice trembling. I cleared my throat awkwardly. “Well… I wouldn’t put it that way.” Her eyes widened. “Wait. You… you can see me?” “Of course I can. We’re both gone, aren’t we? Well, you’re actually gone. I’m just borrowing a body so I can come back to life.” She blinked. “Wait, are you some kind of… supernatural being?” I nodded. “Yep. So, how about this—you let me use your body. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it.” She hesitated, clearly torn. But before she could answer, the doctors’ urgent voices made the decision for her. “The pregnant woman’s heart has stopped! The baby’s still inside!” “Get the baby out now! Prepare for an emergency C-section!” The woman’s expression changed instantly. She looked at me, practically begging. “Fine! Take it! Just save my baby!” So, I slipped into her body. The moment I did, the nurse gasped. “The mother’s heart is beating again!” But then the pain hit me. It was unbearable. My whole body felt like it was being ripped apart. I couldn’t take it—I scrambled out of her body, gasping. “The mother’s heart has stopped again!” The woman turned to me, frantic. She rolled up her sleeves and shoved me back in. “The mother’s heart is beating again!” the nurse shouted. And there I was, writhing in agony, screaming, “IT HURTS! IT HURTS! OH MY GOD, IT HURTS!”
“Childbirth is the most painful thing ever. I swear, I’m never having kids in this lifetime.” I turned to Amanda and asked, “Wait… didn’t they give you any painkillers?” “Nope, no anesthesia.” “What?” “I don’t know why. The doctor just… didn’t give me any.” Her words immediately reminded me of a novel I’d read once. In the story, the heroine needed surgery, but the evil mistress of the domineering CEO bribed the doctor to skip the anesthesia. The poor protagonist ended up in so much pain that she literally gone on the operating table. Sweat broke out on my forehead. I squinted at her. “Your name… it’s not Amanda, is it?” Her big, innocent eyes blinked up at me. “How did you know?” “…Just a lucky guess.” I still remember bawling my eyes out while reading that novel. The heroine eventually came back to life and ended up with the CEO, but not before I sent the author a dozen angry messages. Amanda clutched my sleeve, her voice trembling. “Please, I’m begging you. Help me. I don’t want my baby to grow up without a mother.” I didn’t want that either… but what could I do? I wasn’t exactly in a position to promise miracles.
The moment Amanda’s soul left her body, they showed up. Thick fog rolled into the hospital room, and two figures stepped through the door. Both wore tall, old-fashioned hats. One was tall and wiry, the other short and round. Their hats had ominous phrases written on them: “Fortune Upon Sight” and “Peace Under Heaven.” I smiled and waved from my spot on the hospital bed. “Oh, Mr. White! Long time no see.” White Ghost froze mid-step, his polite smile faltering. “Melissa… you’re gone. Again?” “Well, you know how it is,” I said with a shrug. “Anyway, I just borrowed Amanda’s body for a bit. Feel free to take her now.” Black Ghost scowled. “Melissa, this isn’t how it works. Amanda’s time hasn’t come yet—her fate isn’t finished!” White Ghost sighed, his tone resigned. “You can use her body if you must, but Amanda has some unresolved attachments. You’ll have to deal with those first.” Unresolved attachments? Oh, please. It wasn’t hard to guess. A cheating husband, a homewrecker, and a baby too young to fend for itself. Classic tragic heroine stuff. I nodded knowingly. “Got it, got it. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure her scumbag husband and that mistress don’t get to live happily ever after.” White Ghost barked, “No! That’s not what I meant! You’ve already tampered with her fate, so now you’ll have to follow her destiny to its end.” I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, absolutely not.” “There’s no room for negotiation,” Black Ghost snapped. I casually inspected my nails—still flawless from before I gone. “Think about it. If I take over Amanda’s life, that means I’d have to… ugh… date her scumbag husband. Marry him. Sleep with him. You do realize what your boss would say if he found out, right?” I gave them both a pointed look. They froze, their mouths snapping shut. They were stubborn, sure, but so was I. Amanda tugged at my sleeve, her voice breaking. “Please… save my baby. I’m begging you.” “Oh, you hear that?” I said, gesturing to her. “She wants me to save her baby. You wouldn’t want me to ignore a mother’s last wish, would you?” White Ghost’s already pale face somehow turned even paler. “Melissa!” I waved cheerfully as they stormed off, their dark figures disappearing into the mist. “Don’t worry!” I called after them. “I’ll make sure her baby’s taken care of. I’ll deal with the mistress too. And as for that scumbag husband—he won’t even recognize himself when I’m done with him. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Bye-bye now!”
The pain was excruciating, but I forced myself to crawl back into Amanda’s body. The nurse barely blinked. She was so numb to the chaos that she just muttered, “The patient’s heartbeat has returned. Again.” Meanwhile, the doctor pulled the baby out of me and announced, “It’s a boy! The mother is hemorrhaging. Vital signs are dropping fast. Prep for emergency procedures!” I snapped my eyes open, grabbed his wrist, and rasped, “No need for all that. Just stitch me up, and we’ll call it a day.” The doctor froze, staring at me like I was some kind of zombie. “Bring me the baby,” I said. But the nurse holding the baby? She acted like she hadn’t heard me and started walking toward the door. Oh, hell no. Did she really think I didn’t know what was about to happen? That baby was about to be swapped out with the male lead’s mistress’s child. Do they think I’m stupid? I leaned up and shouted, “Hey! You with the baby! I’m giving you three seconds to bring him back, or I’ll drag myself out of this bed and end you.” The nurse hesitated for a moment. Then, as if she’d made her peace with the devil, she bolted for the door. “Oh, so you don’t believe me?” I growled. Adrenaline kicked in, and I shoved the doctor aside, swung my legs off the bed, and staggered toward her. Blood was pouring from my stomach, my insides threatening to spill out, but I didn’t care. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her backward. Smack! One slap. Smack! Another slap. I leaned in close, my lips curling into a twisted smile. “Do you believe me now? Or do I need to strangle you with my intestines to convince you?” The entire room froze. Everyone stared at me like I was some kind of demon. Then the chaos erupted. “Quick! Quick! The patient’s gone berserk!” It took five or six people to grab me and wrestle me back onto the bed. I pointed at the nurse, my voice cold. “I’ve got your face memorized. If anything happens to my baby, you won’t last a day in this hospital.” The doctor, hands trembling, started stitching me up. I glared at him. “Can you stop shaking? What are you so scared of? Just stitch it properly. If I end up with some hideous scar that looks like a squiggly caterpillar, I swear, you’ll regret it.” His hands shook even more. “Honestly, with nerves like that, how did you even have the guts to take a bribe to skip my anesthesia?” The needle slipped out of his hand and landed in my open wound. I smiled. “What’s wrong? Did I strike a nerve?”
After they wheeled me out of the operating room, I heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Even before I saw him, I knew who it was. And then he appeared. The male lead. Of course, he looked exactly like a walking cliché: the sharp jawline, piercing hawk-like eyes, high nose bridge, and lips so thin they practically screamed, “I’m better than you.” For years, I’d wondered what these so-called “brooding, evil CEOs” looked like in real life. Now I knew. And to my horror, it was George. My half-brother. The realization hit me like a truck. George. My tyrannical, self-absorbed, melodramatic half-brother. He strode over to my bed with that arrogant swagger of his, leaned down slightly, and said, “Amanda, this child belongs to the Lewis family. I’ll give you five million dollars. Take it, and I don’t ever want to see you again.” I stared at him, speechless. This was the same George who, back when I was still Melissa, couldn’t go five minutes without being absolutely insufferable. If I asked him to do something simple, like pass me a cup, he’d respond with, “Woman, how dare you order me around?” And if I tried reasoning with him? Forget it. The only way to shut him up was to beat some sense into him. Every time I’d smack him, he’d mutter, “Don’t underestimate a poor young man!” It was a disease. A serious one. And hitting him seemed to be the only treatment. But every time I knocked some sense into him, our dear stepmother would go ballistic. “You’ll regret this one day!” she’d scream. “George will make you pay back everything you’ve done to him, tenfold!” Meanwhile, George would stand behind her, muttering things like, “A hundredfold.” …Yeah. He’s always been like this. And now I’m supposed to believe this guy is the male lead of some tragic love story? The thought alone made me want to throw up. George wasn’t done being dramatic. “Amanda, I’m giving you one month. Get out of my sight.” Ignoring him, I grabbed the nearest doctor. “Where’s my baby?” The doctor, drenched in sweat, stammered, “W-where’s her baby?” The nurse holding the baby froze, her face blank with confusion. “Her baby? Uh… where’s her baby?” My patience snapped. My voice was ice. “You have ten minutes. Bring me my child.” The doctor practically tripped over himself as he ran out of the room, shouting, “Bring her baby! Now!” George glared at me, his face dark with anger. “Amanda, don’t push your luck!” I casually stuck a finger in my ear and yawned. “Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Can we do this in my room? You’re so loud, you’re probably scaring the other patients.”
I waved George over, motioning for him to come closer. “Hey, come here for a second.” He frowned, already looking irritated. “Woman, are you ordering me around?” Before he could finish, I sat up and grabbed him by the ear, yanking him down to my level. “Yeah, I am. And what about it? George, can you, for once in your life, act like a decent person? Your mother didn’t raise you through blood, sweat, and tears just so you could grow up to bully women, did she?” He winced and hissed in pain, bending awkwardly to avoid my grip. “What the hell are you talking about?! Do you even know what you’re doing? Don’t forget, your parents are still under my control! Your Taylor family depends on me!” I pinched his cheeks, forcing his face into a ridiculous pout. “Oh, so now you’re threatening me? Want me to shove your head in a toilet right now and see if that changes your tone?” His eyes widened, and for a second, pure terror flashed across his face. That threat? It struck a nerve. And why wouldn’t it? It wasn’t just a threat—it was a memory. Yeah, I’ve done it before. And clearly, he hadn’t forgotten. His voice cracked, and he stammered, “Y-you’re not Amanda… Amanda wouldn’t talk to me like this!” I smirked. “Oh? If I’m not Amanda, and then who am I? Look at me, George. Do you even know what I’ve been through today? Let me spell it out for you: I was on the operating table, bleeding out, and the doctor didn’t even give me anesthesia.” His confusion deepened. “Why not?” “Why not?” I sneered. “Because of your mistress, that little angel of yours who couldn’t possibly do anything wrong. George, I’m letting this one go, but if anything like this happens again, I’ll drag my body straight to your doorstep and make sure you regret it.” George staggered out of the room, his face pale and his cheek sporting a bright red handprint—five fingers, perfectly clear. The moment he stepped outside, a woman in a pristine white dress stopped him in his tracks. Emily. Amanda’s saintly little cousin. George’s so-called ture love. The pure, delicate flower who somehow managed to stay above it all, untouched by the dirt she caused. She was the root of everything. The conflicts between the male and female leads, Amanda losing her baby, Amanda’s tragic outcome during surgery—it all traced back to her. I still remember reading the novel and nearly throwing my phone across the room every time she appeared. I wanted nothing more than to jump into the story and strangle her myself. Well, looks like I finally got my chance. When the nurse handed me the baby, I didn’t even need to look twice—I knew right away this wasn’t my child. Don’t ask how I knew. I just did. Call it intuition. Call it a sixth sense. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. I sighed and leaned back. “Let’s just cut to the chase. Get a paternity test.”
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