True Crime

Steven Lambert claimed my mother almost killed his wife and daughter, branding me as a sinner from birth. For twenty years, he and his family tormented me in the name of atonement. I was forced into a cruel marriage with the vile Caleb Carpenter in Cindy's place, only to suffer a tragic end. Only then did the Lamberts realize I was their daughter. Yet all this time, the very existence they believed to be a sinner enjoyed their bottomless affection and adoration.

The day cancer spread through my whole body, my family took me to court for being heartless and cruel. All because I refused to donate my kidney to the fake daughter, even though I was a perfect match. When they saw me lying in the coffin, my sister, who never liked me, said, “What a drama queen! Even got yourself a coffin this time.” Even my parents despised me and said, “If you want to die, at least cut out your kidney first and go die somewhere else. Don’t die in front of us and make us sick.” But later, when the memory extractor cut into my brain, it revealed all the times I had been tortured by that fake daughter over the years. The family that despised me went insane at that moment.

It's my fiancé's grandmother's birthday banquet. My father's adoptive daughter suddenly snatches the gift I've prepared and says loudly, "My adoptive sister is so rude. "She tried to take the gift I prepared for Mrs. Scott Senior and play it off as her own. I'll have my father teach her a lesson when we get home later." The guests start to whisper among themselves and criticize me. In the past, I would've fled. I would never have dared to retaliate. Unfortunately for her, I've been reborn. I swipe the gift from her and throw it onto the floor. "When has my family turned into something for you to brag about? You mentioned having your father teach me a lesson, right? He's just been released from jail after being there for a decade due to theft. Are you going to bring him here?"

My grandmother, Nancy Muller, was the richest woman in Asperio, and I was her only granddaughter. However, my two older brothers, David Muller and Evan Muller, let our adoptive sister, Tina Muller, steal my identity. Right before Skyrise Group's 100-year anniversary celebration began, Tina rushed to sit in the seat reserved for the heiress of the company. Pretending to sound concerned, she looked at me and said, "If it weren't for David insisting I bring you along to broaden your horizons, a broke student like you would never step foot into Skyrise Group. "Just know your place and don't cause trouble later. Otherwise, David will beat you up." In my past life, I had been intimidated by my brothers. As a result, I was timid and weak, constantly yielding to Tina. But now, I had been reborn. Watching Tina spew nonsense, I raised my leg and sent her flying. "Who the hell do you think you are? Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

On the first day Thea Storme is accepted back to her wealthy family, she signs a betting contract with the fake heiress, Clara Storme. The contract states that if Clara is able to steal from Thea nine times in a row, Thea will have to leave the Storme family on her own. Thea agrees to the bet. On the ninth time, Clara has her eye on Thea's boyfriend, who's a low-income student. She gives him two million dollars and demands that he marry into her family as a live-in son-in-law. "You want me to marry into your family? Sure." Thea raises her head in disbelief. Leonard Falkner taps a finger on the bank card. The moment he meets Thea's gaze of despair, he flashes her a comforting smile. "But I will marry into your family as Thea's husband. I might be poor, but I still have my pride. Except for the woman I love most, I won't lower my head for anyone in this world." That day, Clara cries as she runs out of the house. She even agrees to marry into the Larkin family out of spite. Leonard remains unmoved. He just watches Clara making a fool of herself coldly. But that night, Thea overhears something…

To find the missing fake heiress, my family forced me to undergo a memory extraction. They were convinced that I had bullied her for the past three years and driven her to run away. I gave a bitter smile and let them continue. As the memories surfaced one after another, the truth became clear. I was the one who had been bullied all along. My parents, overcome with guilt, clutched my hands so tightly they nearly fainted. My brother’s eyes were bloodshot, his teeth grinding until he drew blood. In their arms, I looked up in confusion and asked softly, “Who are you?”

I think Giselle Foster, the fake heiress of my family, has gotten reborn. Not only does she stop my parents from choosing one of us to stay with them, but she also secretly tells my mom that the apocalypse is coming, and that the zombies will take over the world. My biological parents choose to believe Giselle. Soon, they start borrowing money from all sources and stock up on everything as much as possible. As Giselle stands in the indestructible safe house, she looks at me smugly. "You didn't just fail to win Mom and Dad over—you'll always be inferior to me as well!" I merely smirk at her in return. After that, I pass the antidote for the zombification virus to the military. Idiots will forever be idiots even after they get reborn. Now that the apocalypse is no longer coming, I'd like to see just how these idiots are going to pay off the loan sharks.

The day my birth parents found me, the reunion banquet they threw turned into their funeral. My parents and their adopted daughter, Leila, died of food poisoning that night. The only one who survived was my older brother, Alpha Kian. He didn’t like sweets, so he never touched the cake. The cake that I handed to them myself. “So you want to take Leila’s place. “You’re just jealous because she got all our love! “She was the only one who ever accepted you, and you still killed her!” Those were Kian’s exact words as he shouted at me right outside the hospital room. From that day on, I became a sinner. To make up for it, I barely slept four hours a night and worked five jobs just to buy back the villa the rival pack seized during the chaos. However, the day I finally saved up enough, I saw my dead parents throwing a birthday party for Leila in that very villa. Kian stood among them, looking at her with a warmth I didn’t recognize. My mother said, “Isn’t today also Lily’s birthday? It’s been eight years. Maybe it’s time to forgive her.” However, Kian didn’t hesitate to refuse. “No. Even though Leila sniffed out the wolfsbane and saved you, we agreed that Lily gets ten years. “We can’t risk her ever trying to poison Leila again. Not even a day less.” I clutched the diagnosis paper from the clinic tightly and laughed through my tears. I knew I wouldn’t get to ten years. I was already dying.

After a venomous snake bites me, my husband, Daniel Dawson, injects the only antivenom into my adopted sister, Grace Winton. Before I black out, I see my parents, Daniel, and my son, Ethan Dawson, all gathered around Grace, while I lie alone on the grass, completely ignored. When I come to, my colleague shakes his head and tells me the toxin has already spread. Within 48 hours, my body will begin to rot from the inside, and I'll die in unbearable pain. I give up the conservative plan and swallow a potent painkiller instead. Over the next two days, I transfer the hospital my grandfather gave me and every asset in my name to Grace. I divorce Daniel and place both his and Ethan's hands into Grace's. When I put Grace's name on the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis treatment protocol I've spent five years developing, they finally smile, hold my hand, and tell me we're finally a real family. I stay silent and only smile at them. I wonder what their faces will look like two days later when they see my body.

When my mother finally found the real heiress, she was on her knees selling shoes on the street. And to my surprise, I recognized her—she was none other than my fiancé's first love. Determined to oust me, the fake heiress, she played her part well, putting on a daily show to make me look bad. I was content to play along, enjoying our little game, until my fiancé’s offhand remark, “Was that really necessary?" shattered my composure. Fine, I thought, “You can keep this husband and family. I’ve got better things to do—like finding my real parents.”