Chapter 1

In my last life, my boyfriend’s adoptive sister, Lexi, asked to borrow my jacket at a class party.

I lent it to her. The next day, she bullied another girl and pushed her off a rooftop to her death.

The security cameras didn't catch her face, but the limited-edition custom jacket she was wearing—my jacket—made me the prime suspect.

I tried to explain, but Lexi just threw herself into my boyfriend Preston’s arms, looking utterly wronged.

"Vanessa, I know you're upset that Preston pays more attention to me, but you can't just frame me like this."

Then Preston pulled out a video. The person pushing the girl off the roof and running away in a panic… it was my face, clear as day.

"Vanessa," he said, his voice laced with disgust. "You're a monster."

Consumed by grief, the victim's family pushed me out of a window to my death.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Lexi asked to borrow my jacket.

This time, I wasn't just going to say no. I was going to send Preston and Lexi straight to hell.

What they didn't know was that I am the only daughter of the Falcone family, the most powerful mafia in New York.

Chapter 1

"Lexi's just cold. It's one night. What's the big deal about letting her borrow your jacket?"

Preston's impatient voice snapped me back to reality.

The dizzying neon lights, the sharp sting of alcohol in the air.

I was in a private room at the class party.

My vision slowly focused on Preston's smug, self-righteous face.

Next to him stood Lexi, her eyes red, a look of pure grievance etched on her features.

My gaze dropped, locking onto the black custom-made trench coat in the crook of my arm.

A chill shot down my spine, like being plunged into an ice bath.

I was reborn. Back on the night that sealed my fate.

"Vanessa? What are you spacing out for?" Preston frowned and, without another word, reached out and violently yanked the coat from my arms.

"Give it here. Lexi's fragile. Do you want it on your conscience if she gets sick?"

The classmates around us immediately chimed in.

"Come on, Vanessa, you're loaded. What's one coat?"

"Everyone's watching. Don't be so cheap."

"Lexi is always so sweet. Why are you always picking on her?"

I watched as Lexi lowered her head, a flash of triumph in her eyes.

My stomach churned. The hatred from my past life erupted into a burning rage.

I shot my hand out and snatched the coat back from Preston.

"I don't like people touching my things."

Preston froze, stunned that I, who had always been so compliant, would dare to defy him in public.

Lexi's eyes immediately welled up, and two perfect tears streamed down her face.

"I'm sorry, Vanessa, it's my fault." She bit her lip, her voice trembling. "I know your clothes are expensive, so it's normal you don't want to lend them to me... Preston, just forget it. I'll be fine, I can handle the cold. Don't make Vanessa mad because of me."

She had the innocent act down to a science.

Seeing this, the other students started defending her.

"Vanessa, we're all classmates. You're being heartless."

"Yeah, besides, if Lexi and Preston hadn't invited you, none of us would want a spoiled princess like you at our party anyway..."

Their blatant hostility was ironic.

In my past life, to experience a normal college life and make real friends, I'd hidden my identity as the Falcone heiress, only saying I was from a regular rich family.

But my social life was terrible. Besides Lexi and Preston, no one wanted to hang out with me.

Only after I died did I learn it was because those two bastards had been spreading rumors about me the whole time.

They told everyone I bossed them around with my money and was physically abusive...

That's why when I was framed for bullying, not a single person spoke up for me.

Seeing I wasn't budging, Preston roughly grabbed my wrist and yanked.

"You're giving Lexi the coat today, and then you're going to apologize to her, right now!"

He used all his strength.

Caught off guard, I slammed hard into the corner of the wall. A sharp, piercing pain shot through me.

In that instant, the shattering pain of falling to my death in my past life seemed to merge perfectly with the pain I felt now.

I steadied myself and violently shook his hand off.

Then, I raised my right hand and swung with every ounce of strength I had.

SLAP!

A crisp, loud slap landed squarely on his arrogant face.

His head snapped to the side. Everyone stared at me, dumbfounded.

Preston clutched his face, his eyes red with humiliation as he stared at me in disbelief. "Vanessa! You dare hit me?!"

"I slapped an ungrateful leech, that's what," I said, my voice ice-cold as I stared him down. "Don't you forget, your tuition, your living expenses—my family pays for all of it. Since you love her so much, we're done. Go protect your precious Lexi."

The moment I said we were breaking up, Preston's face changed.

"Vanessa, what is this nonsense? Lexi is my sister, and you're her future sister-in-law. Isn't it natural for you to take care of her? I only act this way because I already see you as family!"

I curled my lip into a sneer.

"Preston, do you really take me for an idiot?"

"And let me tell you, I have no interest in being part of your family."

With that, I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

Provoked, Preston started yelling at my back.

"With that spoiled princess attitude, who else would want you but me? All you know is how to humiliate me with your filthy money! You're so high and mighty, you have no respect for anyone. You're disgusting!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't seem to feel humiliated when he was swiping my secondary card, or when he was happily accepting gifts from me that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

I pulled out my phone and called my financial assistant. "Cancel the secondary black card under my name. Immediately."

"And print out the last three years of transaction history for that card."

"Yes, every single one. Also, get the family's legal team on standby."

He felt humiliated? Fine. Then he could pay back every last cent of that humiliation.

Chapter 2

Back at my apartment, I immediately had my bodyguards pack up all my belongings and send them back to the Falcone family estate.

Preston had a key to this apartment. This time, I couldn't give them any chance to get their hands on my personal items and use them as evidence to frame me again.

Lexi always had sticky fingers.

Staring at the empty closet, the knot of unease in my stomach didn't loosen.

It wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

With Preston's knack for faking evidence, just sending my clothes away wouldn't be enough to clear my name completely.

I needed the most perfect, irrefutable alibi.

I walked into the bathroom and turned on the cold water, full blast.

Ice-cold water poured down, drenching me completely.

I shivered uncontrollably, my teeth chattering.

But I didn't stop. I stood under the freezing spray for a full thirty minutes.

Then, still in my soaking wet clothes, I walked out onto the balcony.

The late autumn New York wind cut like a knife.

I stood in that wind for two full hours.

I told myself that to avoid my fate from the last life, I had to be more ruthless than them. Even to myself.

The next morning, a splitting headache woke me up.

Just as I'd planned, I was running a high fever.

The thermometer was pushing 104°F, and every breath was a burning pain.

My consciousness fading, I pressed the emergency call button by my bed.

The family bodyguards burst through the door.

I was rushed to the top-tier private hospital owned by the Falcone family.

The diagnosis was severe pneumonia and a persistent high fever. I was rushed straight to the ICU.

Three days later, I finally woke up in a regular ward.

My body was weak, but my mind was crystal clear.

I leaned back against the pillows and looked at the 24/7 high-definition security camera in the corner of the room. A cold, satisfied smile touched my lips.

This was my perfect alibi.

No matter how clever Preston was, he couldn't accuse someone who'd been unconscious for three days of murder, could he?

That evening, the doctor finally allowed me to get out of bed.

With a bodyguard by my side, I draped a coat over my shoulders and went to the hospital garden for some fresh air.

Just then, the bodyguard's phone rang. I nodded at him, and he stepped away to take the call so as not to disturb me.

In that moment, a figure suddenly rushed toward me and shoved me hard.

Still weak from the fever, I had no strength and was thrown to the ground. My hand scraped against the pavement, a searing pain shooting through my palm.

I looked up. It was one of my classmates, Tom, a guy who was good friends with Preston.

"You murderer! How dare you hide here and live it up?!"

Tom pointed a finger at my nose, his voice cracking with rage.

"The police are looking for you all over the city! You think you can escape justice by hiding in a hospital?!"

I frowned. "I didn't do anything. Why would the police be after me?"

"You threw someone off a roof and you're playing innocent?! You're a monster, Vanessa!"

Tom's roar echoed through the quiet garden, drawing the attention of a few other patients' families nearby.

Chapter 3

"Vanessa! Come with me to the police station and turn yourself in!"

A familiar voice came from behind Tom.

Preston strode through the crowd, grabbed my arm, and started dragging me.

"You made a huge mistake, and you need to take responsibility! Stop causing trouble for everyone!"

He put on a show of righteous justice, but his eyes glinted with calculation.

I shook his hand off in disgust, like flicking away a contaminated rag.

"Don't touch me."

"I did nothing wrong. Turn myself in for what?"

Lexi followed right behind Preston, her eyes red and her face streaked with tears.

"Vanessa, just confess," she sobbed, her words a pretense of kindness. "Don't make things worse. That was a human life, you have to answer for it. If you admit what you did, we'll all ask for a lighter sentence for you."

Just then, a heart-wrenching scream erupted from the edge of the crowd.

"A life for a life!"

A gray-haired, grief-stricken middle-aged man charged forward like a madman.

His eyes were bloodshot. He pulled out a pistol and aimed it straight between my eyes.

"It was you! You bullied my daughter, and you pushed her off that roof! I want blood for blood!"

The dark steel of the muzzle seemed to radiate a deadly chill.

Screams erupted as the crowd scattered in terror.

Facing a gun that could go off at any second, I forced myself to remain calm. The composure of a mafia heiress was in my bones. I looked at the man coldly.

"Look closely. I've been in the ICU for days." I held up my right wrist, showing him the hospital band with the dates clearly printed on it. "I was never on any rooftop."

The man froze. Staring at the wristband, his gun hand began to tremble uncontrollably.

Seeing him waver, Lexi shrieked, fanning the flames.

"Sir, don't listen to her! Her family is ridiculously wealthy. Faking a medical record at some fancy private hospital would be nothing to them!"

Preston immediately stepped forward, his face a mask of pain as he backed her up.

"As her boyfriend, I'm so sorry. Vanessa has always been arrogant and bullied others at school. I even heard her bad-mouthing your daughter myself."

The onlookers, not knowing the truth, exploded into a frenzy of curses.

"Does being rich mean you can just kill people?!"

"A vicious woman like her should be executed!"

Just as the scene was about to spiral out of control, the wail of police sirens cut through the air.

Several armed officers rushed into the garden, quickly subduing the distraught father.

The lead officer holstered his weapon, pulled out a pair of cold handcuffs, and walked straight toward me.

"Miss Vanessa, you are a suspect in a premeditated murder. The security camera in the corner of the rooftop clearly captured your back and your globally limited-edition trench coat. We also have multiple eyewitnesses."

My brow furrowed.

I had that coat packed and sent back to the estate that night. How could it have been at the crime scene?

"I am a Falcone," I said, ignoring the handcuffs and staring the officer down. "You won't touch me, and I won't say a word until my lawyer is present."

Hearing the name "Falcone," the officer's face changed instantly. His outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

In New York, no one dared to disrespect the Falcone family.

But Preston let out a sneer, his voice loud and mocking.

"Officer, don't listen to her. She's just desperate and making things up. I'm her boyfriend, I know her. She's just some rich kid, not a mafia princess!"

The officer's expression turned cold again. He raised the handcuffs, about to move on me by force.

Just then, a set of urgent, authoritative footsteps approached. A powerfully built couple, impeccably dressed, appeared, flanked by more than a dozen men in black suits.

The man's eyes were sharp, his voice like ice.

"What do you think you're doing to my daughter?"