Chapter 1

My childhood sweetheart went bankrupt, and I supported him for five long years.

He lived off my wealth, yet he had the audacity to fall in love with my father’s illegitimate daughter.

To rid himself of me, he used my love as leverage, trying to force me into accepting his mistress into our family home.

The next second, I wrapped my arm around my taller, hotter, gorgeously tanned bodyguard and sneered.

"Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a paid toy."

"Serena, how can you be so cruel? Hailey is your sister! She’s suffered so much out there. How can you refuse to let her be recognized by the family and get her name on the trust fund?"

I was reborn.

My newly awakened brain slowly processed the memories of my past life. It seemed even God pitied me.

Standing before me was Julian Cole, the handsome man I had grown up with and loved since childhood.

His family’s status used to be similar to mine—both of us heirs to high society.

But then his family went bankrupt. His father committed suicide, his mother followed shortly after, leaving Julian as the sole survivor of a once-happy family.

I still remembered him kneeling before me, wrapping his arms around my waist, weeping hysterically.

He said, "Serena, I only have you left."

Out of love, and out of the pity inherent in my nature, when nobody wanted Julian, I took him in.

I not only let him live in my house but also covered all his expenses and college tuition.

I still spoiled him like the wealthy heir he used to be.

I thought we would end up together anyway, so spending money on him was just an investment in love. There was nothing to keep track of.

But I didn't realize that the man I was feeding had somehow hooked up with my father’s secret bastard daughter.

In my past life, on my twentieth birthday party, Hailey—dressed like a poor, pitiful white flower—had burst in. She cried and questioned why I was hogging her father, ruining the party and causing a scene in front of all the guests.

My father and Julian both took her side. Julian even spat vicious words at me, calling me heartless and unworthy of his love.

In the end, for Julian's sake, I compromised. That decision ended up giving my beloved grandfather a heart attack, landing him in the hospital.

And that was the exact moment my nightmare began.

Hailey conspired with my gold-digging father, Richard, and secretly poisoned my grandfather to death.

After seizing my grandfather's shares in the company, they had Julian target me, wanting to swallow my mother’s portion of the inheritance as well.

To do this, the man I had loved for half my life did not hesitate to slip slow-acting poison into my daily supplements. He even orchestrated a car accident for me, all so he could live happily ever after with my half-sister.

The day I finally learned the truth, I set a massive fire. I dragged Julian into the flames with me. All four of us burned to ashes in that inferno.

But God had mercy. He gave me a second chance at the very last second of my death.

This time, I would seize the opportunity. I would make those who killed my grandfather and coveted my family’s empire pay a painful price!

I was going to play them to death!

My mind snapped back to the present. I turned coldly toward Julian, who was shielding Hailey. I raised my hand and swung it down with all my might, slapping him hard across the face.

Julian had never been treated this way by me before. That one slap completely dazed him!

I merely curled my lips into a disdainful smirk and shook out my hand.

"Recognized by the family? Whose family? Whose trust fund?"

"I don't know how much she's suffered, but I do know you’ve been living a very comfortable life!"

"If I had raised a dog for all these years, it would at least wag its tail at me. What are you, Julian? A loyal pet? No, you're an ungrateful mutt. How dare you stand there and challenge me? Do you really think the Vance family is soft?"

After barking at him, I caught sight of my grandfather standing behind the crowd. He was looking at me with a satisfied, relieved expression. Emotion flooded over me. My eyes welled up, and I desperately wanted to run over and give him a tight hug.

But right now, the room was crawling with snakes. The guests stood around holding their champagne glasses, waiting to watch me—or any of us—make fools of ourselves.

Of course, I had to play this drama out perfectly.