Chapter 1
I was reborn at 14. My father asked me gently, "Do you want to stay here with your mom, or go abroad with 70 million dollars?"
In my previous life, I cried and said, "I want my mom."
Then I watched him keep a mistress and a nanny on the side, father three illegitimate kids, and parade them all in front of my mom just to humiliate her.
Mom suffered for decades, couldn't get a proper divorce, and left with nothing.
As for me? I got pushed around, mocked, went broke, and died alone overseas. My friends had to chip in for my last plane ticket home.
This time, I signed with a smile. "I'll take the 70 million."
It wasn't that I was heartless. I just finally understood—nobody in this family ever gave a damn about Mom or me.
I refused to be that weak, pathetic girl again.
This life, I'd make my own money, save myself, and call the shots.
Mom? When I was on top and she could stand on her own feet, I'd bring her home—personally.
*****
I was reborn at 14.
Dad had just come home from a board meeting, sharp in his suit with his tie perfectly straight. He sat on the sofa in his study at the Linwood Estate, a contract beside him.
I stood in front of him in my wrinkled school uniform, hair a mess. I'd just gotten back from the tutoring center—another clueless kid with no idea what was really going on.
"Vivian," he said softly.
"Your mom's been struggling emotionally. You can stay here with her, or go overseas to any school you want. When you graduate and come back, I'll let you manage part of Linwood Corporation before anyone else gets the chance."
He sounded so sincere and gentle, like some open-minded father.
"I've set aside 70 million for your time abroad. It'll go straight into your account—spend it however you want."
In my past life, standing there, I was blown away. Seventy million sounded like a fortune. It was—but now I know it was just his way of moving assets around.
Mom sat on the living room couch, eyes red, silent.
Crying, I ripped up the contract and threw the pieces at him. "I want my mom!"
Back then, I really thought I'd won.
Man, I was stupid.
That year, I thought staying with Mom was the right choice. What did I get?
Six months later, Dad shipped me overseas anyway, dumped me at Monica Hogan's house, claiming it was to "broaden my horizons" and "train me for the family business." I was the only one in that mansion with no one on my side. Even the nanny bossed me around.
Monica's twins looked sweet, but they were Dad's illegitimate kids—total brats. They fought me for the inheritance, and I'd treated them like real siblings.
And me? Eventually, nobody even remembered I was the actual Linwood heiress.
Mom stayed home alone at the Linwood Estate, doing everything she could—contacting schools, struggling through language lessons, talking to lawyers—just trying to get me back.
She still thought she had rights as Dad's wife.
Then one day, she got a legal notice. The house was being repossessed.
She refused to leave.
She sat alone in that empty living room, barely eating, just cold sandwiches. "I'm waiting for Vivian to come home."
On the phone, I heard her opening pill bottles. That was when I realized her depression was so bad she couldn't even sleep.
When I graduated at 19, my first job was mopping floors in a restaurant.
My second was washing dog cages for some rich family.
The day Mom was hospitalized, I was handing out flyers in a parking lot.
The doctor called from overseas. "She tried to jump three times last night. Without your father's authorization, we can't admit her for involuntary treatment."
I stood outside the hospital, phone to my ear, speechless.
The last time I saw her was five minutes before they took her away for cremation.
She couldn't hear me calling her name anymore.
That was when I understood—she didn't lose to Richard Linwood. She lost because of me.
The daughter she spent her whole life protecting was never strong enough.
This time, the contract sat in front of me again.
I didn't cry.
I picked up the pen and signed without hesitation—Vivian Linwood.
Dad raised an eyebrow, like he was sizing me up for the first time.
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure," I replied calmly, meeting his gaze.
I paused, then added, "As your only child, I should go out and prove myself."
I emphasized "only," making sure he heard it.
He froze for a second, then chuckled. "That's my girl. You've got spine."
I smiled too.
But mine was the smile of someone who saw through it all.
He thought I'd finally wised up and was ready to fall in line.
But I knew he was just sending me away to get a head start on bonding with his secret kids.
With me gone, he could kick Mom out and install Monica as the legitimate wife.
Too bad Mom didn't get it.
She still lived in a fantasy where he'd come back to her eventually.
She had no clue that the moment I signed that contract, we were both already out of the Linwood family.
That night, I went to my room and shut the door. The moon outside was cold and distant.
I didn't cry.
I fired up my laptop and logged into my Black Card account.
Seventy million dollars—sitting there.
I stared at the balance, then pulled out a notebook.
On the first page, I wrote: Richard Linwood's illegitimate children: Ethan Linwood, Emily Linwood. Born in Newhaven.
Richard Linwood's offshore accounts: To be investigated.
Mom's shares (wedding gift from her parents): To be investigated.
Goal: Take back everything that belongs to me and Mom within four years.
I pulled up a photo of Mom.
Her smile from when she was young was still so bright—in that old trench coat from ten years ago, grinning with that goofy innocence.
Later, she gave that coat to the nanny, saying the woman's family was struggling.
Not long after, I found it in the trash—covered in cake crumbs and muddy footprints.
This life, I was done trusting anyone.
It was not that I was heartless. I just finally see the truth—no one in this family ever truly cared about Mom or me.
Starting today, I'd use these 70 million dollars to tear the Linwood empire apart, piece by piece.