Chapter 1
The floating comments told me, the fake heiress, that I should suck up to the real one. Instead, I went out of my way to make her life difficult.
It all started in my previous life. The day the nanny brought the true heiress to our door was the first time I saw those messages scrolling through the air.
[The real daughter just wants to get along with her family,] one comment read. [If the fake one wasn't so jealous and hostile, she wouldn't have ended up losing everyone and everything in the end.]
Terrified, I vowed to treat Vivian Summers kindly.
When the comments mentioned that Vivian loved milk, I brought her a glass.
But after drinking it, she broke out in hives and nearly went into shock.
When she came to, Vivian looked at me with tears in her eyes.
She said, "You knew I was allergic to milk. Why did you force me to drink it? Do you hate me that much?"
My parents, who had loved me for eighteen years, hit me for the first time. Disappointment was written all over their faces.
A month later, the comments warned that Vivian was cornered by thugs from her old neighborhood. I rushed to save her.
But at the police station, the nanny produced a video of me bullying Vivian, and chat logs proving I'd hired the thugs.
My parents were devastated. Calling me cruel and vicious, they kicked me out and sent me back to the slums.
In the end, those same thugs, holding a grudge, tortured me to death.
I'd been given another chance. And this time, I would clear my name.
*****
"Hi, Claire, I'm Vivian." Vivian was dressed in plain, outdated clothes, peeking out timidly from behind our parents as she greeted me.
I opened my mouth, but I was so shocked I couldn't get a word out.
Just then, the chat flooded my vision like a tidal wave.
[Vivian is such a sweetheart. After being away from her real family for so many years, she doesn't complain. She's even made up her mind to get along with her fake sister.]
[Yeah, once Vivian gets the Summers family's top-tier education, her true potential will finally show. She'll lead the company to new heights one day.]
[Too bad the fake heiress is so clueless. Vivian actually liked her at first. She could've just tagged along and enjoyed the good life, but she kept going after Vivian out of jealousy.
[In the end, her high-society parents got sick of her and tossed her back into the slums, and she ended up with nobody on her side.]
It was at that moment that I finally knew for sure. I'd been back from the future.
In my previous life, the real heiress came knocking at our door.
She explained that twenty years ago, the nanny and my parents had accidentally swapped the babies, and she even brought the DNA test results to prove it.
Still reeling from the shock, I caught sight of those floating chat messages, almost as if they were predicting what was coming next.
They said I'd constantly go against Vivian, and in the end, I'd reap what I sow.
So, I swore to myself that I was determined to do my best to get along with Vivian.
According to the chat, Vivian loved milk, but growing up, she'd never had the chance to drink it because her family was broke.
Trying to be nice, I warmed up some milk and brought it over to her.
Little did I know that after she drank it, she broke out in hives, started puking nonstop, and ended up in the ER.
My nanny-mom begged me with a heart-wrenching cry.
She said, "Claire, you're my daughter, but Vivian is the child I've cherished for so many years. Please, don't hate her. If you have to blame someone, blame me. Please don't hurt my child."
When Vivian finally woke up, she shrank into our parents' arms, her eyes filled with fear of me.
She said, "I'm allergic to milk. Why did you make me drink it, Claire? I won't go to the press conference tomorrow, isn't that enough? I never wanted you gone. I want to be with Mom and Dad."
My mom was so disappointed she couldn't hold back anymore, and for the first time, she slapped me.
My dad didn't even spare me a glance, and the very next day, he made it public that the Summers family had finally found their real heiress.
After that, I never dared to give Vivian anything to eat ever again.
Then one day, the chat blew up.
[Crap, Vivian's been cornered by a bunch of street punks from the slums. If they lay a hand on her, she'll be scarred for life.]
I couldn't turn a blind eye. I rushed out of the house and dragged Vivian out from the middle of those street punks.
But when the cops showed up, Vivian, her eyes red and swollen, glared at me and demanded, "Claire, why did you hire those punks to destroy my innocence? What did I ever do to offend you?"
At first, my mom and dad refused to believe I could ever do something like that.
But then my nanny-mom showed up, exposing videos of me bullying Vivian at home, along with chat logs showing I'd contacted those street punks.
She slapped me right across the face.
"You stole Vivian's identity and her life for so many years. Not only are you ungrateful, but how could you be so cruel?" she yelled.
The cops found a video on my phone of Vivian being humiliated by those street punks, and that sealed my fate. There was no doubt I was guilty.
No matter what I said, I couldn't clear my name. My high-society parents disowned me for good.
With nowhere else to turn, I got trapped in the slums by those punks who still held a grudge, and in the end, they made sure I didn't make it out alive.
Even when I died, I still couldn't figure out why. After doing everything the chat told me and trying to get along with Vivian, I still messed everything up and ended up being hated by everyone.
This time around, I was not going to repeat my mistakes. I would get to the bottom of it all and finally get justice for myself after the way I died last time.