Chapter 1

I was the real heiress of the Vance family, but the woman who raised me, Calliope Frost, deliberately switched me with her own daughter, so I suffered years of abuse.

Calliope did all this just so her daughter, Seraphina, could enjoy the life of a rich heiress in the Vance family.

And when my real parents finally learned the truth, they waited a whole six months before coming to get me, just to protect Seraphina's feelings. That meant I had to endure even more hellish treatment.

When they finally remembered me and came to take me back to the Vance family, I was already done with them.

I just turned away, leaving them with nothing but my back.

"Sorry, but I don't have parents. I don't know you," I said coldly.

Just as I finished getting my paycheck at the restaurant and stepped outside, Calliope, who'd been lying in wait at the door, snatched the money from my hand and gave me a rough shove.

Years of malnutrition made it easy for her to push me to the ground. The gravel on the sidewalk scraped my palms, stinging painfully.

But Calliope didn't care at all. She swaggered in front of me, counting the cash right in my face, all while hurling insults.

"Did you even work properly? Why is it so little this month? Doesn't your brother need tuition money? How is this supposed to be enough?" she barked.

She ignored the pain twisting my face, screaming at me over just a handful of cash.

It was all because I was the kid she snatched, not her real daughter.

When I tried to get up, she shot me a nasty glare and sent me sprawling with another kick.

"You money pit! After all these years raising you, you're still nothing but a burden!" she spat.

My head was spinning, and for a moment, I couldn't even think straight.

Amid Calliope's endless insults, a sleek luxury car rolled up and stopped right in front of me. Out stepped a couple who looked like they belonged in a magazine.

The woman locked eyes with me and just stood there, stunned.

I couldn't move either, totally shocked.

After all, she was practically my mirror image.

"Who the hell are you to talk to my daughter like that?" the woman snapped, her eyes red with fury as she jabbed a finger at Calliope.

Then she turned to me, her face full of sorrow. "Ariadne, I'm your real mom. You're our true daughter. You belong with the Vance family."

Under Calliope's shocked and uncertain gaze, I said flatly, "Sorry, but I don't have parents. I don't know you."

The woman reached out to take my hand, but I pulled away.

I knew exactly who they were.

They were my actual parents.

After all, in my last life, they were the ones who brought me back to the Vance family, only to think I was nothing but a street rat, always defending Seraphina no matter what.

They kept saying they felt sorry for me and would make it up to me, but every single time, they never doubted Seraphina for a second, always choosing her over me.

Just because I was brought up by Calliope, they always thought I was trouble.

In the end, Calliope pushed me off a high-rise, just to protect Seraphina's spot in the Vance family.

"Ariadne, I'm so sorry I came too late. But now that I'm here, no one will ever hurt you again," my mother sobbed.

But I didn't even glance at her. Instead, I shot Calliope a firm look, my eyes unwavering.

"Give me back my money!" I demanded.

When Calliope saw the lady's face, one that looked just like mine, she totally freaked out, her hands trembling as she stuffed the cash back into my palm before making a run for it.

I grabbed my cash, got to my feet, and started to leave. The couple rushed after me, and Benedict Vance handed me the DNA test results, his tone calm but firm.

"Ariadne, you really are our daughter. The woman who raised you deliberately swapped you with her own kid, just so her real daughter could have a better life," Benedict said.

I didn't even want to glance at that pathetic DNA test.

That flimsy sheet of paper would never make them care about me.

In my last life, they knew exactly what kind of person Calliope was, but they never bothered to shield me from her, even letting her get close whenever she wanted.

All because Seraphina had said, "Why shouldn't Ariadne show her some respect? She did raise Ariadne for eighteen years, after all."

Later, when they threw a birthday party for Seraphina at the villa, Calliope just strolled right in like she owned the place. To make sure her real daughter Seraphina could keep up her perfect heiress act and stay the only Vance family princess, she pushed me right off the balcony.

As I plummeted through the air, the dizzying rush of falling overwhelmed me, but even then, I could still see them down in the garden, celebrating Seraphina's birthday.

They were all gathered around her, like she was royalty, and Seraphina just smiled as she blew out the candles.

I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the pain to hit.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back in my eighteen-year-old body. For a moment, I just stared in disbelief. Had I really been given a second chance?

Watching them relentlessly chase after me, all I felt was revulsion. I was just about to tell them off and make them leave, but I'd seriously overestimated how much strength I had left.

At this point, I'd only just escaped the Vance family's clutches. Years of mistreatment had left my body completely wrecked, and with barely anything in my stomach today, a wave of dizziness hit me hard.