Chapter 1

At my birth, the driver's wife switched me with her own daughter.

Her girl grew up as the only heiress to my family's empire. I grew up digging through trash to pay for school.

On my twentieth birthday, my real parents found out the truth and brought me in as a bottom-tier intern at their company.

The fake heiress, Charlotte Grant, got scared I would take her power. So she stole my core project plan and framed me for selling company secrets.

I had just wanted to be part of the family. But no one believed me. Charlotte sent me to prison, where I got beaten to death.

With nothing but hatred in my chest, I woke up on my first day at the company.

Charlotte smiled and handed me the very file that would put me away. "Work hard, Evelyn."

This time, I was going to put that greedy woman in jail myself and take back the empire that was always mine.

*****

"Evelyn, this is the company's latest confidential file. Dad wants you to organize it for tomorrow's meeting," Charlotte said, standing over my desk in her designer outfit, looking down at me with a faint air of superiority.

She held a black folder in her hand, that unforgettable sweet smile on her lips, the one I'd take to my grave.

All around us, my coworkers whispered to each other, their eyes full of mockery, eager to watch the drama unfold.

"Poor new intern. Charlotte's really putting her in her place."

"Keep it down. I heard she's some distant, broke relative of Mr. Grant. Probably never seen the world before. Easy pickings."

I sat in that rickety old chair, looking up at Charlotte.

In my previous life, she had given me this exact file. Charlotte had me sort it out, but she secretly tucked the rival company's bottom line inside.

The next day at the meeting, the competitor's price got exposed, and Grant Holdings took a massive hit.

Charlotte put on a tearful show for everyone, sobbing dramatically as she pointed at me and claimed I'd sold company secrets to the competition for a quick buck.

The evidence was ironclad. My computer had records of the leak, and my bank account suddenly showed a fat deposit.

My parents, Richard and Helen Grant, didn't give me a chance to speak. Richard slapped me so hard I crashed to the floor, yelling that I was nothing but an ungrateful backstabber.

Helen wrapped her arms around the crying Charlotte, fussing over her like she was the only one that mattered, and didn't even bother to look my way.

In the end, Charlotte put on a show of righteousness and personally sent me to prison.

I got tortured in every way imaginable behind bars, and right before I died, Charlotte came to visit.

She leaned in close, her voice dripping with fake sweetness as she whispered the most poisonous words into my ear. "Evelyn, did you know? I was the one who wired that money to your account, and I sent those emails too.

"Blame your old man for swapping us all those years ago. Since I've enjoyed twenty years of luxury, everything in the Grant family is mine now. You? You're only good for dying."

In that cold, damp cell, I took my last breath.

This time, I looked at the file Charlotte was holding out, but I didn't bother to reach for it.

"What's the matter, Evelyn? Are you refusing to do me a favor?" Charlotte's brows knitted as she raised her voice, making sure everyone could hear.

"Charlotte gave her the task, and this newbie's already throwing attitude? Talk about not knowing her place."

"Yeah. Who does she think she is?"

The whispers around us grew louder.

I smirked suddenly.

Standing up, I took the folder with both hands, tracing my fingers lightly over its cover. "How could I possibly refuse when you ask? But..."

I paused, my eyes sweeping across the crowd before locking onto Charlotte.

"Since this is a top-secret file, shouldn't there be an official handover with signatures, like company policy says?" I went on. "You're just tossing it to me, but if anything goes wrong, I'm just an intern. I can't shoulder that kind of responsibility."

Charlotte was momentarily thrown off.

She never thought that I, the timid girl who always kept her head down and just said "yes", would actually dare to make a demand right in front of the whole office.

Charlotte's smile froze for a split second before she put on that classic wounded act. "We're sisters, aren't we? Why would I ever hurt you?

"What, you don't trust me? Dad brought you into the company to learn, and I was being nice by giving you such an important job, but now you..."

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, like she was about to cry at any second.

The coworkers around us immediately started gossiping and pointing.

"What's up with her? Charlotte's being nice, and she's still acting like she's too good for it."

"Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. She doesn't even appreciate kindness."