Late at night, after work, my best friend Talia Caldwell and I heard cries for help coming from the alley.

Talia hurried away, while I rushed in to rescue the person.

To my surprise, the girl I saved was the daughter of Trevon Pearson, a CEO of a major corporation.

Trevon awarded me a generous annual bonus and facilitated my marriage to a wealthy heir.

Meanwhile, Talia was still living in a dingy, small, and windowless rental room in a slum.

Consumed by jealousy, she set a trap to have me killed.

When I woke up, I found myself back at the day I passed by the alley.

***

In the pitch-black alley, a woman's cries for help came.

"Evelyn, I'll go save her! You run away quickly. It's dangerous here."

My best friend Talia snatched my bag, took out pepper spray and a powerful flashlight, and ran into the alley.

I watched her figure and instinctively touched my body.

I knew that this time, both of us had been given a second chance at life.

In my previous life, resented me for not taking her along to save the person.

It caused her life to rot and decay at the bottom of society.

She had arranged to meet me under the pretense of borrowing money, and I, defenseless and carrying a child, went to meet her.

In her twisted mindset, she worked with her gambling and abusive husband.

They kidnapped me and took me to a remote warehouse.

After receiving a massive ransom...

They let scum rape me, leading to the death of both me and my child.

Even with a second chance, the memories of those scenes were vivid in my mind.

My hatred for Talia was deeply ingrained.

No amount of time could erase it.

To avenge the murder of me and my child in the past life, I couldn't afford to let her see any hint of my rebirth.

I turned and ran back home without a backward glance, lest she think I was trying to steal her glory.

This time, it was her turn to go to hell.

The next day, Trevon came to thank Talia, bringing his rescued daughter, Danielle Pearson, along.

With a group of bodyguards and servants, their presence made her less-than-500-square-foot rental look even more shabby.

Trevon immediately instructed his secretary to purchase a 3000-square-foot apartment for Talia in the city center.

He also arranged for a maid to take care of her daily needs.

"Thank you, Mr. Pearson. My best friend is in urgent need of money, so I'll have her work as my maid."

Talia looked at me with a provocative expression.

After all, in the past life, she had dreamed of crushing me like an ant beneath her feet.

Feigning surprise and gratitude, I thanked her repeatedly with a grateful expression.

Trevon asked Danielle to call Talia "sister", and from now on, Talia would be considered his goddaughter.

Upon hearing this, Talia immediately started calling him "Dad".

Danielle, who had been silent, managed a faint smile.

Though her eyes betrayed her contempt.

I wondered, Talia, if you ever find out about the Pearson family's internal dirt...

I wonder if you'll still be willing to call him "Dad".

Clothes make the man.

The first thing Talia did after her sudden rise in fortune was to drag Danielle out shopping.

Despite Danielle's reluctance, she didn't refuse and took Talia to the Grand Mall.

This mall was filled with luxury brands, with scarves costing thousands and skirts in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The interior was lavish, a place Talia had never dared to look at closely in her previous life.

She glanced back at me, who pretended to be surprised and timid.

She then sneered, "Country bumpkin, don't embarrass me today."

She clung tightly to Danielle's arm, flicked her hair, and raised her chin.

At that moment, she felt as if she was truly one of the upper-class ladies like Danielle.

But ladies from distinguished families learned various manners from a young age and always maintained good posture.

Talia, however, hunched over, with bulging excess flesh squeezed into an ill-fitting dress.

With bright makeup, she didn't notice that she looked like a clown to those around her, and she seemed to enjoy the attention.

We entered a high-end shoe store.

Talia lounged pretentiously on the sofa, ordering me to serve her.

I lowered my head, silently accepting the task, knowing that to bring someone down, you must first elevate them.

"Ouch, you're hurting me," Talia said, kicking the sales assistant who was kneeling to help her try on shoes.

I watched from behind.

The assistant was handling the shoes very gently, and they were made of soft lambskin, so there was no way they could hurt her.

Perhaps the young girl was new to the job, so blushed and trembled as she apologized to Talia.

"Stop pretending! Are you trying to act like I'm bullying you?"

Talia stood up and slapped the girl, her voice shrill.

"Do you know who I am? Is this how you treat your customers?"

The commotion quickly drew the attention of passersby.

Seeing the crowd, Talia became more arrogant. "I'm the daughter of the Pearson family and Danielle's elder sister. If you hurt me, you've insulted the entire Pearson family!

"Go get your manager. I need an explanation for today's incident."

The mall manager, having heard the commotion, was running toward her.

Talia puffed out her chest, reveling in her superiority. "So, you're the manager. No need to apologize, just give me an explanation..."

But the manager ignored her and went straight to Danielle, bowing deeply.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Pearson. It's my fault for not managing the mall properly and affecting your mood.

"Security, take this person and the sales assistant away."

Talia's face flushed with embarrassment, turning a deep shade of red. She made a move to grab the manager.

But Danielle's face remained stern, her eyes cold and her tone extremely impatient.

"Enough. You should go home now."

Breathing heavily, Talia felt humiliated.

She cursed fiercely on the way back, "Danielle is just nothing. Without me, she'd be nothing but a mess.

"How dare she embarrass me in front of so many people.

"I should have let her be raped by that man before going to rescue her."

I lowered my eyes and sent the recording to Danielle.

A few days later, Danielle announced that she was hosting a thank-you banquet for Talia.

She specifically mentioned that many single rich men from noble families would be invited.

She advised Talia to dress up well and said she might introduce Talia to suitable candidates.

Upon receiving the news, Talia likely thought of how I had been introduced to the wealthy heir Brodie Howell in my past life.

Determined to make the best impression, she hired an etiquette coach to ensure she would look her best in front of Brodie.

In this way, she could marry into a wealthy family and live the life of a high-society lady she had always dreamed of.

In that case, she would be no longer reliant on Danielle's favor.

When Talia arrived at the venue, she found that the banquet had already begun.

There was no grand welcoming ceremony as she had imagined.

Instead, a crowd had formed around a scene that was anything but pleasant.

She could somewhat hear the miserable sound.

Talia squeezed into the crowd. In the middle of the circle was a young man pinned to the wall, various numbers taped to his body.

Surrounding him were the rich men, each trying to compete to see who could throw a tennis ball more accurately.

The young man's eyes were bloodshot from the hits, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

His mouth was tightly gagged, and despite his struggles, only muffled whimpers escaped.

At that moment, Danielle held a tennis ball in her hand, contemplating which part of the man's body to aim for.

This was the true face of Danielle.

While these rich young men and girls appeared courteous on the surface, relying on their parents' powerful background.

Behind the scenes, they took pleasure in torturing those beneath them, feeling that calling the police was nothing more than just a little compensation money.

And this amount of money might not even be worth one of Danielle's casually discarded earrings.

In my past life, I had been Trevon's goddaughter, Danielle's nominal sister.

I was in a role that allowed her to vent her frustrations on me privately.

While others might have grown bored of such games.

Danielle's torment only intensified after public events where she and I attended together.

She saw me as a filthy woman unworthy of associating with her.

She used the threat of my adoptive parents' lives to let me stay and keep me silent.

I could only endure daily torments.

Talia, eager to attract attention, squeezed her way to Danielle's side and said in a high-pitched voice.

"Danielle, this game you're playing is so interesting."

Danielle chuckled lightly, "Do you want to play? Then come over here."

Talia attempted to take the tennis ball from Danielle's hand but found her wrist firmly grasped.

"I said, you come here and take over for him," Danielle said, her gaze fixed intently on Talia.

With her face paling, Talia didn't even have time to resist.

Then several bodyguards pinned her down, spreading her arms and legs out.

It was a pity that such a beautiful dress would be ruined.

Her mouth was gagged, and her eyes widened in terror.

But this was just the beginning of her nightmare.

Danielle, feeling the need for more excitement, switched the tennis ball for a knife.

Talia struggled desperately, her carefully styled hair becoming a mess.

But how could she escape? Everyone present was as merciless as wolves.

She watched helplessly as Danielle closed her eyes and threw the knife at her arm.

"Wow, it's so amazing. I hit the target perfectly on my first try."

Danielle squealed with excitement, her laughter mingling with Talia's screams.

Sitting down and shaking her champagne glass, Danielle asked, "Where should I stab next?"

"How about you, Brodie?"

Brodie? Brodie!

Talia and I both looked towards Brodie.

In my past life, I had only met Brodie after being introduced by Trevon, but this time, had the wheel of fate turned differently?

Talia's eyes widened in fury as she struggled to spit out the rag in her mouth.

She screamed desperately, "Brodie, save me."

In her mind, she was reborn and had exchanged lives.

Then everything should happen as it did in her previous life.

Brodie should fall for her at first sight and pursue her passionately.

Seeing Brodie now felt like destiny had arranged it.

After all, a prince would always save a suffering Cinderella at critical moments.

But Brodie merely lifted his gaze and glanced at her in confusion.

Then he walked straight towards me.

He handed me the knife.

"Why don't you let this young lady take over?"

Talia's face was full of disbelief. Her frantic curses made everyone uncomfortable.

Therefore, her mouth was soon gagged again.

I looked at Brodie, wondering if he was reborn too.

However, his gaze toward me was strange, showing no signs of recognition.

But why me?

Just as I was about to ask, Danielle's serious scolding came from behind.

Danielle and the wealthy heirs quickly brushed off the situation and dispersed.

Talia was helped into the hall.

As she passed by me, her eyes were filled with the same resentment as in my past life.