After being brought back home by my wealthy biological parents, I discovered something strange. I could hear my adopted sister’s thoughts.

The moment I walked through the door, she stared blankly at my backpack.

"It smells so good. I really want to eat it."

I immediately took out the small cake in my bag and handed it to her. But after just one bite, she went into toxic shock and collapsed on the floor.

My brother’s eyes turned red with rage as he warned me, "Even if we’re not related by blood, I only acknowledge Grace as my sister. If anything happens to her, I won’t forgive you!"

On the day of the college entrance exam, Grace was pacing nervously outside the exam hall.

"Oh no, I forgot my eraser."

Hearing her thoughts, I quickly gave her my spare eraser.

But not long after the exam began, the proctor, my brother, found cheat sheets hidden inside the eraser.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know big sister doesn’t like me, but I didn’t think she hated me this much..."

My brother scolded me for having poor character and no integrity.

I was permanently banned from taking the exam and sent to a remote mountain village to teach, supposedly to reflect on my actions.

Even when I was targeted by a group of local bachelors and ended up taking my own life in shame, I still didn’t understand. What had really happened?

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my wealthy parents first brought me home.

——

"You must be Layla, right? I heard from brother that you were coming home today, so I specially prepared a little gift for you."

As she spoke, my adopted sister, Grace Rodriguez, placed a beautifully wrapped gift box in my hand and gently tried to link arms with me.

Samuel Rodriguez, my brother, teased from the side, "Grace, you’re so biased. No gift for your brother, huh...?"

But before he could finish, a chill ran through me. I pushed Grace away as if avoiding something terrible. The gift box slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

The bracelet inside was exposed.

Samuel’s face instantly darkened. "Layla, Grace kindly prepared a gift to welcome you. What’s with your attitude?"

Hearing those familiar words, I realized that I had truly been reborn.

In my last life, everything started after I put on the bracelet Grace gave me. That was when I began hearing her thoughts about wanting to eat the cake in my bag.

I thought she was just too shy to ask, so I gave it to her myself.

But right after her first bite, she began foaming at the mouth and collapsed from shock.

After getting her stomach pumped at the hospital, I was told she had been poisoned.

Luckily, the treatment was quick and she survived.

Samuel immediately called the police.

When the officers arrived, I quickly explained that the cake had been bought from a bakery and I had no idea what had gone wrong.

Seeing that I looked sincere and didn’t seem to be lying, the police said they would investigate thoroughly.

At that moment, Grace, who had been unconscious, suddenly woke up.

She crawled out of bed, grabbed my arm and knelt on the floor with tears in her eyes, begging, "Layla, I’ll give you anything you want, just please don’t kick me out."

"As long as I can stay in the family, I can tell the police uncle that it wasn’t you who poisoned me..."

I stood frozen, completely stunned.

That box of cake had been bought while Samuel was with me the entire time. He never took his eyes off me.

How could I possibly have had a chance to poison it?

I wanted Samuel to help clear things up for me, but to my surprise, he looked at me coldly, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"When we found out about the switched babies, I always felt guilty and wanted to make it up to you. But I never expected you’d be so cruel as to use something like this to drive Grace away!"

I quickly tried to explain, "I didn’t poison her! I bought that cake for myself!"

"If Grace hadn’t said she wanted to eat it, I wouldn’t have given it to her. Why would I poison something I was going to eat myself?"

As I spoke, I pulled out my phone, ready to call the bakery owner to ask what had happened.

To my surprise, Samuel grabbed my phone and smashed it against the ground.

"Layla, you’re lying! When did Grace ever say she wanted to eat the cake?"

"I think you did it on purpose, trying to use dirty tricks to force Grace to leave!"

"I’m warning you, even if we’re not related by blood, I only recognize Grace as my sister. If anything happens to her, I won’t let you off!"

In that moment, my heart turned cold. I wanted so badly to tell Samuel the truth that I could hear Grace’s inner thoughts.

But he was too angry. Even if I told him, he wouldn’t believe me.

At first, I thought it was all just an accident. A week later, during the college entrance exam, I saw Grace outside the exam hall. She looked nervous because she had forgotten her eraser.

Before she even spoke, I had already heard her inner thoughts.

So, I handed her the brand-new spare eraser from my pencil case.

But not long after the exam began, Samuel, who was the proctor, found a cheat sheet hidden inside the eraser.

Grace started crying pitifully and asked why I wanted to ruin her.

In the end, I was permanently banned from taking exams for suspected cheating and sent to a remote village to teach as punishment.

Eventually, I was assaulted by several old bachelors and died in shame.

Even then, I never understood. Why could I hear Grace’s thoughts? Was it because of the bracelet she gave me?

In this life, I had to uncover the truth and get justice for the person I was in my last life, someone falsely accused.

Thinking this, I put on a regretful expression and picked up the gift box.

"Sorry, Grace. I didn’t hold it properly just now. I really like the bracelet, but I’m allergic to metal. I break out in rashes when I wear it, so you’d better keep it."

As I spoke, I stuffed the box back into her hands, picked up my luggage and walked to my bedroom.

I didn’t believe it. If I didn’t wear the bracelet, would I still be able to hear Grace’s thoughts?

But the next second, a familiar voice echoed in my mind. "What’s in your bag? Smells so good..."

I froze. Why could I still hear her thoughts without the bracelet?

But I quickly calmed myself and pretended nothing had happened, then quietly began unpacking in my room.

When I didn’t respond, Grace grew anxious and repeated the same thought twice more in her mind.

I stayed silent.

If she had the courage, she could say it out loud in front of Samuel. That way, I wouldn’t be blamed unfairly again.

Just then, Samuel got a phone call and hurried out.

Since I had finished unpacking, I was about to go out and buy some study materials.

Grace suddenly grabbed my arm, blinking her eyes as she asked, “What do you have in your bag? It smells so good. Can I have a taste?”

Seeing that she finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up, the corner of my mouth lifted slightly.

“Grace, you’ve got a sharp nose. I had cake in my bag, but it’s already been eaten. Maybe the scent’s still lingering.”

“If you like it, I can share the bakery owner’s WhatsApp account with you.”

But Grace tugged at my sleeve again, unwilling to let it go. “Really, all gone? Not even a piece left?”

Since she didn’t believe me, I opened my backpack and showed her directly.

Thankfully, when I first entered the bedroom, I had already hidden the cake.

Otherwise, I’d be the one blamed again in this life.

As expected, when she saw only an empty wrapper in my bag, Grace looked disappointed.

I rolled my eyes and took the chance to say, “If you really want some, I’m heading out to buy study materials. I can bring you a box.”

Grace’s eyes lit up. “Okay, thank you, Layla.”

But the moment I stepped outside, the smile on my face disappeared. I took the cake straight to a food testing agency.

As expected, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the cake.

In other words, in my past life, the thing that poisoned Grace wasn’t the cake at all.

So why did she insist it was me who poisoned it?

Suddenly, I thought of a good way to uncover the truth.

Right after, I called Samuel. "Brother, Grace wants to eat the cake I bought today. Could you pick up a box and leave it in her room? I’ve got cram school and don’t have time."

When Samuel agreed, I finally felt relieved.

I wanted to see what trick Grace was playing.

That night, after evening classes, I deliberately went out for a late-night snack with classmates, stalling and avoiding going home, making sure I had an alibi.

Before we even finished eating, I got a call from the police.

"Hello, is this Layla? Someone has reported you for poisoning. Please cooperate with the investigation."

When I arrived at the hospital, Grace, just like in the previous life, had just had her stomach pumped after food poisoning.

But this time, when she got home after evening class, Samuel was still at work.

So she didn’t know that I wasn’t the one who bought the cake.

As soon as I arrived, Grace’s eyes turned red.

“Layla, I know you don’t like me and want to use this method to drive me away, but I don’t have a home anymore.”

“As long as you don’t kick me out, I can tell the police it wasn’t you who poisoned me...”

By now, many patients had gathered around, whispering and watching the scene unfold.

Facing this all-too-familiar situation, I suddenly found it laughable.

After being brought home, I had never blamed anyone.

Not Samuel, who raised the wrong child by mistake. Not Grace, who had taken my place and lived as the rich young lady for eighteen years.

I had even pleaded with our parents, who were abroad on a business trip, to let Grace stay, since the college entrance exams were coming up.

But who would’ve thought Grace had already seen me as a threat, someone she was eager to get rid of?

Just as I was about to speak and reveal the truth, Samuel rushed in.

The moment he arrived, Grace threw herself into Samuel’s arms, looking completely wronged.

Thinking she had been bullied by me, Samuel came over, ready to scold me.

But before he could get close, I raised my hand and slapped him, my face filled with heartbreak and anger.

"Samuel, even if Grace isn’t your real sister, you didn’t have to poison her, did you?"

"The Rodriguez Family raised her all these years. It’s not like they couldn’t afford to feed her. Why are you in such a hurry to throw her out?"

"Even a dog raised for eighteen years would earn some affection. How could you be so heartless?"

Samuel froze. "What poisoning? Layla, what nonsense are you talking about? Grace is my sister. How could I possibly poison her?"

I curled my lips slightly.

"If it wasn’t you, then who? Grace got poisoned after eating the cake you bought!"

The crowd immediately buzzed with whispers.

"Really can’t judge a book by its cover. That guy looks so refined but acts so vicious!"

"Exactly. Probably because his real sister came back and he wanted to kick out the outsider."

"I know him, isn’t he a teacher at the top high school in the city? A scumbag like this can still be a teacher? Unbelievable!"

In my previous life, when I was falsely accused, I tried to defend myself with reason. But Samuel didn’t care about right or wrong, he sentenced me without hesitation.

In this life, I wanted to see, faced with the same situation, how he would respond?

The crowd kept growing. Some patients even started livestreaming and the viewer count shot up.

Samuel’s face darkened, but he held back his anger and asked Grace, "Grace, are you sure it was the cake that made you sick?"