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?"

“Hurry up and tell the truth, or you'll ruin your brother!”

Grace had just finished getting her stomach pumped and was still a little weak.

But even so, she understood exactly what was happening.

Faced with Samuel’s question, she stammered, clearly torn.

Because ten minutes ago, she had told the police that I had poisoned the small cake I bought.

But now, it turned out Samuel was the one who had actually bought it.

Which meant, if the cake really was poisoned, the blame would fall on him.

If she admitted that, she would ruin Samuel.

But if she didn’t, then she had made a false report to the police.

Watching her struggle like she’d swallowed something bitter, unable to speak the truth, I couldn’t help feeling secretly satisfied.

Surrounded by whispers and stares from the crowd, Samuel looked on the verge of breaking down.

In my last life, when I was the one falsely accused, he didn’t even flinch.

Now, when he was the one facing blame, he was falling apart.

Seeing Grace too guilty to speak, I squeezed out two tears on purpose and grabbed Samuel’s hand, saying, “Brother, I know you blame Grace for taking my place, but it’s not her fault. How could you poison her just for my sake?”

“When Mom and Dad found me, I had already told them I was willing to accept Grace as my sister. Even if you want to stand up for me, you can’t break the law.”

“Now that the truth has come out, it’s a good thing Grace’s okay. Otherwise, I, as her sister, would feel guilty for the rest of my life.”

With those words, I completely pushed Samuel into the public spotlight.

Grace panicked, too. She wanted to stop this farce, but couldn’t find a way.

But her hesitant and torn expression only made her look more pitiful, which stirred even more sympathy and anger from the crowd.

“Young lady, just tell the truth. We’ll stand up for you!”

“That’s right, we’ll make sure the scumbag who poisoned you is brought to justice. Don’t be afraid!”

The number of viewers on the livestream shot past 100,000 and the screen was flooded with insults aimed at Samuel.

Panicked, Samuel blurted out to the police that the bakery must have poisoned the cake.

The officer replied coldly, "Mr. Rodriguez, we’ve already reviewed the surveillance footage and can basically rule out the bakery. If you make baseless claims without evidence, you’ll be held legally responsible."

Samuel completely broke down.

His eyes turned red as he grabbed Grace by the shoulders, shouting, "Grace, what the hell is going on? Tell the police the truth!"

"If I get labeled as a poisoner, my life is over!"

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but sneer.

In my last life, when Grace framed me, Samuel could have spoken up for me.

But he didn’t.

Now that his own future was at risk, he was finally afraid, too late.

But what truly interested me was how Grace would deal with this.

And sure enough, even as Samuel was taken away by the police, she never gave a clear answer.

Just as I thought, no matter how close siblings may seem after living together for over a decade, when disaster strikes, everyone protects themselves first.

Three days later, with Samuel still not home, Grace grew desperate.

She grabbed my hand, crying and begging, “Big sister, please save my brother, okay? Go tell the police that you were the one who was supposed to buy the cake, that this has nothing to do with Samuel.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So what you’re saying is, the one who was supposed to poison the cake... was me?”

Grace’s face changed instantly and she fell silent.

I knew she had a strong bond with Samuel, but probably not strong enough to take the fall for him; that’s just human nature.

To stop her from pulling any more tricks, I deliberately moved into the school dormitory the day before the college entrance exam.

Next came the college entrance exam.

Before I even reached the exam hall, I saw Grace pacing anxiously near the entrance, clearly waiting for something.

As I got closer, her thoughts immediately echoed in my mind. "What should I do? I forgot to bring an eraser."

I used the same trick as before, pretending not to hear and walked right past her.

When she saw me ignore her, Grace panicked.

She grabbed my arm and pleaded, “Layla, I forgot to bring an eraser. Could you lend me one?”

I gave her a helpless look and opened my pencil case to show her.

“Sorry, Grace, I only brought one too. Maybe try borrowing from someone else?”

Without waiting for her reply, I quickly stepped into the exam hall.

In my past life, not long after the exam began, I was falsely accused of cheating and disqualified.

This time, I decided not to interfere with anything and just focus on the test.

But unexpectedly, right after finishing the first subject and just as I was about to leave, the proctor suddenly stopped me and barked, “What’s in your pocket? Take it out!”

I froze—I hadn’t expected there would be an eraser with a hidden cheat sheet in my pocket.