After the college entrance exams, my parents left me at home and took their adopted daughter on a trip to the beach. A typhoon hit, and the three of them never came back.

When the news reached me, I did not cry or throw a tantrum. I had their deaths registered right away and pulled out the life insurance I had bought in advance. I received one hundred million in compensation.

My fiance scolded me for caring only about money. What he did not know was that I had been reborn.

In my past life, after I learned about their deaths, the huge debts they had left behind fell on me. I gave up the chance to go to college and started working to pay everything back. I fought to protect our ancestral home from debt collectors.

My fiance stayed with me and cheered me on when I came home late at night from delivery runs. But he never gave me a single cent to help.

At thirty-five, I finally cleared every debt. On my birthday, I bought myself a ten-dollar cake to celebrate. Just as I was about to blow out the candle, the door opened.

My parents and their adopted daughter, who should have died in the typhoon, walked in dressed in designer clothes. They smiled at me smugly.

“Well done! We can finally believe that you aren’t greedy for money. You’ve passed the test. From today, you are qualified to be the daughter of the Jameson family.”

“Jane, this brilliant idea was all thanks to you.”

My adopted sister smiled. She leaned close and blew out my candle.

The only light left in my twenty years of lifetime went out with it. My body gave in to exhaustion. My heart failed. I collapsed and died on the spot.

When I opened my eyes again, they were about to head to the beach in the middle of the typhoon.

I bought a massive accident insurance policy for them on the spot.

This time, all I wanted was for them to disappear from this world forever.

“Serena, if you’d been harsher with them, you could’ve stopped them. Why didn’t you cut your wrists or starve yourself to force them to stay?

“You’re selfish! You never cared about your family’s safety. Now, this mess is yours to clean up, and you deserve it!”

Hearing Matthew Quinn, my fiance, yelling at me, I opened my eyes in the darkness.

The day had finally come. My parents and their adopted daughter had faked their deaths, which would ultimately force me to give up my education, and take on their debts.

My lips curled into a smile before I could stop it. When Matthew saw me smiling instead of crying, he froze.

“Have you lost your mind? Your parents just died! How can you smile?”

I ignored him. I reached under my pillow, pulled out the accident insurance policy I had bought for the three of them yesterday, and held it to my chest. Tears streamed down my face as I laughed.

In my past life, Matthew had lashed out at me with the very same words.

He said that as their daughter, I should have seen the danger and risked my life to stop my parents from taking Jane Jameson, their adopted daughter, to the beach.

He told me I was cruel. He said I knew Jane’s grades were worse than mine, yet I still pushed myself to win first place in the college entrance exams. If I had scored lower, Jane would not have thrown a tantrum. My parents would not have insisted on leaving me behind to make her happy.

In his eyes, everything was my fault.

I was only eighteen at the time. I had lived in a bubble. His words had filled me with guilt. I gave up my education and shouldered ten million in debt.

I sold food at dawn, delivered meals during the day, and drove late-night ride-hailing shifts. The sun burned my skin, malnutrition turned my hair brittle, and my hands were filled with calluses from endless labor.

Many nights, I broke down in tears, but I never dared to stop. I feared ruining the Jameson family’s honor. I feared dying and seeing my parents’ disappointed eyes.

I never imagined that all of this madness had been nothing more than a test from my parents and Jane.

I was done with this game of competing with Jane for their favor. If they wanted to fake their deaths, then this time, I would send them to hell for real.

I flipped open the insurance policy. My fingers shook as I traced them along the astronomical figure.

“Hello. The deaths of my parents and my adopted sister are already on the news. The payout is one hundred million. Please transfer it to my account as soon as possible.”

Across the table, the president of the insurance company looked glum. He gasped for breath.

“Unbelievable! What luck! You buy the insurance, and the very next moment, Mr. Jameson dies for real. I’ve never been this unlucky in my whole life.”

He could curse all he wanted. Before I bought the policy, I spent a fortune on expert advice. The coverage fit perfectly with the cause of death—three lives lost in a typhoon. There was not a single loophole. The company had no choice but to pay.

Before long, one hundred million was wired into my account. I counted the zeros, and tears almost fell from my eyes.

In my past life, I lived on plain boiled noodles to save money. I could not even afford pickled vegetables and only sprinkled a little salt.

I refused to turn on the lights at night to save on utilities. I washed in public restrooms at shopping malls and endured the mocking stares of strangers.

I had once been the Jameson family’s heiress. Yet when a car knocked me over while I was delivering food, I had no health insurance and no money for the hospital. I bought a roll of tape from a street stall, wrapped it around the torn wound, and prayed it would heal.

It did not. The wound became infected. By the time I died, I was walking with a limp.

Matthew broke off the engagement while I was struggling. I blamed myself for dragging him down.

A tear fell onto my phone screen. I could not tell if it was from hatred or relief.

I wiped my face, stepped out of the insurance company, and ran into Matthew.

His eyes filled with shock. He closed the distance in a few steps and reached for my phone.

“Serena, your parents just died, and you came to the insurance company instead of arranging their funeral? Do you have any conscience at all?

“I remember your parents never bought insurance here. Show me how much they paid you.”

I shut off the screen, slipped into a cab, and slammed the door shut.

“To the registry office, please.”

The car shot forward and left Matthew behind. I walked upstairs with quick steps and handed over the documents. My eyes brimmed with tears as I spoke.

“My parents and my adopted sister have passed away. I’m here to close their records.”

The staff member immediately recognized me.

“You must be the girl from the news.

“Poor thing! You worked so hard to become the top scorer, only to end up with this. What were your parents thinking? Leaving such a good daughter behind while taking an adopted girl into a typhoon. They gambled with their own lives and their child’s future.”

Her eyes softened in pity. She muttered under her breath while she completed the paperwork.

Once everything was entered into the system, my parents and Jane lost their identities in this world.

I lowered my head and tried to keep the smile off my face. Just as I took the proof in hand, a furious shout came from behind me.

“Serena, what are you doing?!”

Matthew rushed forward, grabbed the paper from my hand, and shook with rage after a single glance.

“Who gave you the right to close their records? How is Jane supposed to go to college now?”

The tears on my cheeks were not even dry. The staff pitied me for losing my parents, and when they saw what was happening, they immediately stepped in front of me to defend me.

“Sir, what are you doing? This young lady just lost both her parents in a natural disaster. She even had to come here herself to close her family’s records. She is hurting more than anyone.

“And you, her friend, can’t even comfort her? You’re actually shouting at her? If you keep this up, we will throw you out!”

Matthew’s curses died in his throat. His face turned red as he jabbed a finger at me.

“Fine! I never thought you could be so heartless. The funeral hasn’t even been held, and you already erased their names from the registry! I was wrong about you.”

I turned my back to the staff and gave Matthew a mocking smile.

“So? What’re you going to do about it?”

His face froze. Panic flashed in his eyes.

He glared at me one last time, then walked off to make a phone call.

I already knew who he was calling.

It had to be Jane, my adopted sister and the favorite daughter. It was the same girl who had taken everything from me in my past life.

I did not care what they planned in secret. I hummed a tune as I called the funeral company. I opened the gates of the Jameson villa and held a grand funeral with no bodies.

The funeral had barely begun when several tattooed men stormed in.

Their leader grabbed my collar, lifted me, and glared as he threw down a thick stack of IOUs.

“Lucky that you didn’t die in that typhoon. If you don’t pay back the Jameson family’s debt, you won’t stay lucky for long.”

In my past life, I had been terrified by these thugs. With Matthew’s urging, I had accepted the ten-million debt in tears.

But not this time. I sank my teeth into the hand that was holding me.

“This is my parents’ funeral. Outsiders can leave. If you have something to say to me, we can talk later.”

The man cried out in pain. His face twisted in rage as he slapped me across the face.

“You brat! You really are just like your father said you were. You have no respect at all! Look closely. I’m your family’s creditor!”

My cheek burned and swelled, but I kept my eyes on the IOUs.

“Ten million? Do you take me for a fool?”

My calmness made their arrogance falter.

“What do you mean? The IOUs spell everything out clearly!”

It was true. The notes listed the dates, times, and amounts, and even had my parents’ signatures on them.

But I was not about to admit that.

“Show me the bank records then. Once I see them, I’ll pay.”

They all drew in sharp breaths.

Of course, they had no records.

The IOUs were fake. My parents had arranged everything with them in advance. They planned to split the money fifty-fifty.

The money I earned through hard work had been spent on Jane’s jewelry, her handbags, and her bragging rights overseas.

The leader finally said, “What records? We gave cash.”

I laughed.

“Is that so? Then, show me the withdrawal slip for ten million in cash.

“You think I’m an idiot? Ten million in cash weighs three hundred pounds. Are you telling me you carried three hundred pounds of money just to lend it to someone?”

The men were stunned into silence.

I sneered and waved them toward the door.

That was when a furious shout came from the entrance.

“Serena, you ungrateful girl!”

The man rushed in so fast that he appeared in front of me in an instant. He struck me across the face twice. The impact was hard enough to draw blood from the corner of my lips.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.