I was born without hair and had to transplant all my hair follicles from my best friend.

　　When the wealthiest man in town was looking for his lost child, he pulled my hair for a DNA test, and it turned out I was his real daughter.

　　The fake daughter panicked.

　　From then on…

　　She found snakes coiling around her feet in bed, thumbtacks mysteriously appearing in her teacup, and big spiders materializing above her head.

　　She knelt down, begging me to let her go.

　　I smirked and asked, "Did you let her go?"

　　My best friend, Mia Shelton, died.

　　At first, I thought it was just a car accident. Later, I learned it was a cruel conspiracy.

　　I knew all her secrets, and a seed of revenge took root in my heart.

　　Maybe because I was born without hair, when I transplanted all of hers, my body didn't reject a single strand.

　　To resemble her even more, I replicated every scar on her body onto mine.

　　Though it was painful, it was worth it.

　　Using the DNA from her hair follicles, I was identified as the daughter of the wealthiest family, who had been switched at birth.

　　On my first day at the Lloyd mansion, the fake daughter, Eliza Lloyd, scalded me with hot tea.

　　She cried out first, "I'm so sorry, Mia! I didn't mean to!"

　　She looked so pitiful, like I was bullying her.

　　Her trick was too childish for me.

　　I calmly lifted the hem of my skirt and smiled, "Eliza, you're just like Mrs. Gates, careless and clumsy. Just as she accidentally burned me, so did you."

　　From afar, Mrs. Lloyd thought I was bullying her and came here to speak up.

　　But when she saw the gruesome old burn scars covering my right leg, she was stunned. Her face darkened immediately.

　　The old scars were obviously inflicted intentionally, covering a large area, far more than what a cup of hot tea could cause.

　　The new burn on top of the old scars looked even more shocking.

　　Mrs. Lloyd felt a pang in her heart and shot Eliza a sharp look. She then took my hand and led me upstairs to apply ointment.

　　Eliza intended to put me in my place, but instead, she triggered Mrs. Lloyd's maternal instincts.

　　She watched my departing figure with rage, cursing me silently.

　　"Mia, what kind of life have you been living?" Mrs. Lloyd trembled as she touched my already scabbed-over wounds.

　　I replied nonchalantly, "Mrs. Gates is just like that. As long as I'm fine now, you don't need to be sad, Mom."

　　The Mrs. Gates I mentioned was Eliza's biological mother. She was originally a maid in the Lloyd household. She gave birth on the same day as Mrs. Lloyd, and due to a nurse's mistake, the babies' wristbands were switched.

　　From then on, the destinies of the two children changed drastically.

　　But it wasn't an accident. Ruby Gates conspired with her cousin, the nurse, to switch the babies so that her own daughter could live a life of luxury.

　　My best friend, Mia, was the real daughter,

　　switched at birth and led a life of suffering. Not only did Ruby not treat her well, she abused and tortured her.

　　The twist came when Mia was ten.

　　Ruby's husband got addicted to gambling and lost everything.

　　Desperate, Ruby sought out Eliza, threatening her with the truth of her birth in exchange for money.

　　But she didn't anticipate that Eliza had inherited her ruthlessness. Eliza set a fire, killing them both.

　　Those were her biological parents, yet she didn't bat an eye as they turned to ashes.

　　Mia almost didn't escape, but I saved her. From then on, we relied on each other to survive.

　　But in the end, she still died…

　　I looked down at Mrs. Lloyd, her tears falling down endlessly, and thought, If she knew her daughter was beaten to death with a shovel and then thrown onto the road to be run over by a truck, and that the murderer was the daughter she lovingly raised for 18 years, how heartbroken would she be?

　　Her real daughter never received a shred of warmth, while she meticulously cared for her conspirator's child for 18 years.

　　It's truly tragic and pitiful.

　　Just then, Mr. Lloyd came home.

　　He stormed in, angrily questioning me, "Eliza only accidentally burned you. She apologized. Why can't you forgive her and stop ignoring her along with your mother?"

　　It seemed Eliza had exaggerated and twisted the story.

　　I didn't say anything.

　　But Mrs. Lloyd, who had been holding back her anger, finally erupted, "Why should I? I treated Ruby's daughter so well, and she treated my daughter like this. I can't accept it!"

　　Anyone would feel the same way.

　　Mr. Lloyd then noticed the countless scars on my body.

　　I didn't see an ounce of pity on his face.

　　After a moment of silence, he still defended Eliza, "Ruby is Ruby, and Eliza is Eliza. You can't take it out on her. Besides, she's the child we've raised carefully for years. Now that Mia is back, does that mean you don't love Eliza anymore?"

　　I lowered my head, a mocking smile playing on my lips. He had indeed spoiled Eliza to the core.

　　If Mia could hear this, how heartbroken would she be?

　　His words left Mrs. Lloyd in a daze. After all, eighteen years of affection isn't something that just disappears.

　　I wasn't in a hurry. This was only the first day. Expecting Mrs. Lloyd to stop loving Eliza immediately was unrealistic.

　　Standing between Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd, I spoke sensibly, "I know Eliza didn't mean it. Mom was just too worried about me and overlooked her for a moment. Dad, don't be mad. I'll go apologize to Eliza right now."

　　Saying this, I turned to leave.

　　My sensible demeanor only made Mrs. Lloyd's heart ache even more.

　　When Eliza saw me coming, she first shed a few pitiful tears. But when she realized Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd hadn't followed, her true colors emerged.

　　She arrogantly declared, "Mom and Dad love me the most. As long as I cry, they feel sorry for me. Even if I burned you on purpose, so what? Don't think you can take away my affection."

　　What a shame, I thought, I never wanted their affection. What I want is your life.

　　I smiled and said, "You've lived with Mom and Dad for 18 years, naturally, your bond is deeper. I would never dream of stealing their love."

　　Eliza looked pleased and reluctantly accepted, "Good, you know your place."

　　I looked around with a fawning expression, "Eliza, may I admire your room? I've never seen such a big and beautiful room before."

　　Given her personality, she would usually refuse, but the sound of approaching footsteps made her change to a saccharine tone, "Of course, you're the real daughter of the Lloyd family. If you want to stay here, I'd gladly give it to you."

　　Only Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd could make her act this way.

　　They were clearly worried about a confrontation and had followed us.

　　My hearing is much sharper than Eliza's. I heard the footsteps seconds before she did, so I knew what to say.

　　I was certain she wouldn't refuse.

　　I had my reasons for doing this.

　　I touched everything, praising the beautiful clothes and the comfortable bed linens. Eliza's face grew more and more sour, but with Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd at the door, she had to force a smile.

　　Her focus was entirely on them, unaware that I had secretly smeared something on her bed.

　　Once they left, she glared at me fiercely, "Stop touching my things with your dirty hands."

　　I looked up in confusion, and at her shout of "Get out!" I left quickly, pretending to be scared.

　　Hours later, deep into the night, Eliza's screams pierced the silence of the villa.

　　When I ran to see what was happening, I found a python tightly coiled around Eliza's feet, which were visibly turning blue and purple.

　　Mr. Lloyd blamed the butler for being negligent, wondering how such a large python could have gotten into the house.

　　He scolded everyone, but no one dared to step forward and help Eliza.

　　Eliza, terrified, had wet herself and was trembling all over, looking absolutely ridiculous.

　　Too bad Mia can't see this, I thought, she would have been delighted.

　　Finally, the firefighters arrived and caught the python.

　　It had coiled so tightly that Eliza's ankles were dislocated. She would have trouble walking for a while.

　　After this incident, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd decided to fire the butler.

　　He pleaded his innocence, saying his whole family depended on his income. Without this job, they'd be destitute, especially since he had a son with leukemia. Losing his income would be a death sentence for his family.

　　He begged Eliza to intercede on his behalf, but she was so humiliated by what had happened that she grew angrier, throwing everything within reach at the butler.

　　Little did she know, the butler was actually her real uncle. He knew all about how she had burned her biological parents to death.

　　Driven to desperation, the butler was about to expose her cruel actions, willing to risk everything.

　　But I interrupted, knowing it wasn't the right time yet.

　　"Dad, Mom, maybe the python was sent by the spirits of the dead. It's not the butler's fault he didn't see it," I said, blinking innocently.

　　Mr. Lloyd, who didn't believe in ghosts, looked displeased with my explanation.

　　He was about to scold me for being superstitious, but I quickly interrupted him.

　　"When I was a child, I heard a story in the village," I began slowly. "It's said that if someone dies unjustly, on the first anniversary of their death, they transform into a large python to seek revenge on their killer." I walked slowly toward Eliza, my voice turning eerie. "Eliza, did you kill someone a year ago, using a particularly vicious method? Is that why this python is here, wrapped around you?"

　　My spooky demeanor and words visibly terrified Eliza. She looked around frantically and couldn't help but scream, "Stay away, stay away!"

　　After all, she was just an eighteen-year-old girl, easily frightened.

　　If only Mr. Lloyd wasn't here, I thought, I could push her further and make her slip up.

　　Mr. Lloyd, seeing how frightened Eliza was, felt sorry for her.

　　He raised his hand and slapped me hard, shouting, "Stop talking nonsense! How could I have a daughter like you?"

　　He raised his hand to slap me again, but Mrs. Lloyd pushed him away.

　　She held my hand tightly and scolded him, "Mia's ignorance is because Ruby didn't let her study. Instead of teaching her properly, you hit her. Are you even her father?"

　　I'm not a cold-hearted person. Mrs. Lloyd's actions touched me.

　　But that didn't mean I would abandon my plans because of her.

　　Mr. Lloyd looked at me, seeming a bit guilty, but said nothing more. He told Eliza to rest and then took Mrs. Lloyd back to the master bedroom.

　　As for the butler, my interference had made Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd temporarily forget about firing him.

　　He gave me a grateful look. I understood that he now owed me a favor, and when the time came, I would call upon him to repay it, adding fuel to the fire.