Reborn Heiress The Cost of Your Greed

My younger sister landed a rich heir through an online relationship. Coincidentally, he was my best friend's ex-boyfriend. My best friend told me he was not rich at all. He was just a deadbeat con artist. Later, he asked my sister to meet up in person. I kindly warned her, but she shoved me down the stairs without hesitation. "You're just jealous that I found a hot, rich boyfriend while you're a complete loser. Don't you dare get in the way of my happiness!" Joe and Margaret worried that my fall down the stairs would tarnish Chloe's reputation. So they stood by and watched me bleed to death. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Chloe announced she was dating him. "Listen up, everyone! I have an announcement to make. I'm dating someone, and he's super rich and gorgeous. None of you will ever have to worry about money again!" My sister Chloe's arrogant voice rang in my ears, and it hit me—I had been reborn! "Really?" Margaret gasped, beaming. "My baby girl is so capable! What does his family do?" "He says he's a tea empire heir. His family owns multiple plantations, his tea business spans the entire country, and he's already planning to expand overseas." The moment Joe and Margaret heard "expand overseas," they instantly believed he was a billionaire heir. They showered her with praise, grinning so wide their mouths could barely close. "You have to play your cards right, put some real effort in, and lock him down! Better yet, marry him as soon as possible. That way, everything his family owns will be ours." Hearing Joe and Margaret's greedy, calculating scheme made my stomach churn. In my past life, Chloe had said the exact same words. Back then, something sounded off to me. The story sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place it at the time. Hoping to keep Chloe from getting scammed online, I voiced my concerns. "Chloe, how long have you two been talking? I'm just saying online dating carries risks. Don't just take his word for everything. You need to keep your eyes open." To my surprise, Chloe completely twisted my words. "Hannah, what's your problem? You think you're the smartest person on earth and everyone else is an idiot, don't you? Do you really think I wouldn't know whether he treats me well or if he's a scammer?" With that, she pulled out their chat history. At a glance, it was full of transfer receipts—amounts like $500, $1,000, and $5,000. Attached to them was a sweet little note: "Every cent I make is for my baby to spend. [heart]" Joe and Margaret had thought I had a point at first, but seeing all that cold, hard cash, they turned on me instead. "Hannah, you're the older sister! What kind of attitude is that? Have you ever seen a scammer send money every single day?" Chloe chimed in with snide remarks: "I bet she's just jealous. She's getting old and can't find a boyfriend, so she's green with envy." Joe, Margaret, and Chloe took turns lecturing me until I began to doubt myself. Maybe I really was overthinking it. Later on, while having lunch with my best friend, she brought up her ex-boyfriend. Only then did I realize in shock that the "rich heir" Chloe was dating was my best friend's ex! From my friend, I learned that the guy was completely broke, far from any wealthy heir. Once I knew the truth about him, I rushed straight home. "Chloe, that man is conning you. He's not a rich heir at all. Don't be stupid and go meet him in person!" Chloe swatted my hand away and said viciously: "What? Seeing that I'm going to meet him in person makes you insecure? You make me sick. You just can't stand seeing your own sister happy..." During our argument, she shoved me down the stairs. My head cracked hard against the floor, and blood gushed out. Chloe's eyes gleamed with twisted excitement. "Hannah, you had it coming! You deserve to die!"Seeing what happened, Joe and Margaret told Chloe to leave immediately so she wouldn't miss her big chance to meet him. "Joe, Margaret, please help me..." "Help you? Not a chance! You ungrateful little brat, we wasted all these years raising you." "Dying now is actually convenient. Consider it paying us back for raising you." With that, they walked down, grabbed my head viciously, and slammed it against the hard floor. "Die! Die, you ungrateful wretch! Want to stop us from getting rich? Maybe in your next life!" My eyes went wide, tears of blood rolling down my face. I wasn't their biological daughter at all. The family I had loved with all my heart wanted nothing more than to see me dead. Joe and Margaret went into a frenzied rage, slamming my head until I drew my last breath. I was still lost in the horrifying memory, but the sorrow in my eyes had already turned into cold hatred. Chloe's voice snapped me back to reality. "Hannah, what's with that look? If you're green with envy, just say it. I won't hold it against you. After all, not just anyone has what it takes to catch the eye of a handsome, wealthy man. Who knows, maybe when I'm in a good mood, I'll even have my boyfriend throw a little charity your way." Envy and jealousy? Far from it. Hatred, on the other hand, was very real! I suppressed my emotions, putting on a hurt, meek expression. "Chloe, you're misunderstanding me. I'm genuinely happy that you found such an amazing boyfriend. You two are a match made in heaven. You were born for a life of luxury. There's no way I would ever stand in the way of your happiness." Don't worry. In this life, I won't play the fool ever again! Not only that, but I'm going to watch you all plunge straight into the abyss of your own making! Joe, Margaret, and Chloe were easily flattered by my sweet words and stopped giving me a hard time. That night, while Joe, Margaret, and Chloe went out for a walk, I slipped into Joe and Margaret's bedroom. Logically speaking, an adoption from an orphanage would have official paperwork. I had to find it! That was the only way to uncover my true origins. I searched through the organizer in their closet. Important family documents were usually kept there. Finally, in a manila envelope, I found my adoption certificate. It listed "Sunshine Children's Home." Noted. I snapped photos of all the papers and prepared to slide them back into the envelope. Right then, the words "Accidental Death Insurance" caught my eye. A terrible feeling washed over me. Sure enough, it was a life insurance policy Joe and Margaret had taken out on me, with a payout of twenty million. The words Joe and Margaret yelled before killing me in my past life echoed in my head. "Consider it paying us back for raising you..." So that was what they meant! If I died in an accident, they wouldn't just be rid of a daughter they despised—they would also walk away with a massive fortune. A chill swept through me, leaving me trembling from head to toe. No matter what, they had always intended for me to die. It was only a matter of time. I forced myself to steady my breath and put everything back exactly as it was.The next day, I met up with my best friend, Jessica, and told her I was adopted. Jessica's father was a prominent local businessman with deep connections and a wide network. I figured that with her father's help, tracking down my birth family wouldn't take long. Hearing my story, Jessica agreed to help without a second thought. Following the timeline from my past life, there were still two days left before Chloe was scheduled to meet her online boyfriend. After turning it over in my mind, I decided not to stay at home for the next few days. That accidental death policy still gave me chills. At the same time, I couldn't wait to see the miserable wreck Chloe would become once she went to meet him. So that afternoon, while the house was empty, I sneaked in and installed a hidden camera in the living room. With everything set up, I used working overtime at the office as an excuse to move into Jessica's luxury villa. Soon enough, it was the night before Chloe's big meetup. Chloe was curled up on the living room sofa, clutching her phone and squirming with bashful excitement. "Joe, Margaret, Noah said we're meeting in person tomorrow." Noah was Chloe's fake rich boyfriend. Hearing that they were finally meeting in person, Joe and Margaret dropped their bowls and utensils and scurried over to her, grinning from ear to ear. Then came a rapid barrage of excited questions. "You're finally meeting? Where? Should we come along? Are we going to meet his parents?" "Margaret, of course I'm going alone! Who brings their parents on a first real-life meetup? Don't you dare come. Don't scare away the big fish before it's even in the net!" Joe and Margaret nodded eagerly, acknowledging her point. "We're in Ashford and his family is in Briar Glen, so we agreed to meet halfway in Cedar Falls." Hearing this, Margaret rolled her eyes in thought, clearly plotting something in her head. "Chloe, listen to me. When you see him, do whatever it takes to get him drunk. Make it official and seal the deal. Best case scenario, you get pregnant with his baby. Rich heirs like him care most about their family reputation. Once that happens, you're guaranteed a spot in their household." Chloe's face flushed bright red. "Okay, Margaret, stop talking already..." Watching them on my phone as they schemed like delusional fools, the corners of my mouth twitched non-stop. At ten the next morning, Chloe packed her bags and headed for Cedar Falls. Around one or two in the afternoon, she sent Margaret a text. Basically, it said they had successfully met up. When Margaret saw the message, her grin practically split her face in two. It was obvious she was already daydreaming about her future life of luxury. The following day, Margaret went to the local market for groceries while Joe went to the neighborhood park for his morning jog. Both of them looked radiant, their faces practically glowing with joy. Everywhere they went, they couldn't resist bragging to anyone who crossed their path—even stray dogs, if they could—about their tall, rich, handsome future son-in-law. In just one day, the entire neighborhood knew about it. "You're so blessed! Your daughter landed a rich guy, so you won't have to worry about a thing for the rest of your life. You get to reap the benefits..." "Did you hear about Mr. Brooks from Building 12? His daughter found a rich heir. I heard he casually wired their family two million just like that..." "Have you heard? Mr. Brooks's future son-in-law is filthy rich—he wired him twenty million right off the bat..." Rumors spread from one person to ten, and ten to a hundred, growing more outrageous by the minute. None of this bothered Joe and Margaret in the slightest. In fact, it only fed their insatiable vanity.That very night, Margaret wasted no time dialing every relative she knew. "Yes, it's me! Our Chloe really made it big. She found herself a billionaire heir..." "Listen, the day after tomorrow is Saturday. I'm treating everyone to a big feast at the hotel..." "Don't worry about paying! I told you, my son-in-law is loaded..." "It's settled then! If you don't show up, you're disrespecting me." Just like that, she stayed on the phone for over two hours, calling every relative she could think of. Before long, Friday night rolled around. Joe sat on the sofa, scrolling through his phone with a worried frown. "Margaret, do you think Chloe ran into trouble? I texted her yesterday, and she still hasn't answered." Margaret chewed on an apple while scrolling on her phone, completely unconcerned. "What trouble could she possibly be in? You're just overthinking it! If you ask me, they hit it off right away and got so caught up in their little lovers' paradise that she forgot to text. You're an old man, so of course you don't get these things. Stop sticking your nose in and don't ruin their moment!" "You really think so?" Joe asked, still somewhat skeptical. "Of course! In all the romance novels I read, that's exactly how it goes between the male and female leads. Our Chloe is the undeniable main character here. It's definitely the same for her." Unbelievable. She was truly brain-rotted by romance novels! What was even more ridiculous was that Joe actually bought into her nonsense. The next day, Saturday. Joe and Margaret got up early to dress up. From the looks of it, you'd think they were heading to a royal wedding. To watch the drama unfold, Jessica and I also went to the grand hotel. The hotel belonged to Jessica's family, so it was effortless for us to disguise ourselves as banquet servers. Bundled up and disguised from head to toe, we slipped into the private dining room. The room was already packed with relatives. Joe and Margaret strutted in with their chins held high. Seeing them arrive, the relatives jumped to their feet, showering them with flattery. "Wealth really does do wonders! You two look twenty years younger all of a sudden." Everyone chimed in with agreement. "Tell me about it! When they walked in, I thought it was a lord and lady from some high-society family!" "Margaret, come over here! Sit next to me. I've always loved you the most since we were kids." I scoffed under my breath. When they were broke, everyone avoided them like the plague. Now that they supposedly had money, everyone was practically tripping over themselves to kiss up to them. Too bad for you all—you're in for a massive disappointment! Margaret waved a hand, summoning Jessica over like royalty. "Let's eat and talk. Server, bring out the absolute most expensive and finest dishes your hotel has to offer. Every single one of them." Jessica nodded, jotting down notes on her notepad, and spoke in an ultra-professional tone: "Certainly, ma'am. Just to confirm, that comes to a total of thirty-eight signature dishes, amounting to $42,000." Hearing that, Joe and Margaret's expressions shifted several times. After all, dropping tens of thousands on a single meal was undeniably painful. The surrounding relatives gasped in shock. "That much? Are the dishes coated in gold?" "What's there to worry about? Margaret is treating us! To her, that kind of cash is pocket change!"A few words of praise did the trick instantly. Joe cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. "What's with the attitude, little server? You worried I can't afford it? It's just forty-two grand. My son-in-law can make that back in sixty seconds." Jessica politely replied that it was standard procedure to confirm, then walked out. Pleased by the relatives' endless compliments, Joe and Margaret didn't press the matter further. While waiting for the food to arrive, Mary suddenly brought me up. "Why didn't Hannah come?" Margaret looked away in disgust, as if just hearing my name brought bad luck. "Good riddance. I'd be thrilled if she disappeared off the face of the earth forever. Just looking at her makes my blood boil." Mary took the hint immediately and joined in on tearing me down. "I told you back then, once you got pregnant with Chloe, you should have just dumped the older one. She was adopted anyway. Who cares if she lived or died?" "Well, I was afraid of bad karma back then! Getting pregnant with Chloe took so much effort, after all." Standing nearby, listening to the two of them casually discuss getting rid of me as if they were talking about the weather, a deep chill settled into my chest. Hearing my name, another relative, Susan, chimed into the conversation. "Chloe is about to get married, but what about Hannah? Isn't she getting up there in age too?" Getting up there? I'm only twenty-four years old! Margaret turned to answer her, her tone dripping with disdain: "That money-losing parasite does nothing but talk about work all day. Absolutely useless. She busts her back from morning to night, and at the end of the month, she only brings home eight thousand dollars. If you ask me, a woman should keep her eyes on wealthy men. Marrying into a good family beats working any day." Hearing that, I cursed her out in my head. I got promoted, you idiot! My salary is twenty grand a month now! Halfway through the meal, Margaret's phone suddenly rang. The moment she saw the caller ID, sheer joy spread across her face. She cleared her throat loudly: "Quiet down, everyone! Chloe is calling!" With that, she answered and put it on speakerphone. "My precious daughter..." Her excited greeting was violently cut off. Chloe's hysterical, sobbing voice came through the speaker. "Margaret! Joe! Help me..."