Chapter 2

At the lodging, I lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Staring at the dark night sky outside the window, memories crashed over me like waves.

In my past life, it was also this year that the police rescued me from the remote mountains.

I cried, giving them Mom and Dad's names and address, my heart full of the hope that I was finally going home.

But when I was sent back, I found a strange girl in the house.

Mom and Dad awkwardly explained that after I was abducted, they were in so much pain that they adopted her.

Her name was Mia.

They looked at me with complicated expressions, like I was a stranger who had suddenly invaded their lives.

They were gentle and affectionate with Mia, as if she were their true daughter.

But… but they used to love me the most.

I broke down, screaming and shouting until my throat was raw.

I pointed at Mia, calling her a thief who had stolen the home that was rightfully mine.

Mom and Dad scolded me, saying I was thoughtless.

I trembled, crying, my voice hoarse.

"But I suffered so much! Why does she get to live in luxury?!"

Mom and Dad watched me in silence, their eyes showing both heartache and hesitation.

Unexpectedly, that night, Mia left a letter and quietly slipped away.

She said she was going back to the orphanage, not wanting the family to break apart because of her.

My heart was filled with unease.

But Mom and Dad didn't blame me; they just sighed and said they were going to the orphanage to bring her back.

Liam wanted to go with them but was stopped.

"You stay home with your sister. She's finally back, you need to take good care of her."

As it turned out, they never came back.

Their car was in an accident on the way to pick up Mia.

All three of them were gone.

From then on, Liam hated me.

He hated me for ten whole years.

Thinking of this, my throat constricted, and a familiar sting burned behind my eyes.

I wiped away the tears.

Now that I couldn't go back to the Thompson family, I had to think about my future.

I was not yet sixteen; I needed a guardian.

Suddenly, a name surfaced in my mind.

Caleb Maxwell.

A skinny boy who always shielded me when we were beaten.

In my past life, if it hadn't been for him, I would have been bought to be a child bride for that family's dim-witted son.

When we were shivering, locked in the pigsty, he wrapped his only remaining clothes around me.

"From now on, I'm your brother. I'll protect you."

We endured countless grueling days together.

But later, he was sold to another village.

When we were rescued, the police said the people in that village had been freed before us.

In my past life, I had wanted to find him.

But the sudden changes in my birth family prevented me from doing so.

In this life, I decided to find him.

The next day, at dawn, I went to the police station.

"Officers, I remember where my family lives."

After registering the information, I turned to leave the police station.

But Liam Thompson, who had rushed over, grabbed my wrist.

"You tricked me again! You really were faking it before!"

"Why are you so determined to go back to my family? They don't want you."

His voice trembled, as if suppressing immense anger.

"Don't you understand? I already have a sister. Mom and Dad dote on her endlessly. They don't need an extra daughter."

I shook off his hand and continued walking out without a word.

Liam was so infuriated by my attitude that his eyes turned bloodshot. He suddenly shouted,

"Weren't you abducted? Why didn't you just stay in those mountains forever?!"

His hysterical outburst was identical to his fury in my previous life, after our parents died, when he pointed his finger at me and screamed,

"Why didn't you die instead of them?"

I raised my hand and slapped him hard.

*Slap!*

The sharp sound silenced him for a moment.

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

I stared at him, asking each word distinctly.

"Do you think someone who was abducted deserves to die out there?"

Liam seemed to snap awake from the slap.

He staggered back half a step, regret showing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

Officer Davies, who had finally had enough, frowned and stepped in front of me.

"Excuse me, sir, how can you speak like that? This young lady is looking for her family. It's not your place to dictate."

Liam was silent for a long moment, then, with a cold face, he grabbed my arm.

"You want to go home, don't you? Come on."

But I pulled my arm free from his grasp, and to his surprise,

I hid behind Officer Davies.

"Yes, I want to go home, but what does that have to do with you?"