Chapter 1

After being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, I begged enough money for a sea burial.

But the day before the funeral, my ex-husband Adrian dragged me back to his mansion to take the fall for his precious darling.

My daughter cursed me, my brother crushed my medication, and the whole internet waited to watch the "vicious ex-wife" become a joke.

They didn't know about the will in my pocket, or that the blood I coughed up had already stained my burial contract.

Only after I died alone in a prison cell and the autopsy report went public did they start clawing for my remains.

But it was too late.

Two years later, I returned under a new name, backed by billions.

This time, I would personally grind everything they cared about most into dust, piece by piece.

Vivian's POV

Three months after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, I had finally begged enough money for a sea burial.

Before I could even reach the funeral home to sign the papers, Adrian dragged me back to the manor.

Faced with my foul beggar's clothes, his eyes filled with disgust as he tossed a black card at me.

"Take the money and go clean yourself up. Don't let Miranda see you looking like a ghost."

The house full of servants and Lorelei all waited to watch the show.

After all, in their eyes, after disappearing for three years, I could only be coming back to fight for the inheritance.

I walked past the black card and picked up a coin that the bodyguard had knocked from my hands earlier.

Without that dollar, even the cheapest sea burial would be beyond my reach, leaving me to rot in some nameless ditch.

"Daddy! Throw that dirty thing out!"

My daughter Miranda screamed, hands clamped over her nose, her face twisted in horror.

"She's ruining Lorelei's carpet!

My body stiffened.

This was my own daughter, who I'd carried for ten months.

Now, in her eyes, I was nothing but a foul-smelling rat.

Adrian gently covered his daughter's mouth and nose, his own eyes fixed on me with disgust.

"Miranda, come here."

Lorelei gently pulled Miranda over and held her in her arms.

The sight made me physically sick.

Lorelei was the adopted daughter of my family and Adrian's precious white moonlight.

Five years ago, Adrian was convinced I had schemed to trap him into marriage, tearing him apart from Lorelei.

So in his eyes, all the suffering I endured was well-deserved.

"Vivian, what happened to your hands?"

Lorelei looked at my deformed hands with feigned shock.

A leather shoe pressed down hard on the back of my hand.

Years ago, to let Lorelei win the championship at a piano competition, my own brother Marcus personally took a hammer and broke all ten of my fingers.

We both carried the same family blood, yet in everyone's eyes, only the adopted daughter Lorelei mattered.

Marcus pressed down with his foot, grinding over my finger bones.

"Don't think you can gain sympathy with this pathetic display. Lorelei is the pride of this family."

Adrian watched coldly without stopping him.

Only after Marcus had vented did he point to the utility room under the stairs and say:

"Since you're back, you'll live there from now on. Don't come out unless necessary."