Chapter 1: Rebirth

"Dad, Mom, this is Melody. She’s our biological daughter."

Melody Summers awoke from darkness. The suffocating feeling of bleeding out, of being on the verge of death, still clung to her. She opened her eyes and stared blankly at her surroundings, realizing she was standing in the living room of the Lancaster Villa.

And the elegantly dressed couple before her were none other than her biological father, Robert Lancaster, and her biological mother, Elaine Hughes.

The fake heiress, Sylvia Lancaster, was wearing a high-end white dress. She stood beside Elaine Hughes, her arm gently linked with Elaine’s, and she was looking at Melody with a hint of unease.

Melody Summers realized she had been reborn to the moment she first met her biological parents.

Melody Summers had never imagined that the cliché drama of a rich family claiming their long-lost child would ever happen to her. But a week ago, a sharp young man in a suit had found her, introducing himself as Simon Lancaster, the CEO of the Lancaster Group. He claimed to be her biological older brother and told her she was the true heiress of the Lancaster family, switched at birth twenty years ago.

After seeing the paternity test he presented, Melody Summers had spent a week mentally preparing herself before finally deciding to come to the Lancaster Family and meet her biological parents.

Melody Summers had long known she was adopted. Her adoptive parents later divorced, and her adoptive mother raised her alone. Melody had always been curious about what kind of people her birth parents were.

Before Melody Summers could recover from the shock of her rebirth, her biological mother, Elaine Hughes, pulled her into a hug. Elaine’s voice was choked with emotion as she said, "My daughter! My dear daughter!"

The scent of Elaine Hughes’s expensive perfume brought Melody Summers back to her senses. She gently pulled away from the embrace, struggling to suppress the hatred in her heart.

’This was the woman who was my mother by blood—the same woman who, in the apocalypse, had personally fed me drugged water and sold me to a sadistic black-market organization.’

’In my despair, I had taken the organization’s leader down with me. I never expected to open my eyes and find myself back here.’

"You must be Melody. Welcome home, sister." Sylvia Lancaster also stepped forward, offering a slightly nervous smile.

’Sister?’ Melody Summers sneered inwardly. ’In my last life, Sylvia Lancaster pretended to welcome me just like this, only to show her true colors after I moved in.’

’After I moved in, Sylvia would often pull little tricks, either hurting herself or cutting up her own dresses and jewelry, only to frame me for it.’

’No matter how I tried to explain, the Lancasters always chose to believe Sylvia, growing more and more disappointed with me.’

"Is this the girl I was switched with?" Melody Summers asked her parents, turning to them with a blank expression. "If I come back, does she have to leave the Lancaster family?"

Elaine Hughes froze for a second, then said anxiously, "Of course Sylvia won’t be leaving!"

"Melody, you and Sylvia are both our daughters," her biological father, Robert Lancaster, said, a subtle hint of displeasure in his tone. "Can’t the Lancaster family afford to raise two daughters?"

Before Melody Summers could speak, an angry voice suddenly boomed from the stairs. "You’re the one who should leave! What gives you the right to talk to Sylvia like that?!"

Melody Summers turned to see a young man of about eighteen or nineteen walking down the stairs. He was dressed head to toe in trendy streetwear—her biological younger brother, Silas Lancaster.

Silas Lancaster descended the stairs and turned to his older brother, Simon Lancaster, his voice full of confusion and accusation. "Simon, why did you bring this woman back?!"

"Silas!" their father, Robert Lancaster, scolded him in a low voice before turning to comfort Melody Summers. "Melody, your brother Silas is young and doesn’t know any better. Don’t take it to heart."

"Who’s her brother! Why should I let this country bumpkin be my sister!" Silas Lancaster retorted resentfully.

Melody Summers instinctively glanced down at her clothes. After graduating, she had been helping her adoptive mother manage their family’s fishpond and orchard, often running all over the mountain. She certainly wasn’t as glamorous or decked out in designer brands as Sylvia Lancaster.

But Melody Summers was in no mood to argue with Silas Lancaster. She said, "You’ve misunderstood. I didn’t say she had to leave. I didn’t come to the Lancaster family today for a reunion. I’m here to discuss transferring the contract rights for Mount Anworth."

The Lancaster family was in the tourism industry. They had their eyes on Mount Anworth in Anworth Village, wanting to develop a new type of resort project there. The contract rights for Mount Anworth were in the hands of Melody’s adoptive mother but were registered under Melody’s name.

Melody’s adoptive family had invested in a sizable fishpond and orchard on Mount Anworth. It was during negotiations with the Summers family over the transfer of the contract rights that Simon Lancaster, CEO of the Lancaster Group, had seen Melody Summers. He was stunned by her striking resemblance to Elaine Hughes, and upon learning that Melody was the Summers family’s adopted daughter, he secretly took a sample of her hair for a paternity test. The results confirmed that Melody was the Lancasters’ long-lost biological daughter.

The Lancasters were caught off guard by Melody’s sudden shift in topic. Her biological mother, Elaine Hughes, was the first to recover, saying, "Melody, today is your first day home. Let’s not talk about this. Come see the room your mother prepared for you."

But Melody knew the contract transfer agreement had to be signed today, because in three days, a massive mudslide would strike Mount Anworth.

That mudslide was the beginning of the apocalypse and the beginning of Melody’s nightmare. It was in that very disaster that she lost all her relatives, including her adoptive mother, forcing her to return to the Lancaster family.

This time, Melody was determined to stay far away from the Lancasters and ensure her adoptive family survived. To do that, she needed a large sum of money to stockpile supplies for the coming apocalypse. That was why she had to sign the contract transfer agreement today and get the payment.

"The peak tourist season starts in two months. Signing early is also beneficial for the Lancaster Group," Melody said, knowing exactly what her biological father, Robert Lancaster, cared about most.

’To Robert Lancaster, the company and its profits always came first. Real daughter, fake daughter—none of it mattered in the face of business.’

Sure enough, Robert Lancaster paused for a moment in thought, then said to his eldest son, Simon Lancaster, "Go to my study and get the contract."

Robert Lancaster had pushed hard for the Mount Anworth project. The Lancaster Group had made several poor investments in recent years and desperately needed a new, profitable venture to recoup its losses.

Although he didn’t know why Melody Summers wanted to sign the agreement now, it was a development Robert was happy to see. With a few months left to prepare before the peak tourist season in June, the investment could start turning a profit for the company this year if all went smoothly.

"Sister, let’s go see your room first. Mom and I spent all day preparing it for you," Sylvia Lancaster said, stepping forward and gently taking Melody’s arm.

"That’s not necessary. I don’t plan on moving back for now." Melody pulled her arm away, rejecting the offer flatly.

Sylvia Lancaster stared at Melody in disbelief for a moment.

"What are you trying to pull? This playing hard-to-get act is so cliché," Silas Lancaster sneered from the side, his arms crossed.

"Silas!" Robert Lancaster snapped. "Melody is your biological sister! Apologize to her!"

Silas Lancaster shot back resentfully, "Why should I apologize? She should be apologizing to Sylvia! Look at her attitude toward her! Why did Simon even bring her back? Did he ever once consider Sylvia’s feelings?!"

Melody sneered inwardly. ’Of course he considered them. Simon did all of this for Sylvia.’

’At first, I’d also believed that Simon had brought me back to the Lancaster family for my own good. It was only later that I learned he had developed inappropriate feelings for Sylvia. Only by finding the family’s true biological daughter could there be any hope for him and Sylvia.’

’I’ll never forget how, when Sylvia framed me, Simon destroyed the security footage and helped her provide a false testimony.’

Just then, Silas Lancaster walked over with a file. "The contract for the transfer of rights to Mount Anworth. This is the final draft."

Melody Summers ignored Silas Lancaster and picked up the contract to read it carefully.

’My adoptive mother originally invested over a million in the fishpond. It yielded two harvests a year, each earning several hundred thousand. Since the next harvest was only two months away, my mother in my last life wanted to wait until after the fish were collected before signing.’

’But that wait led straight to the mudslide, followed by years of apocalyptic disasters that dealt a devastating blow to the entire tourism industry. The agreement became completely worthless.’

"The transfer fee we discussed was four million. If we sign today, I’d like to add another four hundred thousand. The fishpond will be ready for harvest in two months. We’ll get at least a hundred thousand catties of grass carp—you inspected it yourselves. That’s a guaranteed sale of over five hundred thousand," Melody said.

"Done," Robert Lancaster agreed with a nod after a moment’s thought.

"Thank you, Father," Melody said, suppressing her disgust. "Can the money be transferred tomorrow?"

Robert Lancaster was taken aback for a second by her use of the title. He was very pleased that Melody had called him ’Father’. He then waved his hand grandly and said, "Normally, the transfer process takes a month. But since today is your first day home, Melody, of course I’ll grant your request. I’ll have someone transfer the 4.4 million to you tomorrow."

Melody breathed a long sigh of relief inwardly.

"Melody, can we go see the room now? Please don’t throw a tantrum anymore, or you’ll make Mother sad," Sylvia said, biting her lower lip gently.

Melody remembered how in her last life, she had agreed to stay for a few days, only to lose all of her loved ones, including her adoptive mother, three days later.

Thinking of the humiliation and injustice she had suffered at the hands of the Lancasters in her previous life, Melody wanted to curse them out right then and there. But she couldn’t afford to burn bridges with them before the money was in her account.

Without that money, Melody couldn’t stockpile supplies. She was just a college graduate, less than a year out of school, with no savings to speak of.

So, Melody feigned hesitation, looked down, and said, "Thank you for preparing a room for me, but this is all too sudden. I need a few days to cool down and think things over. I’ll move back after I’ve had some time to process everything."

Her biological mother, Elaine Hughes, was saddened by Melody’s response. But on second thought, she figured the whole situation was indeed very sudden for Melody. She should give the girl a few days to process it. ’Besides, she’ll come back sooner or later. Who would refuse the chance to return to a wealthy family and live as a pampered heiress?’

So she stepped forward and gently hugged Melody again. "Well, call Mom when you’ve made up your mind. I’ll send someone to pick you up. My dear daughter, I really do miss you. Don’t make me wait too long, okay?"

Melody forced a smile for Elaine Hughes.

But from the side, Sylvia Lancaster suddenly asked, "Sister, are you not staying today because of me?"

Sylvia looked up at Melody, her expression pitiable, and tears began to fall. "If it’s because of me, I can leave."

"Sylvia, what nonsense are you talking about? This is your home! You’re not going anywhere!" Elaine Hughes immediately let go of Melody and rushed over to console Sylvia.

"Sis, what are you talking about? I’d like to see which country bumpkin dares to make you leave," Silas said, shooting another vicious glare at Melody.

"Sylvia, trust me, this will always be your home."

"Melody, I know you feel it’s unfair, but Sylvia is innocent in all this. I hope you two can get along. You are both daughters of this family," Robert Lancaster admonished in a low, serious voice.

Melody had experienced the Lancasters’ favoritism toward Sylvia firsthand in her previous life. After she had returned home then, not a single one of them had truly cared about her. They were all too busy worrying about whether her return would upset Sylvia.

Once, Sylvia had deliberately broken an heirloom left to Melody by her adoptive mother. Before Melody could even say anything, Sylvia burst into tears. The entire family gathered around to soothe and comfort her, even blaming Melody for not putting her things away properly.

But now, watching the group huddle together to console Sylvia, Melody felt nothing at all. She had no interest in competing with Sylvia for their affection. ’These so-called biological relatives... if Sylvia wants them, she can have them. This time, I’m going to save my real family.’

"Well, I’ll be taking my leave. I hope to see the transfer fee in my account tomorrow." After saying her piece, Melody turned and left the suffocating villa without a backward glance.