I was the untouchable golden girl of a billionaire family. Four years after my death, I was resurrected. By then, my lookalike stand-in had successfully taken my place. Wearing a face identical to mine, she smirked and provoked me: "Everything of yours is mine now. You came back too late." But what she didn't know was the fatal power of the original: the moment I appear, everyone will abandon their principles and run back to me. 1 "I'm home, Mom." I pushed open the grand doors to the Sterling estate without a hint of hesitation, smiling brightly at my mother sitting on the sofa. It felt as casual and ordinary as coming home from school. A loud crash echoed through the foyer as her teacup shattered on the marble floor. "Serena!" she wailed, her voice tearing with absolute, agonizing disbelief. "My Serena is home!" I am Serena Sterling, the eldest daughter of the Sterling family. I originally died of heart failure. On the brink of death, I was bound to a Multiverse Survival System. That was when I learned my reality was just a cliché romance simulation, and I was the classic "doomed golden girl"—the early-dying first love. The actual female lead was a girl who looked 90% like me. Her face allowed her to cross social classes, drawing the attention of the elite and becoming the darling of my family. My parents practically adopted her. My childhood sweetheart became her lover. My little brother obeyed her every word. She was destined to get everyone's love, but only on the condition that I stayed dead. So, when the System asked if I wanted to complete missions to earn my resurrection, I agreed instantly. Why should my tragedy be the stepping stone for her happy ending? So, I came back. "Mom, it's me. I'm back." Her embrace was as warm as ever, but so tight I could barely breathe. She held me like she was terrified I would vanish into thin air if she let go. I sighed and patted her frail back to comfort her. The System had altered their memories, changing my death from heart failure to "missing in a shipwreck" four years ago. She thought she had just spent four agonizing years searching for me. But our tearful reunion was cut short by a commotion at the front door. 2 "Mom, look what we brought you!" A sickeningly sweet, unfamiliar female voice rang out. A young girl skipped inside holding a box of pastries from a high-end bakery. Close behind her was a voice I knew all too well, dripping with indulgence. "Slow down, don't run." It was Carter, the boy I grew up with. My childhood sweetheart. "Mom, do we have guests? Why are you crying?" This was my younger brother, Spencer. I was facing away from him, so he couldn't see my face as he walked in. My mother hugged me tighter. Her eyes were red, lips trembling, but she couldn't stop crying long enough to speak. "Mom, please don't cry. What's wrong? Who is this?" Spencer asked. "Ouch, Carter, why are you squeezing my hand so hard?" the sweet voice complained, adding a hint of a pout. Carter didn't react to her. I could feel his burning gaze fixed on my back. His Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to call out a name he hadn't spoken in years. "Why are you all acting so weird? The security guard at the gate even said I had already come home a few minutes ago. So weird," the girl mumbled. She looked at my crying mother, my silent brother, and Carter, who looked like he had seen a ghost. Finally, her gaze landed on me. A terrible premonition rose in her chest. As if to confirm her worst fears, I pulled away from my mother's embrace, turned around, and looked right at them. "Spencer. Carter. Long time no see." 3 "Serena..." Carter's voice trembled imperceptibly. Spencer, however, was much more explosive. "Serena Sterling! You actually dared to come back?! Where the hell have you been all these years? Do you know I thought you were dead?! How could you... how could you..." The eighteen-year-old boy tried to sound tough, gritting his teeth, but his eyes were terrifyingly red, and the tears fell one after another. I patted his shoulder, feeling a pang of guilt. "Spencer, you've grown up." He was only fourteen when I "disappeared." He was practically a man now. Unable to hold it in any longer, he buried his face into my shoulder and sobbed quietly. "I missed you so much, Serena." It was a bittersweet reunion. As the pastry box hit the floor, everyone finally noticed the girl standing frozen by the door. I looked at her. That face, so highly identical to mine, was completely drained of color. She looked utterly pathetic. Later, we all sat down for dinner. The table was filled with all my favorite dishes. My mother kept putting food on my plate, and Spencer automatically peeled my shrimp for me. But when Carter unconsciously picked up a piece of sweet and sour rib—my favorite—and placed it into Chloe's bowl, everyone froze. "Thank you," Chloe said quietly, gripping her hands tight. It was the first time she had spoken since finding out who I was. "Yeah," Carter replied faintly. I ignored the undercurrents of tension and calmly ate my meal. "Your room hasn't changed at all. I cleaned it myself every single day. Go get some rest. I'll have the family doctor check on you later, and your father will be flying back tomorrow," my mother rambled, filled with worry. I nodded to everything. They didn't say much about Chloe, but I wasn't panicked. This was the confidence of being truly loved. But I didn't expect the mountain to come to me. Late that night, there was a knock on my bedroom door. 4 I opened the door to find Chloe's familiar face. She was holding a glass of warm milk. I raised an eyebrow, thinking she was here to awkwardly make peace. Instead, her face twisted into a mocking sneer. "If you were dead, you should have stayed dead. Why come back? Do you think you can compete with me?" "I've spent four years conquering them. Aside from this bedroom, everything you used to own is mine now. You're too late, understand?" Conquering? That was a very specific word. Like something from a System. Before I could react, she suddenly splashed the glass of milk all over her own face. Then, she screamed and threw herself onto the hardwood floor. The glass shattered into pieces. She started sobbing, looking like a fragile, broken doll. "Serena, I'm so sorry! I just wanted to bring you some milk. I didn't mean any harm!" How long had it been since I witnessed such a low-tier framing attempt? For a second, I almost found it funny. I looked down coldly at the pitiful girl crying on the floor. Her thin pajamas and hair were soaked with milk. She looked at me with pure terror, the perfect image of a bullied victim. Honestly, I had no real desire to fight Chloe. Regardless of her motives, she was the one who kept my family company during their darkest times. I didn't hold deep malice toward her. I just wanted her to back off gracefully. But her hostility was crystal clear. A scream in the middle of the night in a house where no one was truly sleeping yet drew immediate attention. Doors slammed open down the hall. 5 "What happened?! Is Serena okay?" My mother stumbled out of her room, pale and panicked, haphazardly throwing a robe over her shoulders. She had even put her slippers on the wrong feet. She didn't let out a breath of relief until she saw me standing there unharmed. Only after confirming I was safe did Chloe's pitiful whimpering reach her ears. "What's going on? Why are you on the floor?" my mother asked, frowning at the shattered glass next to Chloe. Before Chloe could answer, my mother continued, "Why are you so careless? What if someone steps on the glass? Get up quickly." "It was Serena... she..." Chloe pouted, tears welling in her eyes, ready to put on a show. But she was interrupted again. "What happened to your hand?!" Spencer marched straight past Chloe and grabbed my hand. There was a tiny, bleeding scratch on the back of my hand, probably from a stray shard of glass. It didn't even hurt, but Spencer looked at it like it was a fatal wound. "Do you not know how to take care of yourself? Didn't you feel that?!" he scolded, instinctively blowing on the tiny cut like he did when we were kids. "I'll get the first-aid kit," he said, turning to run down the hall. My mother rushed over, her face full of heartache. "Hurry, Spencer! It's bleeding. Oh, Serena, does it hurt? It's Mom's fault for not noticing." She held my hand, looking incredibly guilty. Once again, Chloe was completely ignored. Her face twisted with resentment. Ever since she used her face to climb into the upper echelon of society, she hadn't tasted defeat. The love of parents, the affection of a lover, the care of a younger brother—she had it all in the palm of her hand. She thought she was the luckiest girl in the world. Why did the dead have to come back to life?! 6 "Mom, it's fine. It doesn't hurt," I said, catching the raw jealousy in Chloe's eyes. I knew she wouldn't let this go. When you possess something for too long, you start to believe it rightfully belongs to you. "Mom, it hurts... I'm bleeding too." Taking advantage of my mother's turned back, Chloe had grabbed a shard of glass and squeezed it, cutting her own palm deeply. She held up her bloody hand, tears streaming down her face, looking like a desperate child begging for her mother's attention. "I got the first-aid kit," Spencer announced as he rushed back. He paused when he saw Chloe's blood-soaked hand. "Spencer, it hurts," Chloe whimpered. She knew exactly what worked on him. In the past, whenever she looked at him with that weak, dependent gaze, he would complain but gently take care of her, yielding to her every wish. Seeing him hesitate, she called his name again, softer this time. "Spencer..." Spencer pursed his lips. My mother took the first-aid kit from his hands and pulled me into my room to treat my scratch. "Spencer, help her up," I finally spoke. I knew my mother and brother were ignoring her partly to show they prioritized me, and partly because they were afraid her presence made me uncomfortable. I wasn't an idiot. I knew what she represented during the years I was gone. My voice surprised even my mother, who paused and looked back. Spencer always listened to me. He carefully stepped around the glass and helped Chloe up. "Spencer, do you and Mom hate me now?" Chloe leaned into his grip, her eyes red. All her calculated victimhood was instantly shattered by a single sentence from me. Spencer didn't answer. "I just wanted to bring Serena some milk. I really didn't mean any harm. I don't know why she pushed me. Mom won't look at me, Serena hates me... Spencer, are you guys going to kick me out?" "If I apologize to Serena, will she forgive me? I don't want to leave..." "Chloe," Spencer cut her off calmly. Chloe froze, looking up at him. Spencer met her gaze with an eerily calm look, almost like he was looking at a stranger. "Serena is my sister," he said. 7 That single sentence was enough for Chloe to understand. Serena is my sister. Not her. Calling me "sister" in that sickeningly sweet tone was a mistake. Because Serena was his sister, he trusted me unconditionally. He didn't believe a single word coming out of Chloe's mouth. Tears rolled down Chloe's cheeks. She bit her lip and asked stubbornly, "What about me, Spencer? What about the last three years we spent together? You used to call me your sister too..." her voice choked with sobs. "I didn't. I never called you my sister," Spencer denied it flatly. He never called Chloe his sister, except on the very first day they met, when he thought I had come back. Chloe choked on her tears, remembering the truth. Spencer had mostly been quiet around her. She thought he was just not much of a talker. She didn't realize that from the very beginning, he knew the difference between the original and the replica. He had been too stingy to even give her that title. But she refused to believe it. Three years of living together, three years of accumulated "Affection Points" verified by her System. There was no way he felt nothing for her. "Aren't we family?" she muttered. This time, Spencer didn't reply. He gave her a long, deep look, then turned and walked into my bedroom. Chloe's expression shifted wildly before she fell silent. She followed him into the room. It was the first time she had stepped inside this "forbidden zone" since becoming the adopted daughter of the Sterling family. It was decorated completely differently from her room, yet everything was exquisitely elegant. She had always thought that one day, she would move into this room as its rightful owner. She never expected the true owner to be the one to open its doors. 8 The scratch on my hand had already been bandaged. I hadn't missed the drama by the door. "You should get Miss Chloe's hand cleaned up. Spencer, go help her. The first-aid kit is right there," I offered, my tone gentle and kind, perfectly matching the sister Spencer remembered. "Okay," Spencer agreed without hesitation. He obediently got to work. Chloe felt utterly humiliated. She thought I was showing off my authority over him. She shot me venomous glares while Spencer worked on her hand. I acted completely oblivious, chatting away with my mother. "The doctor said your body went through a lot. You need a lot of rest. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, you have to tell me immediately, understand?" "Yes, yes, I'll listen to you, Mom. Don't worry so much. I'm not a little kid anymore." "No matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby." My mother was a loving woman, but she rarely expressed her affection so bluntly. My nose prickled. I thought of all the times I died in those foreign worlds, endlessly completing missions just for the chance to come back. I died over and over again. I thought I had grown completely hardened, but my mother's simple words turned my heart to mush. "Hiss..." A sharp intake of breath broke the moment. Spencer paused his hands. Chloe had been ruthless with herself. The cut on her palm was deep, and picking the glass shards out required precision. "Bear with it," Spencer said, his eyes lowered. He was very patient when executing a task given by his real sister. Chloe let out a nasal "Mhm." She didn't make another sound. Whenever the pain flared, her free hand violently gripped her crumpled pajama dress. Soon, Spencer finished bandaging her hand.
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