The Lie That Took My Place

After being framed time and again by the impostor who took my place, my parents kicked me out. I starved to death on the cold streets of the city.
In the Afterlife, the Arbiter reviewed my file, his brow furrowing as he looked over my mortal record.
You were set up multiple times. Why didn't you defend yourself?
"I did," I said, choking back tears. "I told them the truth. But no one believed me."
The Arbiter signed a document with a flourish. "If no one believed you, then let's make her speak the truth herself."
"Im giving you a second chance. Good luck."
A wave of dizziness hit me, and suddenly, I was back. Back to the day my biological parents finally brought me home.
Only this time, I had a Truth System installed in my rival.
Jessica, the girl who had been raised in my place, saw me walk through the door. She smiled sweetly and started to say, "Sister, I've been looking forward to meeting you."
But her tongue twisted, and what actually came out was:
"Dammit, they actually found this trash. I need to figure out a way to make Mom and Dad kick her out onto the street!"
Jessica clamped her hands over her mouth in panic.
The entire room went silent. Every eye landed on her.
Good, Jessica, I thought, suppressing a smirk. Lets see how you act your way out of this one.

1.
My parents, Richard and Martha Vance, stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief. "Jessica! What has gotten into you? You never use foul language!"
"We raised you to be a Vance, a lady of high society. How can you curse like a sailor?"
My chest tightened.
The point of her sentence was that she wanted to manipulate them into disowning me. Yet, they completely ignored the malice. They didn't care that she wanted me gone; they didn't care that she called me trash.
They only cared that their carefully cultivated "perfect daughter" had slipped up on her etiquette.
Thinking back to my past life, to how easily they bought into her lies... I realized something. They weren't just blind.
They just didn't care about me.
Jessica quickly pivoted, putting on her best wounded-doe expression. "I... I don't know what happened..."
"I couldn't control my mouth just now. Those weren't my thoughts..."
"Daddy, Mommy, I don't know if I should say this, but the moment Elara walked in, I felt this dark, heavy energy..."
My parents turned to me, their gazes instantly hardening into disgust. "Elara, what kind of voodoo did you learn out in that backwater town? How dare you use it on your sister?"
"Listen to me. Now that you are a Vance, you will follow our rules. Leave that low-class garbage behind!"
"We brought you back not expecting you to bring us glory, but the least you can do is not embarrass us!"
My biological brother, Tyler, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Jessica started acting strange the second Elara arrived. She must have brought something unclean into the house."
"We need a cleansing. I won't feel safe sleeping under the same roof otherwise."
I shook my head frantically. "I didn't bring anything! Jessica just accidentally spoke her mind!"
They ignored me. Richard immediately called up the family's "spiritual advisor," a man named Brother Thomas.
Thomas was a regular grifter who knew exactly which side his bread was buttered on. He exchanged a subtle glance with Jessica before putting on a solemn face.
"Miss Elara is indeed carrying a dark attachment. This entity cannot be removed by prayer alone. It requires physical expulsion."
"Since the entity has targeted Miss Jessica, she must be the one to wield the instrument. She must strike Miss Elara eighty-one times with a leather whip to drive the spirit out."
Without a second thought, my parents ordered the staff to tie me up.
Jessica picked up the whip. Her eyes gleamed with venomous delight.
"I'm so sorry, Elara. I'm only doing this for your own good."
She giggled, a triumphant sound, and raised her arm to strike.
But as the whip came down, her mouth betrayed her again:
"Look at this. Mom and Dad always take my side. I say you're cursed, and they let me beat you. In this house, youre nothing but a dog to me!"
Hearing this, my parents just frowned. "Jessica, hit harder! Beat the demon out of her!"
Jessica put her whole back into it. The leather sliced through my clothes, cutting into my skin.
When the eighty-one lashes were finally over, they untied me. I collapsed to the floor, paralyzed with pain.
My parents told a servant to help me upstairs, but Brother Thomas held up a hand.
"Wait. Miss Elara should not stay in a spacious, comfortable room. Dark entities thrive on comfort and will return. A cramped, dark space is best."
My parents thought for a moment. "The storage closet on the first floor is small and has no windows. But a bed won't fit..."
Thomas nodded sagely. "That is perfect. If Miss Elara suffers a bit, the entity won't want to come back."

2.
I was thrown into the damp, dark storage closet.
I curled up in the corner, my body trembling with agony, despair clawing at my throat.
I thought having the Truth System would make this life easier. I didn't expect it to start off even harder than the last one.
The door creaked open. Jessica walked in, looking down at me like I was a cockroach.
"You did something, didn't you? Made me speak the truth."
"You're so naive, Elara. Even if I say it out loud, so what? Mom and Dad will always choose me."
"So what if you're the blood daughter? You're just a loser from the boonies. You think you can compete with me?"
"Do yourself a favor and go back to the dirt you came from..."
Footsteps approached from the hallway.
Jessicas face instantly shifted to terror. "Sister, what are you doing? Please, don't hurt me!"
She grabbed a letter opener from a shelf and jammed it violently into her own arm.
Hearing her scream, my parents burst in, pushing past me to cradle her.
"Elara! What did you do to Jessica?!"
I looked at them coldly. "I didn't do anything. I just watched her perform a one-woman show."
"You think wed believe Jessica stabbed herself? Are you insane?"
Jessica gasped weakly, leaning into Martha. "I just... I just asked if she was scared sleeping alone, if she wanted company... and she... she stabbed me..."
Richard and Tyler glared at me with pure hatred. "Elara, how can you be so vicious? How did the Vance bloodline produce something so heartless?"
My father raised his hand to slap me.
But Jessicas voice rang out again.
"I came in here to trigger this bitch, told her she has no place here, and then I stabbed myself to frame her!"
She slapped her hands over her mouth. My fathers hand froze in mid-air. The room went dead silent.
I looked at my parents. "Did you hear that? That is the truth."
Tyler scoffed, breaking the tension. "Clearly the cleansing wasn't thorough enough. The demon is still making her say crazy things to frame Jessica."
My parents didn't argue. They told Tyler to take Jessica to get bandaged up.
They glanced at me with cold indifference and turned to leave.
"Why?"
I asked the question to their retreating backs.
"You know she's telling the truth. You know she staged it. Why do you still side with her?"
Martha turned, a sneer curling her lip.
"Elara, love is built over time. It doesn't just appear because of DNA."
"For over a decade, Jessica has been our daughter. We poured everything into her."
"Even putting feelings asidelook at her. Her elegance, her speech, her education. That is what a Vance daughter looks like."
"You? Youre a farm girl. You can't compare."
"A daughter represents the family face in public. Look at yourself. Youre unpresentable."
"Then why bring me back at all?"
"You think we wanted to? The police made a huge scene about finding you!"
"We couldn't leave our biological daughter out there without the media tearing us apart."
"The Vance family won't let you starve, but don't you dare think you can replace Jessica."
They walked away.
That was the moment my heart finally froze over.
I remembered the secret the Arbiter had told me about Jessica. I smiled.
I didn't want their cheap affection anymore.
I was going to make sure they knew the truth. And then, I was going to make sure they lost everything they cared about.

3.
I went to find Brian Powell.
The Vance and Powell families had arranged a marriage between Brian and Jessica years ago. Brian hated the arrangement, but he couldn't defy his familys orders.
When I was brought back, my face had been plastered all over the news. Brian recognized me immediately.
He looked at me with bored indifference. "What? Is the Vance family swapping brides now?"
I shook my head. "I'm here to make a deal."
Brian raised an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"
"I know you don't want to marry into my family. It's just business pressure."
"If Vance Enterprises suddenly went bankrupt, your parents wouldn't force you to go through with the wedding, would they?"
"I have a way to tank their stock."
Brian sat up straighter. He laughed, a sharp, cynical sound. "It seems the prodigal daughter has realized that blood isn't thicker than water."
"Well? Do we have a deal, Mr. Powell?"
"If your family goes under, you go down with them. You're willing to lose everything?"
"I told you, this is a trade."
"I help you destroy the Vance legacy. In return, you give me ten million dollars in cash. And when the bank auctions off the Vance estate, you buy it and deed it to me."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Ten million was enough for a lifetime of comfort. As for the villa... in my last life, they kicked me out of it to die. In this life, I was going to kick them out.
Brian nodded slowly. "Bankrupting Vance Enterprises isn't a small task. What do you need from me?"
"First, the money. Now. I don't trust you not to stiff me."
Brian took the slip of paper with my account number, handed it to his secretary, and five minutes later, the funds cleared.
I smiled. "You aren't worried I'm scamming you?"
"It's just ten million. I'll take the gamble. Besides, no one in this city is stupid enough to scam Brian Powell."
"What's part two?"
"Next week, the Powells are hosting the Grand Gala. I need you to add a segment to the program..."
When I finished explaining, Brian looked at me with confusion. "Thats all it takes?"
I nodded. "Just sit back and watch the show. Youll witness the Vance empire crumble in real-time."
A week later, the Grand Galathe most exclusive event in the cityarrived.
When the invitation arrived at the house, Jessica noticed a new addition to the schedule.
All heirs and heiresses will take the stage to share a personal story from their upbringing.
Jessica squealed with delight. "This must be Brian's idea! He wants to get to know me better but is too shy to ask directly, so he made a whole event out of it."
"It's so romantic! Like, 'to hug you, I hugged the whole world' vibes!"
"I have to write the perfect speech!"
She glanced over at me, her eyes narrowing.
"Mom, Dad... does Elara have to speak, too?"
"I'm so curious what a farm girl would even talk about. Shoveling pig manure? Is that what you did all day, Sister?"

4.
My parents looked at me with undisguised revulsion.
"It's a high-society gala. What could she possibly share without making us vomit?"
"Elara, listen to me. Everyone knows you're back, so we have to take you. But keep your mouth shut."
"Smile more, speak less. Do not show your lack of breeding. We cannot afford the embarrassment."
"And I heard you went to see Brian the other day? You think just because you're the biological daughter you can steal Jessica's fianc?"
"Look in a mirror. Brian wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole even if he had brain damage."
"From now on, you don't see anyone without our permission. Stop humiliating us."
Jessica beamed, soaking up my humiliation.
"I'm going to go write my speech. Don't worry, Daddy, Mommy. I'll make the Vance name shine!"
Watching her skip away, a cold smile touched my lips.
Yes, Jessica. Prepare that speech.
Make it perfect. Polish every word. Its a waste of time.
Because when you open your mouth, not a single word on that paper is going to come out.
Mom, Dad... I can't wait to see the look on your faces when you learn the truth.
The night of the gala arrived.
The Powell ballroom was a sea of crystal chandeliers and designer gowns. Jessica walked arm-in-arm with Tyler, while my parents beamed with pride behind them.
I trailed behind like an unwanted shadow.
People recognized me as the returned daughter and came over to look.
Martha pinched the fabric of my dress, pulling me forward roughly. "Yes, well, she's a country girl. Hasn't seen the world. Apologies if she's awkward."
"We feed her, clothe her, try to teach her, but she's just... hopelessly rustic."
The guests offered polite, empty platitudes. "At least she's home. Don't push too hard. You already have such an outstanding daughter in Jessica."
Nearby, Jessica was fluttering her eyelashes at Brian.
"Brian, you have to listen carefully when I give my speech later, okay?"
The event began. The heirs and heiresses took the stage one by one.
Soon, it was Jessicas turn.
She glided up to the microphone, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and held up her speech cards.
"Good evening, everyone. I am Jessica Vance. As many of you know, I was an orphan adopted by my wonderful parents."
"They gave me the best..."
She didn't finish the sentence. Her tongue twisted violently.
And then, the bombshell dropped.
"Actually, I'm not an orphan. My coming to the Vance family was entirely...

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