Double Rebirth, Fake Heiress Panicked

The day before I was to exchange engagement rings with Ethan Gould, Vice President of Gould Corporation,

Isabella Carter, heiress of Carter Group, suddenly showed up at my door claiming to be family.

She said she was the real daughter of Prosecutor Thomas Bennett.

The moment I heard her speak, I knewshe had been reborn too.

After both families did DNA tests, they each took back their biological daughters.

I transformed from Thomas Bennett's unloved daughter into the sole heir of the Smith Corporation.

And my late birth mother, Mary, was the twin sister of Elizabeth Norton, wife of the current richest man.

Everyone said I could walk sideways through this city now, but I couldn't.

Because this month, Elizabeth would be cast out, and next month, Smith Corporation would be seized and go bankrupt.

After that, my fianc would become the new business leader, taking over the Smith family's commercial empire.

In my previous life, he even earned me the honorary title of "Philanthropist's Wife," while Isabella ended up in the gutter, tortured to death.

So she came back to swap our lives.

But how could I let her have her way...

I had just returned to the Smith residence with an excited Michael Smith when Elizabeth sent someone to bring me to her.

After whispering with the messenger assistant, Michael earned the opportunity to drive me to the club entrance.

He stood at the door, shouting at me: "Grace! Dad will be waiting here to take you home!"

I really liked this feeling.

I made up my mindI won't run anymore. I'll save him.

When I entered the private club, the assistant who came to get me was very excited.

It wasn't until I saw Elizabeth for the first time that I realized

I really did look like my birth mother, which meant I also resembled Elizabeth when she was young.

In my previous life, when I attended banquets with my honorary title, the head seat was already occupied by Mrs. Lewis, wife of the new chairman Damian Lewis, so this was my first time seeing Elizabeth.

Elizabeth tenderly held my hand, looking me up and down, saying how wonderful this was, how good.

She even asked my name.

I thought for a moment and told her my name was Grace Smith.

Elizabeth got even more excited and pulled out a blank check on the spot, offering me a hundred million dollars.

I was stunned.

So the sisterly bond between them really was as legendary as rumored.

Even blank checks could be casually given to a sister's daughter.

Then why did she suddenly go bankrupt?

Carrying this question, I clutched the check and was escorted out by a crowd of people.

Michael looked satisfied at the long line of people following me and the gift boxes in their hands, then waved his hand grandly.

"Let's go home. Dad will add a bit more to your personal fund."

Our procession was quite the spectacle. On the way back, we passed by the Prosecutor's house and even disturbed Isabella. I heard she secretly fumed for quite a while.

Oh right, Isabella had already changed her name to Isabella Carter.

The moment I got that hundred million, her "socialite" title was stripped from her social circle.

Knowing her as I did, she definitely couldn't eat for three days.

But I was different.

Top-tier Japanese cuisine, French food, and private kitchen dishes were all brought to the table.

Time to dig in.

Michael kept chattering beside me, serving me fish with his chopsticks, worried I wouldn't have enough.

While eating, I chatted with him, casually probing to see if I could find any trace of the bankruptcy and seizure.

After half a day together, calling him "Dad" came very smoothly.

"Dad, all these years, you really haven't had any other women?"

Michael got anxious and quickly raised his hand to swear.

"My devotion to Mary is witnessed by heaven and earth. Ask anyone at the companydon't I light incense for her morning and evening?"

"I believe you, I believe you. Just curious."

He huffed, and before I could even coax him, he'd already soothed himself, even saying he'd make me supervise him thinking of Mary a hundred times a day.

"Dad, I heard you and Mr. Lewis recently had some disagreements?"

"Nonsense! It's not disagreements, just different viewpoints."

"Dad, I heard Gould Corporation wants to acquire shares from you?"

"Ridiculous! My businesses are all in manufacturing. I'd never leave them in capital markets for speculation."

"Dad, I heard that you..."

Michael suddenly slapped the table.

"Grace, stop with all this 'I heard' business. If you want to know something, just ask me directly. I'm definitely more reliable than those financial bloggers out there."

Too direct! I suddenly didn't know what to say!

Could I really just ask outright whether he'd committed tax evasion or bribery?

For such a large corporation to be seized, I could only think of these two major crimes.

In my previous life, Smith Corporation was dealt with secretly. The circle didn't allow discussion of it, and even my nouveau riche fianc kept his mouth shut.

In the end, the Smith family was left with just Isabella, who went to work as a...

Right, Isabellashe was reborn too.

I needed to find an opportunity to meet with her.

Elizabeth would be cast out in ten days. Time waited for no one, so I decided to take the initiative.

But before I could find Isabella, she came looking for me.

She brought along the woman I'd called mother for over a decade, who berated me for seducing someone else's fianc.

What "someone else's fianc"?

I looked at the mother-daughter pair in confusion.

Mrs. Bennett said coldly, her face harsh, accusing me of shamelessness:

"The Gould family's son was promised to my Bennett family's daughter. You're a Smith now, so this marriage alliance belongs to my daughter Isabella. You're not to see Ethan Gould again."

Oh, so the "someone else's fianc" referred to Ethan Gould!

In our previous life, if not deeply in love, we at least treated each other with respect. After my rebirth, I genuinely wanted to marry him again.

After all, he didn't talk much and was generous with money.

I'd even felt a twinge of regret when we acknowledged our true families.

Hadn't Ethan said he'd only marry the Bennett family's daughter?

Didn't that make this marriage Isabella's now? Why were this mother and daughter acting crazy now?

Besides, I hadn't even seen him since my rebirth.

Seeing my silence, Isabella's mouth turned down, about to play the victim, while Mrs. Bennett prepared to bombard me again.

It seemed Isabella really wanted to marry Ethan Gould.

Seeing I still wouldn't speak, Isabella lost her patience.

"Grace, you're the Smith Corporation heiress now. Even heirs of top-tier wealthy families are yours to choose from. The Gould family must be beneath you now."

"Besides, you haven't exchanged rings yet. This engagement doesn't count."

"Just write a message breaking off this engagement."

I looked at her in confusion and asked:

"If this engagement doesn't count, why do I need to personally write a message?"

Isabella blurted out: "Isn't it because the Gould family sent word that..."

"Isabella!"

Unfortunately, her words were cut off by Mrs. Bennett before she could finish.

I guessed that the Gould family had valued my business acumen before.

Now that they were getting the circle's famously spoiled socialite instead, how could they willingly take that loss? They must want to make the Bennett family suffer.

When she was my mother, why didn't she think wholeheartedly of me? Could it be she already knew I wasn't her biological daughter?

Before I could verify this suspicion, something major happened.

Ethan Gould was promoted early from Vice President to President.

Financial bloggers were waxing poetic about how Ethan saved the day at the annual meeting and heroically controlled an emergency situation.

I couldn't help but spit out my coffee and whisper to my assistant.

"Sophie, do people nowadays tell stories without even a draft? Subduing criminals barehandeddoes he think he's a superhero?"

"Why couldn't he subdue them barehanded? And who's a superhero?"

This voice sounded so familiar.

Wait, how could he eavesdrop on my private conversation?

I turned, ready to scold, only to see Ethan Gould in a custom-tailored suit, carrying what looked like a cage covered with cloth in one hand.

How was he here?

And dressed so formallyhe'd scared poor Sophie so much she didn't dare raise her head.

Also, since when did he like keeping birds?

Ethan looked down at his outfit and unconsciously moved his car keys to the front.

Then he stared at me, making me feel inexplicably awkward.

I admit you look good dressed like that, but I'm sick of seeing it!

In my previous life, if not for needing you to go out and handle business deals, I wouldn't have said I loved seeing you dressed this way.

It hurt my eyes.

"Hmm?" He looked at me questioningly.

I then remembered what I'd just said.

I quickly said: "You misunderstood. I wasn't saying you couldn't subdue criminals barehanded."

"Grace." He suddenly called my name, extending the cage toward me. "This is for you."

Oh, it's a white rabbit. Why was he keeping it like a bird?

Though I loved white rabbits, I didn't take it. After all, I wasn't a Bennett anymore.

He looked at me questioningly.

Based on my understanding of him, he must have found out from somewhere that I liked rabbits.

He was probably thinking: Didn't she say she liked white rabbits? Why won't she take it? Women are so troublesome!

I felt it necessary to remind him.

"Mr.... ahem, Mr. Gould, your fiance is the Bennett family's daughter. My surname is Smith now."

Ethan said without changing expression: "But my engagement ring has always been engraved with your birthday."

This? What could I say?

Maybe you could change it? I'm sure Mrs. Bennett would be very cooperative.

The white rabbit was just held between us.

Before we could speak, Isabella appeared at the door, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Ethan.

"Ethan! I finally get to see you. I heard that you..."

But before she could finish, Ethan put down the rabbit and nodded.

"Miss Smith, I'll take my leave now."

With that, he decisively turned and left, not even glancing at Isabella.

I could see Isabella was furious.

She glared at me through gritted teeth, saying viciously: "Don't forget your position. Ethan Gould is the Bennett family's son-in-law."

I smiled, picking up the rabbit to play with it.

"You reminded me. Speaking of position, I'm the Smith family's daughter now, Miss Carter."

Isabella clearly remembered the many times she'd used status to pressure me before, and her expression became rather colorful.

Before I could add fuel to the fire

Isabella blurted out: "Fine, Miss Smith. Don't get too smug. You might be in prison tomorrow."

There it wasthis person's mouth was really loose.

I pressed her while the iron was hot: "My aunt is the richest man's wife. What prison would I go to?"

"Elizabeth colluded with foreign capital. She'll be cast out soon. Once Elizabeth falls, your Smith family will be finished too."

"You all deserve to die!"

She was initially triumphant, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized something was wrong and quickly covered her mouth.

Anyway, I'd heard clearlyforeign capital, was it?

Isabella knew she'd spoken out of turn. She shut her mouth and said no more, just staring deadly at my precious rabbit.

"You speak recklessly, slandering Elizabeth. Can Thomas Bennett cover for you?"

She smiled bitterly without thinking.

Yes, my former father was the most timid, risk-averse, and profit-seeking. Now that her marriage to the Gould family wasn't settled, he definitely wouldn't do anything for this daughter.

Having learned a key piece of information, I handed the rabbit to Sophie and prepared to leave.

But before leaving, I kindly reminded her.

"I heard Mr. Lewis's son has returned. Take care of yourself."

She probably remembered being tortured by the Lewis family's young master, Nathan Lewis, in her previous life. Her face went deathly pale as she ran off.

She must be going to ask her mother how to marry into the Gould family as soon as possible.

That wasn't important. What mattered now was the foreign capital.

As far as I knew, Elizabeth had lived in this city since childhood. How did she get involved with foreign capital?

To quickly figure this out, I realized I could only ask Michael about it.

When Michael heard about this, his expression turned strange.

But he still told me that after defeating foreign rivals in a business war years ago, the other side proactively sent investment proposals.

As he spoke, he went off-topic.

Dad! Who has time to hear about your heroic business war exploits right now?

We need to save Elizabeth first!

I could only interrupt him to continue asking: "Dad, does Elizabeth have any connection to foreign capital?"

Michael's expression grew worse as he said: "Why are you asking about this?"

I said seriously: "This question is very important. I need to know clearly right now. If you don't tell me, I'll have to investigate myself. If I find out wrong information, it'll cause big trouble."

Michael was startled by my gaze. Since returning home, this was probably the first time he'd seen his carefree little cotton-padded jacket speak to him so seriously.

He first pondered for a moment.

"To be precise, the one connected to foreign capital is Mary."

"Ah, what does this have to do with Mom?"

Michael looked at me meaningfully.

"I even suspect that the one Mr. Lewis originally fancied was Mary."

Ah, this was getting more complicated.

I couldn't help but press on:

"Then how did Elizabeth end up marrying Mr. Lewis? Does she know the foreign capital people too?"

Actually, at this point, I'd already guessed some things.

Nothing more than he admired her, she fancied him, and he couldn't let her go.

Michael told me many things.

I blamed myself for only managing the household, balancing books, and looking after my husband in my previous life, never taking time to listen to circle gossip.

It turned out Mary and Elizabeth came from a wealthy family and, as rare twin sisters, were often brought to social occasions by family elders from a young age.

Over time, they became familiar with Damian Lewis and coincidentally met Victor Monroe, who'd grown up domestically.

Because Old Mr. Lewis, Robert Lewis, had joked about choosing one of them as a daughter-in-law, Damian took it to heart.

The older sister was lively and spirited, the younger sister steady and mature.

The elders all thought Damian fancied the younger sister, so Robert arranged the engagement.

Who knew that upon hearing this, Damian said it was wrong and was about to ask Robert to cancel the arrangement.

But just then, he saw Mary and me walking in hand-in-hand, asking to be engaged.

Hearing them say they were in love, and thinking he'd already arranged Elizabeth for Damian, Robert figured Mary marrying into the Smith family would also help Damian in the future. He waved his hand and agreed directly, even having the sisters get engaged on the same day.

I could imagine how devastated Damian must have been returning to his room.

Then all four married on the same day.

After marriage, both couples were loving and harmonious, becoming a celebrated story.

Especially Damian's devotion to Elizabeththey were truly inseparable. A year after marriage, they had their eldest son.

By contrast, Michael and Mom still bickered occasionally. Michael said Mom liked to throw little tantrums and often ran back to her parents' home.

They only had me three years after marriage.

Since things went so smoothly, how did foreign capital get involved?

I pressed Michael for a long time, but he also didn't know about the foreign capital connection.

When I pushed too hard, he simply threw up his hands and told me to ask Elizabeth myself.

Hearing that, I lifted my skirt and headed to the club.

Seeing me arrive, Elizabeth was delighted, constantly urging me to eat and drink, then giving me clothes and jewelry.

Feeling emotional, I blurted out:

"If my mom were here, she'd be as gentle and attentive as you."

Hearing this, Elizabeth paused, then stroked my head.

"I'm Mary's sister, which makes me your mother too."

I nodded vigorously, unsure how to broach the subject.

It didn't seem right to barge in and directly ask an elder about their youthful romance.

Elizabeth was indeed clever. Seeing my hesitation, she told me to say whatever I wanted and forget it once I left this room.

In that case, I directly asked about Victor Monroe.

Elizabeth hadn't expected me to ask about him and knocked over her teacup.

The assistant was about to smooth things over, but she signaled it wasn't necessary and had everyone else leave.

Now I really didn't know how to save Elizabeth. Since I'd lived again, I had to make something of it.