In my previous life, my brother took his sugarbaby to see a meteor shower because she said she wanted to.

He drove to the countryside with all his bodyguards to create a perfect stargazing night for her.

Unfortunately, business rivals whom my brother had bankrupted saw this opportunity and broke into our estate seeking revenge.

My mother fought desperately to protect me, suffering severe injuries that left her fighting for her life.

I called my brother repeatedly, begging him to return quickly and help us.

He finally had to come back with his security team.

The intruders were captured, but then terrible news came from the countryside.

His sugarbaby had left a suicide note, her fate unknown.

In her letter, she accused me of deliberately drawing my brother away, causing her to be tortured by his enemies before she took her own life.

My brother coldly burned her letter and told me not to worry about it.

Afterward, my brother was blamed for what happened, and my father promised to put me in charge of the company.

However, after the celebration dinner ended, my brother brutally murdered me in my bedroom.

His face showed no emotion as he coldly said, "Someone as treacherous as you should have died long ago.

"You should have been the one to die, and the family inheritance should have been mine!"

I died with my eyes wide open in disbelief, and when I opened them again, I could hear our enemies breaking down the front door of our mansion.
Chapter 1
The thunderous crash of the heavy iron gates being forced open at our estate jolted me back to reality from my near-death experience.
I grabbed my panic-stricken mother, who was about to rush out to see what was happening, and pulled her into my bedroom.
After locking the door, I gasped for breath and urged Mom to help me push the heavy oak wardrobe against the door.
"Mia, what are you doing? We have security guards, what are you afraid of?" My mother, Marianne, looked at me in confusion, though she couldn't hide the terror in her eyes.
She didn't know yet that my brother, James, had taken all the bodyguards with him for his beloved girlfriend.
"Mom, James took all the security with him. It's just the two of us in the house now!" I gritted my teeth, using every ounce of strength to push the wardrobe.
The heavy oak made a spine-chilling scraping sound as it left deep scratches across the hardwood floor.
Marianne froze, unable to believe that my usually responsible brother would do something so reckless.
Given our family's wealth, security had always been a top priority. How could all the guards possibly leave at once?
But seeing my pale face, she had no choice but to believe me.
"Quick! Call your brother and tell him to come back immediately!" Marianne urged, her voice shaking.
I remained silent, eyes fixed on the door barely blocked by the wardrobe.
With trembling fingers, I dialed 911, briefly explaining our situation and address.
I couldn't trust James to be our first line of rescue, especially since in my previous life, he had returned too late, causing my mother to miss the critical treatment window and die.
After hanging up, my heart sank.
Recent heavy snowfall had blocked the roads, and our hillside estate was quite a distance from the nearest police station.
I dreaded to imagine what might happen before the police arrived...
"BANG!" A violent crash shook the door. I instinctively pressed my body against the wardrobe as fear rushed through me.
Just then, Marianne's call to James connected.
"James, come home quickly, there are... there are intruders in the house!" Marianne's voice broke with tears.
James's impatient voice came through the speaker, "Come on, Mom, stop making things up. I'm still waiting for the meteor shower with Michelle. I'll be back tomorrow."
"I'm not lying! There really are intruders! Come back quickly, or you'll be collecting our bodies!" Marianne practically screamed.
James's tone grew even colder, "I know you don't like Michelle, but there's no need to make up such stories to scare me."
Chapter 2
"And tell Mia Cooper that she should stop playing these little games. I won't fall for it again."
Hearing these words, my heart completely sank.
It seemed my brother had also been reborn! But why would he think this was a lie I made up?
In my previous life, he had witnessed with his own eyes how those thugs tortured mother and me.
Why was he being so cold this time around?
Just because of Michelle Peterson? Just because she casually said "Mia did it on purpose" in her suicide note?
Heavy footsteps approached outside the door.
Then the door was hit even more violently, making the wardrobe start to scrape across the floor with a piercing noise.
We watched helplessly as the wardrobe's defense gradually failed untilCRACK!
A corner of the wardrobe splintered under a powerful blow, exposing a large gap right before our eyes.
The intruder outside let out a hoarse laugh, "So this is where you're hiding."
I stood in front of my mother, backing toward the bed step by step.
Staring at the widening crack in the doorway, sweat covered my forehead as I felt completely helpless without any weapon.
Then the door was violently forced open, with the bottom of the wardrobe making a terrible screeching sound like metal on train tracks.
A pair of dirty boots stepped into the room.
"Did you think blocking the door would save you? I don't have the patience for games."
The man smiled crookedly, his disgusting gaze scanning the room.
I froze in place, staring at the gleaming knife in his hand, its cold light reflecting off his filthy knuckles.
His gaze fell on me, greedy and sickening, like a snake's tongue flicking.
"Well, well, I didn't expect to find such a pretty young lady here."
Marianne let out a heart-wrenching scream, "Don't touch her!"
I clenched my teeth, fighting down the despair churning in my chest, and turned to whisper to my mother, "Mom, whatever happens next, don't interfere.
"Move back. There's a trampoline outside the window that should cushion your fall.