Chapter 3

The fake smile on Gia’s face nearly shattered into pieces.

Choked on her own words, she stood frozen, but Christian couldn't wait to jump to his darling's defense.

"Scarlett Vance! What the hell is your problem?! Gia has been raised by your parents for twenty years—she IS a Vance! You're just some peasant girl fresh out of the sticks, who do you think you are to act so arrogant?!"

Christian had decent looks and came from a powerful family.

Too bad he had zero brains.

My verdict on him in my past life remained just as accurate today.

I could hardly believe that in the original novel—the one without Gia—I had actually spent an entire lifetime playing happy couple with an idiot like him.

"And who are you to bark orders in the Vance house? You're an outsider."

I didn't even bother looking at him.

My mother frowned uncomfortably. "Scarlett, Gia is our daughter too. You need to treat her like your sister."

My father looked even more displeased. Ever since the transmigrated Gia tipped him off on a massive government contract that netted him hundreds of millions, he had worshiped the ground she walked on.

"Scarlett! If this is the attitude you're bringing into this house, you might as well turn around and walk right back out!"

His words brought a smug, triumphant gleam to Gia's eyes.

Nothing brought her more joy than watching my own parents turn against me.

Right then, I reached into my purse and pulled out an antique pocket watch.

"Dad, this is for you."

My father's expression instantly shifted. "Where on earth did you get this?!"

Shock and pure delight took over his face.

Truth was, this pocket watch had been given to me by an elderly, childless woman in the countryside right before she passed away.

She told me that if I ever ran out of money, I could pawn it to save my life.

In my previous life, I had no clue it was worth an absolute fortune.

It wasn't until Gia found out, ran to our parents, and accused me of hoarding a priceless treasure for myself to smear my character that I learned its true value.

My father was an obsessive collector of antique watches.

He had hunted high and low across the globe for decades searching for this specific piece, never finding a trace.

When he thought I was deliberately keeping it from him back then, he was convinced I was an ungrateful leech.

This time around, I was placing it in his hands myself.

Gia would never get the chance to use it against me.

"An elderly neighbor back in the village gave it to me, Dad. It was a very poor town, and she was worried I wouldn't have enough money for school or food. But now that I'm back, I thought something this precious belongs with you and Mom."

I lowered my eyes, playing the fragile, selfless daughter to perfection.

My parents exchanged a long look, and for the very first time, genuine parental guilt and tenderness washed over them.

Mom pulled me tight into her arms, tears streaming down her face. "My poor baby... you've suffered so much."

Holding the watch, Dad was practically beside himself with joy.

This masterpiece was priceless; no amount of wealth could buy it if nobody was selling.

With a wave of his hand, he immediately transferred five million dollars into my account as an allowance.

Mom held me and wept for what felt like hours, blaming herself for letting her biological child grow up without a proper education.

For a moment, their guilt toward me reached an all-time high.

Standing to the side, Gia looked like she was about to spit fire from pure jealousy.

Thanks to her scheming in my past life, I hadn't received a fraction of this warmth.

This time, I was the one holding the cards.

I took the best guest-turned-master suite down the hall and secured an allowance matching Gia's to the penny.

Still, it wasn't enough.

In the original sequence of events, Gia eventually used Christian's connections to seize total control over the Vance family empire.

I needed someone capable of crushing Christian into the dirt.