Chapter 4The Billionaire’s Scars: The Return of the Real Heiress

Despite their pleas, I didn't go home with them immediately.

I knew that something given too easily is never cherished.

I retreated to my tiny, cramped studio apartment. It was barely two hundred square feet, but it was mine.

The only problem was reaching my back to apply the ointment.

It didn't matter. I was used to sleeping on my stomach.

Just as I was drifting off, my phone rang.

It was my biological father.

I knew exactly why he was calling.

I let the phone ring seven or eight times before answering with a voice thick with feigned sleep.

"Avery, we’ve already retained a team of lawyers. We’re filing criminal charges against those people. We need you to come in tomorrow to give a statement."

I yawned silently.

A lawsuit. Typical.

But... I wouldn't allow it.

If they were behind bars, how would Brooke experience the "quality of life" I had endured?

"Sue my parents? I... I don't think I can."

"A child without a mother is like a blade of grass in the wind. They hit me, yes, but at least I had a home."

"I don't want to lose my family."

"Avery..." There was a long, heavy silence on the other end.

"If that’s all, I’m going to hang up. Please don't bring this up again. I don't want to be an orphan."

Click.

If I guessed correctly, that billionaire couple wouldn't be getting a wink of sleep tonight.

But what did that have to do with me?

In my last life, they weren't the ones who lit the match, but they were the ones who handed Brooke the gasoline.