Graham laughed as he held me in his arms, then told the butler to order a pure gold necklace for me.

"We can't mistreat our little lucky star. All these things are for Mindy from now on!"

My brothers and Jade stared at us in shock.

John glared at Graham and yelled, "Dad, how can you show so much favoritism toward Mindy? Jade is our real sister!"

Jade's eyes turned red at just the right moment, and she stubbornly lowered her head.

Graham quickly put me down and cleared his throat. "I've treated Jade as my own daughter all these years. Why would I play favorites? Didn't Jade say she liked that two-million-dollar necklace the other day? It will arrive at our home today."

Jade immediately broke into a cute smile and ran over to him. "Dad, you're the best! I thought you guys wouldn't care about me anymore after Mindy was born..."

Graham patted her head in a caring manner. "My sweet girl, you'll always be mommy and daddy's little princess."

Jade turned and shot me with a provocative smile. I couldn't understand why Jade was so hostile to me when I was just a year old, but it was obvious that she was determined to get rid of me right from the start.

Graham often asked me what to do for good luck, but I didn't always grant his wishes.

Every time they wanted me to share my luck with Jade, I would start crying. After that, the whole family would be hit with bad luck for a month.

My parents' business would go downhill, James would be set up by a competitor, Jimmy would run into poltergeists in the morgue, and John would be swindled out of all his money after he thought he met a talent scout.

The more it happened, the more they noticed the pattern, but they still couldn't figure out why.

But I was still less than two years old and barely able to speak, so I just pretended not to understand a word they said.

Jade's face grew darker. At this point, everyone started connecting the family's bad luck to her.

Then Graham made another bad decision and nearly bankrupted the company, and the whole family started to panic.

Jade covered her face and cried. "I'm the only one who keeps having bad luck! It must be because Mindy doesn't like me. If I leave, I won't drag everyone else down with me."

They all rushed over, anxious.

"Jade, it's not your fault. You're our daughter too. This will always be your home!" Amanda said.

"Yeah! If anyone's to blame, it's Mindy. She stole our luck, and that's why we keep having bad luck!" Jimmy said.

With just one sentence from him, Amanda then glared at me with resentment. "If only Jade were my real daughter. She's so sweet... Not like this one, who's already causing trouble when she's barely two years old."

Graham made up his mind on the spot and called the shaman to perform a ritual. "The shaman said Mindy can bring us good luck. I want to know why she's been making us unlucky instead!"

The shaman arrived and stared at me for a long time.

I pointed right at Jade and babbled, "Black...black..."

James's face turned sour. "Jade's clearly fair and pretty. She's just talking nonsense. No wonder we're unlucky."

The others didn't look happy either, and Jade's pitiful expression only made them feel worse.

To everyone's surprise, the shaman stroked his beard and said, "This has nothing to do with Miss Mindy. The real source of all this bad luck...is Miss Jade."

As soon as the words left the shaman's mouth, everyone shouted in unison, "That's impossible!"

John was the most agitated. "You're just a lousy scammer! How can you lie so blatantly? Jade has lived with us for more than a decade. How can she possibly bring us bad luck?"

His eyes were blazing, as if the shaman had accused him of being the bringer of misfortune instead. He stepped forward, ready to hit the shaman, but Graham held him back.

Graham looked at the shaman suspiciously. "You said my youngest daughter would bring us good luck, but you never said Jade would be cursed. Now, the whole family is suffering because of Mindy. You owe me an explanation."

Amanda's eyes reddened as she hugged Jade tightly. "We can't let anything happen to Jade! Please, find a way to break this curse!"

The shaman waved his hand and shook his head.

"Miss Mindy can only bring good luck to her blood relatives, and she's only two years old. Maybe it's because you kept forcing her to share her luck with Miss Jade, and that caused a backlash. Now, the good luck has turned to misfortune. Miss Jade is being drowned by so much misfortune that her surroundings are all dark."

The shaman shook his head again, giving them all a meaningful look.

"I've said everything I can. You'll have to take care of the rest yourselves."

With that, he turned and left the Bakers.

Jade suddenly started sobbing, her voice choked with emotion. "I'm just an adopted daughter. I shouldn't be greedy for the Bakers' wealth. If I hadn't, maybe Mindy wouldn't have dragged Dad and Mom into this bad luck. Maybe it's better if I sacrifice myself so Mom, Dad, and my brothers can turn things around."

She sounded so noble that Mom, Dad, and my brothers refused to let her suffer alone.

James then said with determination, "This isn't your fault! Mindy is the one who has something against you. She wants you gone, even at such a young age. We're not going to give in."

John muttered stubbornly, "If only Jade were the Lucky Star instead..."

Everyone nodded in agreement. I could only roll my eyes.

Jade looked at me with even more fear. Without anyone knowing, she became crueler to me. She would pinch me hard and even starve me.

But I wasn't really a child. Any time she mistreated me, I made sure the whole family suffered bad luck in return without holding back at all.

The Bakers tried to change their luck, but they only succeeded once or twice out of every ten times. Whenever they failed, they would mope around and try to remember who had mentioned Jade again.

Just like that, I turned five. My parents' company still hovered in the middle ranking, and none of my brothers achieved anything worth mentioning.

Jade hit rock bottom, however. She did so badly on her exams that she couldn't even get into a better college.

That night, after the results came out, she cried all night with the whole family comforting her.

When she saw me, she completely lost it; she pounced at me and dragged her sharp nails down my face.

"This is all your fault! Why won't you give me good luck!"

John was shocked, trying to stop her.

Jade simply sobbed and yelled, "I can't even go to college... Can't I at least take it out on the person responsible? Am I not your sister anymore?"

Mom and Dad stayed silent, pretending not to see what was happening.

James took Jade's hand and whispered, "Don't worry, Jade. We'll make her pay."

That night, my three brothers dragged me outside, covered my eyes, and dumped me in a dark alley. "Jade, we'll leave her here to teach her a lesson and make you feel better."

I cried out for my brothers, but no one looked back. They just laughed and took Jade to the amusement park.

The moment the lights disappeared, my heart turned cold.

They wanted to punish me, but forgot I had luck on my side.

When I ran out of the alley, I used up every bit of good luck I had ever used on my family.

I didn't know how long I had been out before a car stopped in front of me. Soon, a voice came.

"Did someone lose their daughter?"

I looked up and recognized Sandy Shaw. She was untouchable in the capital city, but she was also known as a famous philanthropist.

Tears streamed down my face as I whimpered, "My brothers abandoned me..."

Sandy really did have a heart of gold. Not only did she save me, but she also had her personal assistant take me back to the Bakers.

When we arrived, I could hear laughter and joy from outside the house. My parents and all three brothers had decorated the whole place, happily celebrating Jade's eighteenth birthday.

"Don't worry, Jade. We've already arranged for you to go to a college. Your three brothers will still take care of you. These shares are your birthday present," Graham said.

Everyone was gathered around Jade with so much love, completely forgetting that I had been thrown out of the house just a day ago.

When I walked in, all their smiles froze.

The personal assistant holding me simply announced, "Mrs. Shaw would like to know how the Baker family raises their children. What kind of family dumps a five-year-old out in an alley in the middle of the night?"

Graham's smile stiffened as he reached out to take me back. "It's nothing. Kids get into trouble sometimes. Thank you for bringing her home."

I dodged behind the assistant, sobbing.

The personal assistant's face turned even colder. "Looks like we'll have to reconsider our partnership with the Bakers."

Graham's hand hung awkwardly in the air. He turned and snapped at my brothers, "How did you take care of your sister? How could you lose her and not even know?"

Jade spoke up, her gaze sharp. "It wasn't their fault. They were keeping me company, so they didn't notice Mindy ran off. If you want to punish someone, punish me. Please don't make things difficult for my dad… It was all my fault."

With that, she ran out crying.

James immediately panicked. "It's not Jade's fault! This was our idea! Mindy, are you ever going to stop complaining?"

I looked at my parents. "I went missing, and you aren't even worried?"

They exchanged a glance and muttered, "You're just a kid. What do you know?"

But then, the personal assistant pulled out a USB drive. It was footage from a nearby security camera showing me being abandoned in the alley.

They tried to argue, but there was no way to deny what the video showed.

Their faces turned sour as the assistant said, "Mrs. Shaw said she and Mindy share a connection. If Mr. Baker can't raise his daughter properly, she'll take her instead."

I grabbed the personal assistant's hand tightly, knowing my chance to leave was right in front of me.

Just then, James suddenly burst in, shouting in a panic, "Something has happened! Jade's been kidnapped! The kidnappers want ten million dollars or Mindy!"

The video from the kidnappers showed Jade was pitifully tied up and locked in an old van.

James glared at me with pure hatred. "It has to be her fault again!"

My parents' expressions changed. Amanda lunged at me, gripping my throat in a frenzy. "If you hadn't shown up, Jade wouldn't have run outside! You must save her! If Jade doesn't come back safely, you'll pay for your sins!"

Just as she finished, the front door was kicked open, and a voice rang out.

"I'd like to see anyone try!"