My grandfather is a nationally renowned inheritor of an intangible cultural heritage.

Today, I'm supposed to attend a grand ceremony as his rightful successor. However, when I arrive, I see my father's adoptive daughter already standing on the stage.

She's dressed to the nines. She holds an award and is giving a thank-you speech, looking moved.

In the past, I would've left without saying anything or speaking up for myself.

Too bad for her that I'd been reborn.

The discrepancy between our statuses is so large that we're basically from different worlds. Yet she has the nerve to claim to be my grandfather's successor and put on a show with what is supposed to be my family's.

My grandpa, Dylan Campbell, was a successor of intangible cultural heritage.

Today, I was supposed to attend an intangible cultural heritage ceremony as his rightful successor. But when I arrived, I was surprised to find Dad's adopted daughter, Madison Lloyd, was already standing on stage.

Draped in a designer dress and holding a trophy, she was giving a teary-eyed acceptance speech.

The old me might have quietly walked away without stirring up trouble.

But now?

I smirked coldly. Before anyone could process what was happening, I marched up the stage, snatched the trophy out of her hands, and slapped her so hard she stumbled two steps back.

The entire room froze.

Madison was the first to recover. Clutching her cheek, she shrieked, "Phoebe Campbell! What the heck are you doing?

"You laze around at home like it's your full-time job, and now you've got the nerve to embarrass yourself at a public event? Do you even care about the Lloyd family's reputation?"

She was shouting accusations at me, but her hands weren't idle either. She lunged forward, desperate to grab the trophy back.

I dodged her easily. She lost her balance and face-planted onto the stage.

Watching her flop around like that, I couldn't help but chuckle as I taunted her, "You're here parading around with my trophy, and I'm the embarrassment? Madison, be honest with yourself. Do you really deserve this award?"

For a brief moment, guilt flickered across her face, but she quickly lifted her chin and replaced it with a pitiful look.

"Phoebe, I know you've always been jealous that Grandpa chose me to be his successor. But you also know that traditional pottery is a family craft we've kept secret for generations.

"You're just an adopted daughter. Of course Grandpa didn't choose you. I never expected you to hold such a grudge and cause a scene at such an important ceremony!"

Her words sounded so convincing that the audience, who had been quietly watching, began to murmur their disapproval.

"So she's just an adopted daughter? Who does she think she is? How could they ever pass down such a valuable craft to someone like her?"

"Right, the Lloyd family raised her, and now she's acting entitled? Trying to steal Ms. Lloyd's spot? That's unbelievable!"

"You ingrate, return the trophy to Ms. Lloyd right now! How much longer do you plan to stay on stage?"

The crowd's discontent grew louder. Madison took full advantage, pretending to be concerned for me. "Phoebe, please stop. Don't make a scene. Once we get home, I'll ask Grandpa to let you learn traditional pottery with me.

"But this award ceremony is crucial. If you keep this up, Grandpa might actually have a heart attack from the stress."

Her pathetic act only fueled the crowd's anger. The entire venue—along with millions of viewers watching the live stream—began shouting for me to leave.

But I didn't hear any of it. My anger was consuming me.

Because in my past life, Grandpa did die from stress.

Not because of me, but because of Madison and my dad, Tyler Lloyd. They pushed him to his death.

I couldn't hold back anymore. Without thinking, I slapped Madison twice. The sharp sound of my hand connecting with her face rang through the microphone, echoing across the hall.

The entire audience froze in shock. Even the live chat went silent for a moment.

Madison screamed in pain as she fell to the floor again.

I rubbed my sore wrist and looked down at her coldly. "Who do you think you are, calling him Grandpa? I'm his true successor. I don't need an imposter like you to help me plead with him.

"You've been impersonating me for so long that you actually believe your own lies? You're nothing but a heartless, opportunistic illegitimate daughter, trying to take what isn't yours. What gives you the right to shout at me like this?"

Madison jerked her head up. Her eyes were wide with panic as she stared at me.

With a scoff, I looked down at her. She was probably wondering how I knew she wasn't just an adopted daughter but Tyler's illegitimate child.

But I wasn't about to explain myself to her.

Today, all the truth would come to light.

Unfortunately, despite what I said, no one seemed ready to take my side.

After all, over the years, Madison had attended various events with Tyler as the successor of the traditional pottery. Many people had known her.

Meanwhile, ever since my mom, Lindsay Campbell, passed away, I'd been living in seclusion with Grandpa. There, I learned the art of traditional pottery in the mountains. I rarely stepped into the outside world.

Just as we were in a standoff, a man suddenly stepped onto the stage. He glared at me with a sharp, commanding gaze. "Enough!"

I recognized him immediately. He was my fiancé, Wilson Guzman, who had a small but notable reputation in the heritage community.

He knew all about my family's situation, including the truth about Madison and me. Our engagement was common knowledge, but I knew he wouldn't tell the truth.

After all, during the years I'd been in the mountains, he'd already been secretly involved with Madison.

As expected, he first rushed to help Madison to her feet, then accused me sternly, "What the heck are you doing, Phoebe? Maddie's always been patient with you at home, but this isn't the place for you to spout nonsense.

"Since you're claiming Maddie is impersonating you, I'll testify for her. She's the Campbell family's heiress, the true successor of traditional pottery, and my one and only fiancée!"

With Wilson vouching for Madison, my credibility was shot. Everyone practically wanted to rush up and throw me off the stage.

"Get out of here! A mere adopted daughter can never take the stage!"

"The Campbell family is a well-known name in the heritage community. Does she think we've never seen its heiress? How dare she confuse the facts?"

"Wilson is the Campbell family's son-in-law. He would never mistake his own fiancée! Honestly, liars deserve to be punished harshly!"

Realizing the situation had turned in their favor, Madison straightened up. She linked her arm with Wilson's as she said, "It's okay. Phoebe is just a bit naive. Let's spare her this time. If she likes the trophy so much, she can keep it.

"I believe traditional pottery is too important to be defined by a single trophy. With Grandpa and me, we'll ensure the craft thrives and grows!"

Her words were poised and diplomatic, making me seem petty and unreasonable in comparison.

Wilson's gaze hardened as he looked at me. "Maddie is being magnanimous, but I can't stand seeing her wronged.

"You better give the trophy back to her now, or I'll be sure to tell your dad, and he'll teach you a lesson for being so out of line."

He made his threat, expecting me to cower. But I just smirked. My tone dripped with disdain as I replied, "Sure, why don't you go ahead and tell him? Now? Or should I call him myself? I'm curious to see if he dares to teach me a lesson."

The audience erupted in shock. No one expected me, a mere adopted daughter, to speak so boldly.

Everyone started to curse at me.

"Shameless, utterly shameless! A mere adopted child thinks she can bully the true heiress!"

"I bet the Lloyd family has been too kind to her. She doesn't even respect her own father! What a waste, raising someone like that!"

"No wonder she was adopted. If her biological parents saw how vicious she's become, they'd probably regret not choking her when she first started crying!"

Upon hearing the crowd's curses directed at me, Wilson smiled smugly and tried to reason with me. "If you apologize to me and Maddie now, we might still let you off the hook and pretend this never happened.

"Otherwise, once I tell your dad, you won't be able to stay in the Lloyd family anymore!"

Madison, hiding behind Wilson, rolled her eyes at me. Her smug expression was full of self-satisfaction. After all, she knew all too well that when it came to me and her, Tyler would always choose her.

I was eight when Mom died in a car accident while rushing to take me to the hospital for a high fever. Tyler blamed me for her death and developed a deep hatred for me.

I had always felt guilty and tried to earn his approval, so I obeyed him and showed respect in everything I did.

Whenever Madison brought up Tyler, I would helplessly give in. But this time, I didn't give her the reaction she was expecting.

Wilson's ridiculous words amused me. I pulled out my phone to dial Tyler's number.

"You've been talking for so long but haven't dared to call him, so I'll do it myself. Oh, when he gets here, I'll also inform him that I'm breaking off the engagement with the Guzman family today!"

Someone in the crowd quickly caught onto the fact that I'd used the word "inform" and mocked, "This adopted daughter has completely lost it. If anyone didn't know better, they'd think she's the one in charge of the Lloyd family."

But Wilson's face immediately turned pale at my words. After all, the Guzman family's current reputation and status were built on this marriage, which tied them to Grandpa, the successor of intangible cultural heritage.

Without this marriage, the Guzman family would be nothing!

Soon, my call was picked up.

There was no immediate response. Clearly, he was still trying to figure out how to handle the situation.

I didn't feel like playing games, so I coldly said, "I know you're watching the live stream. If you don't come here now, your precious daughter is going to be ruined by me today. You know I have the power to do it, Tyler Lloyd."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end. My words had clearly struck a nerve. After a long pause, the call was abruptly hung up.

Madison screamed in disbelief, "Phoebe Campbell, how could you speak to Dad like that?"

I crossed my arms and looked at her with complete arrogance. "I said what I said. What's wrong with it?"

Madison glared at me, but I could see the fear in her eyes. She could tell I wasn't the same as I used to be, but the problem was, she had no idea why I'd changed so dramatically.

Eventually, her gaze flickered. She approached me and softened her tone. "Phoebe, this is just a little argument between us sisters. There's no need to bring Dad into this. I really don't want to see you make a mistake and get kicked out of the family."

I smirked, not holding back any of my disdain. "What are you afraid of? Didn't you say I was lying? Didn't you want to call Dad over? I did just that."

It didn't take long for Tyler to arrive. He stormed in, furious. "You little brat!" he shouted. "How dare you treat your sister like this? If I'd known you were so vicious, I never should've adopted you! I'm going to teach you a lesson for your grandpa today!"

He was about to slap me across the face, but I grabbed his wrist and shoved him away forcefully.

"What right do you have to teach me a lesson in Grandpa's place? Too used to throwing your weight around, and you've forgotten what your last name is?"