Back in the womb, I smirked to myself and activated the Heart-Voice Skill, directing it straight through the wall to the delivery room next door.
[Hey, sis, you reincarnated before me. So, why aren't you out yet?]
[Oh, wait, now I get it! Age before beauty, right? Guess that means I should go first!]
And just like that, chaos erupted.
"AHHH! Doctor, it hurts so bad! That damn thing is kicking me. Get it out, now!"
There she was, right on cue.
My sister completely lost control. She started kicking and thrashing like a raccoon on Red Bull inside that actress's belly, screaming, crying, and having a full-blown meltdown.
One moment, she was crying for her mom, and the next, she was cussing out the baby like it had ruined her whole life.
Meanwhile, I took a deep, full breath while surrounded by amniotic fluid, rolled my neck slightly, and cheerfully thought:
[Hang tight, Daddy and Mommy. Your baby girl's on the way!]
With a confident push, I braced myself with both hands and feet and propelled myself toward the light, landing softly on the delivery bed. I wailed loudly, as if starring in a film about perfect newborns.
The whole room froze.
The billionaire, the doctors, the nurses, and everyone stood there with their mouths open, staring as if I'd just done a magic trick.
Even my sweet, soft-hearted mom was still catching up to what had just happened.
"She's… already out?" someone stammered. "I've never seen a delivery go this smoothly! Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner. You've got an angel baby!"
Mom gathered me into her arms, laughing and crying all at once. "Leon, look at her! The moment I held her, she stopped crying. She's even smiling at me!"
My billionaire father's eyes filled with tears. He pulled both of us into a protective hug, his voice thick with emotion.
"She didn't want you to suffer. That's our little girl, so thoughtful already."
At that moment, he named me: Lucy Pearl Gardner, Heaven's precious pearl.
And because my dad never did anything halfway, he immediately announced the launch of a charitable foundation in my name and transferred 5% of the Gardner Group's shares to it.
"This is your reward, my precious daughter," he said, like he'd been waiting years for this exact moment.
Inside, I was doing mental cartwheels.
Meanwhile, my sister was losing her mind in the delivery room next door.
She was so furious, she nearly made Vivian black out from the pain. In the end, they couldn't take it anymore and went with an emergency C-section.
Word traveled fast.
It didn't take long for the entire hospital to buzz with gossip about the "miracle baby" born naturally and peacefully, and the "debt collector" who had to be cut out while screaming in agony.
As for Vivian? She didn't even bother looking at her newborn. Just waved her off like yesterday's trash and had a nurse carry her away.
Meanwhile, I was tucked in right next to my mom, cozy and snug, placed there personally by my tycoon dad himself.
I was beginning to drift off, wrapped in warmth and smelling my mom's perfume, when a shadow crossed over me.
A pale, strikingly handsome face appeared above mine.
Amber eyes, sharp jawline, expression cold and unreadable.
Oh, I knew that face...
Even from this angle, I recognized him immediately. That was the obsessive older stepbrother—the one who ruined my sister's life during our last encounter.
I remembered everything.
Ever since my sister was born, she hated him. She despised how he was always around and called him a leech, a freeloader riding on the Gardner name. She even mocked him to his face and behind his back, but he wasn't just anyone.
He was the grandson of my grandfather's best friend. After Grandpa passed, my dad took him in and raised him like blood.
And my sister? She relentlessly tormented him, humiliated him at school, socially isolated him, and wore him down until only steel and silence remained.
Eventually, he changed.
He became cold, calculating, and dangerous.
But he also became brilliant.
Straight out of college, Dad handed him the entire Gardner Group and named him CEO.
My sister, who was spoiled and accustomed to having everything handed to her, finally realized what was slipping away from her.
So what did she do? She panicked and made the worst move possible. She hired some men to kidnap him or maybe something even worse.
It backfired, of course.
She ended up disfigured, paralyzed, and ruined.
In truth, she never comprehended the most important rule when it comes to yanderes.
You don't fight him.
You win him over.
And this time, that was precisely what I planned to do.
[Wow! Big bro is gorgeous. I already like him!]
I looked up at him, channeling all the innocence I had as a baby, and reached out with both tiny hands, almost pleading for a hug.
Immediately, something shifted on his face. His stern expression softened slightly. Those icy amber eyes flickered with surprise and a gentler emotion.
"Hic… ahh… hug…"I spoke my very first word.
Gasps erupted on either side of me.
"Did our little girl just call for her brother?" Mom whispered, eyes shining.
"Lance, I think your sister already likes you," Dad chuckled, clearly thrilled. "Go on, give her a hug."
Lance stood there, frozen and still, struggling to process everything. Before he could voice any objections, someone gently placed me in his arms.
At first, he held me awkwardly, stiff and unsure. However, his hands were careful and almost reverent, as if he were afraid I might break.
And his eyes, which had always been empty and guarded, were beginning to shift just the tiniest bit.
