Reborn to Wreck My Sister's Fairytale - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Sarah stood on the stairs, arms crossed, her glare sharp enough to cut glass. "What are you doing here alone?" she snapped. "Where's Dominic? Did I tell you to visit us or to play games? What kind of husband shows up empty-handed? Charlotte, do you want the whole neighborhood laughing at me?"
I stayed silent.
She stormed up to me, her heels clicking like a ticking time bomb. "Is it true your life's such a train wreck that even the Montgomerys found out?" she hissed. "Can't you survive without a man clinging to you? I swear, I'll slap that shameless look right off your face! You're a disgrace to the Clarks!"
Her hand shot up—but I wasn't about to stand there and take it.
When I stepped back, her face twisted with rage. "You dare dodge me, you ungrateful brat? Kneel. Now."
I burst out laughing. "I married Dominic empty-handed, so why can't I come home the same way? What's the big deal?"
Sarah froze mid-snarl. "You—"
I tilted my head, smiling. "Actually, I'm not completely empty-handed. The Montgomerys gave me a ten-million-dollar engagement gift. Hand it over, and I'll buy enough presents to pile at your doorstep. That should impress the neighbors, right?"
Her face turned beet red. For once, she was speechless.
"Ridiculous!" Thomas barked. "Without us, you'd be nothing! And now you're demanding gifts? We gave you life—"
He caught himself. They hadn't raised me.
"That money isn't yours," he finished lamely.
"It was given to me," I said coolly. "Why shouldn't I have it?" I hadn't cared before, but his stubbornness made me want it just to spite him.
Madison chose that moment to chime in, her voice dripping with fake concern. "That diamond ring must be fake. Charlotte, if you were wronged, why not tell Mom and Dad? Jaxon could never afford a real one—you're just trying to hurt me." She sighed dramatically. "Blame me if you must. I took your parents, your place as heiress… but none of this is their fault. We should still respect our parents."
Her performance was flawless—sweet on the surface, venom underneath. She wasn't just driving a wedge; she was grinding me into the dirt, using her "second chance" to settle old scores.
But she'd miscalculated.
"Madison, stop lying," I said calmly. "Dominic treats me well. The Montgomerys haven't wronged me."
Her mask slipped. "Dominic went clubbing on your wedding night! And you're defending him?"
I pulled out my phone and played a recording:
"Charlotte, the title of Mrs. Bennett is mine now. You're stuck with that womanizer, Dominic. Goodbye."
Madison paled. She hadn't expected evidence.
"Let's not debate my messy life," I said. "This proves Dominic's little escapade had nothing to do with me. The Montgomerys didn't even know the bride had been swapped." I leaned in. "And about honoring parents—yours is still scrubbing dishes at some diner. Why don't you start with her?"
Her breath hitched. "You… you're reborn too?"
I smirked. "We died together. Did you really think you'd get to relive this life alone?"
Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to the floor.
Sarah, of course, assumed I'd pushed her. "Apologize! Now!"
I turned to Thomas. "You think I should?"
Any sane person would've seen through Madison's act. But Thomas just scowled. "You're the problem here, Charlotte. How long will you keep causing trouble?"
Causing trouble?
It hit me then. Madison wasn't just spoiled—she was untouchable. No matter how flimsy her lies, they'd always side with her.
No wonder she'd sneered, "Everything in the Clark family will be mine."
I'd been a joke all along.
I was eight when Grace Marshall bought me.
Bought—not adopted.
Madison's birth mother, the nanny who'd switched us at birth, had taken me out of spite after Sarah sent her to jail for theft. She gambled, drank, and beat me black and blue. Somehow, I survived.
That Christmas, feverish and half-delirious, she kicked me onto the snowy street for "ruining the holidays." Grace found me there—a shivering, scarred mess—and paid a hundred grand to take me home.
For the first time, I knew what family felt like.
I studied like my life depended on it. Got into a top university abroad. When Grace helped me find my birth family, I'd hoped…
But the Clarks saw only a backcountry nobody. For two years, I tried.
They only had eyes for Madison.
Fine. Time to cut ties.
"Want an apology? Give me my engagement gift," I demanded.
Thomas slapped me. Hard.
"Get out!" he roared. "I don't have a daughter like you—ungrateful, troublemaking trash. Leave!"
I touched my stinging cheek. "Keep the ten million. Consider it payment for this slap—and for severing all ties. From now on, we're strangers."
I turned to leave.
"Charlotte, don't be rash—" Madison called after me, already playing victim.
Thomas scoffed. "Let her go. Without us, Dominic will toss her aside. She'll come crawling back."
Madison smiled sweetly—just as Jaxon pulled up in his BMW, a wedding gift from the Clarks.
She lunged at him, kissing him loudly, possessively. A show for me.
Look how happy I am. Look what you lost.
Then—horns blared.
Six black cars rolled up.
Dominic's was in the lead.