Being Lady Luck was exhausting. So I decided to reincarnate as a wealthy heiress.

However, my mom was cast out of a rich family for failing to give birth to a son.

My dad looked at her belly with disdain. "Stop wasting your energy. You'll never have a son."

Mom's face turned ashen. She muttered, "No... I'll give you a son..."

I felt terrible for her. Right then, I made up my mind to help her earn 1.5 billion dollars to impress those heartless people.

***

My name is Meredith Hoffman. In my previous life, I was Lady Luck.

In this life, I just wanted to be a wealthy heiress, lounging around and enjoying myself.

I was reincarnated into Chelsea Terrell's womb.

And I was still female.

But my dad, Nathan Hoffman, a multibillionaire, wanted a son to carry on his legacy.

Right now, I was floating in warm amniotic fluid, listening to Mom's quiet, muffled sobs.

Across from her sat my grandma, Matilda Hoffman.

Matilda was holding a coffee cup, skimming off the foam slowly, like she had all the time in the world.

"Chelsea, what Nathan says goes for me, too," she said flatly.

"You need to abort this child."

Mom stopped crying.

She lifted her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, her voice shaking.

"Matilda, the ultrasound can be wrong, right? What if... What if I'm carrying a son?"

Matilda slammed the coffee cup down on the table. The sound cracked through the room.

"No 'what ifs'.

"Lorelei is four months pregnant. The doctor checked and confirmed it's a boy."

Lorelei Sutton was my dad's mistress.

Mom clutched her dress so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Just because she's having a son, I have to get rid of my unborn baby?"

A cold voice cut in from the doorway. "Yes!"

It was Nathan.

He stepped in and stared down at my mom, his eyes holding no warmth.

"Chelsea, don't make things awkward for yourself," he said.

He pulled a document out of his suit pocket and tossed it onto the table.

"Sign it, and this villa plus 1.5 million dollars are yours. It's more than enough to ensure you live in comfort for the rest of your life."

Mom's gaze locked on the document. The words "Divorce Agreement" burned into her eyes.

Her body swayed, and she almost collapsed.

1.5 million dollars.

To get rid of his wife, who was seven months pregnant with his child.

How generous of him.

Mom laughed bitterly. "Nathan, this is your child, too.

"How could you be so heartless?"

Nathan frowned, clearly annoyed.

"I told you we needed a male heir.

"If you can't give birth to a son, you have to step aside."

He sounded so self-righteous and arrogant.

Mom's heart lurched and leaped. A sharp, overwhelming pain seeped through the amniotic fluid, piercing me.

No. She couldn't stay so passive.

I focused all my will, sending a thought straight into her mind.

"Mom, don't cry.

"Agree to the divorce first. Just hold them off."

Mom froze.

She looked around in shock.

"You can't see me. I'm in your belly.

"I'm your daughter, and I'm Lady Luck, here to help you."

Her eyes widened in shock.

She instinctively placed a hand on her belly.

Matilda grew impatient with her silence.

"Chelsea, you have one day to think about it.

"If you haven't signed by this time tomorrow, you'll regret it."

With that, she and Nathan turned away, not sparing my mom a single glance.

The door clicked shut.

Mom stood alone in the living room, frozen.

After a long silence, she spoke, her voice shaking. "You... you were the one talking to me just now?"

"Yes. Mom, it's me," I replied.

"Don't be scared. I'm with you. No one can bully us."

Mom's tears fell again. But this time, they held hope, not despair.

She wiped them away, picked up the divorce agreement on the table, and tore it to shreds.

She murmured, "Think you can cast us aside with just 1.5 million dollars? Not a chance!"

"Mom, open your stock trading app," I told her.

"Do as I say—go all in on stock code 002594."

This mental link left me a little drained.

Even though Mom was stunned, right then, she knew the advice from her unborn daughter was her only lifeline.

She poured her last 15,000 dollars into that stock.

After doing that, she collapsed onto the sofa, her palms clammy with sweat.

The next day, the stock market opened.

That stock soared unexpectedly.

The stock hit the daily limit once, then twice, and then three times in a row.

In just three days, 15,000 dollars turned into 30,000 dollars.

Chelsea stared at the number in her account, shaking with excitement.

For the first time, she truly felt my extraordinary power.

This sum was far from enough.

Nathan soon found that Chelsea hadn't signed the divorce agreement.

He froze all her cards overnight, turning Chelsea from a pampered rich lady into a penniless castoff in the blink of an eye.

All she had left was the 30,000 dollars in her account.

"Baby, what can we do now?" she asked, touching her belly, her voice hollow.

"Mom, don't panic," I said.

"This is just a starter.

"Real wealth demands bolder courage."

Peering into the future drained me. I felt faint, but I fixed my next target on an overlooked field: virtual reality technology.

In this era, the tech was still in its infancy, dismissed by most.

Only a newly established company in this field, Dreamland Tech, clung to survival.

But I knew that in six months, virtual reality technology would explode.

Dreamland Tech's stock would soar hundreds of times over.

"Mom, find a way to invest every cent we have in a company called Dreamland Tech," I told her.

"But we only have 30,000 dollars. Will they even take it?"

"If it's not enough, try to get more."

Chelsea bit her lip, making up her mind.

She opened her safe.

Inside lay all her jewelry, also her last shred of dignity.

She picked out the diamond set Nathan had given her on their wedding day, which she'd cherished most.

The pawnshop was bathed in dim yellow light.

With a magnifying glass in hand, the owner examined the diamond set closely.

"They're good pieces, but..."

He hesitated, his expression clouded with unease.

"Mrs. Hoffman, I can't take these."

Chelsea's heart sank.

"Why?"

"Well... Mr. Hoffman had these custom-made specially. They carry his family's crest. I'm afraid accepting them will drag me into trouble."

Chelsea's face instantly turned pale.

It meant Nathan had never let her have anything that truly belonged to her.

Even the gifts he'd given her were etched with his mark, making it impossible for her to sell them.

Just as despair washed over her, the pawnshop door was pushed open.

Nathan stepped in.

He glanced at the diamond sets on the counter, then at Chelsea's ashen face.

A mocking smile tugged at his lips.

"Well? Why are you in such a rush to sell your stuff?"

Chelsea clenched her fists so tight, her nails dug into her palms.

"Nathan, don't go too far."

"Go too far?"

He laughed, like he'd heard something absurd.

"Chelsea, have you looked at yourself lately?

"You can't even bear a son. What right do you have to bargain with me?"

He picked up the diamond necklace, twirling it between his fingers.

"Do you really think you can live your comfortable life without my money?"

"Listen—without my family, you're nothing."

His words cut like a knife, making Chelsea's chest ache.

Enough.

"Mom, don't beg him," I said coldly.

"We don't want a bastard's trash.

"Tell him we're not selling it. We're throwing out garbage."

Chelsea's head snapped up.

Her eyes no longer held the weakness of begging. Instead, they blazed with a determination she'd never shown before.

She snatched the necklace from Nathan's hand, turned, and tossed it straight into the trash can beside her with no hesitation.

The movement was crisp and precise.

Nathan froze.

I caught a flash of shock in his eyes. It was not anger, but... a strange, fleeting waver.

The pawnshop owner gaped, too.

"Nathan, listen," Chelsea said.

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word landed like a hammer.

"I can live better without you.

"But you. You'll soon regret everything you've done today.

"Let's wait and see."

With that, she squared her shoulders, turned on her heel, and walked out of the pawnshop neatly.

Chelsea's pride only held out until she stepped out of the pawnshop.

The second Nathan was out of sight, she was totally discouraged.

"Baby, we don't even have a startup fund now," she said, her voice breaking.

"Mom, easy," I replied.

"Have you forgotten what Great-Grandpa left you?"

Chelsea's grandfather, Braxton Terrell, had once been an emerald magnate renowned across the region.

When he passed away, he'd left Chelsea a plain-looking piece of deep green emerald.

It had always been stowed away at the bottom of her jewelry box, carefully hidden by her.

"That emerald holds enormous value," I told her.

"Once you get it, I can recover some of my power.

"And besides... It's priceless."

Chelsea's eyes lit up. She turned around at once and hurried back home, taking out the emerald from her jewelry box.

It was completely dark, dull, unremarkable, even a little rough.

She'd never liked it much as a kid.

"Mom, go to Sorith's tonight," I said.

"This emerald will be our stepping stone."

Sorith's was the city's most exclusive private auction house.

Only the richest, most powerful people would be invited.

Chelsea had no invitation.

But she remembered that Marlon Compton, the owner of Sorith's, was Braxton's lifelong friend.

Braxton had come to Marlon's aid, bailing him out when his business stood on the brink of collapse, sparing him from catastrophe.

She picked up the phone and dialed Marlon's number tentatively.

To her surprise, Marlon offered to help without hesitation the second he heard it was her.

"Ms. Terrell, I've been waiting for your call," he said.

"I'll never forget Braxton's kindness. He always said you shared his spirit, and just hearing your voice, I know he was right."

Chelsea hung up with a mix of relief and emotion.

She realized she had someone to turn to anyway.

She'd just let the Hoffman family's glow blind her for too long.

***

The auction hall was dazzling with luxury.

Dressed in a plain black dress with no makeup, Chelsea stood in stark contrast to the gem-adorned guests.

As soon as she sat down, she felt two hostile stares locked onto her: Nathan and Lorelei.

Lorelei clung to Nathan's arm, her belly slightly rounded.

When she saw Chelsea, pride and taunting flashed in her eyes.

"Hey, Chelsea," she cooed.

"Here all by yourself? Nate, she's pregnant. How could you let her wander around alone?"

Her words sounded concerned, but her face dripped with schadenfreude.

Nathan's expression was just as cold.

He'd never expected to run into Chelsea here.

"Who allowed you in?" he snapped.

Chelsea ignored them entirely, walking straight to the front row and taking a seat, which was reserved just for her by the manager.

Nathan's face darkened instantly.

The auction started.

Item after item was brought out, sold for sky-high prices.

But Chelsea never lifted her paddle.

Finally, the last item was rolled out into view.

That was a raw imperial emerald.

The starting price was 800 thousand dollars.

"Mom, this is it," I told Chelsea.

"Endowed with spiritual power, this raw stone is a hundred times more precious than Great-Grandpa's emerald.

"We have to get it, no matter what."

Chelsea took a deep breath and lifted her paddle.

"1 million dollars," she said.

Her voice sounded calm but clear, cutting through the hall.

Every head turned to her.

Nathan and Lorelei did the same, stunned.

"Is she out of her mind? How can she have so much money?" Lorelei whispered.

Nathan said nothing, his deep eyes fixed on Chelsea.

A portly middle-aged man lifted his paddle next.

"1.2 million dollars."

Chelsea didn't hesitate.

"1.3 million dollars."

The price climbed fast, soon hitting 2.5 million dollars.

The middle-aged man hesitated, then set his paddle down.

The auctioneer was about to raise his hammer when Lorelei suddenly shot up her paddle.

"3 million dollars!" she declared, glaring defiantly at Chelsea.

"Chelsea, I love this stone. You wouldn't take it from me, would you?"

Chelsea's face stayed blank.

"3.5 million dollars."

"4.2 million dollars!" Lorelei practically shouted.

Nathan frowned, grabbing her arm.

"Stop messing around."

"Nate, I can't stand the way she's acting like she owns anything she wants!"

Lorelei wrenched her arm free, her gaze still locked on Chelsea.

She was sure Chelsea had no money left.

She just wanted to make Chelsea embarrass herself in front of everyone.

Murmurs spread through the hall.

Everyone assumed Chelsea was keeping up appearances, putting on a lavish show she couldn't afford.

Chelsea's palms were damp with sweat.

She indeed had no money left.

All her hope rested on me.

"Mom, don't be scared. Keep up," I told her.

Forcing this thought through left my vision spinning, but I had to hold on.

"He'll help us."

I directed my focus to an unassuming corner at the back of the hall.

An elderly man in a tuxedo sat there quietly.

That was Marlon, Great-Grandpa's dear friend and the most renowned emerald merchant in America.

As if guided, Chelsea glanced in that direction.

She steeled her resolve and lifted her paddle again.

"5 million dollars."

The hall erupted in murmurs.

Lorelei's face turned pale.

She'd never thought Chelsea would dare to keep up.

Five million dollars was way beyond the raw stone's estimated value.

Nathan's expression turned icy.

He saw this as Chelsea deliberately defying him.

He lifted his own paddle. "5.2 million dollars."

He wanted to remind Chelsea who held real power here.

Tension thickened in the air.

Every eye locked on Chelsea and Nathan.

What was once an auction had turned into a public display of a wealthy family's feud.

Even the auctioneer's forehead glistened with sweat.

"Mr. Hoffman bids 5.2 million dollars! Any higher offers?" he called.

His gaze swung to Chelsea.

Chelsea's hand trembled slightly.

She knew this was her last stand.

"Mom, keep up. Marlon has prepared emergency funds for you. He'll lend it to you. Just do it!"

Chelsea closed her eyes. When she opened them, only resolve remained.

She raised the paddle.

"6..."

She barely got the first number out when a hand grabbed her wrist from behind.

The grip was so tight that Chelsea let out a pained gasp.

It was one of the Hoffman family's bodyguards.

Nathan stood up and marched toward her, his expression icy.

"Chelsea, there's a line to my patience," he said sharply.

"You want to humiliate yourself here just to spite me?

"Can you even afford the consequences?"

The bodyguard hauled her up from her seat, treating her like an object.

The surrounding guests turned their eyes toward them. A few wore expressions of sympathy, but most of them were waiting to watch a show unfold.

Lorelei stood beside Nathan, her face glowing with pride.

Chelsea's face drained of all color.

Humiliation washed over her, suffocating.

Just as the bodyguard was about to drag her out of the auction hall, an aged but powerful voice cut through the noise.

"Stop!"