Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Sierra’s Second Chance

Sierra Sterling woke up in a dim room, her forehead damp with cold sweat. A sharp pain shot through her head.

Just then, the door swung open. A man stood silhouetted in the doorway, tall and broad-shouldered. His voice was cold and detached. “Sierra, if you apologize to Nat, we can forget you ever pushed her down the stairs.”

Sierra’s eyes shifted toward the voice. The man was her older brother, Jonathan Sterling.

Sierra recognized this moment; she’d been here before. Soon, she knew that she had time-traveled back ten years, when she was about to hold Natalie’s parents accountable for their crimes.

Natalie Sterling, the girl who had been swapped with Sierra at their birth, had faked a fall and blamed Sierra. Once again, Sierra was taking the fall for everything. The Sterlings locked her in this storage room for a whole week.

Realizing her situation, Sierra looked away, her expression distant and cold. “Why should I apologize to her?”

Jonathan froze. He hadn’t expected Sierra to talk back. His expression darkened. “Nat is in the hospital because of you. You messed up. Can’t you even own it? If she weren’t so forgiving, you’d be behind bars right now.”

Jonathan shook his head and sighed inwardly, ‘How could the two be so different? Nat is kind-hearted, but Sierra? She always causes trouble, and never takes responsibility.’

Sierra caught his judgmental look and let out a cold laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Jonathan snapped, disgust in his eyes. He could barely see her face in the shadows.

“So you do know that when someone does something wrong, they should apologize and take the punishment, huh? Well, Natalie’s parents intentionally swapped us at birth. Now I’m trying to hold them accountable. So tell me. What did I do wrong?” Sierra retorted.

In her previous life, Sierra had endured abuse from her adoptive parents and never knew what a real family felt like.

When the Sterlings finally found her, she thought things would change. She expected the Sterlings to announce her true identity and seek justice. But they never did.

Back then, she blamed herself. She thought she wasn’t good enough and she tried hard to win their affection, to be part of the family.

Hearing Jonathan’s accusation, Sierra stood up.

Finally, Jonathan saw how pale and fragile Sierra looked. She was like she’d been drained of all life. Even though he was still pissed at her for what she’d done to Natalie, seeing Sierra so weak made him feel a pang of guilt.

But then he remembered how Sierra always played the victim to get attention. His gaze turned icy. “Sierra, what game are you playing now?”

Sierra met his eyes, unwavering. “From the day I returned to this family, no matter what I do, you all assume the worst. If that’s how it is, why did you even bring me back?”

“You’re still my sister,” Jonathan replied stiffly. “We couldn’t just leave you out there.”

Just then, a girl in a white dress appeared at the door, looking delicate and tearful. “Jon, please don’t be angry with Sierra. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have stayed with the Sterlings.” It was Natalie, who was fresh from the hospital.

Downstairs, the whole family was waiting for Sierra to apologize.

In Sierra’s previous life, Natalie showed up just like this and made everything worse. Sierra was punished again. She was locked up for three more days without anyone hearing her side.

Sierra fell seriously ill, and by the time the maid found her, Sierra had already lost her hearing permanently. Later, when a deranged fan of Natalie attacked her, Sierra couldn’t hear the warnings.

Sierra was stabbed repeatedly while her family stood by, more worried about Natalie’s trauma than Sierra’s life. They turned and left without a glance back.

Sierra’s gaze turned hollow. There was no emotion left, just emptiness.

Sierra was tired of hearing the same excuses. She cut him off coldly, “If I’m really such a disgrace, then let’s just stay out of each other’s lives from now on. No reason we ever have to cross paths again.”

Jonathan’s chest tightened. He stared at Sierra in shock.

Natalie’s eyes lit up for a second. She was about to flash Sierra a smug, mocking look, until she saw Sierra watching her calmly, almost bored.

Natalie’s smile froze. A cold shiver shot down her spine. She wondered, ‘What’s going on? Sierra was locked up for a week and now she’s a totally different person. Did she find something out?’

Before Natalie could process it, Sierra strode right past Jonathan and headed for the stairs without a backward glance. Jonathan panicked and rushed to block her path.

Natalie freaked out. If Sierra really called the police or dug up dirt on her parents, everyone would know they were criminals. Then her classmates and fans would disgust her. She was worried that the cops would start investigating and pin something on her.

Natalie’s face turned ghostly white. Overwhelmed, she suddenly bent over, clutching her chest and whimpering in pain.

Jonathan lost his mind. He scooped Natalie into his arms. Just before leaving, a flicker of guilt crossed his face but it vanished, replaced by anger as he shot Sierra a fierce glare.

“You know Nat has a heart condition, and you still pull this? Sierra, is hurting her the only thing that makes you happy?” Without another word, he stormed off downstairs with Natalie in his arms.

Not long after, Sierra could hear the Sterlings downstairs. They were fussing over Natalie, their voices full of concern and complaint. She listened for a moment, and then headed upstairs cheerfully. This time around, she was done with her so-called family for good.