Chapter 1
To get a firsthand look at the company, I hid my background and downplayed my abilities, taking an internship at one of my family's subsidiaries as an invisible nobody.
My coworker, Vivian Cook, was obsessed with selling herself as the true heiress of a wealthy family who spoke eight languages and had unmatched business instincts, so she picked me to make herself look better.
When investors from Florenne visited to discuss a partnership, the director assigned Vivian to receive them. She froze on the spot and couldn't get a full sentence out. I stepped forward instead. My fluent Florenian and strong negotiating skills won the contract without a hitch.
People whispered behind the cubicle walls.
"Oh my God, Diana's amazing! She has made the rich girl Vivian look like a total airhead!"
Vivian snapped on the spot, "Did you steal my spotlight on purpose? My brothers have spoiled me my whole life. No one's ever dared treat me like this. Now, apologize to me in front of everyone, and bark like a dog. Then I'll let this go."
I stared at her in disbelief. "Did your brain suddenly stop working?"
Vivian curled up in fear and made a call. "I need help. Someone's picking on me at work."
A few minutes later, three luxury cars worth millions pulled up and blocked the company's entrance.
The employees whispered excitedly behind the cubicle walls.
"Oh my God! The three young masters came to back Vivian up!"
"I knew it. Vivian really is the heiress to the Crownstone Group. Diana's done for this time!"
I almost laughed out loud. What were my good-for-nothing brothers doing at the office?
Oh no. Was Vivian actually Karen Cook, my family's chauffeur's daughter who always slipped into her hometown dialect whenever she panicked?
Before I started working here, I told my brothers to give her any position they could. Instead, they shoved her into the top company in our industry and spoiled her beyond saving?
The doors of three luxury cars flew open in unison. Three strikingly handsome men marched straight into the company.
"Charlie, you're finally here! She just picked on me!" Vivian rushed over and clung to my oldest brother, Charlie Stewart.
Watching her cling to him so naturally made my temples pound. I had only asked my brothers to help Karen get a job. I never expected her to become this comfortable acting spoiled around Charlie.
"Charlie, I'm terrified." She pointed at me with shaking fingers. "That intern insulted me and even tried to hit me. I only wanted to be her friend. I don't know why she hated me so much."
The employees gathered around quietly exchanged whispers.
"Oh my God! Isn't that Charlie Stewart, the Crownstone Group's eldest heir? He actually showed up in person!"
"The one on the left is Kevin Stewart, right? The rich second son who tossed money around whenever he got drunk. And the one on the right is Simon Stewart, the race car driver who owned three limited-edition supercars worth over a hundred million each?"
Charlie lightly squeezed Vivian's cheek in comfort.
The moment he looked at me, the warmth vanished from his face. His eyes turned icy. "You're the one who bullied Vivi?"
Instead of feeling intimidated by the way he questioned me, I nearly burst out laughing. I nudged my black rimmed glasses back up my nose and calmly studied my clueless older brother through the bangs hiding my eyes.
Unbelievable. Just because I had spent the past few years overseas and deliberately disguised myself with fake freckles, he really failed to recognize his own sister.
And now he was standing here, backing our chauffeur's daughter against me.
I gave a short laugh, "What evidence do you have that I bullied her?"
My second brother, Kevin Stewart, let out a cold scoff and stepped closer, his tall frame casting a shadow over me. "You're jealous because Vivi is more capable and better looking than you. Isn't that the truth?"
I blinked once. Back when we were kids, he always said I was the smartest and prettiest little sister in the world.
Then my third brother, Simon Stewart, spoke up without a second thought.
"Have security drag her out. Tell the HR director she's fired. Spread the word across the city that no company is allowed to hire her again. Anyone who does will be declaring war on the Crownstone Group and the Stewart family!"
Vivian quickly caught Simon's sleeve and put on her usual sweet and gentle act. "Simon, please don't. Diana didn't do it on purpose. Maybe she grew up poor and never experienced the real world, so her thinking became a little twisted. I don't blame her. As long as she apologizes to me in front of everyone and barks like a dog, I'll let this go."
Her smile looked soft and forgiving, but triumph shone plainly in her eyes. The sight of her fake expression made my stomach turn.
My thinking twisted. Since when did Vivian, the daughter of our chauffeur, David Cook, become a Stewart?
Keeping both hands in the pockets of my oversized work jacket, I quietly dialed a familiar number by feel. It was my father's private line, one I hadn't called in ages.
He answered almost immediately, then I stayed silent and simply left the call connected.
