Chapter 1
I'd just wrapped up a business deal overseas and stepped off the plane when my dad pinged me a text.
Dad: Lily, it turns out you're not our biological daughter.
I stared at the DNA test result he'd attached, my face completely blank as I climbed into the car and headed back to the Henderson family mansion.
Truth be told, I'd known I wasn't my parents' real kid for five years already. And five years of pretending everything was normal?
I was exhausted.
I hadn't even stepped across the threshold when I heard a girl's sweet, coquettish voice drifting out of the living room.
Mom and Dad were doubled over laughing, completely charmed by the newly found daughter who'd just come home.
That warm, cozy little scene came to a screeching halt the second I walked in.
Mom, who'd always rushed over to hug me every time I came home, just sat frozen on the sofa, her eyes darting away to avoid mine.
Dad coughed awkwardly, his discomfort obvious.
It was the real daughter who stepped forward first, calm and graceful as she walked straight toward me.
"You must be Lily, right? Hello, I'm Rachel, Mom and Dad's real daughter." She put extra heavy emphasis on the word 'real'.
I just nodded, my expression completely unchanged.
When I didn't give her the shocked, panicked reaction she'd been waiting for, a flicker of surprise crossed her carefully friendly face.
At dinner, Rachel never stopped chattering.
She ranted about how terrible her adoptive parents had treated her, then gushed about how she'd pulled herself up and put herself through school all alone.
When she got to the part about just graduating with her PhD this year, she turned to me with a perfectly casual question, "Which university did you graduate from? You look so sophisticated, I bet you studied abroad, right? I mean, you never had to worry about paying tuition anyway."
Before I could even open my mouth to answer, Mom jumped in quickly, "She has never gone abroad. She only got a bachelor's degree."
Mom was in such a rush to distance herself from me, you'd think she'd swear up and down she'd never spoiled me a day in her life.
Rachel put on an exaggerated look of surprise. "Oh, I just assumed all parents would send their kids to study abroad."
Dad immediately speared a piece of her favorite dish, dropped it onto her plate and said, "Rachel, do you want to study abroad? Just say the word, and I'll arrange everything for you tomorrow."
Rachel looked utterly stunned by the kindness and shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, that's not necessary. I actually want to help Lily run the company. My major was business administration, after all."
She masked her expression to an innocent one once more as she looked at me again. "With just a bachelor's degree, running a company this big must be so exhausting for you, right?"
I set my spoon and fork down slowly, my face cold. I couldn't be bothered to play her stupid games. I just said I was done eating, stood up, and headed back to my room.
As I climbed the stairs, I caught the faint sound of Rachel sniffing, her voice wobbly as she asked Mom and Dad if I hated her.
Later that evening, Dad sent word for me to come to his study. When I walked in, Mom and Rachel were already there, waiting for me.
I knew right away that the three of them had already made up their minds about what they wanted.
Dad didn't beat around the bush. "Lily, you… well, you're not our child, after all. You've taken Rachel's place for all these years. Now that she's home, her position as our daughter and her standing in the company both need to be given back to her."
Rachel stepped forward, her face carefully schooled to make it look as if she was genuinely sorry.
"I know this must be hard for you to accept. But all of this was mine to begin with. If I don't take it back, outsiders will gossip about Mom and Dad behind their backs," she reasoned. "Don't worry, you can still stay in this house, and you can still go to work at the company like before. It's just…"
Seeing her fumbling for words, Dad cut straight to the point, "You'll hand over the general manager position to Rachel. Starting tomorrow, you'll step down to team lead," he finished for her.
Mom stepped over and grabbed my hand. "Don't worry. Even if you're not my biological daughter, we'll still treat you like family, I promise."
I snickered to myself.
Their eyes dart away from mine, they served me nothing but dishes I hated at dinner, and now they're rushing me to hand over everything I built?
Is this what they call 'still treating you like family'?
I pulled my hand back, let my gaze drift slowly over each of their faces, then said, "I understand. I'll hand everything over as soon as possible. I don't need the team lead position. I'll resign."
None of them expected me to agree to this so easily.
I just smiled, a knowing, lingering curve tugging at my lips.
She wants to steal all the success I built from scratch? She'd better check first if she's even got what it takes to handle it.
My claim to be the Henderson family's biological daughter might be fake, but the empire I built with my own two hands?
That's as real as it gets.
