A Millionaire Daddy? She Refused

Chapter 2: The brilliant game designer and her foster father 2

Seeing 001’s uncharacteristic urgency, Valeria suddenly felt the urge to tease it. She asked,

“Do you know who I am?”

001 replied at once in its flat, emotionless electronic voice,

“Valeria Meredith. Twenty years old. Height: 5'7". Intelligence quotient: 180.”

Valeria continued,

“Do you know what kind of life I’ve lived, that you think you can threaten me with life and death?”

001 fell silent for a moment before answering,

“I do not know.”

After that, Valeria slowly began to recount her life.

She was an orphan, raised in a government-run group home, with no relatives and no family to speak of.

At the age of ten, Valeria represented her school in the AMC 10, a mathematics competition for young students. It was there that she unexpectedly encountered her biological mother.

Almost without the need for a DNA test, the woman recognized her at first glance, because Valeria looked as though she had been carved from the same mold.

Afterward, the woman quietly ordered an investigation. When the results confirmed that Valeria was indeed the daughter she had lost years ago, she immediately brought her back to her side.

Her mother was Lydia Meredith, once a little-known, third-rate model. By sheer luck and striking beauty, she caught the eye of a millionaire and ultimately became his second wife.

By that time, the millionaire’s first wife had been dead for two years, leaving behind a daughter the same age as Valeria, named Eugene Meredith.

To secure her footing in that wealthy household, Lydia lived in constant restraint, weighing every word and every action, tirelessly currying favor with her husband, and even with his daughter from the previous marriage.

Because Valeria was her illegitimate child, with no blood ties or recognized status within the Meredith family, Lydia always believed that Valeria was merely living off their charity.

For that reason, she forced Valeria to follow in her footsteps: to endure in silence, to bow her head, to please the Meredith family at every turn. Lydia believed this was the only way for them to remain in that glittering world, never once asking whether Valeria wanted such a life in the first place.

Clearly a genius, yet in every exam, Valeria deliberately made mistakes. Because the moment her scores surpassed Eugene’s, her stepsister would grow sullen and irritable, only to vent her anger on Valeria’s mother.

Each time that happened, her mother would break down in tears, begging her not to try so hard, not to stand out like that.

Clinging to that fragile remnant of maternal affection, Valeria chose to suppress her own brilliance, conceal her talents, and resign herself to being a mere backdrop against which Eugene could shine.

Until the age of twenty.

The minor inventions Valeria had developed in her spare time in the field of artificial intelligence were stolen by Eugene and patented under her own name.

This time, Valeria refused to endure it any longer.

She made a scene, demanding justice. But in that house, not a single person stood on her side.

Her biological mother cried and accused her of being unreasonable. Her stepfather remained silent. And Eugene, she stood there, still the victor.

At the very moment Valeria resolved to walk away, vowing to live a life of freedom and never again dim her own light for anyone else, a traffic accident struck and reduced her to a vegetative state.

After finishing her story, Valeria drew her final conclusion,

“For ten years, my mother manipulated me psychologically, grinding me down until I was completely exhausted. At this point, I’ve lost all interest in surviving.”

Of course, that was nothing but nonsense.

Valeria was never so fragile as to be easily manipulated, nor would those wounds ever drive her into despair. She was intelligent, rational, and possessed a mind strong enough to withstand anything.

But she had no obligation to tell 001 the truth.

She was merely exaggerating her own despair, deliberately playing it up to gain leverage in a negotiation that had not even properly begun.

Thinking of 001, Valeria recalled the traffic accident.

She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. But when her awareness finally returned, the first thing to surface in her mind was not pain, it was its voice.

It claimed to be an AI assistant belonging to the Fate-Altering System, tasked with enabling her to travel through time and space, sending her into various novel worlds to help the characters in those worlds change the fates written for them.

According to 001, completing the missions it assigned was the only way for her to survive and wake up.

After that, without waiting for Valeria’s consent, and without giving her any chance to ask further questions, 001 directly dragged her into this restroom.

Hearing Valeria speak like that, 001 immediately tried to persuade her with a trite line lifted straight out of some Chicken Soup for the Soul - type book in its database,

“Life is beautiful. You shouldn’t lose the will to live over temporary suffering.”

It paused for a moment before adding,

“Moreover, this mission is extremely simple. You can treat it as experiencing a brand-new life, one completely different from your previous one. Very interesting.”

Valeria raised an eyebrow.

“What if I don’t do the mission? Is there any punishment?”

001 replied immediately,

“No. The Fate-Altering System always respects human rights and will not impose any form of physical or psychological punishment.”

“And what if the mission fails?” Valeria pressed.

001 paused for a beat before answering,

“Then… we will move on to another world.”

It continued, its tone as calm as ever,

“However, in that case, your body in the real world will awaken more slowly. Or, before it has a chance to awaken, it may fail to hold on and pass away.”