Chapter 1
When I was four and still couldn't talk, my mom called me a "freak" and walked out on me without even looking back.
By the time I hit sixteen, I was already starting to make waves in the scientific research community.
Suddenly, she was crying in front of the cameras, claiming she'd finally found me and just wanted to bring me home.
Having been starved of affection my whole life, my heart melted instantly, and I genuinely believed she was ready to love me.
But the second I refused to hand my research findings over to my younger sister, she pushed me into the sea with her own hands, "killing" me all over again.
I was eighteen that year, and it finally clicked that everything my mom did was always for my sister.
The maternal love I had desperately craved was nothing but a bad joke.
Against all odds, I survived, only to watch my sister use my hard work to give high-profile lectures.
Overnight, she became the "genius girl" everyone in the industry couldn't stop praising.
Five years later, I sat in the audience at her project presentation. Watching her explain my research with that smug look on her face, I couldn't help but stand up and clap loudly.
"Amazing presentation!"
Every single person in the room whipped around to look at me.
I just let out a cold smile.
"Too bad it's not actually yours, no matter how good it sounds."
"Not mine? Don't tell me it's..."
Sophie Almeras looked down at me from the stage with a triumphant smirk, but the moment her eyes landed on me, her face turned completely pale.
The defense she was about to spit out got stuck right in her throat, leaving her totally choked up.
Her hands shook slightly as she looked away from me, searching for our mom in the front row instead.
Martha Lazard followed her gaze and looked over. The exact second our eyes locked, I saw her face twitch uncomfortably, but she managed to mask it pretty quickly.
I stared at the two of them coldly, pointed at the screen on stage, and finished Sophie's sentence, "This project, obviously, is mine—"
"Yours what?!"
Martha glared at me furiously, cutting me right off.
"Where is security?! How did an unauthorized person even get in here? Get her out of here right now!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs, causing a scene to make everyone think I was just some crazy troublemaker.
I just smiled as the guards immediately grabbed me by the arms.
But I kept my voice casual as I spoke up, "Judges, just ask Sophie about the molecular PCR testing process for this project. You'll find out who's telling the truth real quick."
My mom rushed forward instantly, screaming like I was a total stranger, "Get her out! Throw her out!"
Seeing her completely lose her cool gave me a rush of satisfaction, but at the same time, tears started burning my eyes.
Oh mom, dear mom, you've never stood up for me like that, not even once.
The presentation was completely derailed and put on hold.
I was tossed out of the building by security.
A text from Jordan Vidal popped up on my phone: "Sophie choked on the PCR molecular formula question. They've postponed the presentation for three days."
"Perfect! That's enough. The bait's been taken."
"How are you holding up? I'm seriously worried about you!"
When you've been hurt this deeply, it's hard to match that kind of warmth. I just shut off the screen and walked slowly back to my hotel.
It didn't take long for the drama to spread like wildfire through the academic community.
Everyone was gossiping about it on the forums.
"Who even is this girl? How dare she call out the genius girl like that?"
"Eh, people get jealous. Sophie is the one who got wronged here."
"There's been a ton of academic fraud lately, maybe this girl actually knows some dirt."
"Stop talking trash. I've met Sophie, she's a once-in-a-century genius, she's the real deal! The girl causing the scene looked like a walking toothpick. She probably grew up starving. What would someone from the bottom of society even know about science?"
Lying on the hotel sofa, I looked down at my arms. I really did look like a walking toothpick.
And it was true, I never got a full meal as a kid. To groom Sophie, my mom wouldn't even spare a single dollar to buy me a burger.
She always told me I was just a piece of trash, and that Sophie was going to be the pride of the family.
But now, that precious daughter they're so proud of is relying on plagiarizing me—the trash—just to buy her way to glory!
A wave of bitter resentment washed over me.
But before my tears could actually fall, a sharp knock echoed at the door.
She was here much faster than I expected.
