The Fake Heiress Is a Scheming b***h, the Real One Is Better at Faking It

Chapter 2 Her Perfect Chance

"She's so beautiful," someone murmured.

Everyone froze, completely captivated.

It did not take long before they realized they were picking on the young woman standing in front of them.

Tears streamed down Elizabeth's beautiful face. There was no rage or resentment in her eyes from their harsh treatment—only helplessness and faint hurt.

Every student felt a sharp, painful twinge in their chest.

Lorna froze, her eyes widening in shock.

'Elizabeth? She is supposed to be locked away in prison for life, trapped behind bars forever. How could she be here, out in the open? And how has she become Stephen's adopted sister? Has she come back to get revenge on me?'

Lorna was still trying to process what had just happened when Elizabeth spoke, her voice thick with emotion.

"I never meant to come between the two of you," Elizabeth said softly. "The Iverson family took me in when I had no one. They treated me like their own daughter, so I've always looked up to Miranda as my mother and Stephen as my own brother."

She explained, "I transferred to this class because I knew you'd be here, Lorna. I know Stephen loves you, and I've always thought you'd be his wife someday. I only wanted to get to know you early and make friends with everyone. I never expected you all to reject me like this."

Her words rang sincere and full of hurt. All the anger the crowd had felt on Lorna's behalf vanished in an instant.

"We didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome," Wyatt Keyes said quickly.

He was the one who had thrown the ball moments before. He rushed over, his chest twisting with guilt at the tears shining in Elizabeth's eyes.

"I'm so sorry. We misjudged you, and I apologize for that," he said.

The other students circled closer, their attitudes softening at once.

"Yeah, if you're not trying to mess up Lorna and Stephen's relationship, we'd be glad to be your friends."

A gentle, grateful smile tugged at Elizabeth's lips.

Lorna watched the whole scene from the side, her jaw clenched tight.

'I will never let Elizabeth crawl back into my life again.'

Lorna made the bitter promise to herself in silence.

She then forced a look of stunned surprise and spoke up. "Elizabeth, is that really you?"

All heads turned toward Lorna at her words, every eye fixed firmly on her.

"Do you two know each other?" one classmate asked.

Lorna hesitated, then gave a slow, reluctant nod.

"I do have an older sister who's in prison," she said quietly. "I got lost when I was little. Mom was heartbroken, so she adopted another girl and raised her as her own child. Once I finally came home, she grew bitter about being an adopted daughter. She stole everything I had, over and over again. In the end, she even tried to poison me to get rid of me. Mom and Dad sent her to prison to keep her from doing something terrible again."

As Lorna told the whole story, the way the crowd looked at Elizabeth shifted completely, cold and suspicious now.

Lorna's voice trembled with feigned concern. "How did you break out of prison? And how did you end up as the Iverson family's adopted daughter? If they catch you, you'll be sent back—and you'll drag the entire Iverson family down with you. Did you come back just to take what's mine again? Stephen, for example?"

Her tone turned weak and wounded. Wyatt, who had just apologized to Elizabeth, stepped forward, grabbing her arm, his face twisted with fury.

"Don't you worry, Lorna. We'll drag this escaped convict right back where she belongs," Wyatt snapped.

"Seriously. She almost tricked all of us just now," another student added.

A cold, mocking laugh echoed in Elizabeth's mind, though her face stayed blank and confused.

"What are you all talking about?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head in genuine bewilderment. "Escaped convict? Sister? You must have the wrong person. My name isn't Elizabeth at all."

The students were completely baffled by the two conflicting stories.

Wyatt frowned and turned to Lorna, his voice laced with doubt. "Lorna, are you sure you didn't mix people up? This girl doesn't seem to know you at all."

Lorna's mind went blank with shock.

Elizabeth acted the part far too well. For a split second, Lorna even wondered if there might actually be two people in the world with identical faces.

Panic flared in her chest, and she stared straight at Elizabeth.

In that moment, Elizabeth shot her a sharp, taunting smirk.

She parted her lips and mouthed four clear words without a sound. "You lost to me."

Lorna's pupils dilated with fear.

'This is definitely Elizabeth. What am I supposed to do now?'

A plan clicked into place in her head right away.

She spun around and let tears spill down her cheeks, making sure Laura, who stood beside her, saw every second of it.

Just as she'd planned, Laura asked anxiously, "Lorna, what's wrong?"

Lorna's voice came out weak and fragile, barely above a whisper. "Laura, I'm fine. It's just... no one believes me right now. It feels like I'm back to those old days, when my sister took everything I had away from me."

Laura could not stand to see Lorna hurt like this. "I've got your back, Lorna."

She stepped forward and raised her hand, ready to slap Elizabeth across the face. "You b***h, stop acting right now."

To everyone else, Elizabeth had done nothing wrong at all—yet Laura had lashed out out of nowhere.

As Laura's hand was about to touch Elizabeth, Wyatt moved fast and pulled Elizabeth safely behind him.

"Laura, calm down," he said firmly.

"Yeah, she hasn't done a thing. Why are you suddenly so angry?" another classmate chimed in.

The crowd's confused, growing impatient stares snapped Lorna back to reality. She realized Elizabeth had provoked her on purpose, luring her straight into a carefully laid trap.

She could not let this spiral any further.

Lorna turned back around and wiped her tears in front of the whole group.

Then she said, "Don't be hard on Laura, everyone. She only acted out because she hates seeing me hurt. But please, you have to believe me. This girl really is my sister who escaped prison."

With a sob, she continued, "She's always been this way. She steals what's mine and then puts on an act to make everyone think she's the victim. Are you all going to fall for her lies and turn your backs on me, too?"

Silence fell over the crowd. Lorna let out a cold huff and locked eyes with Elizabeth.

If Elizabeth could play the helpless victim, Lorna could do it just as well.

Elizabeth felt the hostile glares surrounding her and caught Lorna's cold, watchful gaze.

She barely held back a laugh.

'Does Lorna truly not understand? There are levels to playing the pitiful victim. And me? I am the best of the best.'

Elizabeth finally spoke up. "Lorna, I don't understand why you're set on hurting my reputation like this. Prison security is tight. How could a weak girl like me ever break out on my own? And besides..."

She pulled her student ID card out of her bag and held it up for everyone to see.

Lorna's eyes widened the second she read the name printed on the card.

It showed Elizabeth's brand-new legal name.

"My name is Eliza Burton," Elizabeth said clearly. "Lorna, are you truly mistaken... or did you never even have an older sister to begin with? I've never heard a single thing about the James family having two daughters, after all."

Every word sliced through Lorna's lies, exposing every flaw in her made-up story.

Lorna's face drained of all color. Her classmates no longer believed a single word she said.

"That's going too far, Lorna. We all knew you were an only child."

"We've always been on your side. Eliza has always spoken respectfully of you. She's proven her real identity now—so why won't you leave her alone?"

Lorna clenched her teeth in rage.

Elizabeth had only been here a short while, and she had already turned the whole class against her.

'I have to end this now.'

Lorna shot a sharp, subtle look at Laura.

Laura caught the signal instantly. She stepped forward and shoved Elizabeth hard amid the crowd's shocked gasps.

She twisted open a thermos and hurled the scalding water straight at Elizabeth.

"Stay away from Lorna for good," Laura shouted.

Thick steam rose from the hot liquid. A burn like that would leave permanent, disfiguring scars on her skin.

Instead of panicking, a faint, triumphant smile tugged at Elizabeth's lips.

She'd waited for Laura to make that move.

She spotted Stephen walking toward the commotion in the distance.

This was her perfect chance.

"Help!" Elizabeth cried out in a trembling, frightened voice, squeezing her eyes shut.

The next moment, she was pulled into a warm, secure embrace.

Stephen wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and blocked the rushing hot water entirely with his back.