2

Oh.

I get it now. Stella Sterling is her real daughter.

Now that her daughter is back, I, the fake heiress, am naturally expected to hand everything over to her daughter.

"How could I do that?"

Stella Sterling hesitated. "But that's my sister's fiancé..."

"Don't worry about it. What's hers is yours."

Mrs. Sterling said it so casually.

The moment she finished speaking, Stella dove joyfully into her arms. "Mom, you're so good to me."

"Silly child. You've suffered so much in the past..."

Mrs. Sterling choked up, holding her.

The two of them wept until their eyes were blurry, a picture of profound mother-daughter affection. The sight was honestly making me sick.

I was never interested in my good-for-nothing fiancé, Zane Vance. But the fact that they decided the fate of my engagement without even bothering to ask my opinion still shocked me.

The Sterling Family's ways were as outrageous as ever.

I turned to leave.

Stella wanted Zane, and I was happy to let her have him.

But perhaps getting what she wanted too easily robbed her of the thrill of conquest, because Stella decided to stab me in the back. "Mom, what about my sister?"

I stopped in my tracks.

Mrs. Sterling asked, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I just think my sister is at an age where she should be getting married, so you should be concerned about her marital affairs too."

Stella gave a shy smile. "Since you've already agreed to let me be with Zane, well... a relationship between two people can't have a third person, so..."

"I understand, I understand!"

Mrs. Sterling laughed. "Don't you worry, I'll take care of it."

Then she frowned at me. "Stella has a point. It's not appropriate for you to be living here anymore. Move out on your own."

"Fine."

I gave a crisp nod. I couldn't be happier.

But Stella's eyes suddenly filled with resentment, as if she wouldn't be satisfied until I was on my knees, begging for mercy.

I turned and left the room.

Just as I reached the doorway, I saw Mr. Sterling, his face filled with pity.

"Dad, I..."

"I know, I know. It's for the best that you move out. That way Stella won't be upset seeing you."

He cut me off impatiently, then hurried into the room.

Listening to the joyful laughter coming from the room, I shook my head, mocking myself. 'I never should have expected any affection from the Sterling Family.'

My adoptive parents had known for a long time that I wasn't their child.

And from the moment they found out, their attitude toward me changed drastically. Their words grew cold, their actions harsh, and they blamed me entirely for their biological daughter's disappearance.

And they never stopped searching for their real daughter.

Now, their wish had finally come true.

As for me, raising me for over twenty years was no different than raising a dog. Oh, actually, I was treated worse than a dog.

After all, besides a bowl of food, a dog gets to play with its master and receive affection when he's happy. All I ever got was emotional abuse and endless accusations.

I never used to understand.

It's not like I ran to the Sterling Family myself or was the one who caused them to take home the wrong baby. Why did they treat me like that?

Later, I figured it out. It was nothing but impotent rage.

Someone had to be the scapegoat.

They didn't want to admit their own mistake led to this tragedy, so they came to a tacit agreement to push all the blame onto me.

Once they stopped loving me, my very breathing became a mistake.

: A Clean Break

3

I carried my suitcase downstairs. The maids didn't even pretend they didn't see me.

Not a single one offered to help.

I couldn't be bothered to ask, so I struggled with the suitcase downstairs on my own. And just then, the family of three appeared upstairs.

Stella Sterling's eyes welled with tears. "Sis, I don't want you to go..."

'Gag!'

My eyelid twitched. I barely managed not to throw up.

"Our Stella is so thoughtful."

Mr. Sterling looked moved and gratified. Mrs. Sterling was also all smiles as she held Stella's hand. "Don't worry about her. She can get by anywhere on her own."

I curled my lip in a silent smirk. It was true.

Thanks to the Sterling Family's years of harsh treatment, I'd learned early on that you have to look out for yourself in this world.

Even if they threw me into a primeval forest, I'd grit my teeth and survive.

"You're amazing, Sis!"

I couldn't tell if Stella was being genuinely clueless or just pretending, but she praised me sweetly. I smiled. "How about I teach you how to 'get by'?"

'There's an art to 'getting by,' you know.'

'For example, how to sneak food without getting caught and beaten when the adults forgot to feed you as a child.'

'Or how to get money for study materials when you needed them, to buy the practice exams and guides you'd been wanting for so long.'

'Or what you had to do in college to keep from starving when you had no living allowance.'

'For years, that's how I'd been 'getting by'.'

'Does Stella want to give it a try?'

"What could you possibly teach her?"

Mrs. Sterling's face hardened, her eyes falling to my suitcase. "Why are you taking so much with you?"

'It's just some books and my personal belongings.'

But seeing her suspicious gaze, I feigned panic. "N-nothing..."

"Open it. Let's see."

Mr. Sterling nudged the suitcase with the tip of his shoe. I don't know what he hit inside, but a crisp CLINKING sound came from within.

Stella's eyes widened with curiosity. "Sis, did you take all the jewelry?"

Mr. and Mrs. Sterling's expressions changed.

The two of them had never bought me anything expensive. I lived a life of stark poverty; no one would have ever believed I was a daughter of the Sterling Family.

But after Stella returned, they had bought her countless fine things.

'If there was something shady in my suitcase... '

Mr. and Mrs. Sterling didn't hold back. In moments, they had rummaged through my luggage and turned it into a complete mess. But aside from a jar of beautiful polished crystals, there was no jewelry at all.

"These stones are so pretty..."

Having found no jewelry, Stella stared at the glass jar with envy. "I'm so jealous, Sis. You get to have such pretty stones."

"Then here..."

"That's from my private collection."

I snatched the glass jar back from Mrs. Sterling just as she was about to hand it to Stella.

'It's a good thing I don't have any strange hobbies.'

'Otherwise, if I had packed a few turds in my suitcase, would she have snatched them back to have a taste?'

"What's yours is hers!"

Mrs. Sterling's face darkened with displeasure, but I locked my suitcase and started to leave. "You did raise me, and for that I'm grateful. But not *that* grateful. So, I'm getting the hell out of here for good."

"From now on, I wish the three of you a happy life together."

I didn't wait for the Sterlings to start their drama; I got out of there fast.

Listening to too much of their twisted logic and unreasonable arguments would seriously lower my IQ.

On my way, I called Zane Vance.

He was even more direct.

I had barely told him that his fiancée was now Stella Sterling when he started clapping and cheering. He declared that he had nothing more to do with me and proactively did a complete 180, cutting all ties.

Me: "...That's just great."

'No need to see each other, nothing owed to one another. We can just go our separate ways.'

: My Own Future

4

My departure from the Sterling Family caused no ripples.

I suppose I have their past mistreatment to thank for that. Using my supposed introversion as an excuse, they rarely let me interact with the Sterling Family's social circles, so when Stella Sterling made her grand entrance, no one grew suspicious.

My adoptive parents, for their part, completely changed their tune. They started taking her to all sorts of high-end venues, introducing her to everyone they knew.

By the looks of it, they seemed to be grooming her to take over the Sterling Group.

Meanwhile, I was preparing for my graduate school entrance exams.

The same day I was accepted as a student by my dream advisor, Stella Sterling officially joined the Sterling Group.

Newspapers and online platforms heralded her arrival, praising her to the heavens. I just read the news and gave a faint smile.

The affairs of the Sterling Family had nothing to do with me anymore.

I studied diligently, day in and day out, and would hear that the Sterling Group's great heiress had landed another major project.

While I was pulling all-nighters, a pop-up in the corner of my screen would announce some new gossip about the "perfect couple."

Zane Vance and Stella Sterling had apparently become a match made in heaven.

One day, it was a handbag Zane Vance bought for Stella Sterling; the next, some new dress. The day after, it was their plans to go on a trip somewhere. People eagerly followed their every move.

Stella Sterling had also shed the green, unseasoned air she'd had when she first joined the Sterling Family. Every gesture was now dripping with jewels and casual elegance.

No one knew the Sterling Family once had a Seraphina Sterling.

And no one ever asked about her again.

They didn't know that Seraphina Sterling was also gritting her teeth, fighting hard for a future of her own.

No matter how hard the days were, there was still much to look forward to.

As my papers were published one after another in various academic journals, I gradually made a name for myself in the world of academia.

Stella Sterling became Silverwood's most celebrated heiress, while I built my own circle of friends.

Life wasn't lonely.

After careful consideration, I ultimately chose to take the civil service exam and secure a stable position.

My advisor was extremely reluctant to let me go. "If you're willing to stay, we can do research together. I guarantee I'll treat you well. What do you say?"

I politely declined.

I told him that if he ever needed my help, I wouldn't hesitate, but I wanted to "come ashore" and rest for a while.

I'd been planning and fending for myself since I was a child, and I was long since weary and weathered by it all.

It was time to rest for a bit before planning my next move.

My advisor didn't insist, and after passing through trial after trial, I finally entered the Revenue Service and became a proud Law Enforcer.

The night I received my acceptance notice, I gazed off in the direction of the Sterling Family's estate.

The Sterling Family's reputation was still impeccable.

Stella Sterling had firmly established herself in high society, and I heard she was even going to marry Zane Vance.

Her life was a picture of boundless glory, with smooth sailing all the way.

'It's been three years. The Sterlings have probably forgotten I even exist, haven't they?'

They had the future they wanted, and I, too, would have a bright and brilliant future of my own.