Chapter 2

[Play the pitiful one. As long as she agrees to take you in, you will become her daughter and escape the fate of being killed in that accident.]

The moment Ann finished speaking, I let myself fall to the ground and pretended to faint. I had gone hungry for years, so collapsing from low blood sugar was nothing unusual.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the infirmary.

It was my first time inside this room since turning eighteen.

The sharp scent of disinfectant filled the room, completely masking the foul smell of pig manure that had soaked into my clothes.

The ward door opened. Cassie walked in. She handed me a stack of documents with an expression that suggested she was looking out for me.

It was a voluntary waiver of inheritance rights.

“To prove that your values remain noble, I swallowed my pride and asked that woman for this agreement. Sign it, and no one will ever accuse you of approaching her for money again.”

“Did you sign one?”

Instead of reaching for the pen, I turned and looked at her.

“I’m the eldest daughter of the Bailey family. I’ll inherit the business one day. She can’t have any more children, you know. If I signed, who would help her shoulder the burden of running everything?”

So she had not signed it.

Easy for her to say that.

Through the floating comments, I already knew why Ann had come to the orphanage looking for a child.

First, after an injury, she was temporarily unable to become pregnant and needed someone to inherit her empire.

Second, a spiritual advisor had told her that her inability to conceive stemmed from neglecting a child. To settle the karmic unrest, she needed to take a child home and care for it.

However, why did Cassie assume that the child Ann brought home had to be a blood relative?

I set the papers down and handed them back.

I said flatly, “Sorry, but I am an ordinary, worldly person. If Mom wants me to sign something, she can bring it to me herself.”

“Shameless! You’ve known her for five minutes, and you are already calling her Mom?”

A sharp slap echoed through the room. My head turned to the side, and one of my cheeks immediately began to swell.

Whoever had thrown that slap had not held back in the slightest.

The infirmary door burst open. Ann rushed inside and immediately ordered the doctor accompanying her to treat my injuries.

Cassie’s hand still hung in the air. Her finger pointed at me as she found herself unable to speak.

Before she could offer an explanation, Ann cut her off. “You’ve really let me down! I’m not spending another cent on you from now on, whether it’s on your clothes, your housing, or anything else!”

“Fine! You want to take a stranger’s side over mine and try to control me by cutting me off? Well, it won’t work! I’d rather call someone else ‘Dad’ than ever call you ‘Mom’ again!”

The door was flung open so hard that it slammed against the wall with a deafening bang.

Everyone gathered outside jumped at the noise. The mother-daughter showdown had escalated far beyond what anyone had expected.

My hand was still tingling from the impact. I buried my face in my palms and wiped away the few tears brought on by physical pain.

[What a scheming side character. Using a pity act to win sympathy after making our heroine fight with her rich mother. Despicable!]

[This mom is even worse. She fell for something that obvious? Is she even fit to be a company president? Our heroine needs to build her own empire soon and take hers down!]

Before I could continue reading, the floating comments vanished.

Ann cleared everyone out of the room and shut the infirmary door behind her. Her smile faded as she walked toward me.

Her black high heels struck the floor in a rhythmic beat.

Click. Click. Click.

Like the final three ticks of a clock counting down to an execution.

She gently took my hand and applied ointment to my palm.

“You hit yourself pretty hard. Your hand must hurt too, right?”

My stomach dropped.

I looked up and met Ann’s eyes. Time had left its mark on them, dulling their color slightly. They were too calm and too gentle, looking like a pool of still water, as if they could see through everything.

Cassie did not resemble her at all.