Chapter 4

Outside, Ann was on the phone, and she was locked in what sounded like a heated argument.

“Cassie refuses to acknowledge me. Why should I bring her back? She’s not even—”

The person on the other end cut her off.

“You’re going to be followed by the press the entire way back! You’ve donated so much money to this orphanage over the years. What do you think the board members will say when you bring home a dark, scrawny little thing instead?”

[The plot is finally kicking in! Our girl’s place was never something anyone could just take.]

[Exactly! That ugly-duckling side character is nothing more than a prop to make our girl shine. She actually thinks she can replace her and become the heiress? Dream on!]

The call ended. Ann wearily pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it. Then, she leaned against a tree and took a long drag.

I walked over and held out the chicken drumstick I had wrapped up for her.

“Mom, it’s okay. If you really have to choose between the two of us, take her instead.”

Ann stubbed out her cigarette and patted my shoulder.

“Since I promised to adopt you, I will stick to my words. The board members are simply looking for leverage against me. From the moment I set foot here, I had already walked into their trap.”

The butler, Colby Patterson, let out a sigh.

“Ms. Moore, since you already knew, why did you come in the first place?”

“Because I want a child. Even if not one of my own womb.”

Though I had never set foot in high society, I had crouched outside the window of Cassie’s private tutor lessons. So I knew that wealthy families valued blood above all else.

Adopting an unrelated outsider as an heir was unheard of.

Colby said nothing, but his displeasure with me could not have been plainer.

“Very well. If that is your decision, Ms. Moore, I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”

As we left the orphanage, the chauffeur stepped forward and opened the car door for me. Behind me, Cassie climbed into the vehicle while muttering complaints under her breath.

Under Ann’s questioning gaze, Colby bent down slightly in apology.

“One of the board members mentioned that Miss Cassie needs to return to the city before school starts. Since we are headed the same way, I thought we could give her a ride.”

I barely paid attention to the conversation. My eyes were fixed on the road ahead. Cold sweat trickled down my back. A vehicle in the distance suddenly swerved out of control.

As a large piece of debris came hurtling toward us, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Had I really survived only a few extra hours, just to die all over again?

No one spoke.

The chauffeur was exceptionally skilled. He avoided one out-of-control vehicle after another, steering around danger with calm precision.

Once we reached the city, I turned on my phone with the hope that a little mindless scrolling would calm my frayed nerves.

At the top of the trending page was a headline [Bayley Group CEO Brings Daughter Home.]

Since I saw it, Cassie, who had been glued to her phone the entire ride, saw it too.

“Tch. Cutting ties with me on the surface while secretly stirring up trending topics to win me back? You’re fake. It’s not working.”

I opened the post, pointed at my own sallow-faced photograph, and kindly reminded her.

“The person in the picture is me. Not you.”

“Mom, what’s that supposed to mean? You’re acknowledging her but not me? What’s wrong with you?

“Oh, I get it now. You only chose her because you think I hit her, right? Fine. I’ll tell everyone the truth. Let’s see what people think when they find out what your precious new daughter is really like!”

Cassie had claimed the infirmary for her private use. She was happy to let outsiders use it, especially poor visitors who came through the orphanage, but she never allowed any of the children living there to receive treatment.

To make sure that none of us sneaked in, she had even installed security cameras.

Stealing a billionaire heiress’s place had already made me enough of a target. If it came out that I had used underhanded tactics, I would be torn apart by public opinion.

[So what if that side character survived? She’s about to get torn apart online anyway!]

[Our girl is a genius. Installing cameras in the infirmary was such a smart move. Let’s see how the side character talks her way out of this one!]

A split second before the video finished uploading, I snatched the phone out of Cassie’s hand and cut the data connection. Then, I tossed it out the window.