Chapter 2

The moment Frank finished speaking, his other 19 daughters pulled out their phones and immediately got to work.

"My mom's an entrepreneur, and I've been learning how to make money from her since I was young. I'm definitely going to win!"

"Please, I have a PhD in finance. Making money is exactly what I'm good at."

Each of them had her own strategy. Some immediately opened stock-trading websites, while others pulled up investment fund platforms.

One of them used the 100,000 dollars as seed capital and started drafting a business plan on the spot.

Another seized on a trending topic and immediately started a live stream.

"I'm at Frank Gibson's heir selection! Follow me, and I'll show you the inside story of this wealthy family's inheritance battle!"

Meanwhile, I stared helplessly at the bank card one of the bodyguards had handed me.

I hadn't even finished high school before the orphanage forced me out to make money by setting up a snack stall.

Everyone around me was educated, knowledgeable, and highly accomplished. How could I possibly compete with them?

A sneer crossed Sophia's face when she saw how lost I looked.

"Everyone else is busy getting started, and you don't even have a phone. You really think you can compete with me for the inheritance?"

She didn't just look down on me—she despised every single one of her competitors.

"I graduated first class from business school," she said smugly. "When it comes to making money, no one here can beat me."

With that, she took on the challenge from both angles.

First, she bought stocks. Then, she started working on an investment proposal that she planned to present to Frank in an hour.

As for me, all I could do was draw encouragement from Mom's messages appearing before my eyes.

"Darling, have you ever heard the saying, 'A rich kid who spends too much is nothing compared to one who decides to start a business'?

"Let them do whatever they want. You don't have to do anything this round, and you'll still win.

"Even if you're pretending, you have to at least look confident!"

Mom continued encouraging me. "You entered the real world when you were very young and experienced all the hardships life had to offer. When it comes to reading people and knowing how to conduct yourself around them, none of those girls can compare to you.

"Now, start observing Frank carefully. You never know when that might come in handy later."

Even after Mom had passed away, she was still doing everything she could to help me.

Courage surged within me.

After thinking it over, I retreated to a corner and quietly observed Frank, trying to figure out what kind of person he was and what his temperament was like.

While the other illegitimate daughters were showing off every trick they had, I kept my attention fixed solely on Frank.

My unusually calm and composed demeanor caught his attention as well.

He had Gregory come over and ask me, "Why aren't you doing anything?"

Following Mom's advice, I started making things up.

"Protecting an existing fortune is far more difficult than building a new business," I stated. "The economy isn't doing well right now, so I'd rather take a conservative approach and protect the wealth you've worked so hard to build, Dad."

A scream rang out the moment I finished speaking.

"Why did my stocks suddenly hit the limit down? This can't be happening!"

Someone else kicked over her chair.

"Scam! This investment company is a complete scam!" she cried. "My money was converted into cryptocurrency and stolen!"

"Who shut down my live stream? I just paid to boost it!"

Chaos erupted around me, while I simply exchanged a calm smile with Frank.

Something in his eyes seemed to brighten ever so slightly, but he said nothing.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Somehow, my strategy of doing absolutely nothing had actually placed me in fifth place and gotten me through to the next round.

"Mom, thank you!" I couldn't help but cheer inwardly. "I'm one step closer to that trillion-dollar fortune!"

Sophia, meanwhile, had managed to make 50,000 dollars. Frank was even extremely impressed with the proposal she had written.

When she advanced to the next round in first place, the others practically turned green with envy.

As we followed Gregory upstairs once again, Sophia deliberately shoved me and hissed, "Jill, you just got lucky. You can still admit defeat and leave while you have the chance. Otherwise, once I become Frank's heir, I'll make sure you regret ever crossing me."

I shot her a cold look and silently swore to myself.

Once I inherited the trillion-dollar fortune, I would make her pay for everything she'd done to me when we were children.

…

When we arrived at the luxurious dining hall, Gregory unexpectedly pulled out a chair for me.

"Jill, sit here."

I didn't think much of it at first.

But just as I was about to talk over, I noticed Sophia watching me with a faint, knowing smile, as though she were waiting for me to embarrass myself.

I immediately stopped in my tracks, my guard going up.