Chapter 1

My roommate, Sonya Bradshaw, literally scurried away afterward.

I stared at the direct admission letter on my bedside table, suddenly hearing my heart pounding loudly inside my chest.

Dad had personally handed me that letter half a month ago.

He'd even booked the most luxurious hotel in the city and invited 50 tables worth of guests to celebrate my direct admission to Starward University back then.

He and my stepmother, Alicia Mack, had been so touched that they were moved to tears.

Even my younger stepsister, who usually always looked down on me, Christina Cooper, offered me a toast of juice during that celebration.

Everything had felt so natural and real back then, just like this direct admission letter now in my hands.

The name of the institution was stamped in bold, gold letters, and the envelope also bore its emblem proudly. Even the letter was officially signed and stamped by the dean of Starward University himself.

It was real.

But then, I flipped to the back of the letter and looked at the series of numbers on the bottom right corner of the paper that served as the security code.

My hands began to tremble as I counted the number of digits.

There were only ten digits there.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and counted the number of digits again.

Still, my security code only had ten digits.

Sonya had helped one of our direct admission seniors move into her new dorm last year. So, she'd seen what a real direct admission letter from Starward University looked like.

She wouldn't lie to me. She didn't have a reason to lie to me either.

I slumped back in my chair, feeling a tightness in my chest. I couldn't stop myself from shuddering hard.

My direct admission letter was fake.

But what about my direct admission spot qualification? And what about my application status to that college beforehand?

Half a month ago, Dad had clearly told me with a wide grin on his face, "Cher, you don't need to go to school anymore since you're already being directly admitted into college. I'll just help you keep your exam slip and ID card safe with me…"

Wait, my exam slip and ID card?

I jolted and felt my blood run cold.

I hadn't thought that there was an issue with Dad's offer back then. But now that I thought about it properly, he'd been preparing to undermine me the entire time!

If I didn't attend the college entrance exam tomorrow, and this direct admission letter turned out to be fake after all, then I would end up a student who failed the college entrance exam without even a score to my name!

And then, all these years of my education would go straight down the drain!

Why would Dad do something like this? He was my biological father!

I thought about it for a long time and finally came to the only cruel conclusion.

I tapped into the digital copy of Mom's will, the same one that I'd seen many times in the past. It was a will that Mom had written herself in her own handwriting.

"60% of the shares in Cooper Group shall be inherited by my daughter, Cheryl Cooper. However, it is only on condition that she successfully enrolls in a top-tier college in the country or a Global Top 50 university and obtains her degree by the age of 22.

"If Cheryl Cooper fails to meet this condition, or if an accident occurs before that, then the shares will be passed along entirely to her legal guardian, Melvin Cooper."

I stared at the contents and finally realized that everything made sense.

My dad, Melvin Cooper, didn't want a daughter who went to Starward University. He simply wanted that 60% company shares for himself.

And as long as I failed my college entrance exam this year, I would have to retake it again the next year, but by then, I'd fail to graduate by 22 years old.

With that, Mom's massive asset worth billions of dollars would then fall into his and Alicia's laps and line their pockets forever!

Mom had passed away from cancer three years ago when it relapsed.

But she'd written down that will to prove to the company's seasoned veterans that she had no selfish motives in leaving me all of her shares and also to prove that I could be just as good as her.