Chapter 2

“I...”

“Shut up! I’m not interested in your excuses!”

As she spoke, Lily grabbed my hair and tried to force me down to the floor.

My knees slammed into the marble floor, and the agonizing pain was so sharp my vision blurred.

Mrs. Watson started forward again, but one glare from Lily stopped her cold.

“Anyone who dares to stand in my way can pack their bags and get out tomorrow.”

The dozen or so housekeepers froze in place, too terrified to move.

Lily swung the livestream camera back toward me, making sure it caught every bit of how humiliated I looked.

She seized me by the collar, hauled me up off the floor, and forced me to face the camera.

“Go on. Tell everyone watching exactly how you spent the last eighteen years taking my place.”

I shook my head through tears.

“Say it!”

She clamped a hand around my jaw and shouted, “And what was that nonsense you were saying before? That you’re some lucky-star reincarnation? That you brought wealth to the Zimmerman family? Fine. Prove it. Let’s see a miracle.”

Then the comments suddenly exploded.

“Wait... the Zimmerman family she’s talking about—does she mean Zimmerman Group?”

“No way. Zimmerman Group? The Zimmerman family that became the richest in the world in just eighteen years?”

“Eighteen years ago? Isn’t that when this fake heiress was adopted? So... is she actually the lucky one?”

“I don’t know about lucky charm stuff, but I do know Zimmerman Group stock just dropped hard and I’m getting killed here.”

“That lines up way too well. Guys, what if the fake heiress is the real good-luck charm?”

Lily skimmed the comments, and her face darkened instantly.

She let go of my collar, turned to the camera, and raised her voice.

“What are you people even talking about?

“A stock drop is called market fluctuation. What does that have to do with this fraud?

“Can any of you be serious for one second? Stop acting like we live in the Dark Ages.”

The more she talked, the more agitated she became, jabbing a finger toward the screen as she snapped,

“A lucky-star reincarnation? Stocks tumbling just because she shed a tear? Are you kidding me? It’s a total coincidence! You’re all just seeing things that aren't there!

“What century is this? And you still believe this superstitious garbage?”

But instead of calming down, the comment section got even louder.

“Still... that timing is way too exact...”

“Seriously. One slap and the stock drops? She cries and it drops more? That can’t be normal.”

“I’m thirty years old, and I’ve never seen a coincidence this crazy.”

At that, something in Lily’s expression finally shifted.

“The stock really dropped? How is that possible?

“No... something’s off...”

Then she grabbed my hair again and shouted, “Was this you? Did you pull some kind of stunt to sabotage me?”

I wiped at my tears and tried to explain in a small voice, “I told you... I’m a lucky—”

Smack.

Hardly had the words left my mouth when another slap landed across my face.

She yelled, “What kind of ridiculous nonsense are you talking about?

“You cry and Zimmerman Group stock falls? You smile and the family gets richer?

“Do I look like I’m five?

“I’d like to see what happens if I beat you half to death. Let’s find out whether this family really goes under.”

She twisted my arm again and again with brutal force.

Her nails dug into my skin, and the pain made my eyes fill all over again.

I tried to pull away.

But Lily was unbelievably strong.

And then the tone of the livestream comments began to shift.

“To be honest... I’m starting to feel bad for the fake heiress.”