Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
I was the real heiress. Faced with the fake heiress putting on all her little shows, I just slacked off, lay flat, and focused on grabbing cash.
While she worked herself to the bone trying to secure the family empire, I was playing street chess in the park with a neighborhood kid.
While she flaunted her wealthy fiancé, I dropped a fishing location pin on Ins.
Not until our family business was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by rivals—and the fake heiress packed her designer bags and fled—did my dad literally fall to his knees, begging me to save them.
Left with no choice, I made a quick call to my scruffy chess buddy.
The very next day, breaking news swept the nation: [Mysterious Conglomerate Injects Billions: Vance Group Revived Overnight!]
And that buddy of mine, wearing an oversized thrifted tee, grinned straight into the camera:
"It was nothing. Just giving my big sis some pocket money."
Right before the Vance family brought me back, I had just returned from the reservoir, hauling two fifteen-pound carp and grinning from ear to ear.
The very next second, I was told I was actually the long-lost daughter of the billionaire Vance family.
Apparently, a fire broke out at the hospital when my biological mom gave birth, and in the chaos, the babies were swapped.
Now, the universe had finally corrected its course.
Watching the hostility and guard in the fake heiress's eyes, I couldn't help but scoff internally:
"I’m only here for the money. I couldn't care less about fighting you for 'family affection.' Besides, I’m not lacking love anyway!"
Veronica Vance, however, clearly didn't think like me.
After putting on a show of sisterly warmth to lead me upstairs to my room, she immediately tore off her mask.
"Chloe Vance, you'd better know your place. Everything in this house belongs to me. A boonie-born hillbilly like you should just take your little allowance and stay in the dark!"
I whipped out my phone. "Deal. Send me some allowance right now, and I won't fight you for anything!"
Her face instantly flushed red—whether from sheer fury or shock, I didn't know. She slapped my hand away.
"What are you, a beggar?!"
"Pay up, or I’ll tell Dad. By the way, I recorded what you just said."
"You...!"
Caught off guard by my underhanded move, she gritted her teeth and transferred two hundred thousand dollars to my account right then and there.
"Nice. Know when to take the win."
I shut the bedroom door, hurled myself onto the plush king-sized bed, and checked Ins.
A user named "The Skunked Bro" had left three comments in a row under my catch of the day: "Where was this?! That fish is massive! Send me the pin!"
He seemed pretty desperate.
Before I could even reply, a payment notification popped up on my screen. I counted the zeroes—five zeroes. Whistling in appreciation, I sent the coordinates right over.
I knew every single secret fishing spot around this city like the back of my hand.
Though making quick money from fishing might get tricky in the future.
No matter. I had plenty of side hustles going on.
At dinner that evening, my biological parents sat at the head of the table. Seeing me devouring my food happily, my dad cleared his throat.
"Chloe, your mother and I talked. Since you just got back, why don't you shadow Veronica at the company and learn the ropes slowly?"
Veronica shot a venomous glare across the table. I casually shrugged.
"Dad, I'm really not interested in business. I haven't lived in the city for over twenty years. I'd rather just adjust to normal life first!"
As I spoke, I casually showed the back of my hand, marked by faint cuts from fish hooks.
Coupled with my sun-tanned skin, my biological mom’s heart broke instantly.
"My poor Chloe... you must have suffered so much! Stay home and rest. Look at you, you're skin and bones!"
Tears welled up in her eyes. As I comforted her, she pulled out a black card and thrust it into my hand.
"Take this. Buy yourself nice clothes and premium skincare!"
She then turned and glared at my dad. "And you! Our daughter just came home, and you don't even know how to pamper her!"
My dad immediately transferred two million dollars to my account, telling me to go shopping whenever I wanted, and that the company could be left to him and Veronica.
Hearing that, Veronica’s tense expression finally relaxed.
I snickered internally. The Vance Group was worth hundreds of millions, meaning its corporate politics were a total viper's nest.
A newbie like me stepping in would just become cannon fodder. It was infinitely better to stay low, do nothing, and stack cash.
Fight for the inheritance? Please. If Veronica was talented enough to make the family fortune grow, Mom and Dad would still give me my cut. I’d just lie back and collect dividends!
Getting rich while sleeping all day—what could beat that?
That was my plan, but Veronica clearly wasn't going to let me chill in peace. Three days later, the family hosted a lavish welcome banquet, inviting all the city's high-society elites.
Three days hadn't been enough to fix my deep tan or fill out my frame. I looked completely like an unpolished country bumpkin.
Veronica, meanwhile, stood radiant in porcelain skin and an haute couture gown, looking like a proud white swan.
When I walked down the stairs, Veronica's eyes dripped with ridicule. The wealthy heirs and heiresses surrounding her looked at me and burst into mocking sneers."Veronica, is that your biological sister? She looks like a refugee. Standing next to you, she’s practically dirt."
"God knows which backwater ditch she crawled out of. How does she have the nerve to show up dressed like that?"
Veronica covered her mouth with a soft giggle, though her voice sounded sweetly scolding:
"Guys, stop it. Chloe grew up in the country and doesn't know any better. Now that she's home, you're not allowed to bully her!"
I scoffed in my head. "Messing with me? Prepare to pay the idiot tax."
I walked straight toward them. Seeing me approach, their expressions darkened with disgust.
Veronica smiled falsely. "Chloe, let me introduce you. These are the Vance family's prominent business partners!"
"Oh? Really? So, is the Vance family richer, or are their families richer?"
"We collaborate. We support each other!"
Yet, judging by how they hovered around Veronica, they were clearly just her little group of lackeys.
I nodded calmly. "I heard everything you all just said."
None of them looked even slightly intimidated.
"So what if you did? You think you compare to Veronica?"
"Seriously, know your place. Don't even dream of taking what's hers!"
I let out a cold laugh. "Trace your family trees back three generations, and every single one of you came from dirt-poor farm stock. Who gave you the right to look down on me?"
"Not to mention your family net worths are nowhere near ours. Otherwise, why would you be brown-nosing Veronica like obedient little lapdogs?"
Veronica's face instantly twisted. "Chloe Vance!"
"Shut your mouth, idiot! They're openly trashing the Vance family's dignity, and instead of being furious, you’re proud of it? You and I share this roof. Even if we were swapped at birth, our parents never kicked you out. Yet you let these clowns laugh at me?"
"No matter how unrefined I am, my last name is Vance! Who the hell are they to mock me in front of you? You don’t defend me, and you even join in?"
"Looking down on me is looking down on the Vance name—and looking down on you!"
My harsh words left Veronica sputtering in rage. Her group of friends exchanged awkward, uneasy glances.
"Veronica, what do you think would happen if I sent the voice recording of what they just said to Dad? Do you think he'd crush their family businesses to defend his real daughter?"
The group instantly panicked.
"Wait, we didn't mean it like that!"
"It was just a joke! Why are you being so petty?"
"Oh, I am petty, and I hold grudges," I snapped. "Back where I come from, talking crap to someone's face gets you a fist to the jaw. But I'm a civilized woman. I don't scream, and I don't throw tantrums. I just demand financial compensation."
I pulled up my Cash App QR code. "Send over a transfer that matches the sincerity of your apologies. Make sure the amount satisfies me, or this recording goes public tonight."
Cornered, they looked at Veronica, then back at me. Despite the venom in their eyes, none of them dared to call my bluff. One by one, they scanned my code.
Within minutes, over six hundred thousand dollars cleared into my account.
Then, I turned my gaze onto Veronica.
"As the impostor living in luxury on borrowed time, your fee is double."
"You—!"
"I'm holding the recording," I reminded her, waving my phone. "If you want to badmouth someone, do it behind their back. Otherwise, pay the toll."
Veronica was trembling with rage. "You're a disgusting gold digger!"
"You think this is gold digging? Fine, I'll go tell Dad right now that I want an executive role at the company. I might not know how to run a business, but I sure as hell know how to sabotage yours."
Terrified that I would actually walk into the company, Veronica frantically transferred four hundred thousand dollars to shut me up.
I smiled warmly. Earning a million bucks just for listening to some spoiled brats yap? Easiest gig of my life.Veronica bit her lower lip until it almost bled. "Chloe Vance, mark my words—I will get you kicked out of this house!"
Just then, a smug voice cut in from behind: "So you're Chloe Vance? At least you know your place. Stay quiet, don't stir up trouble, and nobody will mess with you. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to teach you a lesson."
I turned around to look at the speaker. He was a decently handsome guy, but coated in pure arrogance.
I furrowed my brows. "Who is this clown?"
Veronica instantly clung to his arm, looking delicate. "Julian!"
Then she sneered at me. "Chloe, this is Julian Sterling, my fiancé. Technically, this engagement should have belonged to you. But as you can see, someone of your background simply wouldn't fit."
Julian wrapped his arm around Veronica's waist. "Veronica, it doesn't matter who your biological parents are. I love you for who you are."
I looked him up and down. The dude was wearing cheap, cloying women's perfume that definitely wasn't Veronica’s scent, and there was a faint red scratch mark right under his collar.
A classic playboy who couldn't even cover his tracks properly. And Veronica treated him like a grand prize.
I chuckled and waved my hand dismissively.
"Alright, you reek. Go play somewhere else and leave me alone. And Veronica, a piece of friendly advice: letting a man blind you is the fastest way to ruin."
Veronica shot me a murderous glare before dragging her fiancé away.
Seeing the interaction, my mom rushed over to comfort me. "Chloe, that engagement was arranged between the families years ago. Since we didn't know you were alive back then..."
"Mom, don't worry about it," I interrupted calmly. "I don't want him. Only an idiot would fight over a cheating red flag like that."
Hearing my nonchalant response, my mom felt even guiltier and transferred another million dollars to my account as 'compensation.'
Not bad. Trading a piece of trash man for another million bucks? Best deal ever.
The less I cared, the more Veronica convinced herself I was playing hard to get. Her logic was utterly beyond me.
Seeing how completely whipped she was by Julian Sterling, I honestly doubted the family business would survive in her hands.
And as it turned out, my gut was dead on.
Following the banquet, Veronica acted like she had been injected with adrenaline. She worked round the clock, dominating social media headlines.
Under her lead, the Vance Group aggressively expanded, landing three massive multi-billion-dollar construction contracts that required astronomical capital follow-through.
Watching the news hail Veronica as a 'commercial prodigy,' I couldn't help but sigh. What an utter fool.
Of those three projects, one was clearly a massive sinkhole.
If Veronica couldn't see it, was Dad blind too?
The Vance family was flying way too close to the sun.
I gently brought it up at home, suggesting it was better for the company to play it safe.
My dad looked at me in surprise. "Are you interested in corporate strategy, Chloe?"
"Not really. But I know you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. That Midtown Estates project Veronica picked was already a stalled development site before we bought it! The cash required to finish it is ridiculous. It's draining the entire family's liquidity!"
"What would you know?" Veronica sneered dismissively. "Real estate is an essential market, especially in a top-tier school district! It'll sell out instantly!"
I shrugged. "Fine. Forget I said anything."
My dad, however, looked thoughtful.
Unfortunately, Veronica’s ego was already out of orbit. Calling herself a business genius, she actually believed her own hype.
Shortly after construction restarted on Midtown Estates, following a massive hundred-million-dollar bond deposit, whistleblowers exposed that the building materials were counterfeit and dangerously below safety codes.
As the executive in charge, Veronica was taken into custody by the authorities. Scandals poured in, the stock plummeted, and banks froze all our credit lines overnight.
My dad literally collapsed onto the floor.
And I started panicking too.
"Wait! My luxurious slacker life can't just end like this!"
"I still have a facial appointment scheduled for this afternoon!"
Hearing my footsteps, my dad scrambled to his feet and grabbed my hands desperately:
"Chloe! You're the only one who can help us now!"
"We gave you so much money recently... it's time to save your family!"
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Watch & Promotions
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