THEY KICKED THE “POOR” GIRL OUT, UNAWARE HER REAL FAMILY OWNS THE EMPIRE. AND HER DAD IS COMING…
Only then did I learn who my biological parents really were.
Robert was the legendary head of the Sterling Group, and Sarah was a woman of incredibly refined upbringing who controlled half the real estate in the city.
“You also have three older brothers,” Robert smiled proudly.
“Michael, David, and John. They all want to meet you immediately.”
I was led inside the massive manor. The long dining table was filled with incredible fine cuisine. Sarah kept aggressively adding more food to my plate.
“Eat a little more, sweetie,” Sarah pleaded.
“You are entirely too thin.”
Her eyes were filled with twenty three years of pent up guilt and absolute love. For the very first time in my life, I truly understood what a mother’s genuine love felt like. Brenda had never given me a single ounce of this kind of warmth. This powerful family belonged to a world the Davis family could never even dream of entering.
To make it up to me, Sarah took me to the Helena jewelry flagship store in downtown Chicago the very next day to pick out new accessories. But what I absolutely did not expect was that we would run into Brenda and Madison by pure chance.
“The cheapest piece in this entire store costs at least a million dollars,” Madison laughed loudly when she saw me looking at a display case.
“Can you even afford the tax on that, Chloe?”
“If you two can be standing in here, why can’t I?” I asked calmly.
Madison suddenly reached over and snatched the massive ruby pendant right out of my hand. She purposefully dropped it onto the hard marble floor.
“Oh my gosh, Chloe, how could you be so incredibly clumsy?” Madison gasped with a fake smile.
“You could not even hold on to something so valuable.”
“This specific pendant is fifty million dollars,” the store manager said, rushing over in a total panic.
“What?” Brenda choked, her eyes bugging out.
“Well, Chloe, it looks like you will be paying off this broken pendant for the rest of your miserable life,” Madison sneered.
I did not rush to argue with them. Instead, I simply turned to the manager. “Pull the security surveillance footage right now.”
Brenda was completely stunned. The crystal clear video showed Madison aggressively snatching the jewelry and dropping it. The manager demanded they pay for the damaged exorbitantly priced pendant.
Madison swiped her card with a trembling hand.
“Insufficient funds,” the credit machine beeped loudly.
“But we do not have that kind of money!” Brenda screamed.
“Chloe, you scheming witch!” Madison yelled, pointing at me.
“You entirely planned this to humiliate us!”
“Is that exactly how you treat my daughter?” Robert Sterling’s booming voice echoed through the store as he walked through the front doors.
“The business collaboration between the Sterling family and the Davis family is hereby completely terminated.”
“Who do you think you are?” Brenda yelled back.
“Are you paying or not? You clearly cannot afford it either!”
“Of course we can,” Robert said, tossing a black card onto the counter.
Madison had to frantically call Brad, her new fiance, just to beg for a loan to cover the damages. They literally ran out of the store in total, crushing embarrassment.
The very next morning, Tom and Brenda showed up uninvited at the massive front gates of the Sterling Manor. When Brenda saw me walking down the driveway, she falsely assumed I was working there.
“So, you are working as a cheap maid for the Sterling family now?” Brenda laughed over the gate.
“You better drop your little habit of stealing things.”
When Tom and Brenda saw my father walking toward the gate, they immediately put on disgusting, flattering smiles.
“Mr. Sterling, our corporate partnership simply cannot be terminated over a misunderstanding,” Tom begged.
“Chloe’s real father is just a poor bus driver, and her mother is from some dirty backwater town,” Brenda lied smoothly.
“She is nothing but a professional liar. Do not let her fool you into thinking badly of us.”
Robert and Sarah’s faces changed at the exact same time. Brenda had just casually insulted them right to their faces.
“As of today, the Sterling family cuts absolutely all ties with the Davis family,” Robert announced, his voice like thunder.
“Permanently.”
Tom and Brenda were completely stunned. They had absolutely no idea what they had done wrong. They were aggressively escorted off the private property by massive security guards.
“You ungrateful little wretch!” Brenda was still cursing at me as she was dragged away. She still had absolutely no idea who she was dealing with.
Later that afternoon, my eldest brother, Michael, came home in a sports car and happened to see me sitting on the patio still using my incredibly old cell phone.
“You must be my new sister, right?” Michael smiled warmly.
“I have not brought a proper gift today, so let me just give you some quick pocket money. Is one million dollars enough for now?”
Michael honestly thought I was so poor I could not even afford a new smartphone.
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“Scan right here.”
I casually pulled out the absolute latest, most expensive smartphone on the market and showed him my payment code.
A deep, incredibly quiet chuckle came from inside a black SUV parked behind Michael’s car.
“You totally tricked me?” Michael laughed loudly, realizing he had been played. But instead of getting mad, he genuinely found it hilarious.
The man in the SUV, Liam Vance, looked at me for the very first time.
“I will be leaving now. Until next time,” Liam said smoothly, rolling up the tinted window. He said goodbye to Michael and drove away. I never got a clear look at that mysterious man’s face.
That weekend, my Grandma Eleanor was officially discharged from the Chicago hospital. The entire extended family gathered together in the main living room. My annoying cousin, Kevin, proudly gave Eleanor an antique painting.
I leaned in to take a much closer look at the canvas.
Kevin laughed mockingly. “What do you possibly know about fine art, Chloe? You are just pretending to be cultured.”
“Chloe, it is totally okay if you do not understand it. Nobody will laugh at you,” Olivia said sweetly.
Olivia was my parents’ adopted daughter. She sounded like she was defending me, but her words were dripping with absolute, toxic sarcasm.
“This painting is a total forgery,” I stated clearly.
“Peyton’s authentic historical works always have a hidden lotus pattern in the lower left corner. When it is briefly exposed to direct fire, the hidden watermark appears.”
“What makes you so incredibly sure?” Kevin demanded.
“My daughter would not speak carelessly,” Robert defended me immediately.
“Just give it a try,” I challenged. “If any permanent damage occurs, I will take full financial responsibility.”
“Absolutely no way! I went through so much expensive trouble to find this rare painting,” Kevin panicked. “There is absolutely no way I am letting you burn it.”
“The real authentic piece is currently sitting at the Vance family estate,” Olivia smirked. “Just borrow it and compare them. Then you will know.”
Olivia confidently thought I was just trying to save face and would back down. She was completely wrong.
“Michael, can we borrow that specific painting from Liam’s private collection?” I asked.
Michael called Liam to ask, but Liam made a very specific condition. He wanted me to come get it completely by myself.
I drove to the massive Vance mansion downtown. For the very first time, I clearly saw Liam Vance in the bright light. He had chiseled features, deep calculating eyes, and an undeniable, overwhelming commanding presence.
“Do you happen to know L?” Liam asked suddenly.
“Who is L?” I replied blankly.
He suddenly asked if I knew L. I did not change my facial expression at all, but I knew he was actively testing me. Why would Liam suspect me? What hidden connection between me and L had he somehow discovered?
“The painting is waiting for you on the first floor,” Liam said smoothly. “You may leave now.”
I did not ask him any more questions. I took the painting and left. But I knew this was only the beginning of our game. He would absolutely keep testing me.
I brought back the authentic painting from the Vance family. The two paintings were proudly displayed side by side in the living room. I held a lighter flame close to the canvas. A beautiful, glowing lotus pattern magically appeared on the authentic piece.
Everyone stared in absolute shock at the lotus pattern. Kevin’s face darkened significantly.
“There really is a hidden lotus pattern,” Kevin stammered. “How could the painting I found be a complete fake?”
“You actually dared to fool me with a cheap forgery?” Grandma Eleanor shouted. She violently tore up the forgery right in front of him.
Kevin gave me a truly vicious glare. “Chloe, you are not even a real Sterling yet! You are not officially part of this family!”
Kevin wanted to scream more insults, but Robert cut him off instantly.
“Who exactly says she is not a Sterling?” Robert boomed.
“In three days, I will hold a massive corporate banquet to officially welcome Chloe back to society. From now on, she is a true Sterling.”
The day of the grand banquet arrived quickly. I walked into the ballroom wearing a stunning white dress. Every single eye in the room was firmly on me.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have officially transferred five percent of the Sterling Group shares entirely to Chloe,” Robert announced into the microphone.
The room gasped. Five percent was an absolutely astronomical amount of wealth.
Olivia stood in the dark corner, her nails digging violently into her palms. She simply could not understand why the shares went to me, an outsider who just returned, when the family had raised her for over twenty years.
In her jealous rage, Olivia ordered her friend Jessica to splash red wine on me. Jessica had just raised her full glass when a young girl accidentally walked by and bumped hard into her arm. The dark wine splashed all over Jessica’s own face and expensive dress. Her makeup was a total, runny mess. She looked utterly ridiculous.
The young girl looked back at me, nodded slightly, and then quickly disappeared into the crowd. Only much later did I learn her name was Maya, a girl who could not speak or hear.
In the crowded room, my eyes suddenly met the eyes of a man standing on the second floor balcony. It was Liam. He was intently watching me, too.
At the peak of the lavish banquet, Liam made a completely unexpected appearance on the main floor.
“Isn’t that Liam Vance?” people whispered loudly.
“He absolutely never comes to these events. What is he doing here?”
This powerful man walked straight toward me through the parted crowd.
“This is strictly for you,” Liam said. He handed me a heavy velvet box.
I opened it slowly. Inside was an extremely rare pigeon blood ruby. A unique piece from the Vance family’s private mines. Someone had recently offered billions for it, but he never sold it.
Olivia was completely mad with burning jealousy. She deliberately walked up to him and reached out to grab his arm.
“Liam, it has been so long. Do you remember me?”
“I do not know you,” Liam said coldly. He took off the expensive suit jacket that Olivia had just touched and threw it into the nearest trash can.
Olivia was utterly humiliated. She ran away crying.
After the banquet, Olivia went to Grandma Eleanor crying hysterically.
“Grandma, Chloe aggressively bullied me! She deliberately humiliated me in front of everyone!”
My aunt, Linda, eagerly took the chance to stir up more trouble. Eleanor was so incredibly angry and stressed by the screaming that she suffered a massive heart attack and was rushed to the Chicago hospital.
“Robert, I am just saying, why not let Mark be the acting CEO while you deal with this?” Linda suggested slyly. Mark was Linda’s husband.
Robert looked coldly at Linda. He finally saw these greedy people for who they really were. “You had better pray my mother is okay. If anything happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible.”
Linda’s face turned completely ashen. She could not say a word.
Inside the hospital room, the doctors were panicking.
“The patient’s blood vessels have severely ruptured. Unless the legendary doctor known as Healer magically appears, there is absolutely nothing we can do.”
Everyone had totally given up hope. I stepped forward immediately. “I can save her.”
“You? Do not be ridiculous,” Linda scoffed. “What do you know about complex medicine?”
“Father, there is no other choice,” I said calmly, looking at Robert. “Let me try.”
“Let her try,” Robert commanded.
I quickly took out a specialized set of silver needles from my bag. The Vice Hospital Director, Dr. Evans, immediately recognized them.
“These are Healer’s famous silver needles!” Dr. Evans gasped.
“You are Healer’s personal apprentice!”
Twenty minutes later, Eleanor coughed up the pooled blood and was officially out of danger. The entire room fell totally silent.
“These needles belong only to Healer,” Dr. Evans insisted.
My heart skipped a beat. My mentor only took me in six years ago, but the original Healer had reportedly died ten years ago. They were not the same person at all. I decided to play dumb.
“I do not know anything about any Healer.”
I denied it firmly. Nobody believed me, but nobody dared to ask further.
After Eleanor woke up, her attitude toward me became noticeably warmer. Olivia stood at the hospital room door, watching this scene, grinding her teeth with pure hatred.
Robert and Sarah carefully reviewed the whole incident. It was Olivia who went crying, and Linda who stirred up the trouble.
“I raised you for over twenty years, Olivia, but you nearly caused my mother’s death just for some corporate shares,” Robert said angrily. “I will not forgive you for this.”
“Pack your things. Move out immediately. And stay far away from my mother,” Sarah added coldly.
Olivia was forcefully kicked out of the massive house. As she passed me, she glared fiercely.
“Do not get too cocky, Chloe. Soon, you will be the one getting kicked out.”
I simply smiled back.
That afternoon, Eleanor called everyone together.
“I want to give the luxury jewelry company, Leopard X, entirely to Chloe.”
“Grandma, I actually study jewelry design!” Olivia protested from the doorway.
“Why should she get it? Chloe did not even go to college!”
“I earned my advanced doctorate from Imperial University when I was twenty three,” I stated calmly.
They were completely shocked.
“Fine. Fair competition,” Eleanor declared. “Whoever successfully secures the Vance Group’s new corporate partnership gets full control of Leopard X.”
Olivia smirked confidently. She thought she had the upper hand.
“I will make Liam give me the partnership easily.”
I knew very well that Liam absolutely hated being pestered by desperate women. Olivia’s so called connection to him was nothing but sad wishful thinking.
Olivia, Amber, and I started working at Leopard X on the exact same day. The manager, Rachel, received us. She gave Olivia a massive private office and pointed me to a cheap bench in the corner.
Just then, Nicole walked in from outside. The moment she saw me, she hurried over.
“Darling! What are you doing here?”
Seeing how familiar the famous designer Nicole was with me, Rachel was stunned. Nobody knew that Nicole had won tenth place in the International Jewelry Design Competition years ago. And first place was Helena. That was me.
“Give this massive corner office to Chloe,” Nicole demanded.
Rachel was terrified and immediately complied. Olivia watched all this through gritted teeth.
The Design Department Manager, Amber, could not stand me. She caused trouble for me at every turn. “I heard you got in through daddy’s connections. If you can actually design a hit piece, I will immediately resign.”
“Remember what you just said,” I replied calmly.
To take over the company, I needed to secure the Vance Group partnership. I arrived at the exclusive Imperial Club downtown. As soon as I entered the lobby, I saw that Olivia had already gotten there ahead of me.
“I am Michael’s family,” Olivia lied to the bouncer, and got in effortlessly.
I walked to the front desk and slowly pulled out a solid black card from my bag. The receptionist took the black card and her face changed dramatically.
“You are a black card holder? Please, come with me immediately.”
I went up to the top floor billiards room. Liam was lazily smoking a cigar, his long legs casually crossed.
“Liam, this is Leopard X’s proposal. We are willing to give up all corporate profits just to have a counter in your duty free zone,” Olivia begged, handing over a folder.
Liam did not even glance at her. His deep eyes were fixed entirely on me.
I picked up a wooden cue stick and walked toward him. “Let’s play a game, Liam. The loser grants the winner one request.”
“Fine,” Liam stood up.
Olivia smirked to herself.
“If you lose, I want to see L,” Liam said softly.
My heart tightened. He was still highly suspicious of me.
“If I win, Vance Group gives the contract entirely to Leopard X on my terms.”
“Deal. You break.”
I leaned down, aimed, and struck the white ball. The balls scattered loudly. Four dropped perfectly into pockets.
“Four on the break?” The whole room gasped.
I calculated every single angle with absolute precision. The balls dropped into the pockets one by one. The last ball dropped. Liam never even got a chance to play a single turn.
“I win,” I said smoothly.
“Yeah,” Liam said. He said only one word, but I could see intense appreciation in his eyes.
Olivia’s face looked terrible. That ‘give up all profits’ proposal she had just presented was now a complete joke.
I signed the lucrative contract and returned to Leopard X. As I pushed open the office door, I saw Amber laughing with her friends.
“You did not get the contract, did you? I knew it.”
Unfazed, I opened my phone and showed Amber a clear photo. It showed Amber holding hands with a much older man, her sugar daddy. A married man who owned a local glass factory.
“Give me that phone!” Amber turned completely pale and lunged to grab it.
Just then, the older man’s furious wife burst into the office.
“You homewrecker! I am going to tear that face of yours apart!”
The wife publicly beat Amber right in the middle of the office. It was total chaos. I watched it all incredibly calmly. If you come after me, be fully prepared to face the brutal consequences.
The day of the grand jewelry exhibition arrived. My brilliant bracelet design debuted as the grand finale piece. The moment it appeared, it stunned the entire audience.
At the celebration banquet, just as everyone raised their glasses, Olivia suddenly walked onto the stage crying fake tears.
“My design sketches are completely missing. The piece Chloe just showed is exactly the same as the one I lost. She stole my design!”
The whole room was in a massive uproar. Whispered accusations flooded in like a tidal wave.
I stood on the stage, watching her act without any expression. “You say this is your design?”
“Yes! It is mine!” Olivia cried.
“Then tell me, which specific section is the hidden clasp on?” I asked calmly.
Olivia was clearly panicking.
“Section three! It is on section three.”
I raised the expensive bracelet and showed it to everyone. Under the bright lights, every detail was clearly visible.
“This design has absolutely no hidden clasp at all. Would a real designer not know whether their own work has one?”
Olivia’s face turned completely pale. She could not utter a single word.
The next day, news exploded everywhere anyway.
Leopard X Rising Designer Chloe Suspected Of Plagiarizing Helena’s Classic Work.
Side by side comparison images showed that my bracelet looked strikingly similar to Helena’s iconic piece. The internet comments were all vicious insults.
Linda was absolutely gloating. Just then, two Vice Presidents of the National Jewelry Design Association arrived in person.
“You are here to hold Chloe accountable, right?” Linda asked eagerly.
“Hold her accountable?” the VP asked, confused. “We are here to offer her the President position. Ms. Walsh, the seat has been vacant for years, reserved only for you.”
Linda was completely stunned. Never had she expected that the girl she had always looked down on was actually the world’s top jewelry designer, Helena Walsh herself.
The news spread like wildfire. Within hours, the entire internet reversed its stance. Everyone who had called me a plagiarist was now begging for forgiveness.
I did not pay attention to the online news. I went to help Maya, the deaf girl who had helped me. I saved her from her abusive aunt, Nancy, who literally wanted to harvest Maya’s kidney for her own son, Tyler. Maya’s brother, Jason, cut off Nancy’s financial support completely.
To find a rare material called Cinnabar for Liam, I went to see an old collector, Mr. Henderson. But Brenda and Madison barged in and ruined the deal by calling me ungrateful.
“I am not selling you the Cinnabar. Take your things and get out,” Mr. Henderson said coldly.
Brenda then kidnapped my sweet foster grandmother, Betty, demanding fifty million dollars. I hung up the phone coldly. That exact afternoon, the Davis Group’s five core partners all received the same email. Terminate cooperation with Davis Group immediately.
The Davis family business exploded overnight. Raw material supplies were cut off, projects halted, and workers demanded unpaid wages. Tom was completely ruined. Brenda was finally starting to get terrified.
I returned to Liam empty handed and confessed I had not gotten the Cinnabar.
“It is fine. I will wait for you,” Liam said softly.
I was stunned. This powerful man had always been testing me, but every single time I ran into real trouble, he was there supporting me.
Later, I raced Liam’s arrogant sister, Samantha, on the track and destroyed her time, proving I was a champion racer. Liam bet five million dollars on me to win.
At a charity gala, I finally met Victoria, Liam’s supposed childhood fiancee. She tried to frame me for leaking confidential corporate data using her family’s power.
When the strict audit department came to investigate, I had already prepared all the digital evidence. Every line of code, every document, every operation log was crystal clear. The IP address traced right back to Victoria.
“Ms. Sterling is completely innocent,” the auditor announced.
Victoria’s expression changed wildly. She had not expected me to be so prepared.
Liam came to me later that night.
“I know Victoria was behind this. I will handle it. She will never bother you again.”
“No need. I can handle it entirely myself,” I said, looking out the window at the glittering Chicago skyline.
“I know you can,” Liam said, stepping closer.
“But I want to help you.”
I looked at him, feeling something I could not quite name. This powerful man, from suspecting me, to testing me, to now wanting to protect me. I did not know exactly what this feeling was, but I knew I did not hate it.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“But I have never relied on anyone else to get where I am. And I am not going to start now.”