Chapter 2

Jessica's words hit like a hammer. Maeve froze.

Since coming back, Jessica had always taken whatever they threw at her, never pushing back. Had she lost her mind today?

How dare she talk to her like that?

"Fine! Then let me tell you something — blood isn't the only thing that makes a family. I told you when we brought you home that you and Anna were equals. Don't play the outsider card. If you can't accept that, you're free to leave!"

"We never should have taken you in. Ungrateful little wretch!"

Maeve's words kept getting uglier, but Jessica just stood there looking completely unbothered. She even nodded along, "You know what, you're right. I never should have come back just to boost your family's reputation, only to get treated like dirt. Hypocrites. All of you."

The Whitmore family had originally set out on a fake charity trip to polish their public image. They stumbled across Jessica's village by chance, and everyone was stunned — she looked almost exactly like Maeve. People started whispering that she might be Maeve's illegitimate daughter.

Then came an eerie coincidence. Maeve was injured that same day and needed a blood transfusion. Jessica's blood type was a match.

Maeve and her husband Barry Whitmore quietly ran a paternity test. It came back positive — Jessica was their biological daughter. They didn't want her, but they were afraid of what their rivals might do with that secret. So they brought her home, officially as an adopted daughter.

To the public, they said she was simply a charity case the Whitmores had sponsored — a poor girl who happened to look like Maeve, and that's why they took her in. The actual DNA results were never disclosed.

So in everyone's eyes, Anna was the Whitmore family's real heiress. Jessica was just the lesser adopted girl.

Jessica had poured her heart into every single member of this family. And what did she get in return?

They were the ones who wronged her.

", you little brat — what the hell are you talking about?"

Joseph had just walked in. He caught the tail end of what Jessica said, kicked the door open, shoved Maeve aside, and came charging at her with his hand already raised.

Anna had followed him in. Seeing Jessica going at it with the family, she felt a rush of excitement. This time, the Whitmores were finally going to throw Jessica out, weren't they?

And then Anna would be their one and only daughter — the real one, the only one that counted.

The slap was coming down fast. Jessica sidestepped it, then looked at Joseph's furious face with cold contempt. "What's the matter? Did I hit a nerve? You wanted to shut me up? From the day I walked in this door, you've been treating me like a servant. You let go of half the household staff. And you call that treating us equally?"

Joseph blinked.

It had genuinely never occurred to him that there was anything wrong with Jessica doing the housework. She was a girl from the countryside who somehow ended up in a rich family. Shouldn't she be grateful? Wasn't doing her part the least she could do?

"It's just cooking and laundry and mopping the floor. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? And honestly, the only reason you're stuck doing that stuff is because you're useless. If you were even half as good as Anna, you wouldn't be doing the work of a maid."

Useless?

She had entered competition after competition over the past few years. More awards, more patents than she could count. But every single time, all it took was Anna pouting and squeezing out a few tears — and Jessica had to hand everything over with both hands.

She was the one who worked for it. Anna was the one who took the credit.

And now they were turning her around and calling her useless.

Jessica felt her eyes sting. She forced the tears back down. She opened her mouth to speak, but Anna cut her off.

"Mom, Joseph, please don't fight. This is my fault. I just wanted to compete and make the family proud. I didn't know it would upset Jessica this much." Anna's eyes went red, her voice catching in her throat. "If anyone should be blamed, blame me. I'll move out if it comes to that."

Maeve pulled Anna into her arms the second she saw that wounded look on her face. When her eyes landed back on Jessica, they were full of disgust. "How did I end up with such a cruel daughter? Are you trying to drive Anna to her death?"

"Enough." Joseph's patience was gone. He fixed Jessica with a hard stare. "Jessica, two options. Either you hand the spot over to Anna, or you get out of this house. And if you leave, you're done with the Whitmores. For good."

Jessica let out a short, dry laugh. Perfect — that was exactly what she wanted. She had no interest in staying tangled up with these people for one more second.

"Don't worry. I'm packing right now. Even if you begged me to stay, I wouldn't spend another second in this place."

She pushed everyone out and shut the door.

In the hallway, Maeve and Joseph stood staring at the closed door. Anger, yes — but mostly shock.

Maeve murmured, almost to herself, "What's gotten into her today?"

Jessica used to go out of her way to keep Maeve happy. Always hovering, always trying to please. This was like a completely different person.

Joseph's face darkened. He figured this was a tactic — Jessica backing off to pressure them into caving. "She's doing this over a competition slot. Let her go. I'd love to see how far she gets without the Whitmore name behind her."

"Mom, Joseph, you're both just saying things you don't mean. Jessica got carried away, that's all." Anna jumped in, quick to play the peacemaker. "Let me go talk to her. I'm sure she's just waiting for someone to come around."

Joseph scoffed.

Maeve thought it over and sighed. "I wish she had half your sense. Go ahead. If it's not going anywhere, come back out. Don't let her take it out on you. Honestly, maybe a few nights on her own will do her some good — she'll come crawling back once reality hits."

After Maeve and Joseph walked off, Anna knocked on Jessica's door.

Jessica opened it at exactly that moment, luggage in hand, ready to leave.

Anna spotted the suitcase. A flicker of mockery crossed her eyes. "Jessica, you don't actually think walking out is going to get Joseph and Mom's attention, do you?"

"I'll tell you what — all you're doing is making them resent you more. As far as they're concerned, I'm their real daughter. If you were smart, you'd get on your knees right now, apologize, and give me that spot. Maybe then I'd put in a good word and let you stay." She leaned in close, dropping her voice so only Jessica could hear. "Otherwise, you've got nothing left but the door."

Jessica stared at her for a long moment without saying anything.

This was her second shot at life. She'd long since stopped being surprised by Anna's act. But she found herself genuinely curious — what would the Whitmores do if they ever saw who Anna really was?

That would be something worth watching.

Jessica looked at Anna's smug face and curved her lips into a slow, cold smile. "I'm good. I don't take in trash. You love them so much — they're all yours."

She turned and walked away without looking back, leaving Anna standing there alone.

What just happened?

Wasn't Jessica always the one who cared most about this family? How had she suddenly turned into a completely different person?

Jessica came downstairs. Maeve and Joseph were on the living room sofa, waiting for her to come back and apologize. Instead, she walked over and slid a card onto the table in front of them.

"I've been here six years. You gave me six hundred thousand dollars. It's all on that card — untouched. As for food, clothes, and everything else, I only ever used what Anna didn't want. Here's the list. I've worked out the cash value at three hundred thousand. We're square, starting now."

"You have some nerve!" Joseph exploded. He slammed his palm on the table and roared, "You walk out that door today, and I'll put it in the papers — you are no longer part of this family!"

Maeve stared at the card on the table, and something in her stomach dropped.

What Jessica had just done felt like a slap across both their faces.

She had only meant to push Jessica into backing down. She never actually expected her to leave. It didn't sit right. She shook it off and backed Joseph up. "Let her go! Call your father — cut off every connection she has, every resource. I want to see her try to survive on her own."

Joseph was already dialing.

This time, he was going to make sure Jessica understood exactly what happened to people who didn't fall in line.