The True Heiress With Countless Hidden Identities

Carter Corporation.

Audrey Carter—no, it should be Audrey Collins now—walked out of the director's office carrying a cardboard box, drawing stares from employees in the hallway.

The elevator doors opened, and out stepped her adoptive father Caleb Carter, adoptive mother Claire Carter, and their biological daughter Emily Carter.

"Audie." Caleb stopped, his eyes falling on the box in her hands. "All done with the handover?"

Audrey looked at him calmly, her face expressionless. "The design department's project schedule has been sent to your email, and the client files are all..."

"Sis." Emily gently interrupted, walking up to her with a warm smile. "I'll get familiar with all this gradually. Don't worry, I'll do my absolute best as design director and won't let Mom and Dad down."

Audrey looked at her. Today she wore a Chanel suit, her long hair carefully styled—the picture of a career professional.

But who would've thought that just a month ago, when she was first brought back to the Carter family, she was an outsider who couldn't even operate CAD properly?

Now she'd not only taken Audrey's position but dared to claim she could handle being design director. Talk about thick-skinned.

"That's right, Emily is very smart and learns everything quickly." Claire chimed in, patting Emily's hand with loving eyes, but when she looked at Audrey, her expression immediately turned to disgust. "Unlike you, Audie."

Her tone dripped with mockery. "I heard your biological father is disabled, your mother doesn't work, your three brothers are all unmarried, and your younger brother has a congenital heart condition requiring expensive medical bills every month."

"Mom! Please stop!" Emily showed a pained expression, stopping Claire.

She turned to Audrey, her eyes full of sympathy. "Audrey, I talked with Mom and Dad. Although company policy says departing employees only get their current month's salary, we want to give you three extra months' pay, as a..."

She paused, looking completely concerned for Audrey. "A gesture from me and Mom and Dad, and compensation for the Ryan engagement. After all, sis, your family situation is special and you need money for many things."

She deliberately mentioned Ryan Williams. The Williams family and the Carter family had a business marriage arrangement—originally Audrey and Ryan were supposed to marry this year, but after Emily was found, the engagement naturally fell to her.

The wedding invitations for the Columbus Day weekend had already been sent throughout the company last week.

As Emily finished speaking, whispers rose from the surrounding employees.

"Audrey's birth family is really that difficult? Her life is going to be rough from now on."

"If it were me, I'd beg Mr. Carter. Maybe I could stay at the Carter family."

"Right, Emily is so kind, she definitely wouldn't hold a grudge."

Audrey acted as if she hadn't heard, her expression growing even colder. "No need. Just settle according to the contract. What's mine, not a penny less. What's not mine, I won't take a penny more."

Claire sneered at this. "Now you want to act all high and mighty? For the past twenty years you've been eating our food and wearing our clothes at the Carter family—why didn't you refuse what wasn't yours then?"

Thinking about how she'd occupied her daughter's place and enjoyed so many years of comfort made Claire's heart burn with hatred.

"Mrs. Carter," Audrey looked up at her, her tone full of mockery, "the value I've created for Carter Corporation over these years far exceeds what you spent on me. Do you need me to have the finance department calculate that account?"

Caleb's face darkened as he shouted, "Audie, how dare you talk to your mother like that?"

Emily quickly tried to smooth things over. "Mom, Dad, don't blame Audrey. She just can't accept it all at once."

As she spoke, she pulled out an elegantly wrapped gift box from her bag. "Audrey, this is a farewell gift I prepared for you. It's not worth much, but it's my sincere gesture."

She reached out to take the cardboard box from Audrey's hands. Audrey tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The box fell to the ground, and several documents slid out, scattering across the polished marble floor.

"These are... design drafts for the company's main products next quarter!" someone gasped in shock.

This was Carter Corporation's core secret, determining the year's profits.

The hallway fell instantly silent.

Claire was the first to react, her face ashen. "Audrey Collins! How dare you steal the company's designs?!"

"Why would I steal that waste paper?" Audrey laughed coldly.

These designs were all drawn by her own hand, stroke by stroke. She'd had a photographic memory since childhood—the images in her mind were far clearer than these pieces of paper.

"Then how did they end up in your box?" Claire's voice grew increasingly shrill. "You're caught red-handed and you still want to deny it! You wanted to sell these to competitors for money, didn't you?"

"Audrey, I really underestimated you! The Carter family raised you all these years, and this is what we get—an ungrateful wretch!"

Emily also covered her mouth, her eyes reddening. "Audrey, if you needed money you could have told us. Why do this? You know perfectly well this is Dad's and the whole company's hard work."

She turned to Caleb, her voice choking. "Dad, please don't blame Audrey. She must have been desperate, just had a moment of confusion. Please don't call the police."

"Emily! You're too kind! Since she dared to do this, she has to face the consequences." Claire glared hatefully at Audrey, grinding her teeth.

A department head couldn't help but speak up. "Miss Audrey, this is wrong of you! Ms. Carter always looked out for you—how could you do something like this!"

"Right, I never expected her to be this kind of person. Always acting so high and mighty, but stealing company secrets!"

The accusations came one after another, all condemning Audrey.

She said nothing, just bent down to pick up the papers one by one.

The sound of tearing paper was especially clear in the quiet hallway.

Shredded designs floated down from Audrey's hands like snowflakes.

"Audrey Collins, have you lost your mind?" Claire shrieked. "Those are the company's main designs for next quarter!"

"Garbage designs." She sneered coldly. "This level of work—I wouldn't want it even if you gave it to me for free."

Caleb's face turned iron-dark, suppressing his rage. "Do you know how much those designs are worth?"

Audrey lifted her eyelids lazily. "Priceless to you, worthless to me."

She looked at Emily. "By the way, just a reminder—all of Carter Corporation's award-winning designs from the past five years have my name listed as patent owner. According to the contract, after leaving I have the right to revoke usage rights for these patents."

Emily's face went pale.

Audrey enjoyed watching their expressions grow uglier, saying word by word, "Starting tomorrow, if Carter Corporation continues using these patents, my lawyer will send a letter."

Claire trembled with rage. "You ungrateful girl, how dare you! The Carter family raised you all these years—everything you have, they gave you!"

She raised her hand high, about to slap Audrey's fair cheek.

Audrey's eyes turned cold. Just as she was about to dodge, a hand with prominent knuckles firmly gripped Claire's wrist.

A cold, deep male voice slowly sounded behind them. "Is she your daughter? You call her ungrateful—take a look at whether you're even worthy!"