The Impostor Heiress vs. the Real Daughter from the Dirt

Money means everything to me, especially the company shares that rightfully belong to me!

That evening, I went to find my mother in her bedroom.

“Mom, will I be transferring to a new school?” I asked, looking at her curiously.

“Yes,” she answered with a smile. “Your father has already made the arrangements. He thought enrolling you right away might be too overwhelming, so he decided to wait a couple more days before sending you.”

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the scars on my exposed arm and her smile faded.

“Then… could you help arrange some tutoring classes for me?” I asked earnestly. “I’m worried I won’t be able to keep up with the new school’s pace.”

Upon hearing my concern, she nodded. “I heard you’ve always done well in school and even earned scholarships. If you want tutoring, I’ll set it up. But I don’t want you living a life filled with pressure. You should relax every now and then.”

She took my hand gently. “How about we take your sister with us tomorrow and go for a spa treatment? She loves beauty treatments and skincare.”

I nodded and glanced at the business card on the table. It read: Evelyn Sterling.

“So… Mom’s name is Evelyn Sterling,” I murmured.

“Yes,” she replied with a soft smile and a nod.

“Is ‘Ellie’ your childhood nickname?” I asked, feigning innocent curiosity.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know that?” she asked, clearly startled. “Who told you? Almost no one knows that nickname.”

Of course. Very few people knew her childhood nickname—except for the nanny, who was also her cousin. She used to call my mother “Ellie” back then.

Over time, I’d pieced together bits of information. I knew that my parents had once planned to press charges against the nanny’s family, but due to the pleas of Mom’s relatives, they let it go.

“It was… my foster mother. She never told me outright. But I remember, when I was about eight, she took me to a dog breeder’s farm and said, ‘Ellie’s daughter is going to be a mother mutt.’ I didn’t understand it then. I thought it was just a name. But later… I realized what she meant.”

My mother’s face turned ghostly pale.

“What… What are you saying?” she stuttered. Her hands trembled. “She took you to a dog kennel to… to do what?”