Chapter 2

Seeing me stay silent, Emily let her eyes well up. "Yvonne, are you upset with me? I had no idea those papers were important. I only wanted to fold paper cranes for Mom. To bless her."

There was a tremble in her voice, so pitiful.

Diana pulled her into her arms and said, "Emily, don't cry. It's not your fault, sweetheart."

Then she shot me a sharp glare. "Look how upset you've made her. Why can't you be kind like she is?"

I watched their little display of mother-daughter devotion and nearly laughed.

I said, "That was an S-Class confidential file. Leak even a little, and you'll rot in prison for life."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Then Richard laughed.

"S-Class confidential?" He shook his head. "Spent too long in that orphanage. Now you're delusional."

Ryan sneered too, "See, Dad? I told you not to bring her back. Orphanage kids are all thieves or liars, never trustworthy."

Emily looked up at me, eyes glistening. "Yvonne, are you doing this on purpose? Trying to scare me? I know you don't like me, but you can't slander me like this."

Her tears came so easily, and Diana grew more protective.

"Enough." Diana banged the table. "I welcomed you back, and this is how you behave?

"If you don't want to be here, then get out."

Get out.

It stung.

I looked at Richard.

He didn't defend me. Instead, he said coldly, "You heard her. Apologize, or get out. The Linwoods don't welcome ungrateful wretches."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Then I said, "I never begged you to find me.

"You were the ones who insisted I come back. You kept saying blood is thicker than water. You promised you'd treat me right.

"So what happened?

"I've barely been here an hour, and you're already kicking me out?"

My voice stayed calm, but Richard's face changed.

He hadn't expected me to talk back.

Richard opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Ryan stepped forward, looking down at me. "What, charity case from the orphanage, and now you act all high and mighty?"

"Ryan, don't say that." Emily "kindly" stopped him, then looked at me with pity. "Yvonne isn't used to being loved."

Every word she spoke was a reminder of my "lowly background."

Every sentence was like rubbing salt in my wounds.

And her expression was so innocent, so kind.

I stared at her.

"You're a good actress," I said.

Emily's expression faltered for a moment.

Then her tears came harder. "Yvonne. What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this?"

She looked perfectly pitiful, like a delicate flower in the rain.

Diana stormed over and shoved me hard. "Get out! Look what you've done to Emily!"

I stumbled back, my back slamming into the doorframe.

It hurt.

But I didn't make a sound.

I took my phone out of my pocket.

"What are you doing?" Richard frowned.

I ignored him and dialed a number.

Three seconds later, the call went through.

"Mr. Lambert, it's me," I said.

The Linwoods exchanged glances.

Ryan scoffed, "Calling for backup? What can your orphanage friends do? Get the media to expose the billionaire bullying an orphan?"

Emily covered her mouth and chuckled, "Yvonne, we can handle this as a family. Why bring outsiders into it?"

I didn't look at them.

I spoke into the phone, "Mr. Lambert, the S-Class confidential files were deliberately destroyed by the Linwood family. This is suspected treason. It's time to move in."

My voice wasn't loud, but every word rang out clearly.

The whole room went silent.

Richard was the first to react. He burst out laughing. "Mr. Lambert? S-Class confidential? Are you filming a movie?"

"Dad, she's probably lost her mind," Ryan chimed in, laughing. "Orphanage kids are all messed up in the head."

Diana frowned. "Enough. The guests are almost here. Tell the maid to lock her in a room upstairs. Don't let her embarrass us."

They didn't take my words seriously at all.

To them, I was some broke orphan girl.

How could I get near an S-Class confidential file?

I hung up the phone and glanced out the window.

At the intersection in the distance, a convoy was already rolling out.

I said, "Three minutes. Then you'll know."

Emily burst out laughing. "Yvonne, keep talking like that, and I'll start believing you're crazy."

Her tone was flippant, her eyes dripping with sarcasm.

I didn't say another word.

I waited in silence.

Three minutes passed. Sirens wailed in the distance, drawing closer.

Richard's smile froze.

"What the hell is this?" he snapped.

He went to the window and looked out.

Then his face went pale.

"What... What are those cars?" Richard exclaimed.

I glanced out the window as well.

Three black government sedans, flanked by over a dozen military vehicles, swept into the Linwood estate in a show of force.

Ryan's legs nearly buckled. "Military... Military vehicles?"

Emily's face turned pale. "How could this be happening?"

She instinctively looked at me, and for the first time, I saw real panic in her eyes.

"Mr. Linwood!" the butler stumbled in, breathless. "Outside. They're everywhere. Military plates, all of them. They're demanding to see you."

Richard had no time to react.

The front door burst open with a deafening bang.

Fully armed special ops soldiers stormed into the living room, their dark muzzles sweeping across every face.

Emily let out a sharp scream and darted behind Diana for cover.

Diana trembled uncontrollably, speechless.

Ryan's knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed.

Only Richard still barely held onto his billionaire composure. "Who the hell are you? Do you know whose house this is? I am—"

"Richard Linwood?" The lead officer cut him off with a cold glance.

"Chairman of Linwood Group. Identity confirmed," he said.

Then he turned to me.

And like that, his whole attitude flipped completely.

The officer gave a slight nod, his voice full of respect. "Chief Engineer, are you alright?"

Those words hit like a bolt of lightning.

"Chief Engineer?" Richard was dumbfounded.

Richard, Diana and Ryan froze.

Emily was too shocked to speak.

Richard thought, 'Chief Engineer?

'That poor orphan girl? It can't be.

'She's a chief engineer?'

The door swung open again.

A man in his fifties strode in.

He was dressed in casual clothes, but his presence was commanding.

The special forces team snapped to attention and saluted. "Director Lambert."

'Director Lambert?' Richard's mind was buzzing.

He had spent thirty years in the business world. He had seen men of power and influence.

But he had never come close to meeting someone of this level in his entire life.

"Yvonne," John Lambert said.

He strided up to me with a frown. "How bad is the damage to the files?"

I pointed at the trash can, then at Emily. "It's all gone. Three years' worth of manuscripts. She tore them up and folded them into paper cranes."

John's face darkened visibly.

He turned to the Linwood family, his voice ice-cold. "Mr. Linwood, do you have any idea what your daughter destroyed?"

Richard's lips trembled. "I-I don't."

"Blueprints for the sixth-generation fighter engine." John paused, emphasizing every word. "Top-level state secrets. Ms. Quinn is the chief designer of this project. She's the youngest in the National Aerospace Institute."

He paused, his eyes falling on the paper crane Emily hadn't yet discarded.

"And your little princess folded it into a paper crane," John added.

Dead silence.