Chapter 1

On the first day of the illegitimate daughter's internship at my father's company, she treated everyone to lunch using my father's credit card. That very day, she earned the title of the gold-hearted lady.

I, not good at expressing myself, became the selfish and self-centered illegitimate daughter in her mouth. Even worse, she falsely accused me of leaking the company's secrets.

My father, out of righteousness, reported me and had me arrested.

My mother hurriedly returned from abroad, but unfortunately, as soon as she got out of the airport, she was hit by a car and died on the spot.

I was disheartened and killed myself.

The illegitimate daughter became the sole heir. My father's first crush, who had cancer and was supposed to have been dead, was also brought back, and from then on, the three of them lived a happy and fulfilling life.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day when the illegitimate daughter first came to our family.

Unexpectedly, my mother had also traveled back in time and returned to the country earlier.

We smiled at each other.

"It's time to take back what belongs to us!"

"Hattie, this is your sister, Dorothy. She's had a tough life out there all these years, so you must treat her well, and don't you dare bully her!"

My father said with a big smile, holding a girl by the hand as he led her over to me.

Dorothy Greene took a Cartier diamond watch out of her bag and smiled as she handed it to me.

"Hattie, this is a gift for you. I hope you like it!"

Watching this scene unfold, it finally hit me that I had traveled back in time.

I was back to the day my father's illegitimate daughter Dorothy came to our family.

In the past, my father told us that his old flame, Jane Knapp, had died of cancer, leaving their daughter Dorothy all alone. He hoped my mother could agree to let her move in.

At the time, my mother was busy with her business overseas, but her heart softened, and she agreed.

But once Dorothy moved in, all she wanted was to take my place.

She interned at my father's company with me, but instead of doing any real work, all she cared about was buttering people up.

On her first day, she splurged on coffee for everyone, ordered afternoon tea, and after work, treated the whole department to dinner at a fancy restaurant.

My colleagues couldn't stop raving about how kind and beautiful Dorothy was—everyone called her the gold-hearted lady.

Everyone at the company adored her, but when it came to me, the so-called illegitimate daughter in Dorothy's story, they absolutely despised me.

It was all because I wasn't much of a talker and couldn't be bothered to fit in with the rest of them.

So when Dorothy set me up, not a single person stood up for me.

And my father, who had always treated me like his precious little girl, just took Dorothy's side of the story and had me arrested.

Because of all this, my mother was killed in a car accident, and I ended up taking my own life.

It wasn't until later that I realized just how much my father played favorites.

Dorothy was a name that screamed pampered heiress, meaning God's gift.

But my name, Hattie, honestly just couldn't sound worse.

And my life before really played out like one big joke.

Snapping back to reality, I eyed Dorothy, who was covered head to toe in designer brands, clothes and bags both.

Did she look like someone who had ever struggled a day in her life?

Honestly, she probably had it better than me, the real heiress.

"What's wrong, Hattie? Don't you like the bag I got you?" Dorothy asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

I flashed her a smile as I took the bag quickly. "Are you kidding? I absolutely love it!"

"Hey everyone, I'm Dorothy Greene, the new intern. I got everyone a coffee, and tonight, I'm treating you all to dinner at Marsori Restaurant. Hope you can make it!"

As soon as my coworkers heard someone was treating, they all looked up from their desks, excitement written all over their faces.

One of them whispered, "Where did this gold-hearted office angel come from? She's gorgeous and so sweet!"

Another chimed in excitedly, "She's seriously loaded! First day on the job, and she's already buying everyone dinner!"

Kaylee Martinez from Operation Department stared in shock and blurted out, "Dorothy Greene? Wait, isn't she Mr. Greene's daughter?"

That was when everyone finally realized that she was their boss's daughter! No wonder she was throwing money around like it was nothing.

Dorothy couldn't hold back her smile. It was practically written all over her face.

Seeing I was staying quiet, she suddenly grabbed my hand and announced to everyone.

"This is my little sister, Hattie Greene. Hope you'll all take good care of her too!"

Kaylee's eyes went wide as she whispered, "Hattie Greene? So this is Mr. Greene's illegitimate daughter?"

"She really doesn't have any class, does she? Looks so cheap and unimpressive," someone else muttered.

"Yeah, she's nowhere near Dorothy's level," another voice agreed.

In an instant, the whole office was buzzing with gossip.

Dorothy immediately took charge like she owned the place, raising her hand for silence and signaling everyone to get back to work.

That night, when Dorothy was treating everyone to dinner, she practically dragged me along with her, and I didn't even get a chance to refuse.

I turned her down last time and ended up getting labeled as antisocial.

This time, there was no way I would miss it. I had to see for myself how she was going to show off.

With everyone buttering her up with over-the-top praise, Dorothy was absolutely beaming. She went ahead and ordered several bottles of 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild, really flexing her status.

As the bill was about to come, I slipped away to the bathroom and called my mother.

"Mom, cut off that woman's credit card. Do it now," I said, keeping my voice cold and steady.

Without waiting for my mother's reply, I hung up and walked out, not even glancing back.