Chapter 2
I look around this room for maids.
[Honestly, this room's not bad. The soundproofing is excellent. They're out there sobbing like it's a funeral, and I can barely hear a thing. Dad's probably oblivious.]
[Still, it is a bit small. No way I could fit my diagnostic rig in here. Guess if I want to pull an all-nighter, I'll have to drive back to the lab. What a pain.]
Eleanor suddenly stopped weeping.
Thinking about my job made me sigh internally.
[I had to use my annual leave for this whole family reunion farce. My work is already piling up.]
[Looks like I'll be pulling overtime all next week just to have a prayer of hitting my annual KPI.]
Eleanor just stared at me, the tears drying on her cheeks.
She glanced around the small room with profound regret, her mind clearly racing.
News that the Sterling family had found their real daughter spread through the city's elite like wildfire.
Everyone was watching, waiting for the inevitable, trashy drama between the real and fake heiresses.
To show that the family treated both daughters "equally," Richard decided to throw a lavish party in my honor.
The funny thing was, no one bothered to tell me about it.
That night, I dragged myself home after a grueling twelve-hour shift at the lab.
I pushed open the front door to find the mansion transformed, packed with glamorous, glittering socialites who all turned to stare at me. Their expressions ranged from shock to disgust to outright pity.
Emily's voice, loud and theatrical, cut through the silence.
"Samantha! What are you wearing? You can't come to a party dressed like that."
I looked down at her.
She clearly spent hours getting ready.
She was styled to perfection, dripping with diamonds that caught the light. She was clearly the star of this show.
She glided over to me with feigned concern.
"Why aren't you in a gown? Didn't you like the one Mom and Dad picked out for you?
"Or we could find something for you in my closet, if you'd like."
Her words were sweet, but her eyes were gleaming with unconcealed triumph.
As if on cue, the whispering started.
"So that's the long-lost daughter? She's so terribly common."
"The family threw this entire party for her, and she shows up in work clothes? Is she trying to humiliate them?"
I glanced around the room.
Ryan was chatting with some guests, pointedly ignoring me.
Charles Sterling, my second brother, was standing not far off. He just enjoyed the show, making no move to step in or say a word for me.
Furious, David walked over, followed by my parents.
Eleanor started in on me, letting out a furious whisper.
"Samantha, what is the meaning of this? This is an important evening. Look at you!"
I looked down at my uniform: a durable shirt and practical work pants. It served its purpose, perfectly acceptable to me.
[I'm so exhausted. I don't work my fingers to the bone just to come home and play games with them.]
[Aliens are about to invade Earth, and I'm supposed to have the energy for their petty family politics?]
[I should have just stayed at the lab. I could have run three more simulation sets in the time it took me to drive home.]
Richard forced a pained smile, addressing the gawking crowd.
"This is my daughter, Samantha. We just brought her back. She's not used to our ways yet. Please, forgive her."
Emily jumped in, supposedly to defend me.
"It's my sister's first time at a party like this! She just doesn't know any better. Please, don't mind her."
It only made their stares more contemptuous.
"I heard her adoptive parents were ranchers. She basically grew up in a barn with the cows and sheep. Clearly, she's not exactly fit for polite society."
"And on top of that, she worked on an assembly line. Utterly uncultured. It's no contest, but when you put them side-by-side, Emily is clearly the real heiress."
My parents' faces grew darker with every whispered comment.
Emily, meanwhile, secretly smirked before snuggling up to them.
"Oh, stop it, you two. This party is for Samantha. Don't be mad at her."
Then, she deliberately changed the subject.
"Oh, by the way, Samantha, I heard you work at a big factory. Which one is it?
She kept up the innocent act, but her real intent was to broadcast my factory-girl status to the entire room.
"There are so many of our friends here tonight. Your boss might even be in the room!"
A fresh wave of snickers rippled through the crowd.
"She thinks a local electronics plant is a 'big factory'? Does she even know what a real corporation is?"
"What do you expect from a girl from the sticks? She probably can't tell the difference."
"We have standards. Our firm doesn't hire high school dropouts. It would lower the tone of the entire company."
The mocking laughter was a physical force, pressing in on us.
My entire family was now glaring at me as if I had single-handedly destroyed the Sterling name.
[Emily just gave me an idea. The Sterling family might be broke, but they have connections.]
[If I could get these industry leaders in satellite communications, remote sensing, and new energy to partner with the lab, our production capacity would skyrocket. My annual KPI would be in the bag.]
[Our current planetary defense grid is full of holes. We need all the private sector help we can get.]
My mood suddenly lifted. I scanned the hall with a new purpose in my eyes. I was about to introduce them all to my factory.