Chapter 1

A voice shouted, "Elise Dickens, how can you be this shameless?"

A sharp slap cut through the air and landed hard across Elise's face. Pain exploded instantly. She jerked awake.

A crystal chandelier glared down at her. In front of Elise stood a richly dressed woman, her makeup twisted with anger, her eyes full of disdain.

Wasn't she Margaret Dickens, the outrageously biased matriarch of the Dickens family from that real versus fake heiress novel? Elise had stayed up late ranting about her last night.

And now, Elise was on a cold, expensive carpet, clutching half of a shattered porcelain doll.

A voice announced, [Ding! Reader Transmigration System successfully bound.

[Host: Elise Dickens.

[Identity: The real heiress in "Loving the Wrong Heiress", the most tragic foil supporting character online.

[Mission: Escape your doomed fate, take down the fake heiress, and rise to the top.

[Reward: Permanent residency + assets worth billions.

[Failure penalty: Death.]

As the mechanical voice faded, a flood of memories surged into Elise's mind.

She had transmigrated into the novel. Now she was the real heiress who fought the fake heiress, Lauren Dickens, for her identity and her man, only to be abandoned by her entire family and die miserably on the streets.

*****

The original Elise had been mistakenly swapped as a baby and spent eighteen years enduring hardship in a rural town. She was recently brought back to the Dickens family and everyone hated her guts.

Her real mom, Margaret Dickens, thought she was rough and uncultured, nothing like Lauren Dickens, the fake heiress, who was sweet and considerate.

Her real dad, Patrick Dickens, was cold and distant; he only had eyes for the darling daughter he'd cherished all those years.

Her grandpa, Rueben Dickens, thought Elise was a disgrace to the Dickens family and never missed a chance to berate her.

Even Sheldon, the most powerful male lead in the whole book, was completely bewitched by Lauren. He saw the original Elise as a crazy villainess and always defended the pretentious Lauren.

The original Elise was hopelessly in love with Sheldon. To get his attention, she kept picking fights with Lauren, only to be framed, disgraced, and kicked out of the family. In the end, Elise froze to death under a bridge in the middle of winter.

Meanwhile, Lauren, as the fake heiress, took over everything that belonged to Elise, even marrying her fiancé, becoming the ultimate winner in the novel.

At that thought, Elise's lips curled into a smirk.

In her previous life, she'd been a webnovel editor. There was nothing she hated more than biased parents, pretentiously innocent heiresses, and clueless male leads.

Now that she was inside a novel, there was no way she'd be a cannon fodder. If someone wanted to be the victim, they could take her place.

"You must've lost your mind after all those years in the rural town. Lauren went out of her way to give you a gift, and you broke it on purpose. Admit it. You're jealous of her," Margaret snapped.

Margaret raised her hand, about to slap Elise again.

The servants bowed their heads, not daring to interfere.

In their eyes, the real heiress was nothing but a rough outsider, totally unfit for the Dickens family. She deserved every slap she got.

But in the next second, Elise suddenly shot her hand up and locked a fierce grip around Margaret's wrist.

Margaret yelped in pain from the strength of Elise's hold.

"How dare you fight back?" Margaret shrieked.

Elise got to her feet, rubbing her burning cheek, her eyes icy cold.

She said, "First off, I'm the real daughter of the Dickens family, not some servant. You don't get to hit me.

"Second, Lauren knows I'm allergic to ceramic, but she still gave me a ceramic doll. You call that being nice?

"Third, yesterday I accidentally broke her lipstick and you made me apologize to her for two hours. Today, she purposely triggers my allergy and you blame me? Mrs. Dickens, your double standards makes you look hideous."

Every word cut through the air, loud and clear.

The whole room went dead silent.

Margaret's face turned ghostly pale, her whole body trembling with rage. "You... How dare you!"

At the top of the stairs, Lauren stood in a spotless white dress, her eyes were red and teary. She looked so delicate and fragile, like a pretty flower.

"Elise, I'm so sorry. I really didn't know you were allergic. I swear I didn't mean it," Lauren said.

As soon as she spoke, tears fell instantly. It was the classic innocent act.

If it had been the original Elise, she would've panicked, scrambling to apologize, making herself look even more guilty.

But Elise simply thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

She lifted her gaze, her eyes sharp as a blade, locking straight onto Lauren.

"Yesterday, I had an allergic reaction to ceramic tableware, and you were right there watching. You heard every word the doctor said. Now you're acting clueless? Lauren, if you're gonna lie, at least put some effort into it," Elise said.

Lauren froze, her tears drying up instantly.

What was going on?

When did Elise, that fool, become so sharp with her words?

Just then, Rueben came down the stairs, leaning on his cane, his face dark with anger.

"Elise! How dare you talk to your elders like that? Lauren is kind and innocent. How could you slander her?" Rueben snapped.

So typical. He never cared about what was right or wrong, simply blindly taking sides.

Elise met his eyes, her posture dignified and unwavering.

"Grandpa, I'm not slandering anyone. I'm simply stating the facts," Elise said. "I'm the true heiress of the Dickens family, not some random person on the street.

"You don't have to like me, but you can't bully me.

"Either send me back to the rural town, and I'll stay out of your lives for good. Or you start treating me with respect and stop acting like I'm some pushover you can bully,"

Her words echoed through the room, impossible to ignore.

Rueben was stunned.

The girl in front of him stood tall, her eyes clear and sharp, radiating a steady confidence. Gone was any hint of that shabby country girl vibe.

Patrick frowned, really taking a good look at the daughter he'd finally gotten back for the first time.

Elise didn't spare them another glance, turning on her heel and heading upstairs, leaving their pretentious faces behind.

"I'm tired. Going to my room," she said.

Her back was straight. There wasn't a hint of submission or need to please in her posture.

Margaret trembled with fury. "She's out of control."

Lauren's hands clenched tightly at her sides, a sinister glint flickering in her eyes.

Just you wait, Elise. I'd never let you take everything that belonged to me, not in a million years.

Meanwhile, a voice announced in Elise's mind, [Ding! Host's first direct counterattack succeeded.

[Reward: Allergies permanently cured + Top-tier master bedroom upgrade card + 300 thousand dollars in startup funds.]

Elise headed back to her cramped, gloomy guest room and used the upgrade card.

The next second, the room was bathed in a flash of light.

In an instant, the cramped guest room transformed into a massive, luxurious master suite complete with a walk-in closet, a huge bathroom, floor-to-ceiling windows, and custom bedding.

The walk-in closet was lined with designer dresses, luxury handbags, and sparkling jewelry.

Elise raised an eyebrow.

The system really came through.

Elise sat at the vanity, piecing together everything that had happened so far and mapping out her next move.