At her engagement party, Emma Lockwood found out she wasn't the Lockwood family's real daughter. Her fiancé called off the engagement without hesitation, her parents turned cold, her brothers showed blatant favoritism to the "real" daughter, and the whole family made no secret of their disgust for her. Everyone expected her to break down in tears and beg for their affection. Instead, Emma simply said, "The Lockwood family? Sorry, don't know them." She didn't need to latch onto anyone's status—because she was the one with power. Just then, a powerful figure stepped in, excitedly showing off their marriage certificate. The man, legendarily cold and untouchable, looked proud as he declared, "I'm her husband. Officially." Soon, leaders from various industries came forward to back her up. Her mentors and senior fellow apprentices stood in unison and said, "We're Emma's family. Let's see who dares to mess with her.”

Chapter 1"Professor, it's completely fine that you couldn't make it. It's just an engagement party today."Emma smiled warmly, chatting affectionately with her mentor overseas, a highly respected titan in the global medical field."Exactly. When I actually get married, you and the rest of the team have to be there. Otherwise, I'll be furious, and no amount of apologizing will fix it."Emma hung up the phone with a laugh, hurriedly smoothed out the skirt of her gown at the urging of the event staff, and stepped into the banquet hall.Today was the day she was officially getting engaged to the heir of the Harrington family.Having been sent abroad by her family at the age of seventeen, this was Emma's first time back in the country.For the past six years, she had drifted alone overseas, her heart constantly yearning for the parents who used to dote on her and the brothers who had always spoiled her."Mom, Dad," Emma walked over, her voice trembling slightly with excitement as her eyes searched the room. "Where are my brothers? Why aren't they here?"She was so focused on looking for them that she completely missed her father's ice-cold expression and her mother's conflicted, hesitant demeanor."You're calling them Mom and Dad, so what the hell am I supposed to call them?"A girl about Emma's age stood up, striding over to her with an arrogant, dismissive glare.Emma looked her up and down. "And you are?""I'm the only daughter of the Lockwood family. The true heiress, Gillian Lockwood."Emma froze, assessing the girl once more before her eyes curved into an amused smile. "Is this some kind of joke?"The moment the words left her mouth, Gillian grabbed a wine glass from the nearby table and threw the red wine directly into Emma's face.Emma tilted her head with lightning reflexes, but she still couldn't avoid getting her hair and half of her shoulder drenched."If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to ever show my face in this country again," Gillian sneered in disgust.A faint smile still lingered on Emma's lips, but in a flash, her left hand shot out, grabbing Gillian by the hair before delivering two sharp, echoing slaps across her face.The once-bustling banquet hall plunged into a dead silence, the sudden violence leaving the crowd utterly stunned.Gillian was completely dazed by the blows, clutching her stinging cheeks as she stared at Emma in a mix of shock and fury.Emma's expression hadn't shifted in the slightest; she still wore that faint, even-tempered smile.She even gently smoothed out Gillian's messy hair, her voice soft and measured. "You dare cause a scene at the engagement banquet between the Lockwoods and the Harringtons? Are you tired of living a comfortable life?""Ah! Dad! Mom!" Gillian finally snapped out of it, screaming as she looked toward Mr. Lockwood and Violet."You ungrateful brat! How dare you hit my daughter?"Mr. Lockwood looked at Gillian with overwhelming heartache before whipping around to furiously reprimand Emma.Emma's heart sank, but she kept the bright smile plastered on her face."I don't understand what you mean, Dad. She's your daughter? When did I get a sister?"Gillian lowered her hands from her face, the pure hatred in her eyes practically overflowing."Sister? In your dreams! You aren't a Lockwood at all. You've been stealing my identity this whole time. Not only did you con my parents, but you're even trying to con your way into a marriage today!"The accusation was so absurd that Emma genuinely laughed out loud.Violet, who had been busy comforting Gillian, shot Emma a resentful glare."Emma, Gillian is my biological daughter. We brought her back home six years ago. Even if you can't accept the truth, how... how could you hit her?!"During her six years abroad, Violet had been the only one who occasionally checked in on Emma.Coming from her, Emma had no choice but to believe it.The smile on her face finally vanished, replaced by an inexplicably intimidating aura."What do you mean she's your biological daughter? Then who am I?"Gillian was seething."Stop acting! You fake! The moment I came home, you conveniently left the country. You were just terrified I'd expose you!"Emma looked at Mr. Lockwood and Violet.Mr. Lockwood's expression was a mix of fury and disgust, clearly silently agreeing with Gillian's accusation.Violet's face flickered with a brief moment of hesitation. Her lips parted, but she ultimately said nothing.The banquet hall erupted into a cacophony of whispers, the harsh judgments and pointing fingers filtering directly into Emma's ears.Yet, Emma simply curled her lips into a faint smile again, her entire posture visibly relaxing.Back then, her parents had explicitly told her that the Lockwood family business was pivoting into the financial sector, and they desperately needed someone with a finance degree to help her brother.That was why, despite being the top student in the state, she was forced to abandon her local college exams and move halfway across the world all by herself.Otherwise, with her stellar grades, she could have had her pick of any elite university in the country. She never would have had to suffer the grueling hardships of studying abroad.She had been completely kept in the dark about this whole fake heiress situation.Emma beamed at them. Her parents had tricked her into leaving, the entire Lockwood family had lied to her for six years, and now they were pulling a stunt like this at the engagement party she had been so looking forward to.Did they honestly think she was still that naive, obedient little girl who would sacrifice everything for the family's glory?Inside Lockwood Manor, Emma stood in the bathroom, trying to salvage her wine-soaked dress.The mirror reflected her slender, upright posture and her distinctly aloof elegance.She looked up at her own reflection, a razor-sharp glint of frost in her eyes.Emma closed her eyes for a brief second, slowly curling her lips into her usual gentle, harmless smile, and turned to walk out.Violet immediately spoke up the moment she saw her step out."This is all my fault. When I found out the truth back then, I just couldn't bear to cast you out of the Lockwoods. After all, I raised you with my own two hands. I also thought making a big deal out of it would be too messy to handle, so I never made it public."Violet's voice trembled with self-blame, her eyes brimming with guilt.She felt she had failed both Emma, her adopted daughter, and Gillian, her own flesh and blood."Mom, you're being so foolish," Gillian scolded. "If I hadn't exposed the truth at the engagement party today, the Harringtons would have found out eventually, and who knows how irreparably damaged our families' relationship would have been."Violet mumbled, her lips trembling, "I wanted to tell Emma yesterday, but seeing how happy she was, I just didn't have the heart. Besides, she and Percy grew up together, they genuinely have feelings for each other...""Feelings? The second I told him she was a fake, Percy turned around and walked right out. You think Percy would have ever dated her if it weren't for the Lockwood family's influence?" Gillian shot back fiercely.Emma completely ignored them, taking a seat on the sofa. She poured herself a glass of water before finally asking:"My identity, my relationship, my family—if it's all a lie, then what is the truth? If I'm not a Lockwood, then who am I?"Gillian was infuriated by Emma's calm demeanor. What right did she have to sit there looking so unbothered?"You're just a thief who stole my life! When Mom got into that car accident and had to have emergency surgery in that small-town hospital, the doctors made it crystal clear that she only gave birth to me."Gillian rolled her eyes dramatically. "Your real mother was some trashy laborer. She was so malicious that after she swapped us, she didn't even want to raise me and tossed me into a dumpster. Otherwise, the two of you could be having a touching family reunion right now."Emma lowered her gaze.That meant no one in the family had ever actually tested her DNA to confirm they weren't related."Emma, I know this is a lot to process, but it's the truth. Gillian really is my biological daughter. As for your real parents, if you want to find them, we can hire someone to help you," Violet offered guiltily.Seeing Emma's continued silence, Gillian raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're still scheming to stay with the Lockwoods and play the heiress?""If you want to stay, I suppose I..."Before Violet could finish her sentence, Gillian loudly interrupted. "Mom! I told you I despise her! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had to suffer for seventeen years! She even slapped me twice today!"Just bringing it up made Gillian grind her teeth in pure resentment.But having been publicly humiliated at the banquet, she wasn't sure exactly what Emma was capable of. No matter how much she hated her, she didn't dare strike first, settling for glaring viciously at Emma instead."Your disgusting mother threw me in a dumpster! Mrs. Pamela Palmer saved my life, or I would have died right then and there! Pamela was always sick, so from the moment I could walk, I was digging through trash for recyclables. Once I was a little older, I worked illegal odd jobs. When I was seventeen, I barely weighed eighty pounds and had severe anemia and malnutrition..."Violet was weeping by the end of the story, frantically rubbing Gillian's back. "Emma, Gillian truly went through hell out there. She suffered the life that was meant for you!"Emma let out a soft chuckle, a sound that instantly froze both Violet and Gillian in their tracks."I wasn't the one who swapped us, and I wasn't the one who made her suffer. Why on earth am I the one being blamed for it now?"She slowly stood up, looking Violet dead in the eye with unwavering clarity."When the family business was pivoting to finance, you and Dad forced me to go abroad. I had to reject my acceptance to the best university in Capital City and leave home completely alone at seventeen. For six agonizing years, do you know how many times I told you I missed you and begged to come visit? How could you be so heartless as to keep me in the dark?""Your biological daughter had a miserable life, but I was pushed to the brink of death multiple times over the last six years too. Who am I supposed to blame for that?"Emma had always convinced herself that their emotional distance and neglect over the last six years were due to some unavoidable business stress. She never imagined this was the real reason.While she had spent every holiday utterly alone, crying because she missed her family, they had completely erased her from their minds, living a picture-perfect life without her.A fierce storm of resentment raged inside Emma, yet her face grew increasingly calm."I can leave. But I want a DNA test with both of you. The moment the results confirm it, I'm gone."Gillian could no longer hold back. Her fists clenched tightly, her face contorting with rage as she glared at Emma."A DNA test? Who the hell do you think you are, trying to cling to the Lockwood family like a parasite?!""Our family has done more than enough for you all these years. Mom secretly wired you money so you could leverage the Lockwoods' resources to finish an elite degree abroad. What more do you want?"She spun around to face Violet. "Mom, I know exactly how you've been secretly funding her all these years. I just never brought it up. But today, you have to kick her out. I hate her! I refuse to let the person who stole seventeen years of my life stand in my house!"Eaten alive by guilt, Violet nodded frantically and immediately turned to Emma. "Just go. We don't need a DNA test. We investigated everything thoroughly. There's no mistake.""Mom, are you seriously going to make me leave under this cloud of suspicion?" Emma was genuinely perplexed.It was just a DNA test. It wouldn't take much time at all, so why were they so terrified of letting her take one?And who exactly was this Pamela that Gillian kept mentioning?Violet was caught between desperately consoling Gillian and trying to brush Emma off, her voice cracking with frantic urgency."Emma, you aren't my daughter. I can't keep you here just so you can bully Gillian."Emma stared at the woman she had called Mom for over two decades. Hearing such viciously cruel words felt like a physical blow to her chest, yet her eyes remained as calm and unreadable as a deep, still well.It suddenly clicked for her. Violet hadn't defended her at the engagement party because her choice had already been made. She had chosen Gillian, and she had made that choice six years ago.Right at that moment, Charles Lockwood strode through the front door."Why are you still here? Did they not explain the situation clearly enough for you?" Mr. Lockwood's eyes were filled with heavy irritation before he shot his wife a blaming look. "I assumed you had told her about this ages ago. Look at this mess—now both the Lockwoods and the Harringtons are a complete laughingstock!""I saw how devoted Percy was to Emma. She's been abroad for so long, and Percy never once mentioned breaking the engagement. Consolidating our families wasn't a bad idea, I just never expected..."Violet bit her lip. She had genuinely never expected Gillian to harbor such explosive hatred for Emma after all these years."Mom, are you blaming me?" Gillian's eyes instantly welled with tears of victimhood as she collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing loudly. "It's all my fault. I should have just died in that dumpster. I never should have come back to the Lockwoods and ruined your perfect, happy family.""No, no, sweetheart, that's not what I meant at all." Violet panicked at the sight of her daughter's tears, rushing over to comfort her with endless apologies.Mr. Lockwood's face softened with undeniable heartache as he spoke gently, "How could this possibly be your fault? This is on Mom and Dad. We don't blame you at all."As he spoke, he glanced over at Emma. Noticing the faint, unnerving smile permanently etched on her face, he felt a sudden chill. He immediately stepped in front of Gillian to shield her, snapping angrily at Emma."What the hell is with that look? You've been smirking ever since the banquet. Do you just not give a damn about the Lockwoods, or are you trying to intimidate someone?You've lived a life of luxury in this house for years. Instead of showing an ounce of gratitude, you had the nerve to lay your hands on Gillian! You should be thanking me that I haven't made you pay for that yet!"Wiping away non-existent tears, Gillian stood up. "Dad, I heard it wasn't just money the family gave her. She has shares in the company. I don't even have a single share. I guess you really do love her more."That jogged Mr. Lockwood's memory. When Emma was seven, the family was transitioning from their pharmaceutical roots to establish their new financial firm. To celebrate the launch, he had gifted Emma thirty percent of the pharmaceutical company's shares as a birthday present.Over time, the pharmaceutical branch was outsourced to external managers while the Lockwoods focused entirely on expanding their financial empire, leading everyone to completely forget about those original shares.He immediately glared at Emma, his tone demanding. "Hand over your shares in the pharmaceutical company right now."Chapter 2"Professor, it's completely fine that you couldn't make it. It's just an engagement party today."Emma smiled warmly, chatting affectionately with her mentor overseas, a highly respected titan in the global medical field."Exactly. When I actually get married, you and the rest of the team have to be there. Otherwise, I'll be furious, and no amount of apologizing will fix it."Emma hung up the phone with a laugh, hurriedly smoothed out the skirt of her gown at the urging of the event staff, and stepped into the banquet hall.Today was the day she was officially getting engaged to the heir of the Harrington family.Having been sent abroad by her family at the age of seventeen, this was Emma's first time back in the country.For the past six years, she had drifted alone overseas, her heart constantly yearning for the parents who used to dote on her and the brothers who had always spoiled her."Mom, Dad," Emma walked over, her voice trembling slightly with excitement as her eyes searched the room. "Where are my brothers? Why aren't they here?"She was so focused on looking for them that she completely missed her father's ice-cold expression and her mother's conflicted, hesitant demeanor."You're calling them Mom and Dad, so what the hell am I supposed to call them?"A girl about Emma's age stood up, striding over to her with an arrogant, dismissive glare.Emma looked her up and down. "And you are?""I'm the only daughter of the Lockwood family. The true heiress, Gillian Lockwood."Emma froze, assessing the girl once more before her eyes curved into an amused smile. "Is this some kind of joke?"The moment the words left her mouth, Gillian grabbed a wine glass from the nearby table and threw the red wine directly into Emma's face.Emma tilted her head with lightning reflexes, but she still couldn't avoid getting her hair and half of her shoulder drenched."If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to ever show my face in this country again," Gillian sneered in disgust.A faint smile still lingered on Emma's lips, but in a flash, her left hand shot out, grabbing Gillian by the hair before delivering two sharp, echoing slaps across her face.The once-bustling banquet hall plunged into a dead silence, the sudden violence leaving the crowd utterly stunned.Gillian was completely dazed by the blows, clutching her stinging cheeks as she stared at Emma in a mix of shock and fury.Emma's expression hadn't shifted in the slightest; she still wore that faint, even-tempered smile.She even gently smoothed out Gillian's messy hair, her voice soft and measured. "You dare cause a scene at the engagement banquet between the Lockwoods and the Harringtons? Are you tired of living a comfortable life?""Ah! Dad! Mom!" Gillian finally snapped out of it, screaming as she looked toward Mr. Lockwood and Violet."You ungrateful brat! How dare you hit my daughter?"Mr. Lockwood looked at Gillian with overwhelming heartache before whipping around to furiously reprimand Emma.Emma's heart sank, but she kept the bright smile plastered on her face."I don't understand what you mean, Dad. She's your daughter? When did I get a sister?"Gillian lowered her hands from her face, the pure hatred in her eyes practically overflowing."Sister? In your dreams! You aren't a Lockwood at all. You've been stealing my identity this whole time. Not only did you con my parents, but you're even trying to con your way into a marriage today!"The accusation was so absurd that Emma genuinely laughed out loud.Violet, who had been busy comforting Gillian, shot Emma a resentful glare."Emma, Gillian is my biological daughter. We brought her back home six years ago. Even if you can't accept the truth, how... how could you hit her?!"During her six years abroad, Violet had been the only one who occasionally checked in on Emma.Coming from her, Emma had no choice but to believe it.The smile on her face finally vanished, replaced by an inexplicably intimidating aura."What do you mean she's your biological daughter? Then who am I?"Gillian was seething."Stop acting! You fake! The moment I came home, you conveniently left the country. You were just terrified I'd expose you!"Emma looked at Mr. Lockwood and Violet.Mr. Lockwood's expression was a mix of fury and disgust, clearly silently agreeing with Gillian's accusation.Violet's face flickered with a brief moment of hesitation. Her lips parted, but she ultimately said nothing.The banquet hall erupted into a cacophony of whispers, the harsh judgments and pointing fingers filtering directly into Emma's ears.Yet, Emma simply curled her lips into a faint smile again, her entire posture visibly relaxing.Back then, her parents had explicitly told her that the Lockwood family business was pivoting into the financial sector, and they desperately needed someone with a finance degree to help her brother.That was why, despite being the top student in the state, she was forced to abandon her local college exams and move halfway across the world all by herself.Otherwise, with her stellar grades, she could have had her pick of any elite university in the country. She never would have had to suffer the grueling hardships of studying abroad.She had been completely kept in the dark about this whole fake heiress situation.Emma beamed at them. Her parents had tricked her into leaving, the entire Lockwood family had lied to her for six years, and now they were pulling a stunt like this at the engagement party she had been so looking forward to.Did they honestly think she was still that naive, obedient little girl who would sacrifice everything for the family's glory?Inside Lockwood Manor, Emma stood in the bathroom, trying to salvage her wine-soaked dress.The mirror reflected her slender, upright posture and her distinctly aloof elegance.She looked up at her own reflection, a razor-sharp glint of frost in her eyes.Emma closed her eyes for a brief second, slowly curling her lips into her usual gentle, harmless smile, and turned to walk out.Violet immediately spoke up the moment she saw her step out."This is all my fault. When I found out the truth back then, I just couldn't bear to cast you out of the Lockwoods. After all, I raised you with my own two hands. I also thought making a big deal out of it would be too messy to handle, so I never made it public."Violet's voice trembled with self-blame, her eyes brimming with guilt.She felt she had failed both Emma, her adopted daughter, and Gillian, her own flesh and blood."Mom, you're being so foolish," Gillian scolded. "If I hadn't exposed the truth at the engagement party today, the Harringtons would have found out eventually, and who knows how irreparably damaged our families' relationship would have been."Violet mumbled, her lips trembling, "I wanted to tell Emma yesterday, but seeing how happy she was, I just didn't have the heart. Besides, she and Percy grew up together, they genuinely have feelings for each other...""Feelings? The second I told him she was a fake, Percy turned around and walked right out. You think Percy would have ever dated her if it weren't for the Lockwood family's influence?" Gillian shot back fiercely.Emma completely ignored them, taking a seat on the sofa. She poured herself a glass of water before finally asking:"My identity, my relationship, my family—if it's all a lie, then what is the truth? If I'm not a Lockwood, then who am I?"Gillian was infuriated by Emma's calm demeanor. What right did she have to sit there looking so unbothered?"You're just a thief who stole my life! When Mom got into that car accident and had to have emergency surgery in that small-town hospital, the doctors made it crystal clear that she only gave birth to me."Gillian rolled her eyes dramatically. "Your real mother was some trashy laborer. She was so malicious that after she swapped us, she didn't even want to raise me and tossed me into a dumpster. Otherwise, the two of you could be having a touching family reunion right now."Emma lowered her gaze.That meant no one in the family had ever actually tested her DNA to confirm they weren't related."Emma, I know this is a lot to process, but it's the truth. Gillian really is my biological daughter. As for your real parents, if you want to find them, we can hire someone to help you," Violet offered guiltily.Seeing Emma's continued silence, Gillian raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're still scheming to stay with the Lockwoods and play the heiress?""If you want to stay, I suppose I..."Before Violet could finish her sentence, Gillian loudly interrupted. "Mom! I told you I despise her! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had to suffer for seventeen years! She even slapped me twice today!"Just bringing it up made Gillian grind her teeth in pure resentment.But having been publicly humiliated at the banquet, she wasn't sure exactly what Emma was capable of. No matter how much she hated her, she didn't dare strike first, settling for glaring viciously at Emma instead."Your disgusting mother threw me in a dumpster! Mrs. Pamela Palmer saved my life, or I would have died right then and there! Pamela was always sick, so from the moment I could walk, I was digging through trash for recyclables. Once I was a little older, I worked illegal odd jobs. When I was seventeen, I barely weighed eighty pounds and had severe anemia and malnutrition..."Violet was weeping by the end of the story, frantically rubbing Gillian's back. "Emma, Gillian truly went through hell out there. She suffered the life that was meant for you!"Emma let out a soft chuckle, a sound that instantly froze both Violet and Gillian in their tracks."I wasn't the one who swapped us, and I wasn't the one who made her suffer. Why on earth am I the one being blamed for it now?"She slowly stood up, looking Violet dead in the eye with unwavering clarity."When the family business was pivoting to finance, you and Dad forced me to go abroad. I had to reject my acceptance to the best university in Capital City and leave home completely alone at seventeen. For six agonizing years, do you know how many times I told you I missed you and begged to come visit? How could you be so heartless as to keep me in the dark?""Your biological daughter had a miserable life, but I was pushed to the brink of death multiple times over the last six years too. Who am I supposed to blame for that?"Emma had always convinced herself that their emotional distance and neglect over the last six years were due to some unavoidable business stress. She never imagined this was the real reason.While she had spent every holiday utterly alone, crying because she missed her family, they had completely erased her from their minds, living a picture-perfect life without her.A fierce storm of resentment raged inside Emma, yet her face grew increasingly calm."I can leave. But I want a DNA test with both of you. The moment the results confirm it, I'm gone."Gillian could no longer hold back. Her fists clenched tightly, her face contorting with rage as she glared at Emma."A DNA test? Who the hell do you think you are, trying to cling to the Lockwood family like a parasite?!""Our family has done more than enough for you all these years. Mom secretly wired you money so you could leverage the Lockwoods' resources to finish an elite degree abroad. What more do you want?"She spun around to face Violet. "Mom, I know exactly how you've been secretly funding her all these years. I just never brought it up. But today, you have to kick her out. I hate her! I refuse to let the person who stole seventeen years of my life stand in my house!"Eaten alive by guilt, Violet nodded frantically and immediately turned to Emma. "Just go. We don't need a DNA test. We investigated everything thoroughly. There's no mistake.""Mom, are you seriously going to make me leave under this cloud of suspicion?" Emma was genuinely perplexed.It was just a DNA test. It wouldn't take much time at all, so why were they so terrified of letting her take one?And who exactly was this Pamela that Gillian kept mentioning?Violet was caught between desperately consoling Gillian and trying to brush Emma off, her voice cracking with frantic urgency."Emma, you aren't my daughter. I can't keep you here just so you can bully Gillian."Emma stared at the woman she had called Mom for over two decades. Hearing such viciously cruel words felt like a physical blow to her chest, yet her eyes remained as calm and unreadable as a deep, still well.It suddenly clicked for her. Violet hadn't defended her at the engagement party because her choice had already been made. She had chosen Gillian, and she had made that choice six years ago.Right at that moment, Charles Lockwood strode through the front door."Why are you still here? Did they not explain the situation clearly enough for you?" Mr. Lockwood's eyes were filled with heavy irritation before he shot his wife a blaming look. "I assumed you had told her about this ages ago. Look at this mess—now both the Lockwoods and the Harringtons are a complete laughingstock!""I saw how devoted Percy was to Emma. She's been abroad for so long, and Percy never once mentioned breaking the engagement. Consolidating our families wasn't a bad idea, I just never expected..."Violet bit her lip. She had genuinely never expected Gillian to harbor such explosive hatred for Emma after all these years."Mom, are you blaming me?" Gillian's eyes instantly welled with tears of victimhood as she collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing loudly. "It's all my fault. I should have just died in that dumpster. I never should have come back to the Lockwoods and ruined your perfect, happy family.""No, no, sweetheart, that's not what I meant at all." Violet panicked at the sight of her daughter's tears, rushing over to comfort her with endless apologies.Mr. Lockwood's face softened with undeniable heartache as he spoke gently, "How could this possibly be your fault? This is on Mom and Dad. We don't blame you at all."As he spoke, he glanced over at Emma. Noticing the faint, unnerving smile permanently etched on her face, he felt a sudden chill. He immediately stepped in front of Gillian to shield her, snapping angrily at Emma."What the hell is with that look? You've been smirking ever since the banquet. Do you just not give a damn about the Lockwoods, or are you trying to intimidate someone?You've lived a life of luxury in this house for years. Instead of showing an ounce of gratitude, you had the nerve to lay your hands on Gillian! You should be thanking me that I haven't made you pay for that yet!"Wiping away non-existent tears, Gillian stood up. "Dad, I heard it wasn't just money the family gave her. She has shares in the company. I don't even have a single share. I guess you really do love her more."That jogged Mr. Lockwood's memory. When Emma was seven, the family was transitioning from their pharmaceutical roots to establish their new financial firm. To celebrate the launch, he had gifted Emma thirty percent of the pharmaceutical company's shares as a birthday present.Over time, the pharmaceutical branch was outsourced to external managers while the Lockwoods focused entirely on expanding their financial empire, leading everyone to completely forget about those original shares.He immediately glared at Emma, his tone demanding. "Hand over your shares in the pharmaceutical company right now."Chapter 3"Professor, it's completely fine that you couldn't make it. It's just an engagement party today."Emma smiled warmly, chatting affectionately with her mentor overseas, a highly respected titan in the global medical field."Exactly. When I actually get married, you and the rest of the team have to be there. Otherwise, I'll be furious, and no amount of apologizing will fix it."Emma hung up the phone with a laugh, hurriedly smoothed out the skirt of her gown at the urging of the event staff, and stepped into the banquet hall.Today was the day she was officially getting engaged to the heir of the Harrington family.Having been sent abroad by her family at the age of seventeen, this was Emma's first time back in the country.For the past six years, she had drifted alone overseas, her heart constantly yearning for the parents who used to dote on her and the brothers who had always spoiled her."Mom, Dad," Emma walked over, her voice trembling slightly with excitement as her eyes searched the room. "Where are my brothers? Why aren't they here?"She was so focused on looking for them that she completely missed her father's ice-cold expression and her mother's conflicted, hesitant demeanor."You're calling them Mom and Dad, so what the hell am I supposed to call them?"A girl about Emma's age stood up, striding over to her with an arrogant, dismissive glare.Emma looked her up and down. "And you are?""I'm the only daughter of the Lockwood family. The true heiress, Gillian Lockwood."Emma froze, assessing the girl once more before her eyes curved into an amused smile. "Is this some kind of joke?"The moment the words left her mouth, Gillian grabbed a wine glass from the nearby table and threw the red wine directly into Emma's face.Emma tilted her head with lightning reflexes, but she still couldn't avoid getting her hair and half of her shoulder drenched."If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to ever show my face in this country again," Gillian sneered in disgust.A faint smile still lingered on Emma's lips, but in a flash, her left hand shot out, grabbing Gillian by the hair before delivering two sharp, echoing slaps across her face.The once-bustling banquet hall plunged into a dead silence, the sudden violence leaving the crowd utterly stunned.Gillian was completely dazed by the blows, clutching her stinging cheeks as she stared at Emma in a mix of shock and fury.Emma's expression hadn't shifted in the slightest; she still wore that faint, even-tempered smile.She even gently smoothed out Gillian's messy hair, her voice soft and measured. "You dare cause a scene at the engagement banquet between the Lockwoods and the Harringtons? Are you tired of living a comfortable life?""Ah! Dad! Mom!" Gillian finally snapped out of it, screaming as she looked toward Mr. Lockwood and Violet."You ungrateful brat! How dare you hit my daughter?"Mr. Lockwood looked at Gillian with overwhelming heartache before whipping around to furiously reprimand Emma.Emma's heart sank, but she kept the bright smile plastered on her face."I don't understand what you mean, Dad. She's your daughter? When did I get a sister?"Gillian lowered her hands from her face, the pure hatred in her eyes practically overflowing."Sister? In your dreams! You aren't a Lockwood at all. You've been stealing my identity this whole time. Not only did you con my parents, but you're even trying to con your way into a marriage today!"The accusation was so absurd that Emma genuinely laughed out loud.Violet, who had been busy comforting Gillian, shot Emma a resentful glare."Emma, Gillian is my biological daughter. We brought her back home six years ago. Even if you can't accept the truth, how... how could you hit her?!"During her six years abroad, Violet had been the only one who occasionally checked in on Emma.Coming from her, Emma had no choice but to believe it.The smile on her face finally vanished, replaced by an inexplicably intimidating aura."What do you mean she's your biological daughter? Then who am I?"Gillian was seething."Stop acting! You fake! The moment I came home, you conveniently left the country. You were just terrified I'd expose you!"Emma looked at Mr. Lockwood and Violet.Mr. Lockwood's expression was a mix of fury and disgust, clearly silently agreeing with Gillian's accusation.Violet's face flickered with a brief moment of hesitation. Her lips parted, but she ultimately said nothing.The banquet hall erupted into a cacophony of whispers, the harsh judgments and pointing fingers filtering directly into Emma's ears.Yet, Emma simply curled her lips into a faint smile again, her entire posture visibly relaxing.Back then, her parents had explicitly told her that the Lockwood family business was pivoting into the financial sector, and they desperately needed someone with a finance degree to help her brother.That was why, despite being the top student in the state, she was forced to abandon her local college exams and move halfway across the world all by herself.Otherwise, with her stellar grades, she could have had her pick of any elite university in the country. She never would have had to suffer the grueling hardships of studying abroad.She had been completely kept in the dark about this whole fake heiress situation.Emma beamed at them. Her parents had tricked her into leaving, the entire Lockwood family had lied to her for six years, and now they were pulling a stunt like this at the engagement party she had been so looking forward to.Did they honestly think she was still that naive, obedient little girl who would sacrifice everything for the family's glory?Inside Lockwood Manor, Emma stood in the bathroom, trying to salvage her wine-soaked dress.The mirror reflected her slender, upright posture and her distinctly aloof elegance.She looked up at her own reflection, a razor-sharp glint of frost in her eyes.Emma closed her eyes for a brief second, slowly curling her lips into her usual gentle, harmless smile, and turned to walk out.Violet immediately spoke up the moment she saw her step out."This is all my fault. When I found out the truth back then, I just couldn't bear to cast you out of the Lockwoods. After all, I raised you with my own two hands. I also thought making a big deal out of it would be too messy to handle, so I never made it public."Violet's voice trembled with self-blame, her eyes brimming with guilt.She felt she had failed both Emma, her adopted daughter, and Gillian, her own flesh and blood."Mom, you're being so foolish," Gillian scolded. "If I hadn't exposed the truth at the engagement party today, the Harringtons would have found out eventually, and who knows how irreparably damaged our families' relationship would have been."Violet mumbled, her lips trembling, "I wanted to tell Emma yesterday, but seeing how happy she was, I just didn't have the heart. Besides, she and Percy grew up together, they genuinely have feelings for each other...""Feelings? The second I told him she was a fake, Percy turned around and walked right out. You think Percy would have ever dated her if it weren't for the Lockwood family's influence?" Gillian shot back fiercely.Emma completely ignored them, taking a seat on the sofa. She poured herself a glass of water before finally asking:"My identity, my relationship, my family—if it's all a lie, then what is the truth? If I'm not a Lockwood, then who am I?"Gillian was infuriated by Emma's calm demeanor. What right did she have to sit there looking so unbothered?"You're just a thief who stole my life! When Mom got into that car accident and had to have emergency surgery in that small-town hospital, the doctors made it crystal clear that she only gave birth to me."Gillian rolled her eyes dramatically. "Your real mother was some trashy laborer. She was so malicious that after she swapped us, she didn't even want to raise me and tossed me into a dumpster. Otherwise, the two of you could be having a touching family reunion right now."Emma lowered her gaze.That meant no one in the family had ever actually tested her DNA to confirm they weren't related."Emma, I know this is a lot to process, but it's the truth. Gillian really is my biological daughter. As for your real parents, if you want to find them, we can hire someone to help you," Violet offered guiltily.Seeing Emma's continued silence, Gillian raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're still scheming to stay with the Lockwoods and play the heiress?""If you want to stay, I suppose I..."Before Violet could finish her sentence, Gillian loudly interrupted. "Mom! I told you I despise her! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had to suffer for seventeen years! She even slapped me twice today!"Just bringing it up made Gillian grind her teeth in pure resentment.But having been publicly humiliated at the banquet, she wasn't sure exactly what Emma was capable of. No matter how much she hated her, she didn't dare strike first, settling for glaring viciously at Emma instead."Your disgusting mother threw me in a dumpster! Mrs. Pamela Palmer saved my life, or I would have died right then and there! Pamela was always sick, so from the moment I could walk, I was digging through trash for recyclables. Once I was a little older, I worked illegal odd jobs. When I was seventeen, I barely weighed eighty pounds and had severe anemia and malnutrition..."Violet was weeping by the end of the story, frantically rubbing Gillian's back. "Emma, Gillian truly went through hell out there. She suffered the life that was meant for you!"Emma let out a soft chuckle, a sound that instantly froze both Violet and Gillian in their tracks."I wasn't the one who swapped us, and I wasn't the one who made her suffer. Why on earth am I the one being blamed for it now?"She slowly stood up, looking Violet dead in the eye with unwavering clarity."When the family business was pivoting to finance, you and Dad forced me to go abroad. I had to reject my acceptance to the best university in Capital City and leave home completely alone at seventeen. For six agonizing years, do you know how many times I told you I missed you and begged to come visit? How could you be so heartless as to keep me in the dark?""Your biological daughter had a miserable life, but I was pushed to the brink of death multiple times over the last six years too. Who am I supposed to blame for that?"Emma had always convinced herself that their emotional distance and neglect over the last six years were due to some unavoidable business stress. She never imagined this was the real reason.While she had spent every holiday utterly alone, crying because she missed her family, they had completely erased her from their minds, living a picture-perfect life without her.A fierce storm of resentment raged inside Emma, yet her face grew increasingly calm."I can leave. But I want a DNA test with both of you. The moment the results confirm it, I'm gone."Gillian could no longer hold back. Her fists clenched tightly, her face contorting with rage as she glared at Emma."A DNA test? Who the hell do you think you are, trying to cling to the Lockwood family like a parasite?!""Our family has done more than enough for you all these years. Mom secretly wired you money so you could leverage the Lockwoods' resources to finish an elite degree abroad. What more do you want?"She spun around to face Violet. "Mom, I know exactly how you've been secretly funding her all these years. I just never brought it up. But today, you have to kick her out. I hate her! I refuse to let the person who stole seventeen years of my life stand in my house!"Eaten alive by guilt, Violet nodded frantically and immediately turned to Emma. "Just go. We don't need a DNA test. We investigated everything thoroughly. There's no mistake.""Mom, are you seriously going to make me leave under this cloud of suspicion?" Emma was genuinely perplexed.It was just a DNA test. It wouldn't take much time at all, so why were they so terrified of letting her take one?And who exactly was this Pamela that Gillian kept mentioning?Violet was caught between desperately consoling Gillian and trying to brush Emma off, her voice cracking with frantic urgency."Emma, you aren't my daughter. I can't keep you here just so you can bully Gillian."Emma stared at the woman she had called Mom for over two decades. Hearing such viciously cruel words felt like a physical blow to her chest, yet her eyes remained as calm and unreadable as a deep, still well.It suddenly clicked for her. Violet hadn't defended her at the engagement party because her choice had already been made. She had chosen Gillian, and she had made that choice six years ago.Right at that moment, Charles Lockwood strode through the front door."Why are you still here? Did they not explain the situation clearly enough for you?" Mr. Lockwood's eyes were filled with heavy irritation before he shot his wife a blaming look. "I assumed you had told her about this ages ago. Look at this mess—now both the Lockwoods and the Harringtons are a complete laughingstock!""I saw how devoted Percy was to Emma. She's been abroad for so long, and Percy never once mentioned breaking the engagement. Consolidating our families wasn't a bad idea, I just never expected..."Violet bit her lip. She had genuinely never expected Gillian to harbor such explosive hatred for Emma after all these years."Mom, are you blaming me?" Gillian's eyes instantly welled with tears of victimhood as she collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing loudly. "It's all my fault. I should have just died in that dumpster. I never should have come back to the Lockwoods and ruined your perfect, happy family.""No, no, sweetheart, that's not what I meant at all." Violet panicked at the sight of her daughter's tears, rushing over to comfort her with endless apologies.Mr. Lockwood's face softened with undeniable heartache as he spoke gently, "How could this possibly be your fault? This is on Mom and Dad. We don't blame you at all."As he spoke, he glanced over at Emma. Noticing the faint, unnerving smile permanently etched on her face, he felt a sudden chill. He immediately stepped in front of Gillian to shield her, snapping angrily at Emma."What the hell is with that look? You've been smirking ever since the banquet. Do you just not give a damn about the Lockwoods, or are you trying to intimidate someone?You've lived a life of luxury in this house for years. Instead of showing an ounce of gratitude, you had the nerve to lay your hands on Gillian! You should be thanking me that I haven't made you pay for that yet!"Wiping away non-existent tears, Gillian stood up. "Dad, I heard it wasn't just money the family gave her. She has shares in the company. I don't even have a single share. I guess you really do love her more."That jogged Mr. Lockwood's memory. When Emma was seven, the family was transitioning from their pharmaceutical roots to establish their new financial firm. To celebrate the launch, he had gifted Emma thirty percent of the pharmaceutical company's shares as a birthday present.Over time, the pharmaceutical branch was outsourced to external managers while the Lockwoods focused entirely on expanding their financial empire, leading everyone to completely forget about those original shares.He immediately glared at Emma, his tone demanding. "Hand over your shares in the pharmaceutical company right now."