Since it involved questions of parentage, my parents immediately called in professionals to run a full paternity verification process.
The girl's name was Tanya Lockman. It turned out she truly was their biological daughter who had been switched at birth by a nurse.
After the truth was verified, my parents clustered around her anxiously and instructed the staff to set up a room for her.
Tanya saw that I hadn't moved from my spot. She made a show of rubbing her eyes until they turned red.
"Faye grew up by your side, living in luxury and receiving the best education. I'm just a plain, shabby country girl. How could I possibly deserve to live in the same room as Faye?"
A hint of self-deprecation lingered in her eyes.
"I know I don't deserve it. I'd be grateful just to have a storage room to live in."
The comment section immediately softened with sympathy.
"This impostor has no shame at all. Now that the rightful daughter has returned, she's still hanging on."
"Tanya is smart. She's playing the long game. The parents will soon become fed up with the impostor and sympathize even more with Tanya."
I looked at Tanya in confusion, and then I pointed at myself. "Me, living in luxury?"
Dad shot Tanya a strange look.
"Faye grew up with her grandparents in the countryside. She went to boarding school through middle and high school, and she also attended winter and summer camps. She only returned home in recent years, so her living standards likely weren't any better than yours."
The sympathy in Mom's eyes was instantly replaced with confusion. "What are you talking about, dear?"
Tanya's face turned ashen. She stammered, unable to form a coherent response.
I turned off my phone screen with a faint smile, crediting the 999 fictional tales about rightful and impostor heiresses I had read.
I had come to understand one thing very clearly. The more lavishly the real daughter lived, the stronger the public backlash became when compared to the fake daughter. Because of that, I had never allowed myself to indulge over the years. Instead, I poured every resource into improving myself.
Tanya tried to win sympathy by playing the pitiful victim, but I had already completely cut off that path for her.
Tears welled up in Tanya's eyes as she quietly followed behind me.
Right when Dad brought up my recent internship at the company, Tanya suddenly interrupted in tears, "I'm so envious that Faye gets to shine at the company. Unlike me, I'm so useless I can't even help with anything."
Dad was an entrepreneur who built everything from scratch, and his greatest wish was for his children to be capable enough to protect what he had created.
Seeing how thoughtful Tanya was being, he quickly reassured her, "You and Faye are both good kids. If you want, you can start an internship at the company tomorrow to gain experience."
Tanya's eyes brightened for a moment before she lowered her gaze again.
"I don't have a degree," she said, sounding dejected. "I don't even have any shares to establish authority with the staff. I probably wouldn't be able to handle it."
The moment I heard the word "shares", my guard went up.
In every one of those stories, the parents would leave a share of the company to the impostor daughter, but she wouldn't receive it until she turned 18 years old. I was no different.
My 18th birthday was still a month away.
Dad froze, and a conflicted expression crossed his face. Just as he was about to speak, Tanya beat him to it.
She looked cautious, almost timid. "Dad, you don't have to give me much. Just a small portion of shares will do. I'm not trying to compete with Faye. I just want a little more confidence when I work at the company."
The comment section instantly erupted in cheers.
"Exactly. Take the shares back. Why should they go to that thief?"
"I bet the parents had nothing left to say. After all, the shares had belonged to Tanya. The fake heiress was probably fuming by now. A multi-million-dollar stake had just slipped through her fingers."
Under Tanya's expectant gaze, Dad scratched his head awkwardly. "It's not that we're refusing to give it to you. It's just that the shares have already been transferred into Faye's name. We can't change it."
Tanya let out a sharp shriek, almost losing her composure entirely. "She's not even 18 years old yet. How could the shares already be transferred into her name?"
I exhaled softly in relief, silently applauding my own paranoia.
Due to my fear that I would be kicked out, left penniless, and starving on the streets, I cried and made a scene, begging my parents to change the age on the documents from 18 to eight.
I could only feel at ease once I was sure the money was mine.
Precisely for that reason, Dad had not brought up sending me away since the moment Tanya showed up.
She could replace me if she wanted. But once my money was involved, I was more guarded than anyone.
Tanya was furious. Nothing was unfolding according to the script she had planned. Still, if she didn't stir up chaos, she would fail to live up to her role as the scheming female lead.
As we went upstairs, she intentionally stayed right beside me. The moment I stepped onto the second floor, she suddenly fell backward.
Her eyes widened in shock and fear as she looked up at me. "Faye, why did you push me?"
