The Fake Heiress Meets the Real One

I was a stickler for rules. When I was in elementary school, we were supposed to vote for class president, but the teacher simply appointed the principal's daughter instead. Hence, I followed the school rule that whoever received the most votes would win and brought all 42 students to the principal's office to hold a proper vote. After I started working, my boss handed me a 1,500-dollar invoice and told me to claim 15,000 dollars in expenses. I told him that wasn't allowed under company policy, but he said that, in this company, the boss' word was the only rule that mattered. "You need to learn to be flexible," he claimed. "Otherwise, the company may as well replace you with someone more obedient." I nodded, wrote his exact words in the signature section, and sent a copy of the invoice to the tax authorities. "This is a new rule the company has added. It's not up to me. I'm sure you can review it." After that, no one ever asked me to break the rules again. That changed when the Collins family found me, 25 years after I went missing. On the day they officially welcomed me back into the family, I discovered that Blair, their adopted daughter, was listed ahead of me in the family trust as their eldest child. "Mom and Dad put my name there when they adopted me. It'd be difficult to change it now," Blair Collins claimed. "Surely you don't mind?" I looked her straight in the eye. "Are you asking me to accept being listed after you in the family trust so you can keep your status as the eldest daughter? Or are you saying you have no intention of giving up the inheritance and assets that legally belong to me as their firstborn daughter?" The smile on Blair's face froze. My father frowned. "It's just the order of the names. Do you really think we'd take away your inheritance?" I looked up at him. "So am I supposed to understand that my parents know perfectly well that the family rules say the legitimate eldest daughter inherits the family business, yet they're still planning to give that inheritance to an outsider? That breaks the family rules, too." Chapter 1 The family attorney's office fell silent. The family attorney's pen hovered over the family trust documents, but he didn't sign them. My mother was the first to react. "Blair isn't an outsider. She's lived with us for 25 years. She's called us Mom and Dad for 25 years. You've only been back for a year. It's perfectly normal that you're still adjusting." I looked at her. "So I'm the one who needs to adjust?" "That's not what I meant." "Then what did you mean?" I asked. My mother opened her mouth, but no words came out. My older brother, Andrew Collins, stepped forward and stood in front of her. "Renee, Mom hasn't been feeling well lately. Don't keep pushing her. Today is supposed to be a happy day. Do you really have to make everyone uncomfortable?" I turned to him. "How many times did you postpone the family ceremony to officially welcome me home this past year because you said you were busy?" Andrew's expression shifted slightly. I answered for him. "Three times. The first time, Blair had to represent the company at a contract signing. The second time, she was in a car accident. The third time, my fiancé came back from overseas, and Blair had to host his welcome-home party." Joseph Hamilton stood among the guests with his hands clenched tightly. He was the only son of the Hamilton family and the man my family had arranged for me to marry before I disappeared at the age of three. After I returned, my father said the engagement would remain in place. Yet over the past year, Joseph had attended six formal events with Blair. He hadn't found time to attend a single family gathering meant to officially welcome me home. My mother frowned. "Why are you dragging me into this? Blair was seriously injured in that accident, and the welcome-home party had been planned long in advance. Postponing your family gathering by a few days doesn't change the fact that you're our daughter." I nodded. "You're right. If delaying it by a few days doesn't change who I am, then listing Blair as the younger daughter in the family trust won't erase the 25 years of love you've shared with her, either." Blair's eyes immediately turned red. "Renee, don't make things difficult for them. I took the place that should've been yours. I'll have the attorney remove my name right now." She reached for the documents in front of the family attorney. My mother grabbed her wrist. "Who said you could remove your name?" Andrew stepped forward and shielded Blair behind him. "You've been the eldest daughter of the Collins family for 25 years. What gives her the right to come back whenever she wants and demand that you give up your place?" I looked at Andrew. "What do you mean, I came back whenever I wanted? Weren't you the ones who found me?" Andrew's breath caught. Last year, when the Collins family found me, he held me and cried for a long time. He told me that on the day I disappeared at three, he'd been the one who let go of my hand. He said he'd regretted it every night for all those years. He also promised that from then on, he'd make up for everything the family owed me. But for the entire year after I came home, I lived in the guest suite. Blair lived in the master suite on the second floor, the room traditionally reserved for the eldest Collins daughter. The risk assessment I had prepared for the company had been submitted under her name. Even the first gift Joseph gave me had been chosen according to Blair's preferences. Every time I asked why, they gave me the same answers: They were busy. I needed to wait a little longer. Blair was already used to things the way they were. I'd been independent all these years, so I should have an easier time adjusting than she did. Now even the family trust followed the same logic. Blair was listed ahead of me because she'd grown accustomed to her place. I came after her because everyone expected me to accept mine. Cameron Reynolds stepped out from beside my mother. He was four years older than me. When we were children, I always followed him around and called him Cammy. After I disappeared, he spent years helping my family search for me. Yet in the year since my return, every time he spoke up, it was to defend Blair. "Renee, Blair did take things that should've belonged to you, but she didn't do it deliberately. She started learning the business from your dad when she was a teenager. You can't expect her to suddenly hand everything over. She can't accept that," he claimed. I looked at him. "What about me?" He froze. "What?" "I went missing when I was three. 25 years later, I found out I had parents, a brother, and even a fiancé. I've been back for a year. I live in the guest suite, work on projects for Blair, and watch my own fiancé attend events with her." I pointed at the trust documents. "And now I have to be listed behind her. Do you think I can accept all of this just because I'm more willing to put up with it?" Cameron's lips moved slightly. "You grew up on your own. You really are stronger than Blair." I nodded. "So people who can handle more are supposed to keep sacrificing more. Is that another new rule the Collins family came up with?" No one answered. My father's expression darkened. "Have you said enough? Blair has already agreed to transfer some of her shares to you. You've only just returned. You don't know the company or how it operates. Are you seriously expecting her to hand the entire family business over to you?" I asked him, "Does the Collins family charter say the eldest biological daughter inherits control only after she's familiar with the company? Or does it say the eldest biological daughter is the designated heiress?" "Rules are dead. People are alive!" my father snapped. "I understand." I took the trust documents from the family attorney. My father seemed to think I'd finally given in, and his expression softened slightly. Instead, I placed the documents back on the table. "If the rules can be rewritten whenever they're inconvenient for Blair, then there's no point in putting my name in the family trust at all." My mother suddenly grabbed my arm. "Renee Collins, what do you mean?" "You found me a year ago. You didn't prepare a room for me. You didn't straighten out my engagement. You postponed my official welcome three times. And now you can't even acknowledge me as the eldest biological daughter and rightful heiress." I pulled my arm free. "It isn't that you haven't had time to make things up to me. It's that every time Blair has to give up even the smallest thing, you decide I can wait a little longer." Blair stared at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Then what exactly do you want me to do? Move out of the house and give everything back to you?" I shook my head. "I never asked you to leave. I'm only taking back the place that rightfully belongs to me under the Collins family's own rules. If getting back what's mine means you have to leave, then everything you have now was built on the assumption that I would never come back." The color drained from her face. I set the pen back beside the trust documents. "Once you've decided who the Collins family's rightful heiress is, let me know." My father shouted after me, "If you walk out of this place today, don't expect us to ever beg you to come back!" I stopped. "Fine." No one said another word behind me. Chapter 2 The family homecoming ceremony ended badly. Back when I returned to the family estate, the housekeeper, Philip, had carried my luggage to the guest suite in the east wing. A year had passed, yet the plaque on the door still read "Guest Suite." My mother claimed the family had always been busy and simply hadn't gotten around to changing it. Yet Blair's suite had been renovated twice in the past six months. The first renovation had happened because Joseph complained that the lighting in Blair's study wasn't good enough. The second had happened because Cameron worried that the dampness would aggravate Blair's back injury. Andrew had personally overseen both renovations and even picked out her curtains. … I asked Philip, "Why does everyone call that the eldest daughter's suite?" He lowered his head. "Traditionally, the Collins family's eldest daughter has always lived there." "Am I the Collins family's eldest daughter?" I asked. My mother followed me into the room, and irritation crept into her voice. "Here we go again. Blair has lived there for 25 years. If you suddenly make her move out, what will people think of her?" "Then what will people think of me when I'm living in the guest suite?" I shot back. She froze for a moment. Andrew happened to walk over. "Renee, no one thinks of you as a guest." I pointed at the sign on the door. "Then what does that say?" Andrew pressed his lips together. Blair came over when she heard the commotion. "I'll move. I'll move tonight." My mother immediately panicked. "What about your back?" Joseph grabbed Blair's arm. "The doctor said you can't sleep on a hard mattress." Blair gave a bitter smile. "I can't exactly let my sister spend the rest of her life feeling like I stole what belongs to her." Andrew turned to me. "She's willing to move. Are you happy now?" "When she was occupying the room, I was supposed to be the one who adapted. Now that she's ready to give it back, somehow I'm the one forcing her out?" I looked at him. "All I did was ask who the room should belong to." Andrew's expression darkened. "Family isn't about rules." I nodded. "In the family attorney's office, you talk to me about rules. Here at home, you talk to me about feelings. So when will you ever ask Blair to be the one who understands and gives in?" No one said a word. Joseph placed a gift box on the table. "Stop fighting. I prepared this as a welcome-home gift for you." Inside was a watch. Blair wore one from the same brand, but hers was a limited-edition model with only a small number produced worldwide. Mine was a basic model available at any store. Joseph immediately explained, "Blair has worn this brand for years, so I know her tastes pretty well. I thought most girls would like it." I closed the box. "Thank you." He visibly relaxed. Blair smiled too and patted me on the shoulder. "Joseph always puts a lot of thought into his gifts. He went to several stores to find it. Don't let his effort go to waste." I glanced at the watch on Blair's wrist. "Did he buy yours too?" "Yes." "When?" "My birthday three years ago," Blair answered without hesitation. "What model?" Then I looked at Joseph. "What model is mine?" He lowered his head and stared at the box. He couldn't answer. The living room fell silent. I handed the box back to him. "You remember her birthday, her preferences, and even her watch model. But when you bought me a gift, you simply picked something from the same brand she wears. How am I supposed to accept this?" Joseph's face went pale. "Renee, we've only known each other for a year. Feelings take time." "Does our engagement need time too?" I asked. My mother immediately spoke up. "Of course the engagement still stands." "Then why has the engagement party been delayed for a year?" She had no answer. Three months after I returned, the family had planned to hold an engagement party for Joseph and me. But Blair had gotten drunk and had been involved in a car accident. Joseph had stayed by her bedside for three days, and no one had ever mentioned the engagement party again. Everyone had said saving a life was more important. I hadn't objected then. Now, I was simply asking for an explanation. "The engagement belongs to me." I pointed at Blair. "But the feelings belong to her. Is that what you're saying?" Joseph's eyes reddened. Cameron immediately pulled him to his side. "Renee, do you have to be so harsh? Joseph has spent this entire year trying to accept you." "Why does accepting me require effort? What exactly about me is so difficult for him to accept?" I demanded. Cameron had no answer. Andrew rubbed his temples. "Enough. Everyone's already exhausted." I nodded. "Fine." For the first time in the year since I'd returned to the family, I stopped pressing them for answers. I closed the door to the guest suite and sent a message to my former boss, Desiree Taylor. [Ms. Taylor, is the position you said you'd keep open for me still available?] She replied almost instantly. [It always has been.] I glanced at the "Guest Suite" sign on the door. [I'll be back next week.] Chapter 3 My father had no idea I was planning to leave. The next day, he called me into the Collins Group's conference room. The West District Data Center was the company's biggest project of the year. Blair was in charge of moving the project forward, while I was responsible for the risk assessment. My father claimed the arrangement was meant to help me integrate into the family business as quickly as possible. Yet for the past three months, every risk report I'd prepared had been submitted under Blair's name. If the project went smoothly, she got the credit. If something went wrong with the paperwork, however, I was the one who had to sign off as the risk officer. This time was no different. Blair pushed the construction authorization form toward me. "Renee, sign this." I went through the documents, then pushed them back. "The fire safety inspection is fake. The contractor was blacklisted last month. I can't sign this." My father tapped his fingers against the table. "Start construction first. We can sort out the paperwork afterward. The investors are already here. We can't afford to damage our reputation." "Whoever approved it can sign it." Blair gave a bitter smile. "I know you're still upset about the family trust. But this is business. Family matters are separate." "I'm not upset." I pointed to the inspection certificate. "This stamp is fake." Andrew, who headed the group's legal department, was also sitting in the conference room. He barely glanced at the document before closing the file. "Sign it first. I'll take care of the rest later." "How?" "We'll get the paperwork sorted." "What if we can't?" I pressed. Andrew's patience began to wear thin. "I'm your own brother. Do you really think I'd hurt you?" I looked him in the eye. "Precisely because you're the head of legal, you know better than anyone what could happen if I sign this." He didn't answer. Joseph was attending the meeting as a representative of the Hamiltons. He tried to persuade me. "Blair has spent a year preparing for this project. Once the data center is completed, she'll officially be able to join the board. Don't stop her when she's this close." I looked at him. "What about me?" "What?" "If the project succeeds, she gets a seat on the board. If something goes wrong, I could go to prison. Do you think that's fair?" I argued. He pressed his lips together. "Nothing's going to happen." "Then let her sign it." Blair's fingers tightened. Cameron was there too as an advisor to the investors. He'd watched Blair grow up, and once again, he spoke up in her defense. "Renee, Blair isn't afraid to sign. She's the group's successor. She can't afford to have a risk violation on her record." I nodded. "So her future can't have a stain on it, but mine can." Silence fell over the conference room. My father slapped the authorization form down in front of me. "Has this family raised you?" "No." His face darkened. "Has this family given you your status?" "My name hasn't even been added to the family trust yet." "Have we given you any money?" "I haven't touched a single cent in the bank account." With every answer, my father's expression darkened further. Finally, he gritted his teeth. "Then after coming back this past year, what exactly have you gotten from this family?" I looked at my brother, my fiancé, and the friend I'd grown up next door to. "I'd like to know that myself." Blair stood up, tears welling in her eyes. "Don't pressure her anymore. I won't join the board." My mother walked through the door just in time to hear her. She immediately rushed over and wrapped her arms around Blair. "You've worked for a whole year. Why should you give up your seat?" Then she turned to me. "Renee, all you're being asked to do is sign one document. What Blair stands to lose is her entire future!" I closed the file. "I understand." My mother's expression relaxed slightly. She clearly thought I'd finally given in. Instead, I pulled a resignation letter from my bag. "This is my resignation from the Collins Group. From today onward, this project has nothing to do with me." My father shot to his feet. "How dare you?!" "Why wouldn't I?" "You're a member of the Collins family!" he barked. "When you need someone to take responsibility, I'm a member of the Collins family. But when it comes to rooms, the family trust, and inheritance rights, I'm supposed to be understanding because she's lived here for 25 years." I placed my employee ID on the table. "I can't accept either set of rules." My father laughed in disbelief. "Where do you think you can go after leaving the Collins Group?" Just then, my phone rang. Desiree had only one thing to say. "Miss Collins, the board voted unanimously. The partnership agreement with Tranquil Risk Management is waiting for you to come back and sign." I hung up. The smile on my father's face froze. Chapter 4 I didn't tell anyone the day I moved out of the family estate. Calling it a move was generous. I only had two suitcases. A year ago, I'd arrived with those same two suitcases. The suits in my closet were ones my mother had mistakenly bought in Blair's size and left for me. Even the scarf Andrew had given me was originally meant for Blair. The family portrait on my desk had been retaken just to squeeze me into the frame. Blair stood at the very center. They'd placed me at the far edge. I took only my documents and laptop. The watch Joseph had given me stayed behind on the desk. The sign on the door still read "Guest Suite." Perfect. Once I was gone, they wouldn't even have to change it back. - The day Renee returned to her former company, the West District Data Center officially broke ground. Blair wore a custom-made suit as she cut the ribbon onstage. Andrew personally handled the project's legal procedures, while Joseph stood beside Blair and announced an additional investment on behalf of the Hamiltons. Cameron posted on social media: [Some people only stir up trouble. The ones who actually get things done are the ones who solve problems.] In the photo, everyone surrounded Blair. She had finally secured the seat on the board she'd always wanted. Renee's mother, Vera Stein, sent a video of the ceremony to the family group chat. [Blair took the most important step of her life today. If you still consider yourself part of this family, come back and apologize to her.] - I left the group chat. At the office, Desiree pushed the partnership agreement across the desk toward me. "You've been gone for a year, and the department's been a complete mess. Some people said you were too rigid. I think risk management needs someone with the guts to refuse to sign." I lowered my head and signed my name. Desiree looked at me. "What are you going to do about the Collins?" "Nothing." "You're really not going back?" "They don't need me." I capped my pen. "And I don't need their acknowledgment." The Collins, however, remained convinced that I was merely throwing a tantrum. - On the third day after construction began on the data center, regulators conducted another surprise inspection. They discovered that the fire safety documents were fraudulent. The project was immediately suspended, and the investors demanded that the person responsible for risk management come forward. Blair waited for Renee in the group's conference room for three hours. When Renee didn't show up, Blair finally called her. "Renee, let's put the project aside for now. Dad said that as long as you come back and sign off on it, we can reconsider your position in the family trust," she said. "What happens after I sign?" Renee asked. "We'll get through the crisis in front of us first. Your name can stay below mine for now. If the right opportunity comes up in the future, we can change it." Renee let out a quiet laugh. "You want me to shoulder the responsibilities of the legitimate eldest daughter, yet you won't even give me the title of the legitimate eldest daughter. Blair, you're the one who's good at being flexible." Blair's voice turned cold. "We're family. Do you really have to take things this far?" "You're family. I'm not." With that, Renee hung up. … That night, Renee's father, Gideon Collins, issued his final ultimatum in the family group chat. [9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Get your ass back to the group and sign. If you don't come, I'll have the family attorney remove your name from the family trust entirely.] Andrew immediately followed with a message. [Renee, don't push Dad this far.] Joseph tried to persuade her too. [Blair just joined the board. She can't be saddled with responsibility for fraud right away.] Cameron was even more direct. [You spent 25 years growing up alone out there because you wanted a family, didn't you? If they remove your name from the family trust, you'll regret it someday, and there won't be anywhere left for you to cry.] None of them noticed that Renee had already left the family group chat. … At 9:00 a.m. the next morning, Renee didn't show up. In front of the entire board, Gideon called the family attorney. "Remove Renee Collins' name." Vera suddenly looked uneasy. "Shouldn't we wait a little longer?" Gideon scoffed. "She lived out there for 25 years. Isn't being recognized by us what she's been waiting for all this time? Let's scare her a little. She'll come running back." Andrew personally went to Renee's room. Less than a minute later, he came rushing downstairs, his face deathly pale. "Dad, all her belongings are gone." Vera shot to her feet. "What do you mean? When did she move out?" "Yesterday morning," the housekeeper answered softly.