Abandoned by My Parents, I Became an Outcast Overnight

When the real heiress returned home, my parents abandoned me, and I became an outcast overnight.

My fiancé broke off our engagement to marry the real heiress instead.

The only one willing to take me in was a scholarship student I used to sponsor.

He suggested we start a business together, but everyone thought it was a ridiculous idea.

But I agreed in a heartbeat. When the real heiress heard about it, she scoffed,

"I bet the money you make won't even match the monthly allowance my husband gives me!"

I just smiled.

'She has no idea that this scholarship student will one day be the richest man in the country!'

1

"You've spent over twenty years as the Lockwood heiress in my place. It's time you gave me back what's rightfully mine."

Zara Lockwood stared at me haughtily, a vicious look in her eyes.

I still remember what she looked like when she first returned to the Lockwood Family.

It was a rainy winter day. My adoptive parents and I had just left a charity gala when Zara Lockwood dropped to her knees before us.

"Mom, Dad, I've finally found you."

Zara Lockwood was wearing a simple, coarse-spun dress, with no makeup on her face.

Heaven knows how long she had been waiting there. Her hair and clothes were soaked through, making her already slender frame look all the more pitiful.

When a gust of wind blew, she would tremble as she spoke.

Reporters from all the major media outlets were gathered outside. With their keen instincts for a scoop, they certainly weren't going to miss a story that could rock the entire country's financial world.

"Excuse me, miss, what is your relationship to the Lockwood Family?"

"Could she be Mr. Lockwood's illegitimate daughter?"

One microphone after another was shoved in Zara Lockwood's face.

"I..." Zara Lockwood stammered, her cheeks flushing.

She shielded her eyes from the camera flashes, clearly overwhelmed by the spectacle.

But before Zara Lockwood could answer, she fainted and collapsed.

Caught in such a media firestorm, my adoptive parents had no choice but to have Zara Lockwood taken to the hospital.

Having navigated the treacherous waters of financial circles for years, they knew better than anyone how to project an image of effortless control and masterful strategy.

It was the first time I'd ever seen a flicker of uncertainty in their eyes in front of the cameras.

'Yes, Zara Lockwood looked so much like them.'

Zara Lockwood's features were small and delicate, and her thin lips were the spitting image of my adoptive father's.

My features, on the other hand, were a little too sharp.

When I first joined the Lockwood Group, people said that in a power suit, I looked every bit the part of a young, elite professional.

My proposals were flawless and meticulous, and during business negotiations, I radiated confidence, knowing exactly when to push and when to yield.

"As expected of President Lockwood's daughter."

Hearing those words always made me happy, so I worked even harder on every task assigned to me.

But now, looking at Zara Lockwood lying in that hospital bed, a sense of panic washed over me.

Although there had been occasional rumors at the company, this was the first time I truly started to question my parentage.

'Am I really not their biological daughter?'

Before Zara Lockwood even woke up, our whole family underwent DNA testing.

When the results came in, I wasn't as surprised as I'd expected to be.

"Evelyn, whether you're our biological daughter or not, we will always care for you as if you were our own."

My mother pulled me into a tearful hug, while my father stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, saying nothing.

'I knew then that no matter what they said, a chasm had opened between us—one that would never close.'