Good news: I'm the real daughter of a billionaire. Bad news: I was a fake all along. At a family dinner, the "fake" daughter ran to my parents, soaking wet and looking pitiful. "Sister, why did you throw red wine on me?" I looked around, hugged the 2-liter bottle of soda next to me, and gave her a wide, innocent stare. "Are you talking about me? But I've been drinking Coke this whole time." 1 I am Maya Sterling, the youngest daughter of the Sterling Group. My eldest sister, Olivia, is a gold-medal director who wins awards until her hands are sore, internationally renowned. My older brother, Liam, is the current second-in-command of the Sterling Group, with a limitless future. And me... I am a clueless, useless idiot. Maybe my parents' genes took a wild detour when they made me. Aside from my looks, I didn't inherit a single one of their outstanding talents. Not only that, but my reactions have always been a bit slower than everyone else's. In my sister's words, I was like a Samoyed that snuck into a pack of wolves, getting bullied but still wagging my tail happily, barking, "Big doggies!" Logically, someone at the very bottom of the food chain like me should have been the first cannon fodder sacrificed in any billionaire family feud. But my mom said: "So what if she's a little slow? Two heads are better than one, and we have a whole family to protect her." But my mom was wrong about one thing. Since I couldn't follow the elite billionaire heir route, she dedicated herself to throwing money at me so I could be a carefree, spoiled rich kid. But when other rich kids were thrill-seeking and street racing, I barely managed to pass my driver's test. When they were out partying and binge drinking, I was allergic to alcohol. When they were playing the field and keeping boy toys, the most I dared to do was hold hands. Over time, my mom had to comfort herself. "It's better to be a little slow. It doesn't attract unwanted attention. Keeps the drama away." But even living like this, I still became a target. 2 Liam brought home a frail girl who looked about 70% like me. The moment she saw my mom, she tragically dropped to her knees, crying her eyes out. "Mom, I finally found you!" My dad instantly felt the chicken leg in his bowl lose its flavor. He put down his fork and stared wide-eyed. "What's going on? You have a kid on the outside?!" My mom was horrified. "I didn't! I swear I don't!" The girl crawled on her knees and bowed deeply to my dad. "Dad, I missed you so much!" My mom dropped her panicked expression, put her hands on her hips, and pointed at my dad's nose. "You still have the nerve to ask me! Is this one of your past mistakes?!" The girl on her knees choked back tears, while my parents were still immersed in their game of passing the buck. Neither of them paid her any attention. "Dad, Mom, she says she is the real Maya Sterling." In the end, it was Liam who got straight to the point. "What does that mean? How is that possible?" "I've seen the DNA test report. It's real." "Then what about our youngest?" My mom pointed at me, who was still burying my head in my food. "The youngest is, of course, your biological daughter, my biological sister." Liam's words carried no hesitation. He stood coldly to the side, with no intention of helping the so-called "real" sister up. The girl suddenly raised her head and glared at me fiercely. "She's a fake! If Mom and Dad don't believe me, you can take her for a DNA test. You have no biological connection to her!" Her certainty made Liam frown. My parents didn't respond to her accusation, and Liam continued asking. "So I brought her back to ask you, is this some illegitimate daughter you had on the outside?" My parents shook their heads violently like rattle drums. After a long pause, my mom slapped her forehead. "I know!" I rubbed my forehead and spat out the last chicken bone. Thanks to this farce grabbing their attention, I got to eat all the chicken legs today. Except for the half still in my dad's bowl. My mom's eyes shone brightly, incredibly excited. "It turns out I had twins back then!" 3 Everyone's eyes turned to my mom. The girl was the first to object. "How is that possible? There was clearly only me! I am your only daughter!" "Mom, if you take her for a DNA test, you'll know..." Her words were cut off by my mom. My mom took her hand, pulled her to sit on the sofa, and looked at her with maternal love. "Sweetheart, a piece of flesh fell from my own body, wouldn't I know how much it weighed?" "I always wondered why my belly was so big back then. It must have been twins." "Don't you agree, honey?" My dad showed a look of sudden realization and nodded repeatedly. "I thought it was because you ate too many supplements during the pregnancy. So it was twins." "You almost had a difficult labor back then. It must have been during the panic that the hospital lost one of the babies." Surprisingly, everyone accepted this absurd explanation. Even Liam's expression softened. The girl looked pale, trying to argue further. Her gaze fell on me, as if expecting me to react with violent rejection. But all I could think was: "No wonder my reactions are so slow." This girl's mouth fired off words like it was on 2x speed. All the excellent genes must have gone to her! But I wasn't jealous. I was always going to be last place anyway. What did it matter if I had one more sibling? I frowned. I had eaten a bit too much and was feeling stuffed, which slowed my thinking even more. "So, between the two of us, who is the older sister?" Under the girl's expectant gaze, I threw out a completely useless question. "You be the older sister, Maya. Take care of your new younger sister." My mom smiled brightly, observing the girl's reaction. She bit her lip, seemingly unwilling, but eventually, slowly nodded. "Mom, my life before this was so hard..." She rolled up her sleeves, perhaps intending to show the scars on her arms. My mom stopped her and thoughtfully draped a blanket over her thin clothes. "Sweetheart, let's not talk about the past." "Let's give you a new name." "You are the child we lost to the outside world, so we'll call you... Ava." Ava swallowed her grievances. "Okay, Mom." My mom took Ava's hand and warmly gave her a tour of the house. Overnight, everyone in the Sterling Group, except for Olivia who was away filming, learned of Ava's existence. And Ava's challenge to me officially began at that moment. 4 As expected, Ava crushed me in every aspect. She effortlessly blended into the social circles I couldn't fit into. She played instruments I couldn't master with ease. Indeed, she looked more like a child of the Sterling family than I did. Piled high with money and the ultimate luxury services, Ava never again showed the timidity of our first meeting. She tried multiple times to steer our parents into taking me for a DNA test. But my mom said: "There's no need. Our family doesn't lack the money to raise one more person." At the autumn gala, Ava fluttered through the crowd like a butterfly. Today, her identity as the "Fourth Miss of the Sterling Family" would be officially introduced to high society by our parents. For this day, she had meticulously prepared a haute couture corset gown, the tailored fabric accentuating her proud curves. Ava followed our parents closely, elegantly and confidently toasting and making small talk with everyone. I sat in a corner, discreetly pulling a 2-liter bottle of Coke from under the heavy tablecloth and filling my wine glass. Elegant. Truly too elegant. I swirled the glass and let out a satisfied burp. The only flaw was that room-temperature Coke wasn't stimulating enough, and the carbonation dissipated too quickly. I held my wine glass and strolled leisurely out into the courtyard. I had never been good at handling these big scenes since I was a kid, so I was especially grateful for Ava's existence. While daydreaming, I heard hurried footsteps approaching and instinctively ducked behind some bushes. The heavy, sticky sound of kissing and the rustling of clothes made me blush. Holy crap, who is making out in the garden?! "Tyler... someone might see us..." Ava's soft moans mixed with a man's heavy breathing. "Baby, you look so beautiful today." Tyler was my arranged fiancé. Rather than being surprised that they had hooked up, my main thought made me cover my mouth in a silent scream: Did they not know our family's exterior was covered in full-color, thermal-imaging infrared security cameras?! Thinking of the security guards staring at each other in front of the HD monitors in the control room... Oh my god, I felt embarrassed for them! 5 It took forever for those two to leave, and my legs were numb from squatting. My engagement to Tyler was a verbal agreement made by our elders. A business marriage, very normal. But the two of us never really clicked. Tyler thought I was boring and plain, and I thought Tyler was a player. The engagement kind of just faded away. But it looked like Ava was very happy to be the rebound. Tyler was the sole heir to the Vance family. Old Mr. Vance's marriage plan for him was: "Best to have two kids in the first year, three in two years, the more the better." Looking at Ava's frail frame, I had deep doubts. Oh well, as long as she's happy. Before I could even bend down, lift the tablecloth, and refill my drink, a swaying white figure crashed into me. "Ah! Sister, why did you throw red wine on me?" Ava's eyes were filled with tears, her face pale, as she questioned me, trembling. A large, dark wine-red stain bloomed across her layered skirt. At first glance, it looked like she had just run from a murder scene. Before I had time to react, Tyler was there too. "Maya, how could you bully your sister? Are you jealous that she's better than you?" "Sister definitely didn't do it on purpose, Tyler, don't say that..." The drama at the gala naturally drew everyone's attention. Soon, everyone noticed the corner where I was standing. Under the curious, drama-hungry gazes of the bystanders, I slowly hugged the 2-liter bottle of soda next to me, my eyes clear and innocent. "Are you talking about me? But I've been drinking Coke this whole time." Everyone showed a look of utter speechlessness. Tyler kept pushing it. "What kind of person drinks Coke at a gala? You just bullied Ava and won't admit it. Do you know how hard she worked for today..." I didn't know. I really didn't know how hard she worked. "I'm allergic to alcohol. I never drink." "Then you must have snatched Ava's glass!" Then I would have needed to be holding two glasses. I didn't really want to keep arguing with this troll. In the end, Ava interrupted the argument. "It was me who didn't look where I was going and bumped into my sister. It's my fault. I apologize to you, Sister." She bowed deeply to me, tears welling in her eyes, while the onlookers whispered among themselves. Honestly, nobody really cared whose wine it was anyway. Ava's goal was singular: to create the illusion that I was targeting her, thereby establishing her persona as respectful and humble. The rest she left to the rumors and wild guesses. With a teary-eyed Ava in front of me and an aggressive Tyler behind me, I felt a bit distressed. This was broken by an elegant, tall figure. Olivia's long, slender fingers lifted Ava's chin, a half-smile on her face. "You're very talented. Want to be the female lead in my new movie?" 6 Ava accepted, flattered and overwhelmed. A spot in Olivia's movies was hard to come by, let alone the lead role. After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to hint to Olivia to be careful of Ava. Stuttering in front of Olivia for a while, I only managed to squeeze out one sentence. "She's not a good person." Olivia blew a smoke ring at me, watching with a smile as I pinched my nose and coughed. "If you're worried, come join the crew with me. Big sister will take you to watch a good show." Ava's sudden casting caused a heated debate among the crew. "Director Sterling really does favor talented people." "Look, Ava gets the lead role right away, while Maya can only watch." "I've heard for a long time that Maya is a useless heiress. Maybe the rumors are true, and she's not really a Sterling." I sat under a sunshade drinking juice, watching Ava sweating under the blazing sun. I scoffed at the whispers nearby. I had heard these things so much lately that my ears were growing calluses. Ava's first scene involved wirework over water. Although she had undergone systematic training before shooting, she still looked a bit hesitant. Olivia put her arm around her shoulder and pointed at the award-winning actor, Ethan Cole, not far away. "Ava, your starting point is acting opposite an A-lister. You're already better than so many people." "Don't put pressure on yourself. It doesn't matter if you mess up. You definitely won't be worse than Maya." Since Ava arrived, "little sister" was no longer my exclusive title. Such intimate instructions obviously worked perfectly on Ava. "Sister, I will definitely do a good job!" She nodded confidently. Then came eighteen consecutive NG takes. Olivia strove for perfection and never went easy on anyone. Hoisted high up, dropped heavily down. I thought Ava would call it quits, but she actually pushed through. It wasn't until evening that I understood the meaning behind Ava's actions. A comparison photo of us on set was trending online. #AvaNaturalBornActress #AvaDedication #AvaMayaComparison #WhatIsItLikeToHaveAMeanOlderSister In the photos, Ava was respectfully performing difficult stunts mid-air, while I was sitting with my legs crossed in the shade playing cards on my phone. It wasn't that I didn't want to work. It was that I really wasn't helpful. Despite the internet condemning me for making things difficult for Ava, my mom was the first one to get angry at home. "How many times have I told you not to cross your legs! You never listen!" Okay, my bad. 7 After tagging along with Olivia's crew for a few days, I didn't want to go anymore. Those days, I was secretly photographed 360 degrees by paparazzi, constantly trending alongside Ava and being gossiped about. It was so annoying. However, Ava was enjoying it. Her popularity was soaring, even driving up the Sterling Group's stock. My dad generously transferred 5% of his shares to Ava as a wrap gift. The circles were saying that this was the favored true heiress, and questioning what kind of life Maya lived before—no car, no house, no power. No comparison, no damage. True, I thought they had a point. But I had a mouth. I could ask my parents for money. Having money was good enough. Ava clearly wasn't satisfied. Not only did she have a massive fan base, but she had also gained the family's approval. My mom put two duck legs in her bowl. I admit, I was sour. Ava smiled gently: "Mom, actors need to maintain their figures. I can't eat greasy food. Let my sister have it." "It's okay, you eat it. Your sister had too much meat before, she needs to eat lighter to rest her stomach." Ava's smile twisted slightly, but she quickly adjusted. "Dad, I want to join the family company to learn. Can I?" "Of course. It's good to be proactive. Liam, arrange it." My usually silent second brother nodded. "Is Maya coming too?" I shook my head violently. Making me work a 9-to-5 desk job was akin to prison. I wasn't going. My dad deadpanned a final blow. "Don't force her. Isn't lying around at home nice? It's not like we can't afford the electricity bill." See? This is how my uselessness was cultivated. A week after Ava went to the company to "learn," an anonymous email arrived in the inboxes of the Sterling Group employees. It was the DNA test result between me and my dad. The result showed: "The DNA match between the samples is low. No biological relationship."
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