Chapter 10
I called out without thinking.
The old man looked at me and laughed heartily: “Elena, this must be your precious daughter Skylar, right?”
“Come here, sweetheart, come to Grandpa.”
I stared at Elena in confusion–my mom.
She smiled and nodded at me.
I jogged over and stood at attention: “Hello, Grandpa!”
The old man beamed even brighter, patting my shoulder approvingly.
He turned to address the crowd majestically: “Folks, I’d like you all to meet my daughter Elena and my granddaughter Skylar.”
A wave of congratulations and ass–kissing followed.
From the back of the crowd, Ryder in a sharp suit walked toward me: “Miss Sinclair, shall we?”
I smiled and followed him into the venue, leaving behind Willow, green with envy, and the pale–faced Hartwell family.
The next day, Grandpa Sinclair and Elena personally came to pick me up.
“We’ll handle our own family, thanks.”
The Hartwells looked like they were having various mental breakdowns.
Walking out of the Hartwell mansion, I didn’t look back once.
Two weeks later, SAT scores were released.
I was this year’s valedictorian.
Media outlets went crazy with coverage, praising how only a prestigious family like the Sinclairs could produce such an outstanding heir.
Grandpa couldn’t stop grinning and immediately transferred a massive sum to my account, saying it was to support my college endeavors.
During all this, the Hartwells stayed silent.
Only Camden lost his damn mind and started livestreaming to trash me: “She’s got brains but no class. Without us backing her, she’d still be
trailer trash!”
But he didn’t expect people to immediately dig up the truth:
I’d only been “supported” by the Hartwells for a month, and my situation there was shit–I was even bullied at school by their precious daughter.
Camden and Willow got roasted so hard they disabled comments.
When media dug deeper, they were shocked to discover that my success growing up in the mountains was thanks to Elena’s guidance.
Elena had been valedictorian of her own class years ago.
I was only surprised for a second, then it made perfect sense.
I’d always known Elena was different–her knowledge and grace weren’t typical of rural people.
ha Deal Heiress Here to Wreck the Game!
22.4%
Chapter 10
She just never wanted to talk about the past, so I never asked.
It wasn’t until I returned to the Sinclair family that I learned the truth.
Elena had a fierce personality and chose to cut ties with the Sinclair family rather than accept an arranged marriage.
Later she was in an accident that left her unable to speak.
For someone who’d been a golden child, this was devastating.
When she was ready to end it all, she found me.
She’d tried to help me find my family through contacts, but the Hartwells had given up searching shortly after adopting Willow and had “Skylar Hartwell” declared legally dead.
When nothing came of it, Elena raised me as her own.
Later, when I got my memory back and traveled thousands of miles to find my birth family–all this got exposed by nosy netizens too.
It started because someone noticed I looked remarkably similar to Mrs. Hartwell.
This opened a can of worms.
The Hartwells were exposed for the absurd situation of protecting their fake daughter while treating their real daughter like charity case.
The most damning part: I’d gotten hurt saving Camden all those years ago.
“Camden, you heartless piece of shit!”
The entire Hartwell family got dragged through the mud online.
Camden became the poster boy for “ungrateful piece of shit.”
Finally, someone summed it up perfectly: “Thank God Skylar has the Sinclair family who actually loves her.”
That same day, when I got a call from Mrs. Hartwell, her voice was careful, tentative: “Skylar, baby, will you come home tomorrow? For dinner?”
“No thanks, ma’am.”
Her voice cracked: “But tomorrow is my…”
I didn’t want to hear it. Said I was busy and hung up.
After I put down the phone, I sat on the couch feeling this weird ache in my chest.
Tomorrow was Mrs. Hartwell’s birthday.
I used to desperately want that warmth that comes from real parents.
But want to know what really fucked me up?
The first thing I saw when I got my memory back was this interview–the Hartwells at some piano competition, telling the whole world about their “perfect daughter.”
2
