Chapter 2

"Sera Wood, you are so incredibly vain! You’re just a maid's daughter. How dare you brag about paying for the entire company's dinner!"

"Exactly! If Chloe hadn't generously stepped in and covered the bill for us tonight, you’d be exposed as a total fraud!"

"Apologize to Chloe right now, or I’m calling the police for wire fraud and damaging the company's reputation!"

The deafening screech of insults rang in my ears. Jostled by the aggressive crowd of colleagues around me, I snapped back to reality.

Looking at the familiar, angry faces of my coworkers, it finally clicked. I had been reborn.

I was back to the day Chloe used that malware to set me up, forcing me to make a fool of myself at the gala.

Just seconds ago, the digital payment authorization I signed had mysteriously failed.

And Chloe had immediately stepped up, swiped her card to pay the bill, and loudly announced to everyone that I was just the daughter of her family’s housekeeper.

Suddenly, a clear, intrusive thought flashed in my mind. It was Chloe’s inner voice!

*【Sign it, you idiot! The software is already running. Once the authorization goes through, all your family's cash will flow directly into my account!】*

I understood everything in an instant.

Seeing my silence, Chloe pushed through the crowd, putting on a fake, concerned face.

"Sera, I didn't mind when you secretly wore my designer dresses left at the office, or when you borrowed my limited-edition handbags to show off on Snapchat. But how could you write a bad check at a major company event?"

"We all know you don't have the money to pay for this. Just apologize. Otherwise, I won't be able to defend you in front of the regional manager anymore!"

Looking at the malicious greed in her eyes, I knew she was trying to bait me into a prideful rage.

In my past life, I had fallen for it.

I had angrily thrown my black card on the table, telling everyone to order whatever they wanted.

But when the servers went to process the payment, the card reader blared:

"Transaction Declined. Insufficient Funds. Please try again."

In contrast, Chloe had swept in like a savior, transferring millions to cover everything, even promising to pay for all future company outings.

I became the office pariah—a vain, pathetic imposter—while Chloe became the beloved, generous billionaire heiress.

As I was calculating my next move, my boyfriend, Jackson, suddenly broke through the crowd.

He was the golden boy of our marketing team. Tonight, he was dripping in designer clothes, wearing a luxury watch worth a hundred grand on his wrist—all bought with my money. He pointed a finger at me, disgust written all over his face.

"Sera Wood! I actually believed you were from a wealthy family. Turns out you’re just a cheap fraud! If you hadn't practically begged me and acted like my loyal little puppy for the past year, I wouldn't have looked at you twice. We are over. Don't ever contact me again!"

But he was the one who had practically begged me on his knees to date him after drooling over my luxury lifestyle posts on Instagram.

If he hadn't been decent-looking and competent at his job, I wouldn't have bothered keeping him as a pet.

But now, he looked at me like I was toxic waste, violently shoving me back to make sure everyone saw him cutting ties with me.

The onlookers cheered, congratulating Jackson on escaping a "gold-digger."

Ha. A gold-digger?

I gave him a hundred-thousand-dollar monthly allowance. And they called him the victim.

Just as I opened my mouth to expose them, Chloe’s eyes welled with fake tears, and she slapped me across the face.

"Sera, why can't you just admit you're wrong? Your mother is a housekeeper at my estate, but I’ve always treated you like a sister! All you had to do was say sorry, and I would have forgiven you. Why do you have to keep lying?"

"Admit it? Fine. I’ll admit it right now."

I held my red, stinging cheek, stood up straight, and raised my voice so the entire room could hear:

"You’re right. I, Sera Wood, am just a maid’s daughter! I was vain, I pretended to be Chloe, and I made a promise I couldn't keep. I was wrong!"

"I hope the great heiress Chloe Finch can find it in her heart to forgive a poor maid's daughter like me."