Chapter 4

"Sis, who texted you? Why do you look like you just robbed a bank?"

In that split second, it all clicked. This had to be Maya's doing.

No wonder they'd suddenly handed a deal that size to a beginner like me.

Damn it. The supplier was in Maya's pocket, and for all I knew Joel was in on it too.

Maya smirked and lifted a folder high over her head.

"Mom, Dad, and all of you, aunts and uncles, I have a whistleblower letter right here!"

"Someone had the nerve to use the Sanchez name to extort money, reaching into the filthiest place there is."

"The one who blew the whistle is one of the Sanchez family's biggest suppliers, and the person being accused—"

"is none other than the real heiress this family just brought home, the guest of honor at this very banquet, Daisy Sanchez!"

The ballroom went dead silent, then exploded.

"That's some nerve, back only a few days and already couldn't hold back..."

"No way! She looks like such a quiet, well-behaved girl!"

"That's what they mean by never knowing what's under the surface. What was she even thinking? It's all family money!"

"Oh my, and I just added her on Instagram too!"

My chest cinched tight, the breath jammed there until my ribs ached.

"You're making this up! I only signed my name. I barely said two words to the supplier!"

Maya let out a scornful laugh and turned to walk toward my parents.

"Mom, Dad, take a good look at this!"

"My sister says she suffered enough all these years as the true heiress, and now she wants money to make up for it!"

"She squeezed a ten-percent kickback out of the supplier, and if they refused, she threatened to cut them from the purchasing list."

"If I hadn't gone to inspect this time and happened to catch the signs, they wouldn't have dared breathe a single word!"

My vision went black with rage, and my voice came out tight and rushed, forced through my teeth.

"Lies! Do you have any proof?"

"Proof? Fine, do you dare take out your phone and let me see your bank records?"

"You—"

I ground my teeth, my fists clenched so hard the joints creaked, nails digging deep into my palms.

"They transferred that money to my card out of nowhere. I had no idea!"

"Please, who's going to believe that? Twenty million isn't twenty bucks. A supplier's money doesn't fall out of the sky!"

Watching my parents' faces turn cold, panic surged through me.

"Wait, I can call Lawyer Lambert. He was there that day too!"

Half an hour later, Lawyer Lambert hurried in, and I let out a breath.

"Julian Lambert, help me prove it. Weren't the two of us together the whole time that day?"

Instead, he adjusted his glasses and, of all things, put on a look of surprise.

"Miss Sanchez, what do you mean?"

"We only saw each other at the signing ceremony. Whatever you did privately... I have no idea about that!"

I knew every word he said, but as they landed in my ears, they made no sound at all.

My mind went blank with a ringing hum, and it took a few seconds before it registered.

I'd been played. Julian was one of them too.

Dad's brow knotted tight, and for a long moment he said nothing.

"Dad, we have witnesses and evidence. Do you still not believe it?"

Maya spoke through tears, as if she were the most wronged person in the room.

After a long while, Dad finally spoke, the weariness and disappointment in his voice impossible to hide.

"What more do you have to say?"

I opened my mouth, but my tongue felt tied in knots, a thousand words jammed in my throat, and not one of them would come out.

He closed his eyes, looking hollowed out, and waved a weak hand.

"Forget it, forget it. From now on, company matters... you're not to touch them again."

Mom's eyes reddened, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.

"If you were short on money, you could have told me. Why would you do something like taking kickbacks?"

A glint of satisfaction flickered in Maya's eyes, the look of a scheme come good, and she jabbed her finger hard into my chest a few times.

"To think the real heiress this family went to such lengths to find would do something like this!"

"Maya, get your filthy hands off me!"

She leaned in close, her voice dropping very low.

"Grandpa and Grandma are almost here. If they find out their own granddaughter is a thief..."

The word thief drove into my chest like a knife, and all my fury poured out through the wound.

"You're the thief! Get away from me!" I shoved her back, hatred behind it.

Her stunned expression froze for a few seconds, then she let herself drop to the floor and shrieked like she was throwing a tantrum.

"You're finished! A thief who dares get physical?"

Joel came charging over like a madman, throwing himself in front of her like a mother hen guarding her chick.

"You violent lunatic! You dare bully Maya? Grandpa and Grandma won't let this go!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a commotion broke out by the entrance.

My head snapped up. There they were, those two familiar figures, standing not far off.

My throat tightened, and before I could think I called out.

"Grandpa Sanchez, Grandma Sanchez."

"Teacher Daisy, what are you doing here?"

The wild delight on Maya's face hadn't even had time to fade before it froze into pure bewilderment.