chapter 4
They were not smiling the next day.
At dinner, I was in an excellent mood. I ate three full bowls of rice, slow and satisfied, then got up to take a walk.
That was when my father’s voice exploded through the living room.
“What do you mean Winnie was attacked? Where? When did this happen?”
I turned just in time to see his face go white around the phone in his hand.
My mother rolled her eyes back and fainted on the couch.
The Meng family rushed to the hospital in a frenzy.
This time, I went too.
When I stepped into Winnie’s hospital room, she was wrapped in bandages. The skin visible around them was bruised and swollen. Her eyes were empty. She looked like a girl whose entire world had collapsed overnight.
My mother held her and cried so hard she could barely breathe.
My father stood nearby with a face like iron, snarling into his phone, ordering people to find the men responsible no matter what it took.
I leaned against the doorframe.
“Well,” I said lightly, “those wouldn’t happen to be the same thugs who almost mistook me for someone else, would they? Fast workers. They found the right target pretty quickly.”
My brother spun toward me, eyes blazing.
“Madeline, are you even human?”
Winnie turned her head sharply and glared at me with naked hatred.
I met her gaze and smiled.
My father took a long breath and looked at the miserable girl in the hospital bed. “Winnie has suffered enough. She deserves compensation. I’m transferring ten percent of my shares in Meng Group to her. It’ll be her security for the future.”
My mother and brother were not surprised at all. They both nodded like this was the most natural thing in the world.
I let out a small laugh.
Perfect.
I had been wondering how to get the Meng family’s fortune into my hands.
Turns out my biased father was going to offer me the opening himself.
I lowered my eyes and put on a hurt expression. “Mom, Dad… did you forget something? When your real daughter came home, you didn’t compensate me for anything.”
My brother pointed at me and snapped, “Don’t push it. Do you have to steal everything that belongs to Winnie?”
My parents both looked unhappy.
I rubbed away imaginary tears.
“So that’s how it is. I spent eighteen years suffering outside this house. I came back thinking maybe I would finally get my parents’ love, but apparently I rank below an adopted daughter.”
My mother’s expression softened for a second.
Winnie saw it and immediately started crying.
“Mom, Dad, I think my sister is right. I’m just the adopted daughter. I don’t deserve ten percent of the shares. Give them to her instead. When I recover, I’ll move out. I won’t take her place anymore.”
That did it.
My parents’ faces changed instantly, full of panic and pity.
My father frowned at me. “Look what you’ve done. I told you already—you’re our daughter, but Winnie is too. It’s only ten percent. Why do you have to fight over everything? Can’t you give in to her a little?”
My mother opened her mouth to scold me, but then she noticed a few nurses whispering nearby.
“So this is one of those real-heiress fake-heiress families?”
“The real daughter is pitiful.”
“She suffered for eighteen years and came back to rank below the fake one.”
“If they won’t even compensate the real daughter, what kind of parents are these?”
My father loved face more than anything.
The second he heard those whispers, his whole attitude shifted.
My mother grabbed my hand and forced a smile. “Sweetheart, we know you’ve suffered. But Winnie has just been through something terrible. We have to make it up to her. Don’t worry. We won’t treat you unfairly.”
I nodded. “So not unfairly means I get ten percent too?”
My brother exploded. “Do you have no shame? You want ten percent? You? A country bumpkin?”
One nurse muttered loudly, “What kind of brother defends the fake daughter over his real sister?”
My father’s face darkened.
Then, with all the dignity he could scrape together, he cleared his throat and said to me, “Madeline, you’re our biological daughter. Of course we won’t favor anyone over you. You’re still young. Shares are complicated. But as my daughter, half the company will naturally be yours someday.”
A beautiful promise.
Empty, of course.
But I was not disappointed.
That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
I turned to my mother with wide, innocent eyes. “Mom, is that true? Half the company is mine?”
She glanced at the nurses watching us and nodded fast. “Of course. Why would we lie to you? You’re the child I carried for ten months. Half the company belongs to you.”
I smiled at last.
“Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad.”
As I walked out, I heard my brother scoff behind me.
“Idiot.”
I raised a brow.
Very soon, he would find out who the real idiot was.