Chapter 7
“Don’t be afraid, baby. I won’t let you suffer any injustice,” Justin said, gently stroking Lyra’s head. She let out a soft, kitten–like “meow” in response.
Watching the two of them put on this ridiculous “domineering CEO and his little wife” act right in front of me, I couldn’t help but shiver in disgust.
“Sorry, but if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now,” I said, clearing my throat.
“Hmph! Leave? Do you think you can just walk away?” Justin’s voice turned cold as his sharp eyes locked on me. “Kneel down and apologize to her!”
“Apologize? Why should I apologize?” I tilted my head, keeping my innocent expression firmly in place.
Justin gave a slight signal to the two men standing beside him. They immediately started walking toward me, raising their hands as if to strike. I quickly dodged, my heart pounding.
“What do you think you’re doing? Trying to hit me?” I glared at them. “I’m Alaric Sterling’s biological daughter! If you dare lay a finger on me, do you even know what kind of consequences you’ll face?” My voice trembled deliberately, as though I were about to cry.
“Then…” Lyra’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Hit her where no one can see. Her private parts. If you hit her face, there’ll be marks, but if you hit her there… she won’t dare report it, will she? She’s nothing but a slut!”
I froze, stunned at how venomous she sounded.
“Oh no, I’m wrong. Your name isn’t Michaela Sterling anymore–it’s ‘whore,” Lyra sneered, twisting her body as she leaned back against Justin like a spoiled pet. “You were born to be a whore.”
I tried to dodge again, but before I could react, someone splashed water all over me.
“Hahaha! How is it? Does the stinky gutter water taste good?” Lyra clapped her hands, laughing with malicious glee.
Bang!
The door to the storage room suddenly swung open, kicked so hard it slammed against
the wall.
“Stop!!” Julian’s voice rang out as he stood at the doorway, breathing heavily.
When I saw him, I felt a flash of irritation. Why did he have to come so late? If he’d been even a minute slower, or hadn’t come at all, I really would have suffered!
“Ju… Julian? Why are you here?” Lyra’s eyes widened in shock. She immediately stood up straight, peeling herself off Justin like a guilty child caught red–handed.
“What the hell were you doing to her?” Julian demanded, frowning deeply at Lyra.
“I… I wasn’t doing anything. It was just… just a little social gathering,” Lyra stammered,
forcing a sweet smile onto her face
The Impostor Heiress vs the Real Daughter from the Dirt
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forcing a sweet smile onto her face.
“I really misjudged you. I never thought you were this kind of person,” Julian said angrily, his glare like a blade.
“What? What do you mean you misjudged me? I… I didn’t do anything!” Lyra panicked. She suddenly turned to me and pushed my shoulder. “Right? Say something!”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I calmly pulled my phone from my backpack strap. On the screen,
a live stream was playing–tens of thousands of viewers were already watching. The chat room scrolled furiously with comments:
“Wow, this is straight–up bullying!”
“Wait, isn’t she the daughter of the Sterling Family? Adopted?”
“Can’t believe the class beauty acts like this! Hiring thugs? Two–faced much?”
“This is disgusting. Someone call the cops!”
“I’ve heard she’s been secretly bullying weaker students for a while now!”
“The school should expel her immediately!”
折出
When Lyra saw my live stream, her face turned an ugly shade of green. The other students looked terrified and even Justin, as arrogant as he was, knew just how much trouble they were all in if this spread any further.
“You… turn it off!” Lyra lunged for my phone, but I quickly dodged her grasp.
I slipped behind Julian, clutching my phone. “Thank goodness you came, brother. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d probably be dead by now.”
Julian’s face was complicated, but he nodded silently.
Within moments, teachers and students from the school rushed to the entrance of the abandoned gym and not long after, several police officers arrived. Someone must have called them. Lyra’s face turned deathly pale.
Not long after, my parents were informed of everything. When they arrived at the school office, they found several other parents already waiting. As soon as my parents stepped in, the other parents hurried to apologize, especially Justin’s parents.
“We’re truly sorry. We had no idea something like this would happen. We didn’t know Lyra wasn’t… well, regardless, we’re very sorry. We’ll make sure to discipline Justin properly!” Justin’s father, Ron Rowe, said, his tone dripping with remorse.
Seeing my parents‘ stern expressions, he quickly pulled Justin over. “Come here! Apologize to Uncle and Auntie! Apologize to your sister!”
Justin, realizing he was in deep trouble, lowered his head and apologized obediently. But my parents‘ faces remained grim.
“Let’s step aside and talk,” my father, Alaric Sterling, said coldly. Ron nodded, following him
Chapter 7
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I didn’t know exactly what they were discussing, but I could guess. It was probably business–related. The Sterling and Rowe families had ongoing deals. My father was a
businessman and profit always came first. I doubted he’d sever ties over something like
this.
“Michaela…” My mother hugged me tightly, her voice trembling. “Mom saw everything… I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you…”
Lyra, standing a few steps away, called out timidly, “Mom…”
But my mother didn’t even look at her. She kept holding me and led me aside. “Are you cold? Do you feel uncomfortable? Let’s go home. I’ll make you some ginger soup.”
Lyra quickly followed, her voice quivering. “Mom, I’m sorry…”
My mother still ignored her. Turning to me instead, she said, “Once your father is done, we’ll go home.” Then she looked at my younger brother, who was standing nearby and smiled warmly. “Julian, come here. You did well today–you protected your sister!”
“I…” Julian scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.
“Later, let’s all go to the hotel for dinner–just the four of us,” Mom said gently.
Lyra’s face turned ghostly pale. Her lips trembled as she whispered, “Mom… I… I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
Silence. My mother didn’t even acknowledge her.
Just then, my father returned with Ron. Judging by the look on their faces, they’d reached some kind of agreement. My father’s expression had softened, while Ron’s was filled with helplessness–he had probably given up a fair amount of profit to appease my father. “Let’s go home. The school will handle the rest. I trust the administration will give us a proper resolution,” my father said, patting my shoulder before glancing at the principal. “Don’t worry, I will,” the principal said quickly, nodding repeatedly as if terrified of offending us–after all, the Sterling Family was one of the school’s major sponsors.
On the way home, I rode in one car with my parents and brother, while Lyra was sent back in another car, isolated and silent.
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