I was the real daughter of this family, and my life’s ambitions were simple: lie down, binge-watch shows, and order takeout. When my sister, the one they’d raised as their own, found out I was back, she was determined to prove her superiority. We each took over one of the family’s failing subsidiary companies at the same time. She publicly mocked me, “Some people are just born useless.” The words had barely left her mouth when a breaking news alert flashed across the TV. An old factory I owned, a forgotten piece of property, was being rezoned by the city as part of a core development project. The compulsory purchase payout: one billion dollars. 1. “Nora, just look at yourself!” My mother, Eleanor, pointed a trembling finger at my nose, her voice shaking with rage. “Can’t you learn a thing or two from Isabelle? Show some ambition!” “If you had half of Isabelle’s drive, do you think the Ashworths would need to be sucking up to the Lee family?” Standing beside her was my sister, Isabelle, the product of a lifetime of elite education. She was wearing a designer suit, her makeup flawless, radiating an aura of competence. A graduate of an Ivy League school and fluent in four languages, she was a goddess in everyone’s eyes. And then there was me, in a baggy T-shirt and shorts, about to order a bucket of spicy crawfish. My mother had dragged me out of bed for this business gala, all to pave the way for Isabelle’s networking. She stared at my T-shirt, her brow furrowed in disgust. “You’re going to wear that? You’ll be the laughingstock of the city! You’ll shame the Ashworth name!” Isabelle glided over at the perfect moment, her voice a soft, gentle murmur. In her hand, however, she held a gown she no longer wore. “Mother, don’t be angry. Nora, I’ve only worn this Dior once. You can wear it. Please, don’t embarrass the family.” Her tone was pure charity, as if she were donating to the poor. I couldn’t be bothered to respond, but my mother shoved me into a room and forced me into the ill-fitting dress anyway. At the gala, Isabelle was the center of attention, moving through the crowd with effortless grace. She could charm guests with fluent French and hold her own in conversations with business titans, a glass of champagne always perfectly poised in her hand. I, on the other hand, just wanted to find a dark corner and disappear. A greasy-looking man with a predatory smile drifted towards me, holding a drink. “You must be the other Miss Ashworth. I’ve heard so much about you. Care to join me for a drink?” I looked at him and asked, in all seriousness, “Does this drink come with a side of crawfish?” The entire room fell silent. The man’s face turned the color of raw liver. Isabelle elegantly swept in to “rescue” me, her words a masterclass in public humiliation disguised as an apology. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Davies. My sister doesn’t know any better. She grew up in the countryside, you see. She’s not used to… all this. Please, don’t hold it against her.” My father, Richard Ashworth’s, face was a thundercloud. He dragged me home, cleared his throat, and slammed two files onto the coffee table. “These are two of the group’s subsidiaries, both on the brink of bankruptcy. You’ll each take one. You have one month. Whoever can turn their company around will prove they are more qualified to…” He didn’t finish, but his meaning was crystal clear. His gaze softened as he looked at Isabelle, full of hope, then shifted to me, his voice turning to ice as he added, “I know what Isabelle is capable of. But you? What exactly do you bring to this family?” Isabelle picked up one of the files, a confident, predatory smile playing on her lips. “Father, Mother, don’t worry. I won’t let you down.” She shot me a triumphant, challenging look. I shrugged, picked up the other file without even bothering to read the company’s name, and stuffed it in my pocket. “Right. Got it.” My apathy drove them to the brink. “Nora! What is that attitude?” my mother shrieked. “Do you have any idea how much Isabelle has sacrificed for this family? She’s out there securing investments, chasing leads, working herself to the bone! And you? All you do is lie around and order takeout!” Her voice was shrill and grating. I was too tired to argue. I just turned and went back to my room. 2. The next day, I went to see my so-called company. It was a dilapidated office with a few scattered desks and a dozen employees who looked like they’d lost the will to live. The company had five hundred thousand dollars left in its accounts. I called in the accountant. “Divide this five hundred thousand among all the employees based on their years of service. Consider it a severance package and bonus.” The accountant stared at me, bewildered. “Ms. Ashworth, this is… this is all the liquid cash the company has left. If we pay this out, we’re officially bankrupt!” “Then let it go bankrupt,” I said, my tone final. That afternoon, the company was officially dissolved. I dusted off my hands and went home to continue my grand project of doing absolutely nothing. That evening, Isabelle returned, a storm of energy and ambition. Her heels clicked an aggressive rhythm against the hardwood floor. She kicked my door open and threw a financial report at my face. “Nora! You useless piece of trash! I closed a million-dollar deal today! And you? You dissolved the entire company! You are absolutely hopeless!” I slowly tore open a bag of potato chips. The crunch was satisfying. “Oh. Congrats.” “You—” She was so furious her chest heaved, the hand pointing at me trembling. “The Ashworth family has no room for a degenerate failure like you! Just you wait!” I watched her storm out, then popped another chip into my mouth. Why fight it? Lying down is so much more comfortable. The next morning, I was ripped from my sleep by a commotion. My mother, Eleanor, barged in, followed by a few of the house staff. “Throw all of this junk food out! And these sloppy clothes! Get rid of them!” I sat up, frowning. “Mom, what are you doing?” “What am I doing? I’m teaching you how to be a respectable human being!” She stood with her hands on her hips, her face a mask of disappointment. “Your sister was up until three in the morning working for this family, and you? You sleep in like a bum! Starting today, all your credit cards are cancelled. You’ll get a thousand dollars a month for living expenses. Let’s see how you manage to be a slob on that!” I watched in mild annoyance as the staff tossed my beloved snacks into trash bags. Arguing was exhausting, so I kept my mouth shut. Once they were done with their rampage, I slowly got up, got ready, and received a call from an unknown number. It was a former employee from yesterday, a man named Leo. “Ms. Ashworth, thank you! Thank you so much! My wife is sick and we desperately needed the money. What you gave us… you saved my family!” His voice was thick with tears, overflowing with gratitude. He said the former employees had pooled their money and wanted to treat me to dinner. I declined. I wasn’t looking for credit, and honestly, going out to eat sounded like a lot of work. But somehow, word of this got back to Isabelle. At dinner that night, she started in with her signature passive-aggression. “Well, well, if it isn’t our great philanthropist. I hear you used the company’s last dime to buy loyalty. You’re really something, Nora. You’d rather throw money at strangers than lift a finger to help your own family.” My father snorted. “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. And now you’re trying to buy a reputation? If that half-million had gone to your sister, she could have turned it into a real project. In your hands, it just went down the drain.” I sipped my soup, saying nothing. My silence only egged Isabelle on. She pulled a cheap-looking cloth tote bag from her purse and tossed it in front of me. “I figured since your cards are cancelled, you probably can’t afford a new bag. I saw this at a street stall today and thought of you. Twenty bucks. You’re welcome.” The look in her eyes was one you’d give a beggar on the street. I looked at the tote bag. It had a Peppa Pig print on it. I found it strangely amusing. “Thanks, sis.” I took it without any fuss. It would be perfect for grocery shopping tomorrow. Her face turned pale with rage. She didn’t even finish her dinner before storming upstairs. My mother sighed, her heart aching for her precious daughter. “What a tragedy. Isabelle is such a wonderful girl, and she’s stuck with a sister like you.” I quietly finished my food. Funny how easily the word “sister” rolled off her tongue. They all seemed to forget that Isabelle and I shared no blood. 3. In the days that followed, Isabelle was a woman possessed. She left early, came home late, and was in a constant whirlwind of meetings and business dinners. Her company, I heard, was thriving, quickly securing second and third rounds of funding. As for me, I took my Peppa Pig tote bag to the farmer’s market every day. With my allowance slashed, I had learned the fine art of haggling with old folks over the price of potatoes. One day, while I was in a tense negotiation over a particularly fine-looking russet, a man in a sharp suit found me. It was Leo. He looked much better than the last time I’d seen him. With him was a middle-aged man. “Ms. Ashworth, let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Mr. Wallace. He’s in the construction materials business.” His cousin handed me a business card, his demeanor polite and respectful. “Ms. Ashworth, it’s an honor. Leo told me what you did. You’re a person of great integrity. I’m looking to expand my warehouse space, and I heard you happen to own an abandoned old factory. I was wondering if you might be interested in selling?” I blinked. An old factory? Then I remembered. It was a birthday gift from my grandfather when I turned eighteen. He’d held my hand and said, “Nora, you have a kind heart, not like the others. This piece of land will bring you good fortune one day.” But the place was out in the middle of nowhere. It had been deserted for years. I’d almost forgotten it existed. “That place… is it worth anything?” “Absolutely!” Mr. Wallace’s eyes lit up. “It may be remote, but the lot is huge, which is exactly what I need. I’m prepared to offer you three million dollars. What do you think?” Three million. To me, it was an astronomical sum. Leo was an honest man, and his cousin seemed trustworthy. I didn’t hesitate. On the day we signed the contract, I made sure to bring my Peppa Pig tote bag, which held my ID and birth certificate. The first thing I did after getting the money was go to the mall and buy a mountain of snacks. Then I took a cab home. When I walked into the living room with my arms full of bags, the three of them—my mother, father, and Isabelle—stared at me with suspicion. “Nora! Where did you get the money for all this?” my mother demanded. “Oh, I sold that old factory grandpa gave me,” I replied nonchalantly. “You sold it?” Isabelle shrieked. “You actually sold it? For how much?” “Three million.” “Three million?” Isabelle burst out laughing, as if it were the funniest joke she’d ever heard. “Nora, are you an idiot? That factory might be remote, but the land alone is worth at least five million! And you sold it for three? You are the definition of a squanderer!” She looked genuinely heartbroken, as if the factory had been hers. My father’s face was grim. “Reckless! Why didn’t you discuss a family matter with us first? Three million… you’ve been swindled!” I looked at their indignant faces and suddenly felt very tired of it all. “It’s sold. What’s the point of saying all this now?” I didn’t want to waste any more breath on them. I just took my snacks and headed upstairs. Behind me, I heard Isabelle’s cold, contemptuous laugh. “Useless is as useless does. You could hand her a winning lottery ticket and she’d probably use it as a napkin.” 4. A month later, it was time for the Ashworth family’s formal dinner. It was a family dinner in name, but in reality, it was a victory party for Isabelle. Her subsidiary, they said, had tripled its market value in a single month, becoming a small miracle in the industry. At the party, Isabelle wore a stunning red gown, her chin held high as she accepted fawning compliments from all our relatives. “Isabelle is just brilliant! A true Ashworth!” “Yes, not like some people who just take up space and throw away money.” All eyes darted subtly in my direction. I was in my usual uniform of a plain white T-shirt and jeans, sitting in a corner, completely engrossed in dismantling a king crab leg. It tasted good, if a little salty. Isabelle, holding a glass of champagne, glided over to me, looking down her nose. “Nora. I hear you’ve been living quite comfortably off the money from the factory sale.” I nodded. “It’s been great. I’ve achieved snack-sovereignty.” She let out a short, sharp laugh, just loud enough for the whole room to hear. “Some people are just born useless. You can give them a mountain of gold, and they’ll waste it all. You can give them an opportunity, and they’ll destroy it with their own hands.” She paused, the disdain in her eyes utterly undisguised. “A month ago, we were given the same starting line. I turned my company into a ten-million-dollar asset. You dismantled yours. And now, for a measly three million dollars, you’ve sold the most precious thing grandpa ever left you. Tell me, Nora, what is the point of you?” The room went silent. Everyone was watching me, waiting for the punchline of the joke that was my life. My mother’s face was a canvas of embarrassment and humiliation. She looked at me as if I were her mortal enemy. My father’s expression was just as dark. I slowly wiped my hands, looked up, and was about to say something. Just then, on the large screen in the center of the hall, the financial news program was interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. “We have an update on the city’s urban development strategy. The municipal government has officially decided to rezone the southern suburban district into a core development area for the construction of a new technology hub…” The newscaster’s voice was crisp and clear, echoing through the silent hall. On the screen, a massive zoning map appeared. A bright red circle was drawn emphatically in the center of the map. That spot… I narrowed my eyes. It looked familiar. The smirk hadn’t yet faded from Isabelle’s face. She followed my gaze and scoffed, “What are you looking at? You think a national project like this has anything to do with a failure like you?” The words had just left her mouth when the newscaster’s voice swelled with excitement. “According to our sources, the compensation standards for this rezoning will be the highest in the city’s history. Notably, the former Starlight Machinery plant, located at the very heart of the core zone, is projected to have a compulsory purchase payout of up to… one billion dollars!” Starlight Machinery. Wasn’t that the name of the factory I just sold? The entire banquet hall was plunged into a silence so deep it was deafening. Every single pair of eyes in the room snapped towards me. The smile on Isabelle’s face froze solid.
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