When they told me I was the real heiress, I was busy with a corpse in the basement. I smirked, reading the provocative message from the fake heiress. I was currently on the organization’s hit list anyway, so this “real heiress” identity might just come in handy. My phone rang, making me pause my work. Seeing the caller ID, I was genuinely shocked. It was the police. Had I been exposed already? This fast? “Hello, Ms. Skylar?” “Mmm,” I hummed in response. Listening to the officer on the other end, I let out a sigh of relief. It was about my background, my family. But how did the police find me? And my phone number? I hadn’t been in this country for long. Still, I agreed to the DNA test. This new identity was exactly what I needed to get out of my current predicament. I sat in the basement, wiping blood from my short blade. I’d been kidnapped as a child and raised as an assassin in a foreign country. For the right price, I’d kill anyone. But the organization had gone too far. They ordered me to kill a one-year-old girl. Their twisted reason? She was the daughter of a drug lord, a target for revenge. But even I had a bottom line. I never harmed children. So, I was unfortunately put on the organization’s kill list. That’s why I’d fled to this remote country. But I never expected them to send people after me, all the way here. I glanced at the man’s body before me, then let out a frustrated click of my tongue, carefully maneuvering him into a newly bought chest freezer. Then, I pulled out my phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Agent A. “Stop sending people.” Agent A was my superior, the one who’d groomed me from childhood. To this day, I didn’t even know his real name. After leaving the basement, I went for the DNA test. There, I met the people who claimed to be my parents. They were dressed in opulent clothes. “My darling!” The middle-aged woman was incredibly emotional. She rushed forward, wanting to embrace me, but I instinctively recoiled. Physical intimacy wasn’t something I was used to. The woman clearly noticed my distant reaction. “It’s okay, let’s just go home first!” On the way, they talked endlessly. From my birth to how I got lost – every single detail. But then, Mr. Hayes suddenly changed the subject. “Sweetheart, you were seven when you were taken from us. We searched for you for years. When we thought you wouldn’t come back, your mother was heartbroken. So, we adopted a girl, Chloe. She’s a year younger than you.” Ah, so all that was just a preamble. This was what they were leading up to. “Your brother Leo couldn’t join us today because Chloe.” “She felt like we would kick her out once you returned, so she took an overdose of sleeping pills last night. We just had her stomach pumped.” “Leo is worried sick, so he’s staying with her at the hospital.” It was the same old, tired story. I just nodded, not saying much. As long as she didn’t bother me, I didn’t mind living under the same roof.
Back home, I finally met my so-called sister. She was pretty, with long hair cascading down to her waist, and eyes so swollen they looked like two puffy red cherries. She was still in a hospital gown, her small face ashen, making her look utterly fragile. Next to her, my brother, Leo Hayes, carefully supported her, not even sparing me a glance. My parents, upon seeing her, rushed forward, showering her with concern. Yet, moments before, they hadn’t asked me a single thing about how I’d spent all those years. I lowered my head, a bitter chuckle escaping my lips. “Chloe, why are you back so soon? You should be resting! You’re too delicate for all this stress.” Mrs. Hayes’ gaze was starkly different when she looked at Chloe compared to me. The family continued to chat amongst themselves right in front of me for what felt like ages. Just like Agent A always said, for people like us, family bonds were always a luxury. Chloe walked toward me. “Skylar, welcome home.” I simply nodded, my face unreadable. “Skylar, I’m so sorry. Your room has been mine for years, so would you mind staying on the first floor for now? I’ll move my things to the third floor as soon as I can, but I have a lot of stuff, and it’ll take a while to sort through.” Chloe’s face was etched with a look of feigned embarrassment. I looked at the maid’s room on the first floor, falling silent. Her intentions were as clear as day. She was basically calling me an outsider. “Fine. But from now on, you can just call me Skylar.” Within the organization, my codename was X. Skylar was the name he had given me back then, and all my official documents used it. Thinking about it, my memory of that man was very distant now. He was nine years older than me, an assassin from the same organization. I only knew his codename: L. He went on a solo mission once and never came back. Everyone said he was dead, but I didn’t believe it. Leo Hayes, who had been silent until now, spoke up, his gaze filled with impatience. “Since you’re back in the Hayes family, you should use our surname. You’re Skylar Hayes.” “If you don’t change your name, isn’t it just because you want to constantly remind Mom and Dad that they lost you?” I was about to speak, but he cut me off again. “If you don’t change your name back, don’t even think about inheriting the Hayes family fortune!” I raised an eyebrow. In his eyes, I was only back to claim the inheritance, just for the money, right? “Oh, well. You can call me Skylar.” With that, I grabbed my luggage and walked into the room. The truth was, I wasn’t short on money. My bounty over the years had been the highest in the entire organization. Just then, I heard a rustling sound from the window. A shadow flashed past. As I pondered what it could be. Knock, knock! A knock on the door. “Skylar, dinner’s ready.”
At the dining table. I was placed next to Chloe. “Skylar, try this! I made this braised pork just for you.” Chloe scooped a piece of braised pork onto my plate. She watched me with a look of eager anticipation. Looking at the braised pork before me, I felt a wave of nausea. When I was twenty, I secretly rescued a dog named Make. The organization forbade assassins from developing emotions for anything. Only Agent A knew Make existed. Back then, Agent A and I had a decent relationship. “You’re back. Eat up.” Agent A had put a piece of braised pork on my plate, but he didn’t touch his own food. But as I took the first bite, the taste felt off. Seeing Agent A’s expression and actions, I understood, and I spit all the meat into the trash. My stomach churned. “Why?” Agent A only said one thing. “It will become your weakness.” After that, my relationship with Agent A plunged to an all-time low. I buried Make and his toys in the backyard. And I never ate braised pork again.
“I don’t like braised pork. You can have it.” I picked up some shredded potatoes with my fork and put them in my mouth. Chloe looked a little embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, Skylar. It’s my fault. I didn’t know you hated it. Our whole family loves it, so I thought you would too.” I had to admit, Chloe always managed to layer her words with subtle digs. Leo Hayes directly snatched my plate. “Skylar, we’re not even fighting you about your name anymore, so don’t push your luck. Chloe burned her hand making that meal for you.” I glanced at Chloe’s bandaged thumb and almost burst out laughing. When the organization trained us, I sustained injuries a thousand times worse than that. I even took a bullet during a mission. “It’s okay, Leo. Skylar just doesn’t like me. I’ll just go stay somewhere else.” As she spoke, Chloe shed a few convenient tears right there, then stood up as if to leave. Mrs. Hayes finally couldn’t sit still, her eyes filled with heartache. “Chloe, it’s already dark. Where are you going?” I checked the time, took a few more bites, completely ignoring Chloe’s little act. But Leo wasn’t having it. He actually snatched my fork and slammed it onto the floor. “Skylar, it’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, Chloe wouldn’t have taken those sleeping pills, and the atmosphere in this house wouldn’t be like this! I wish you’d never been found!” I clenched my fists, barely resisting the urge to punch him in the face. Leo continued to lecture me, his words growing crueler. “Don’t think that just because of blood ties, you can kick Chloe out. She’s my sister!” Seeing my silence, Leo assumed I was scared. “But, if you behave yourself, this family can still afford to raise another daughter.” I almost laughed at how ridiculous that was. He spoke as if I weren’t even their biological child. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes didn’t contradict him, clearly siding with Chloe. I chuckled softly, then looked up, mimicking Chloe’s expression. But I simply couldn’t cry. I could only adjust myself into a fragile, pitiful facade. “I thought finding my biological parents would give me a safe haven. It seems I was wrong. You’re a family. I understand. I’ll move out.” Feigning vulnerability? Who couldn’t? I’d learned plenty of acting skills in the organization. Mr. Hayes finally spoke, his face stern, yet with a hint of sympathy for me. “Skylar, don’t say that. You are my daughter, and this home will always have a place for you.” After he spoke, no one dared to utter another word. It seemed Mr. Hayes held the highest authority in the family. That dinner ended with no one feeling satisfied.
For the next few days, Chloe was surprisingly docile. But that changed when Mr. Hayes announced he was holding a welcome-home celebration for me. That evening, Chloe sent me a message brimming with provocation. “Don’t think your homecoming means you can get rid of me. I’m already engaged to Landon Vance. Once I marry him, I’ll be Mrs. Vance. You’ll always be an outsider. Of course, if you don’t cause trouble, this family might keep you around like a pet dog.” Chloe was far too confident. I replied with just one sentence, but it was a cut that went straight to the bone. “Would the Vance family really want a fake heiress?” “You just wait!” The Hayes and Vance families’ alliance was purely business, all about status. Mr. Hayes had always told everyone Chloe was his biological daughter, so no one knew she was the fake heiress. If they knew Chloe wasn’t the real heir, they wouldn’t even give her a second glance. I changed into the gown Mrs. Hayes had given me. It fit perfectly, making me look like a true socialite. Standing before the mirror, I felt a strange sense of unreality. If I hadn’t been kidnapped and taken to that foreign country all those years ago, would I have been like Chloe, growing up thinking only about what dress to wear or where to travel? But there were no “ifs.” I strapped my short blade to my leg. I hadn’t been without this knife for years. When I finished getting ready and stepped out of my room, the butler looked at me awkwardly. “My apologies, Miss Skylar, but your parents and the others have already left.” Just as expected. Chloe, again. “Is there a car?” The butler looked confused for a moment before he finally understood. “Yes, but you’ll have to drive yourself, Miss.” “Give me the keys.” The butler looked even more awkward. “What now?” “There’s only one motorbike left, the one Mr. Leo bought. The other cars have all been borrowed by Miss Chloe.” Chloe was truly childish, but motorbikes were my specialty. I took the keys and went to the garage. Thankfully, the gown wasn’t too long, so riding the motorbike would be perfectly fine. I put on my helmet and started the navigation. My gown fluttered behind me in the wind. When I arrived at the hotel entrance, I saw Chloe and Leo standing there, greeting guests. They both froze the moment they saw me. Many young socialites were also at the entrance. I handed the keys to the valet, then took off my helmet. Chloe stepped forward, speaking in a voice just loud enough for everyone around to hear. “Skylar, why did you ride a motorbike here by yourself? That’s so improper, especially in a dress.” “I know you’ve just returned, so you might not understand, but you could have asked me.” I turned my head to look at Chloe. “Why don’t you mention that your family left without me, leaving me only a motorbike?” “Sister, try to be less transparent with your little schemes.” The people around us immediately started whispering. “Chloe is so calculating. Compared to her, Miss Skylar looks so much more like Mrs. Hayes. And Chloe, tch, tch, could she not be their real daughter?” “By the way, the Hayes heiress is pretty cool. My car was right behind her on the road, and so many people were taking pictures.” Chloe’s face flushed with anger. She glanced at Leo, seemingly waiting for him to speak up for her. Leo was about to open his mouth when Chloe suddenly looked behind me, then ran over, blushing shyly. “Landon, you’re here.” I turned around, puzzled. The next second, my heart skipped a beat. Chloe had linked her arm with Landon. He was L, the man who had vanished years ago. How could he be here? I couldn’t help but step forward, my eyes slightly red. It was him. L. The tear mole at the corner of his eye, exactly the same. I knew it. I knew he was still alive. Chloe looked at me, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. “Skylar, this is Landon Vance, my fiancé.” “Hello, Ms. Skylar. Impressive driving skills.” He extended his hand. I took it, my entire body trembling uncontrollably. How had he become Landon Vance?
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