Chapter 1

A young woman, dressed in  prim and proper business attire suddenly came barging through the door. As the heavy mahogany double doors slammed against the walls, everyone who was in the room swung their gazes to rest on the petite yet curvaceous young lady who walked in with confidence in her steps. She is Evangeline Young. She has round glasses propped on the bridge of her nose and her hair is pulled up into a neat looking bun. The overall look she sported was like a  strict, no-nonsense businesswoman. And she was exactly that.

"Evangeline, what are you doing here?" Samuel Young asked as he rose from his seat at the head of a long table. He is currently in the midst of having a meeting with the board of directors in his classy office. His eyes narrowed with surprise while the others looked back at her questioningly, too.

"What do you mean by that, Grandfather? I should be the one asking you that question. What are you doing here? I am the CEO of this company and you're asking me what I am doing here?" Evangeline fired off multiple questions as she had a disbelieving and confused expression on her small and pretty face.

"Eva, leave this place. I will talk to you once we're home. You can't be so disrespectful and barge into a meeting room without prior notice." The old man waved his hand in a dismissive gesture as he sat back into his chair.

Eva's eyes widened as she stood there stubbornly and asked, "Grandfather, I am utterly confused. I demand an explanation right here, right now on why you're doing this." She clenched her fists as she felt angered at how she was being disrespected. 'How could he ask me to leave? I am the CEO for goodness' sake!' Eva raged on in her mind.

 "Evangeline!" Samuel lost his cool and shouted at her. "From today onwards, you will step down from your position as this company's CEO. The board of directors has already chosen the one who will be replacing you and she's going to take over as soon as possible." 

Eva was stunned into silence. Did her grandfather just shout at her and fire her as the CEO to boot? Right in front of all these people? Her body was unmoving as she looked at the faces of everyone around the table. None of them were showing any signs of shock like she was feeling at the moment. They could only look away when her eyes met theirs. Apparently, she was the last one in the know…  

"What did you say? You're stripping me of my position? Why?" Eva demanded in disbelief as she slowly walked over to where her grandfather was seated. 'This doesn't make any sense. Is this a dream? I am the CEO of XY Corporation. I am the one who made this company soar to its current heights. So why am I getting demoted?' Eva could not fathom why her grandfather is suddenly telling her this out of the blue! 

"Eva, go home. I will talk to you –" Samuel replied with a sigh, completely not answering her questions.

"No!" Eva burst out in anger, her fingers were clenched so hard, they were digging so deeply into her palms that little crescents had formed. "I demand an explanation right now grandfather! Tell me… what the hell is happening? Tell –"

"Because you are not my legitimate granddaughter!! That is why!" Samuel's voice thundered over the chaos as he rose from his seat again. 

Eva froze in shock. 'What? I'm not a legitimate member of the Young Family? Is grandfather joking with me?'

Shaking her head in denial, Eva turned her face to look at Samuel Young. "Grandfather, what are you saying? How could you say that –"

 "The DNA test just came out yesterday." Samuel boomed out, cutting Eva off. "You are not related to us by blood. I don't know how it happened, but the investigation is still ongoing."

"No, that can't be… you're lying. There must be a mistake." Eva kept shaking her head. Denial hitting her hard as her body began to tremble.

"I will show you the DNA test results later. I did the test more than once! There is no mistake, Eva. Now leave this place and wait for me at home." The old man said firmly and turned around, effectively dismissing her. 

Eva's knuckles turned white. Her hands were trembling as she slowly clenched them into fists. Eva gritted her teeth and looked at her grandfather again. 

She bit her lower lip to stop her lips from trembling before opening her mouth to speak. "So? Because I am not related to you by blood, you're saying that I'm no longer qualified to be the company's CEO?"

The old man averted his gaze, causing Eva to laugh out like a villainess. "Hahaha."   

"Eva, don't worry. You will still work as one of the directors. You will assist your sister –" Samuel quickly said, in the hopes of placating her. "Oh. So, my dear younger sister is the one who will be replacing me? Hahaha." She barked out in laughter again.

"Eva, y –" Before Samuel could continue his sentence, Eva raised her hand like a boss, stopping the old man from speaking any further. Something dangerous blazed in her eyes as she looked straight at him.

"Forget it grand… oh, Mr. Young." She quickly changed the way she addressed her grandfather. A bittersweet and painful smile curved on her face. Then her eyes became menacing as she stared at the old man once again. "Listen Mr. Chairman… Without me, XY Corporation will crumble down into pieces. Mark. My. Words." Eva declared and with her head held  high, she swished out of the room like a queen and closed the door with a bang.

...

At a clinic, Eva sat in a chair staring at her DNA results as her hands could not stop trembling. Her lips curved up bitterly as her eyes watered. 

"So, this must have been the actual reason why I was treated like a robot since I was young… and my parents and family are so cold to me." She muttered to herself. Recalling her memories, Eva remembered her time with her grandmother. Back then, she had already felt that her parents were deliberately ignoring her and were always cold to her. 

"Grandma, do mom and dad hate me? They never come to visit me and they never come to my school, too, even if my teachers ask them to." Eva remembered asking her grandmother this when she was younger.

Her grandmother had replied, "They are training you, Eva, so you can survive the harsh world you will one day face when you grow up."

"So, their cold treatment is a part of my training to become the one who will run the family's business?" She remembered herself trying to understand what her grandmother was telling her.

"Yes. They just don't want to pamper you because they don't want you to grow up a spoiled weakling." Her grandmother had explained and she remembered herself fully believing that explanation.

Ending her recollection of the past, Eva smirked as she crumpled the paper in her hand. 'I am so stupid in believing you. They must have known from the start that I was not their legitimate daughter, right? That's why they never showed even an ounce of care nor love towards me. They just kept me and raised me because they knew I would be a great asset to them. And now that I've become independent and brought the company to its peak, they see me as a threat and therefore it's the right time for them to dismiss me? They are casting me out now after they are done using me?' Eva smiled bitterly as she reasoned things out within herself.

After leaving the clinic, Eva found herself driving fast. She was trying to call someone but no one was answering her call. Her lips were still trembling but she kept her face cool. When she arrived in front of a luxurious apartment, she rushed up to the highest floor as quickly as she could. While riding the elevator and waiting to get to the highest floor, she nibbled on her thumb. 

Once the elevator dinged, signalling her arriving at her destination, she rushed out and ran to the unit at the end of the hallway. She only had one thing in mind at that moment and that is to see and speak with Julian, her fiancé. 

She tapped in the password of Julian's apartment and entered. But the moment she closed the door and turned around she froze at the sight of a pair of red high heels at the entrance to the hallway. 

Nervously, she silently walked inside. Her heart was thumping hard as she approached the door of Julian's room. Taking a sharp and deep breath, Eva then pushed it open. 

Her eyes widened at the sight of two ***** people on the bed, fucking ferociously like animals in heat. Eva stood there frozen and then her phone slipped from her hand due to shock, causing Julian Cates to whirl around. He cursed at the sight of Eva standing at the door. The woman also looked up with wide eyes and at the sight of her, Eva's face paled as if she had seen a ghost; unable to believe that the woman her fiancé was fucking was no other than her younger sister, Sarah Young.  

Julian Cates had been Eva's college sweetheart and current fiancé. He had been such a nice man to her. They have been in a relationship for years but he never tried to make a move on her. Eva had always thought he was just being considerate and that they were both just too busy to pay attention to their romance. He had told her he didn't mind the lack of intimacy between them and that he was ready to wait until their wedding. But now, here he was… 

"What the f*ck, Eva?! What are you doing here? Barging into my house like this?" Julian roared out in irritation. Eva did not speak, she could not.  She only stared at the woman who was supposed to be her sister, sitting on the bed with the covers pulled over her. 

"Eva, get out or do you want me to drag you out?" Julian shouted at Eva and stood, not caring if he was *****. He strode forward and was about to grab hold of her arm, but Eva stepped back, avoiding his grasp like it was the plague. Her gaze sharpened as the deadliest sword as she glared at him.

Julian dropped his hand but leaned in and whispered. "We're over Eva. I heard the news. You are not a legitimate Young. You're nothing but a nameless bumpkin right now, and yet you dare to come here? Are you thinking of coming to seek shelter in my place? Listen, I was only engaged to you because we thought you're the Young's legitimate daughter." He smirked at her mockingly as he pulled back. Eva could see the scorn in his eyes.

"Our shitty engagement is already over so don't you ever show that ugly mug of yours in front of me ever again. I've been sick of it for many years now!" Julian continued to berate Eva, not caring that he was trampling over her broken heart when she was already in such a confused state.

'Julian, you bastard!!' She screamed out in her mind. Eva could feel her eyes burning so badly but she bravely held back her tears. 'No. Don't you dare cry Eva! I am not going to shed any tears in front of this asshole. Never. I would rather die than do that.' She had already been hit with one piece of bad news after another. Being given another one such as this is nothing, she told herself. 'I am strong. Nothing is going to beat me down. Just watch me!' She growled in her mind, steeling herself and adjusting her emotions before lifting her downcast eyes to look at the two scums who were before her.

Clenching her fist tight, Eva opened her mouth and spoke. Her eyes burning with an intensity that made Julian feel a strange and slight shiver and unable to tear his eyes away. "Oh… is that so?" She smirked as she glanced at the girl on his bed. Though her smirk looked similar to the ones she usually gives, mischievous and cheery, Julian felt his frame tremble as he looked at it. Somehow, it was different yet the same.

"Listen to me, Julian, and listen well. One day, I will make sure that you, too, will die from utter regret. I promise you that. Just you wait…" Eva stated. Her voice was neither loud nor too soft. But it floated over and both Julian and Sarah heard it, crystal clear. And before Julian could react, the door had already slammed shut with a loud bang right before his face.

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