He'd always loved my little sister best—ever since we were kids!

The question slipped out before I could stop it. "Dad, what are you leaving for Monica?"

Beside me, my sister's eyes were so swollen from crying they were nearly shut. The moment she heard my words, she shook her head over and over. "I don't want anything. I don't want a single thing. I just want Dad to be okay!"

Father and daughter gazed at each other through tear-blurred eyes, hands clasped tight. The tender scene only fueled the whispers around me.

"Look at that—the older daughter has no heart at all. All she cares about is the inheritance."

"No wonder Mr. Swanson favors the younger one. See how sweet she is? She doesn't want a thing except for her father to get better. If she were my daughter, I'd favor her too!"

Every comparison, every jab—I dug my nails deeper into my palms as I listened.

It was always like this.

They were always measuring me against my sister, and the verdict was always the same: Monica was better. Monica was more deserving of our father's love.

A fire roared to life inside my chest, but my face stayed perfectly still.

It doesn't matter, I told myself. I got the assets. What could she possibly have left?

In this final chapter of the will, I had come out on top.

"Monica, sweetheart—Daddy can't leave you any properties or shares, but I did prepare a small gift for you."

The word gift hit me like a slap of cold water.

I knew it. He still favored her.

He reached into the pocket of his hospital gown and pulled out three sealed envelopes, pressing them into my sister's palm.

"Remember—open one each year. Don't rush."

Monica nodded through her tears. I stood there feeling as though someone had struck me across the face.

Everyone crowded around her, chattering and speculating about what secrets those envelopes might hold.

I was the one who'd inherited everything. The company's new owner was me. Yet not a single person spared me a glance.

The resentment was white-hot—but before I could say a word to my father, he was gone.

In his final moments, he'd leaned close and whispered something into Monica's ear.

He left nothing for me. Not a single word.

Monica clutched those three envelopes and wept until she could barely breathe. She dropped to her knees at his bedside and bowed her head to the floor three times.

"Dad, I promise! I'll do exactly what the envelopes say!"

Everyone praised her devotion. No one noticed me, pressed into the corner like I didn't exist.

I wanted to know what was written inside those envelopes more than anyone.

But Monica guarded them with her life and refused to let me see.

People consoled me, saying I'd already won the biggest victory in this inheritance battle.

And when I moved into the mansion my father left behind, I believed them. I believed I'd won.

Then, a year later, Monica opened the first envelope.

She even called to tell me about it. "Marcia, the first envelope had a number in it. Dad said I should buy a lottery ticket."

I laughed out loud. Everyone knew how astronomically low the odds of winning the lottery were. Was this really Dad's idea of a parting gift—one last scrap of hope?

From the comfort of my villa, I shared the news with Walter, my live-in boyfriend. We both had a good laugh at my sister's naivety. Did she honestly think a lottery ticket was going to make her rich?

What I never could have imagined was that she won. And not just any prize—the grand jackpot. Fifty million dollars.

At the very same time, my villa was hit by a break-in. They pried open the safe, cleaned out every last dollar, every piece of jewelry. All of it—gone.

I was at the police station, drained to the bone and giving my statement, while Monica was basking in the spotlight collecting her fifty-million-dollar windfall.

Walter rubbed my back, then leaned in close and murmured, "Marcia… is it possible your sister stole your luck?"

I said it was impossible, but doubt gnawed at me all the same.

What if Dad leaving me the estate was just a front?

What if those sealed envelopes contained some underhanded trick to siphon my luck away?

I kept telling myself it was just a coincidence.

But what happened next only deepened the unease.

In the second year, I rose to the upper ranks of the company and began managing operations as the one calling the shots.

The veteran employees had always been loyal to my father—and by extension, to my sister. My sudden arrival at the top didn't sit well with any of them.

Right around that time, Monica told me she'd opened the second envelope.

"Sis, Dad wants me to start a company. What kind of business do you think I should go into?"

A bad feeling settled in my gut.

Sure enough, her company materialized almost overnight.

With fifty million dollars in startup capital, she launched a metals and materials firm—the exact same industry as our family business.

Then the exodus began. Employees left in droves. Several of my core executives jumped ship.

Severance negotiations fell apart, and a handful of disgruntled workers stormed the office. I went down to defuse the situation and caught a hard object to the head. Concussion. Hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Monica's new company was thriving.

It wasn't until I dug into it that I discovered every single person who'd left my company had gone straight to hers.

They even said they only recognized Ms. Swanson as the true Swanson heir.

I nearly coughed up blood in my hospital bed. The only thing keeping me together was Walter at my side.

He rubbed my back, trying to calm me down, but every other sentence circled back to those envelopes.

"I think there's something wrong with those envelopes. What if your dad left instructions inside—taught Monica exactly how to poach every last veteran from the company?"

I clenched my jaw so hard my molars nearly cracked.

It had to be those three envelopes. It had to be.

Finally, the third year arrived—the year my mourning period ended, the year Dad had said I was allowed to marry.

But at the wedding, Monica opened the third envelope.

Written on it, plain as day: "Stop your sister's marriage to Walter Simmons."

My sister had always been obedient. She didn't hesitate. She torpedoed my wedding without a second thought.

I went to Walter to figure out what to do next.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Have you ever considered that your dad lied to you? That the real gifts went to Monica all along?"

My mind went blank.

I'd always believed Dad gave me the estate out of guilt.

But if Walter was right, then every comforting thing I'd ever told myself was a joke.

"That can't be true." I forced a casual tone. "After all, I'm the one who actually inherited everything."

But Walter's frown only deepened.

"Did you, though? Right now, the money's in your sister's hands. Your best people work for her. And our wedding just got blown to pieces."

"Think about it—your dad made you the shield. Everyone knows you got the inheritance, so all the trouble lands on you. But your sister? She's been standing behind you this whole time, untouched."

Walter's words sent ice through my veins.

And the worst part was, I couldn't argue with him.

On the surface, Dad had left me the company and the properties. In reality, he'd left me the target on my back.

Monica only got three envelopes—but maybe those envelopes held what his heart truly meant to give.

The old bitterness from childhood crashed over me again, dragging me under.

"No. I need to see those envelopes for myself."

Monica had told me what was inside them, but I didn't believe a word of it.

I needed to see with my own eyes whether this was Dad playing favorites the way he always had—or whether Monica had been lying to me all along.

The moment the thought crystallized, I was already out the door, heading straight for Monica's company.

Monica's company had been doing really well lately. When I showed up, her secretary told me I'd need to make an appointment if I wanted to see her.

I pointed at my own face. "You can't tell who I am? I'm your boss's older sister!"

The secretary gave me a once-over and said with dripping sarcasm, "Can't tell at all. People claiming to be Ms. Swanson's relatives show up here every single day. Why don't you come up with a better story and try again?"

I was already furious, so I decided to force my way in.

Ignoring the secretary's attempts to stop me, I charged past her and banged on Monica's office door.

"Monica! Get out here! Get out here right now!"

My sister opened the door and, the moment she saw me, her face filled with remorse. She ushered me inside, pouring tea and offering water.

"Marcia, I owe you an apology for what happened at the wedding. But it was Dad's wish. I had to follow through."

I swatted the teacup out of her hand. It shattered on the floor, tea splashing across the tiles. My voice came out cold as steel. "Drop the act. I think those envelopes are fake. You couldn't stand watching me be happy, so you came to ruin my wedding. Isn't that right?"

Monica's expression was all wide-eyed innocence. "Marcia, I really didn't—"

I thrust my hand out. "I don't want to hear it. Hand over every envelope Dad gave you. All of them."

My sister, who had been nothing but soft and yielding up to this point, suddenly turned immovable.

"I'll agree to anything you ask—except this. I promised Dad. No one gets to see what's inside those envelopes."

I wasn't about to indulge her. I lunged straight for the safe in the corner.

The most important things were always kept in a safe. Dad's envelopes had to be in there.

Monica threw herself in my path, and within seconds we were grappling with each other, stumbling into the desk, knocking files to the floor.

"Those are from Dad!" Monica shouted. "You can't touch them!"

And that sentence—from Dad—set something ablaze inside me.

"For you! Everything's always for you! The best of everything, handed straight to you! What about me? Am I not his daughter too?!"

"Stop throwing a tantrum in my office! Are you even really his daughter?!"

Monica's words hit me like a wall of ice. I went completely still.

"What did you just say?"