Rayne's face stiffened, and she looked at me awkwardly. "Laura has a heart condition. She can't bear any stimulation."

Laura's lips curled slightly. "And besides, Athena, at that time, the family was in the midst of a power struggle. Not acknowledging you was for your protection. What if someone kidnapped you or tried to harm you?"

Draven nodded in agreement. "Yes, to protect you, let's just say you're our adopted daughter for now."

I looked at the three of them, playing their clumsy tricks, and sneered inwardly. "Fine, I'll be your adopted daughter, but I need 200 thousand dollars."

It just so happened I needed some money to invest in a new venture.

Draven's face darkened. "Are you crazy?"

"Looks like there's no place for me in this family." I picked up my suitcase and started to leave.

"There's no way we don't love you. It’s just that Laura was at a critical stage of recovery from surgery." Rayne grabbed my hand, and Draven chimed in.

I raised an eyebrow. "So, you decided to ignore me completely? And now that you're bringing me back, what do you want? You’re even forcing me to be an adopted daughter. Have you ever considered my feelings?"

By the end, I was losing control of my emotions.

Rayne hugged me tightly, tears streaming down her face as she kept apologizing and handed me a card.

Draven sighed and gave me 200 thousand dollars, even telling me to pick any of Laura's jewelry from the table.

Laura bit her lip and glared at Draven. "Mom, Dad, isn't that my birthday gift?"

They sighed and assured her they would make it up to her later.

Laura's face was full of anger. As I stuffed her jewelry into my suitcase, she glared at me with hatred and whispered, "You won't be smug for long."

I curled my lips slightly. She didn’t know the one who wouldn't be smug for long was her.

Anyone who harbored ill intentions towards me ended up either sick or bankrupt. I wondered if her frail body could handle what was coming.

At dinner, Laura continued her clumsy trick by having the maid prepare a table full of foreign food.

She ate with elegant knife-and-fork skills, probably thinking that I, a bumpkin, would embarrass myself in front of our parents, making them dislike me even more.

Unfortunately, I was in the countryside just to gather inspiration for my paintings. I had had this kind of foreign food so often abroad that I was sick of it.

I picked up the knife and fork and ate as usual.

Laura, likely frustrated that her plan hadn't worked, clung to our parents, bringing up her birthday party and showing off how close she was to them.

They immediately handed her a card, telling her she could buy whatever she wanted. Laura suddenly asked for Rayne's sapphire necklace and urged her to get it.

Seeing the sly look in her eyes, I knew exactly what she was up to. How could I not, after reading so many novels?

Sure enough, she put on a whole show, accusing me of stealing out of greed.

"Athena, I know poverty can lead to bad habits, but that necklace belongs to Mom and Dad!" Laura held up the necklace she had taken from my room, looking at me disapprovingly.

Draven and Rayne's eyes were filled with disappointment towards me.

I let out a cold laugh and picked up my phone. "Well, then just call the police. Let's see who's trying to frame me. After all, there's a security camera in the living room, and there might even be fingerprints on the necklace."

Laura's face turned pale, and she lowered her head guiltily. Draven and Rayne seemed to understand what was happening but didn't blame her. Instead, they snatched the phone from my hand. "Enough, it’s just a small matter in our family. It was probably one of those untrustworthy maids who did it."

A hint of disappointment appeared in my heart.

I wanted to say more, but Draven and Rayne changed the subject, mentioning that the renowned fashion designer Lisa Conner had agreed to attend Laura's fashion design exhibition.

I raised an eyebrow. Was my adoptive mother coming back? Why hadn't I heard about it?

I immediately sent a text to my adoptive mother, who replied that she had no such plans.

"Maybe you've been scammed? Lisa has a tight schedule."

Laura shot me a vicious glare. "You're just jealous, aren't you?"

I lowered my head to ignore her.

But she wouldn't let it go. She went on and on, telling me that with my current abilities, I should focus on studying so I wouldn't embarrass the family by ending up at a diploma mill.

Draven and Rayne nodded in agreement, even suggesting that I should look up to Laura as a role model. I could see the disappointment flicker in their eyes as they looked at me.

Listening to her brag about how difficult it was to get into her non-art school, I almost believed that being accepted into the Central College of Arts was nothing special.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, they shifted the conversation awkwardly to the upcoming birthday party. Until the discussion ended, Draven and Rayne didn't remember that my birthday was on the same day as Laura's.

I let out a cold laugh. "And what about me?"

Draven paused, looking confused for a moment before he understood. "Don't worry, I've prepared a gift for you too. You'll be engaged to Jake Gardner, the son of the Gardner family at the party."

To convince me, Draven went on and on about how great Jake was, with Laura chiming in.

I felt it was so ridiculous.

I wondered, Is this a gift? It's selling your daughter for benefits.

Now I understood why they had come looking for me. They couldn't bear to let Laura marry Jake, so they decided to use me instead.

Anyone in our circle knew that Jake was a womanizer with a violent streak.

Did Draven and Rayne really think I would be that easy to manipulate?

"Laura, if you like him so much, why don't you marry him?"

Before Laura could respond, Draven slammed his cup down, his eyes full of impatience. "Laura deserves better! You're going to marry him whether you like it or not. Our family didn't bring you in to freeload! Besides, the Gardner family has already agreed."

With that, Draven ignored me and headed upstairs.

I sneered. If Jake knew that it was me who would marry him, he would probably go crazy. I was actually looking forward to it.

Thinking that, I immediately texted Jake: [I heard you're going to marry me. Forget about asking me to help with your stocks.]

Back when Jake was studying abroad, he had always stuck to me when he found out about my luck, always asking me to help with his stocks.

He even promised to follow my lead in the future. We hadn't kept in touch for years, and now this was the first thing I heard from him. It felt so bad.

He immediately begged for mercy, assuring me that he would show me a satisfactory solution.

Not long after, I heard Draven's furious shouting from upstairs.

He was begging the Gardner family repeatedly not to pull their investment, but it was no use. The Gardner family had made up their mind. When Draven came downstairs, he looked utterly defeated.

He turned to me with a venomous glare. "Did you offend Jake?"

I scoffed inwardly but kept a calm face. "How can a country bumpkin like me possibly know Jake? Maybe he just prefers Laura?"

Laura's face went pale, and the next moment, she collapsed to the floor heavily, her face pale and covered in sweat.

Draven and Rayne panicked and rushed her to the hospital.

The moment we arrived, Draven dragged me to give her a blood transfusion.

I yanked my arm out of his grasp.

Draven instantly flew into a rage, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes as if I were his worst enemy. "Athena, why are you so ruthless?! She's your elder sister! What's the big deal about giving her a blood transfusion?! If it weren't for you, Laura wouldn't be in this situation!"

Rubbing my bruised wrist, I turned to the doctor and asked if Laura's condition required a blood transfusion.

The doctor shook his head.

I cleared my throat. "How strange. The Harrell family actually wants an outsider like me to be Laura's blood bank."

Immediately, everyone's eyes turned to Draven.