Sylvana's POV

"Is this what you call 'a room'? Even a prison isn’t this bad. A chamber pot? And I’m supposed to scrub it in the yard every morning? Even rural villages don’t live like this anymore," I added aggrievedly.

My mother stood there awkwardly, clearly at a loss, and looked to my father for help.

A flash of confusion crossed my father’s face before he frowned and began to think.

Before he could speak, Elowen beat him to it. “Sylvana, I heard you came from the Colorado Plateau. Don’t people there live in cave houses? Emptying a chamber pot every morning should be normal for you, right?”

She tilted her head, then added self-righteously, “Agnes is honest and hardworking. Why would you bully her? Mom and Dad are exhausted after work every day. Can you stop making trouble? If you’re upset, take it out on me, okay? If it makes you feel better, you can even hit me.”

She looked at me with open contempt, as if she’d already seen through all my “schemes,” wearing the expression of someone completely fed up.

My mother immediately pulled her into her arms, her voice full of pity. “Elowen, you don’t need to wrong yourself like that. You’re the treasure we’ve raised with our own hands. How could we ever let someone lay a finger on you?”

“Try touching her and see what happens!” Jasper shouted, pointing at me like a street thug, spit flying as he spoke.

I let out a quiet sigh and replied, “Our institute chose the Colorado Plateau because it offers a stable experimental environment. This isn’t the 1980s. Who still lives in cave dwellings?”

My tone steady, I continued, “And if you really didn’t want me back, you didn’t have to go this far. Using a chamber pot inside a villa, have the Kesslers really sunk to this level of absurdity?”

The moment I exposed the issue in front of everyone, Elowen knew she had no ground to stand on. So, she immediately threw herself into my mother’s arms and burst into loud sobs.

To my disbelief, my mother hugged her back and started crying just as hard.

Ignoring them, I pushed open the door to the room, and a cloud of dust instantly rose, making me cough.

The place looked like an unfinished construction site. The walls were scarred where the plaster had been scraped off, the window glass was even broken, and cold wind poured in nonstop.

“You’ve really outdone yourselves,” I said, covering my mouth as I coughed.

Seeing the miserable state of the room, my father frowned deeply. “Why isn’t this room renovated yet? I arranged this long ago.”

“Dad, it’s cold lately,” Elowen replied nervously under his gaze. “No workers are willing to come.”

Was she actually brain-dead? What kind of excuse was that? Did renovation workers pick seasons now? Then who tore the place apart? Did she do it yourself?'

Helpless, I sighed. 'No, I need to contact the institute today. If I stay in this place too long, it might affect my intelligence, and that would be a loss to the country.'

Furious, my father immediately arranged for me to stay in a guest room temporarily.

Soon, news of the Kesslers' biological daughter returning home spread quickly. Competitors, aware of how the Kessler family treated their adopted daughter, seized the opportunity. They joined forces online, spread rumors, and stirred up drama, eager to watch a “real vs. fake heiress” power struggle unfold.

The Kesslers, unsurprisingly, decided to host a formal reunion party.

I knew exactly what it was really for.

Calling it a reunion was just a cover. It was a move to reassure shareholders and stabilize the company.

The party was scheduled for the evening, yet I, the supposed main character, received very little attention.

Instead, Elowen bounced around like an overexcited peacock. She went shopping for dresses, contacted guests, and busied herself with arrangements, as if she were the true star of the event.

Night fell quickly, and guests began arriving one after another.

The first floor was transformed into an event hall. Tables were laid out with exquisite dishes and expensive, well-known wines.

Standing at the entrance holding a wine glass was Elowen, greeting guests with syrupy smiles and nauseating pleasantries.

Sylvana's POV

Although I was called downstairs early as well, the Kesslers kept their distance, and almost no one paid attention to me.

Even so, I didn’t mind. In fact, I was happy to be left alone, curled up in a corner with my phone, reviewing research data.

I was so completely absorbed that my grip loosened, and my phone was snatched right out of my hand.

On the screen, a biological reaction under a microscope was still playing, so I was instantly alarmed. “What are you doing? Give it back now!”

But Elowen, who had taken my phone, looked completely unconcerned. “Sylvana, today is a big day for our family. We've been running around for you. Even if you don’t want to help greet the guests, how can you just sit here playing on your phone so shamelessly?”

“My phone… my phone is classified!” I said urgently, ignoring her taunts as I stood up to grab it back. “Give it to me!”

But Elowen was clearly prepared. She stepped backward into the center of the banquet hall, waving my phone and deliberately raising her voice. “Sylvana, even if you look down on us, there’s no need to act like this. Mom and Dad held this reunion banquet so you could integrate into the family faster. Can’t you at least consider the bigger picture?”

“No, just give me my phone back!” I demanded for the nth time.

I was frantic now. The data on that phone was top-level, national confidential material. If it leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Elowen’s eyes lit up, her words turning even sharper. “So, your phone is your life? Can’t you stop staring at it for even a moment? Don’t you know even basic manners? How did you even grow up?”

“Absolutely classless!” Jasper suddenly appeared from who-knows-where and launched into me. “You’ve completely embarrassed our family!”

“You! This is a crime, do you understand that?” I shouted, rushing forward to grab the phone.

But Jasper casually took the phone from Elowen’s hand and looked at me with a smirk. “You want it? Then come and get it.”

I hurriedly wiped away the tears that had spilled from sheer panic and stepped forward.

But just as my fingers were about to touch the phone, Jasper suddenly tossed it over my head.

Elowen, standing across from him, caught it perfectly.

“Sylvana, the phone’s over here,” she giggled, shaking it at me like she was teasing a dog.

The surrounding guests all turned their attention toward us, watching with clear interest.

Drawn by the commotion, my parents frowned and walked over.

Before long, the two of them had toyed with me until my legs gave out. I collapsed onto the floor, completely drained of strength.

My father glanced down at me, then frowned at the siblings. “That’s enough. What kind of behavior is this? Give the phone back to her.”

Elowen glanced at the screen and immediately lost interest.

“Wow, there’s even an ‘Alert’ screen,” she scoffed. “You really know how to put on a show. Do you think you’re some kind of top-secret government agent?”

“Such an act,” Jasper added disdainfully.

Seeing the red "ALERT" screen on my phone, I finally let out a breath of relief.

All of our researchers’ phones were specially designed.

Not only did they outperform commercial devices, but they also had extremely powerful security systems.

The moment my phone was taken, it automatically triggered fingerprint and iris verification.

After Elowen and Jasper repeatedly tossed the phone around, the authentication had long since failed, activating an internal emergency channel that sent an alert to the nearest special security unit.

“I’m terribly sorry, everyone,” my father said smoothly, holding up his wine glass. “My daughter grew up in the mountains and doesn’t understand proper etiquette. Please don’t laugh at her.”

He didn’t spare me a single glance as I lay collapsed on the floor, focusing instead on polite smiles and empty social niceties.

Sylvana's POV

Seeing my father’s attitude, Elowen immediately followed up with another blow.

“My sister has already been assigned to the company’s cleaning department,” she said sweetly. “She’ll get familiar with things very soon, so everyone can rest assured.”

Jasper also stepped in with a mocking smile. “Heh. Just because someone comes back to our family doesn’t mean they can affect the company.”

His words were clearly meant to signal the shareholders about the family’s stance toward me.

With the three of them working together, the shareholders, who had looked uneasy just moments ago, gradually relaxed, smiles appearing on their faces one by one.

“You’d better think carefully about how you’re going to explain this later,” I said coldly as I stood up from the floor, gripping my phone, which was now nothing more than a useless brick.

Overhearing me, my mother shot me an annoyed glance. “Stop making a scene here. They were just playing around with you. Why are you taking it so seriously?”

“I’ve already said everything I needed to say,” I replied calmly. “If you won’t listen, then there’s nothing more I can do.”

Just then, an elderly man with graying hair but a straight, dignified posture spoke up. “I hear your daughter works in a research institute. Her professional standards should be quite high. From what I saw just now, it was actually your son and your other daughter who were behaving improperly.”

“Mr. Stanton, it’s not how it looked,” my mother quickly stepped forward with a forced smile. “This child has a wild temperament. Elowen and Jasper were only trying to help her integrate into the family. Who would’ve thought she couldn’t even take a joke?”

“Well,” Mr. Stanton chuckled lightly, “it’s your family matter. As long as it doesn’t affect our cooperation, I won’t interfere.”

“Conflicts between kids should be handled by the kids themselves,” my father added quickly. “Mr. Stanton, rest assured, even if they have disagreements, it won’t impact the company.”

It was obvious that Mr. Stanton held significant influence in their circle.

With the Kesslers smoothing things over, the farce was quickly brushed aside.

No one cared, except me, the one who had just been toyed with like a dog.

I sat in the corner, gripping my phone tightly, my gaze icy as I watched the Kesslers move gracefully among the guests.

The segment that had originally been planned to introduce me was quietly dropped, as if it had never existed.

Instead, news that Elowen would soon take up the position of Deputy Director in the CEO’s Office made her the undisputed center of attention.

People crowded around her, showering her with praise. As such, she grew increasingly smug and radiant, her face flushed with excitement as sharp, grating laughter escaped her lips from time to time.

After finishing a round of socializing, Mr. Stanton walked over to me. He hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice. “Miss, you’re from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, aren’t you?”

I immediately looked up at him, my body instinctively tensing as I leaned back slightly.

But when I saw his face more clearly, he seemed vaguely familiar.

Before I could exchange another word with Mr. Stanton, a sudden wave of cheers erupted from the center of the event hall.

“Thank you all for your support! We will definitely live up to this responsibility! For this, I’d like to propose a toast to everyone!” my father cheerfully said.

The guests eagerly responded with flattering praise. “Mr. Kessler really raised a fine daughter. So young, yet already sharing the family’s burden. We’ll be relying on Miss Elowen to look after us in the future.”

My parents and Jasper stood to the side, watching Elowen in the spotlight, their faces filled with satisfaction and pride.

Just as everyone was about to raise their glasses, the sound of shattering glass rang out, followed by the heavy, synchronized footsteps coming from upstairs.

Before anyone could react, the villa’s front doors were violently blown open.

A group of special security agents in black tactical gear stormed inside, weapons drawn.

“Signal jammer is functioning normally! Target located. Confirmed Senior Principal Researcher Sylvana Kessler. Target is currently safe. Requesting permission to initiate protective measures.”