During the third month of my overseas branch assignment, I saw a friend post a photo of an engagement invitation on social media.

The caption read: “Best wishes to Miss Evans and Mr. Hughes—may you be together forever!”

On the red invitation card, the names Sophia Evans and Daniel Hughes were printed side by side.

The wedding banquet was even set to be held at a five-star restaurant under my parents’ company.

I froze. My boyfriend’s name was Daniel Hughes.

But Sophia Evans was not me.

When I checked the restaurant’s official website, it clearly stated:

“In celebration of our beloved daughter’s engagement, the restaurant will be closed for two weeks.”

I was stunned.

I immediately sent a screenshot of the post to Daniel.

“What’s going on? You’re engaged without me? Do my parents have a new daughter now too?”

Half an hour later, he called, his tone earnest.

“How could I possibly get engaged without you? Sophia is just the goddaughter your parents adopted.”

“The invitation was printed wrong. I was just dealing with it, which is why I didn’t reply to you right away.”

I gave a calm “mm,” pretending to believe him.

But after hanging up, I booked the next flight home.

…

Back in New York City, I didn’t go to the office first—I went straight to our mansion.

On the plane, I had already called my father, who was at the rehabilitation center with my mother.

He admitted to adopting a goddaughter.

Since Daniel was at the company, I decided to meet Sophia on my own.

When I arrived at the gate, I almost thought I’d gone to the wrong place.

The garden outside was full of pink lilies—the very flowers I was allergic to.

I couldn’t help but sneeze several times.

The gardener frowned when he saw me and stepped forward to drive me away.

“Who are you? This is the Evans mansion. Without the owners’ invitation, you’re not allowed in!”

I couldn’t believe it—I had to prove my identity just to enter my own home.

As I was about to call my parents, a Rolls-Royce sped past me. The force of the wind knocked me to the ground, scraping my palm and drawing blood.

The car door opened, and a girl stepped out, covered head to toe in luxury brand logos.

The gardener immediately greeted her respectfully as “Miss,” then pointed at me with impatience.

“This woman claims she’s the real owner of the mansion and says she’ll call Mr. and Mrs. Evans!”

So this was Sophia Evans.

At the gardener’s words, a flicker of guilt flashed in her eyes. She bent down and helped me up, her tone carrying faint reproach.

“Sis, why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”

As if she were the mistress of the mansion, and I needed her permission to return home.

“Sis? Funny, I thought I was the Evans family’s only daughter.”

I gave a cold laugh, my tone mocking.

Sophia’s eyes widened, her expression all innocence.

“Ah, I was there when Daniel called you yesterday. I thought he’d explained everything clearly.”

“Mom and Dad only adopted me because they were lonely. You haven’t been home once these three months—you can’t blame them!”

Ha.

Just three months, not three years.

Her act of innocence was so thick it was almost suffocating.

Every word implied I shouldn’t have come back.

My gaze swept over Sophia.

When I saw the ancestral gemstone necklace gleaming on her neck, I curved my lips into a cold smile.

“I hear you’re getting married in two days. Who’s the groom?”

Even though she tried desperately to suppress her grin, her eyes betrayed her triumph, brimming with provocation.

“He’s a wonderful, wonderful man,” she said.

“And his last name is Hughes too. Don’t you think that’s quite a coincidence, sis?”

I ignored her, turned, and got into a taxi.

My phone kept buzzing with message notifications.

The private investigator I’d hired had sent me a series of photos and videos.

Sophia looked strikingly like my father’s old flame.

The investigator suspected she might be his illegitimate daughter.

The pink lilies at the gate were planted by my father and Daniel themselves.

Inside the mansion, all my photos had already been replaced with Sophia’s.

Even three days ago, at the business summit, it was Sophia who went on stage to receive an award on behalf of Lunar Group.

My father, who had never once praised me, stood proudly before everyone and declared:

“My daughter Sophia and Daniel are a perfect match. Five days from now, don’t forget to join us for the wedding banquet!”

Daniel—who had delayed our engagement again and again, claiming he needed to establish himself first—had spent an entire week carving a heart-shaped diamond ring for Sophia.

The entire wedding was planned by him personally, every detail handled with care.

I deleted all of Daniel’s posts from my social media feed and switched off my phone.

My mother was still recovering; I didn’t want her to worry.

Two self-serving men—did they really think they could swap me out under my nose?

Sophia was only a month younger than me.

If she truly was my father’s illegitimate child, that meant he had cheated on my mother while she was pregnant with me.

Her replacing me had clearly been planned all along.

I reopened my phone and searched the account the investigator had given me on TikTok.

My father’s old flame, Isabella Moore, had crafted an online persona as a single mom.

Her videos documented her years of raising her daughter alone.

Though her daughter never appeared on screen, her voice was unmistakably Sophia’s.

Cross-checking carefully, I realized Sophia had been born the very day my mother and I were trapped at an airport by a typhoon.

At the time, my father’s phone had been off the entire day. He hadn’t offered us a single word of comfort.

The millions of dollars missing from the company books—supposedly for business entertainment—had actually been funneled to Isabella, funding her lavish lifestyle and “independent rich woman” persona.

And right after I applied for the overseas assignment, my father had rushed to bring her back while sending my mother away to a rehabilitation center.

Three months ago, Isabella had even posted a video, explaining her daughter might not appear as often anymore.

Sipping on a straw, she’d smirked and said:

“Back then, I thought her dad was useless and couldn’t set a good example for her. But now? I hear he’s made it big in New York, a self-made tycoon. He insisted on bringing her back to live like a princess. He even found her a promising young fiancé. So, I let him take her.”

The comments were filled with envy.

“So lucky! She’s rich on her own, and her ex—abandoned by her sister—climbed his way up to become a tycoon!”

“That girl must have never suffered a day in her life. Her parents raised her so well!”

Ha. I couldn’t help but laugh.

A son-in-law who married into the family—did he really think he was the head of Lunar Group?

Then I scrolled to a video that enraged me even more.

Five days ago, Isabella had streamed a dinner where she said her daughter was about to be engaged. The four of them sat together in a candlelit five-star hotel.

Daniel even appeared in her camera, calling Isabella “Mother-in-law” with a smile.

That same day, my mother had called me.

She said my father had gone back to New York City to deal with a contract.

Alone in the rehabilitation center, she had fallen because of severe psychosomatic weakness.

Her right hand was fractured, and a ten-centimeter gash tore across her left leg.

I had rushed to drive over.

But after days of exhaustion, I ended up in a car accident from fatigue.

Though my injuries were minor, my mother refused to let me care for her.

So I texted Daniel, asking him to visit her for me.

He promised readily.

Yet I heard nothing back.

The next day, he finally called to apologize, claiming he’d been tied up with business partners.

Contracts, business partners?

He was with Isabella and her daughter.

My phone suddenly pinged.

Daniel had sent me several voice messages.

“What are you doing back?”

“Don’t bully Sophia. Her dad was hardly around when she was growing up. Unlike you—born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

“Are you returning to the branch soon? Want me to drive you to the airport? Don’t just pop up like this and scare us!”

I laughed in disbelief.

But to avoid alarming them, I simply replied:

“I’m already at the airport. No need.”

Then I had my assistant pay a hefty price to secure an invitation to the Lunar Group heiress’s engagement party.

If they were using my name to host this ceremony, how could I not show up?

On the engagement day, I arrived early at the venue.

On the massive central screen, a slideshow looped of Daniel and Sophia’s love story, each photo carefully labeled with time and place.

I had thought Daniel only started seeing Sophia after my overseas assignment.

But no—two years ago, he had already been sneaking off with them under the excuse of business trips.

No wonder my father had suddenly transferred me abroad.

This engagement had been orchestrated to replace me with Sophia.

On stage, Daniel knelt on one knee before Sophia.

“Sophia, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Tears streamed down her face as she extended her hand.

“I will.”

The hall erupted in cheers and blessings.

But one voice cut through the noise.

Robert Dawson, Lunar Group’s closest business partner, frowned.

“Did I walk into the wrong wedding? Wasn’t this supposed to be the engagement of Miss Evans from Lunar Group?”

He stared at Sophia in puzzlement.

“This young lady is unfamiliar to me. She’s not the Miss Evans I usually work with. And Daniel—wasn’t your fiancée always the other Miss Evans?”

Clearly, their plan had been carefully crafted.

But at Robert’s questioning, neither of them flinched.

Sophia smiled faintly, her tone calm.

“You must mean Claire Evans. She’s just our adopted daughter.”

Daniel nodded in agreement.

“The true heiress of Lunar Group has always been Sophia. She’s simply been abroad for her health, so you may not recognize her.”

The moment Daniel finished speaking, several executives who had once crossed me leaned in together, whispering.

“Just an adopted daughter, and she dared act arrogant with us?”

“I really thought she was Lunar Group’s heiress. I even gave her a massive deal. Turns out she was just a shameless pretender!”

Hearing them, Sophia immediately stepped forward, speaking as if she were the rightful heiress, apologizing on my behalf.

“She was born lowly. Her mother was just a simple country woman, limited in her thinking.”