Chapter 1

I turned down an offer to be a professor at MIT, choosing instead to work for my parents' company.

But on the day the company went public, my parents pushed a girl onto the stage who bore a striking resemblance to them.

"Harper, the nurse made a mistake when you were born. Serena is our biological daughter."

"You need to move out tomorrow. And don't forget to pay back all the expenses we incurred raising you."

"But jobs are tough to find these days. For old times' sake, we can let you stay on as a cleaner at the company."

Serena chimed in, a smirk playing on her lips:

"Sister, thank you for every project you developed over the past five years. All your patents are now registered in my name."

"But I don't like having outsiders in the family. You should leave as soon as possible."

Amidst the sympathetic glances of the guests, I let out a low laugh.

A bunch of fools.

If I could get you to go public, I can certainly make you go bankrupt!

I calmly walked through the crowd and exited the opulent doors of the stock exchange.

I flagged down a taxi and gave the address of the mansion I’d lived in for over two decades.

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. He probably recognized me, the ceremony had been broadcast live everywhere.

He didn't say a word, just quietly turned off the financial news radio.

I leaned against the window, watching the neon lights blur past outside.

My phone kept vibrating. I didn't need to look to know it was the media, eager for a scoop.

I just switched it off.

The car pulled up to the entrance of the gated community.

From a distance, I could already see two large suitcases and a cardboard box, standing forlornly outside the front door.

I sneered.

Looks like they were pretty efficient, afraid I might stay an extra second if I came back.

I dragged my bags to the door, instinctively placing my finger on the fingerprint lock.

"Beep—Permission denied. Please contact administrator."

A cold electronic voice.

The mockery in my eyes deepened.

This entire security system, from hardware to software, was designed and deployed by me.

The so-called highest administrator privileges had always been mine.

I never thought I'd be locked out by the very system I created.

Fine by me. It saves me from having to act out some disgusting charade with them inside.

I sat on the ground and pulled out my laptop.

I skillfully logged into the internal server backend.

I wanted to see just how thoroughly they'd stolen my work.

I entered the superuser account and password I'd used for five years.

But instead of the familiar admin panel, a bright red window popped up, stating that the user did not exist.

They truly went all out.

Just as I was wondering what to do next, the phone I had switched off in my pocket suddenly lit up.

It was a number I thought I'd never contact again.