Chapter 1
547words
I quickly scrambled out of bed and pulled on a faded old t-shirt. It was one of Bianca's hand-me-downs, still too big for my frame.
Bianca was my foster sister, two years older and the golden child of the family. She had her own bedroom, pretty clothes, and her parents' unconditional adoration.
Meanwhile, I had nothing but a tiny attic room and never-ending chores.
"Finally decided to join us," my foster mother complained. "Hurry up and make breakfast. Your father's going to be late."
I headed to the kitchen and started frying eggs and toasting bread. I'd been doing this since I was five years old.
Five—that's as far back as my memories go. My foster mother said they found me after a car accident, bleeding and barely alive on the roadside.
They spent their savings to save me, or so they claimed. I was grateful and tried to repay them in my own way.
Yet they showed me no kindness. When I turned eighteen and finally graduated high school, there was no chance of college for me.
"We can't afford it," my foster father said curtly, eyes fixed on his newspaper rather than me. "Time for you to work."
Meanwhile, Bianca got into the best local university to study business management. Her future was carefully planned while mine was carelessly discarded.
"Everest Group is hiring cleaners," my foster mother tossed a newspaper at me one morning. "Go try your luck."
I had no choice. The next day, I stood before the towering glass building with sweaty palms. It was the city's largest corporate group, run by the Everest family.
"You're hired," the HR manager said without even looking at me. "Start tomorrow at six a.m."
Three months later, Bianca graduated from college and immediately landed a management trainee position at Everest Group. We now worked in the same building but lived in completely different worlds.
Everest Group was one of the largest corporations in the city, operated by the Everest family.
The CEO was reportedly young, handsome, and confident—every girl’s dream, including Bianca’s. She was constantly scheming to catch his attention.
"Hey, watch it!" A female voice interrupted my thoughts. I had accidentally bumped into Bianca and her colleagues.
"Sorry, sis..." I apologized softly, trying to slip past them.
“Shut up!” Bianca glared at me. “A cleaner shouldn’t speak out of turn. Know your place.”
The stares around me felt like needles piercing my skin. I lowered my head and fled the hallway, the mocking laughter of her colleagues following me down the corridor.
One day after returning home, I found Bianca unusually excited. She paced her room with an ecstatic expression I'd never seen before.
"What happened?" I asked curiously.
She stopped, giving me an odd look. "Nothing," she answered quickly. "Just good news at work."
That night, I overheard my foster parents and Bianca whispering in the living room.
"Are you sure the daughter the Blackwood family has been looking for is Zoe?" My foster father's voice was filled with doubt.
"I saw the photos and the description. It's definitely Zoe," Bianca insisted firmly.
My heart nearly stopped. Were they talking about me? The Blackwood family?
