Inheritance and Intrigue

My stepmother wanted me to give up my father's inheritance.

Before the money even reached my hands, she kicked me out of the house and moved in her idol boyfriend, instantly becoming a wealthy woman in the entertainment industry.

But the truth was, my father didn't leave any inheritance.

The wealthiest person in the family was me.

1.

My father died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

My stepmother, Amy Snow, with her heavy makeup, cried dramatically in front of the cross, begging the lord not to take her husband away.

Anyone passing by couldn't help but sigh, "How will the family cope with this tragedy?"

But this didn't apply to my family.

Selling just one of our houses would fetch more money than an average person could earn in a lifetime.

So, to those unaware of the truth, Amy's breakdown seemed to be due to losing her beloved.

I didn't know how long I stood there, but my back was as stiff as the cold hospital wall.

Watching Amy's award-winning performance, I couldn't help but chuckle.

If she could act like this in films, she wouldn't have been mocked and boycotted online after winning the Best Actress award two years ago, only daring to reappear in the public eye now.

Today, when my father was rushed to the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage, she seized the opportunity to stage a comeback, contacting major media outlets to camp outside the hospital, just to capture this touching scene.

The media was more than willing.

After all, everyone wanted to see which hidden tycoon in the city the former fake Best Actress had married.

"Amy, "

I called softly, ensuring my voice reached her ears before continuing.

"Relying on faith won't help.

The person you should be worried about is yourself."

Amy, kneeling on the ground, suddenly turned around.

Her expression became vicious, her bloodshot eyes glaring at me with a warning.

I met her gaze fearlessly, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

She stood up in an instant, taking two steps to reach me, grabbing my collar and pinning me against the wall.

Amy wasn't as tall as me, so she had to look up.

Her heavily powdered face squeezed into menacing creases, making her expression all the more sinister.

"Catelyn Jackson, don't you dare spread nonsense outside!" she warned me in a low voice, then immediately raised her voice to shout, "Catelyn! Your father is dead, and you're still here making sarcastic remarks!

Isn't it enough that you drove him to his death? What do we have to do to satisfy you?"

With those words, she not only pinned the blame for my father's death on me but also clearly explained the reason for her earlier outburst.

I glanced at the reporters gathered beyond the police line, my smile deepening.

But I only spoke softly in front of her.

"Of course, I know how my father died.

You were worried my father would become a vegetable, so you chose to give up on treatment.

As his daughter, I'm truly touched.

My father has a strong self-esteem; how could he bear to be bedridden until death?

So, you gave him a quick end, didn't you?"

Amy understood my insinuation that she had caused my father's death.

But she wasn't afraid.

Having lived together for two years, Amy knew my character was weak and easy to manipulate, at most just stubborn.

She threatened me, "Keep your mouth shut! You have no place in this family!"

Amy acted swiftly and decisively to warn me.

She made a big deal online, using the hospital incident to tarnish my reputation in the public eye while promoting her comeback.

In the age of the internet, information spread rapidly and densely, creating a dense network of information. I saw how the netizens in their cocoons commented-

"Disgusting, how could someone kill their own father over an inheritance?"

"This woman must have a persecution complex, probably read too many novels and thinks all stepmothers are evil, projecting onto Amy."

"What right does someone who killed their father have to inherit his estate? Why? Even the fiercest animals protect their young, yet she, as a daughter, killed her own father!"

"Poor Amy. I heard Amy was the tycoon's first love, and that woman's mother was the mistress who married up for money. As expected, the mistress's daughter is just like her mother. She should just die and pay for what she's done."

"These netizens are useless. Why hasn't anyone exposed the patricidal woman yet?"

"Here's the details. Catelyn Jackson, twenty-eight, a Stanford graduate, was appointed CEO of the enterprise after her mother's death. During her tenure, the company faced major issues, leading to her dismissal by Mr. Jackson."

"Hilarious, the mistress's daughter is utterly useless, only knows how to commit crimes!"

The comments from netizens didn't stir my emotions in the slightest.

What they saw was what Amy wanted them to see.

But I had no habit of refuting rumors online.

I wasn't a public figure, so I didn't have to play the public - opinion - manipulation game to safeguard my interests.

Even if they eventually uncover my true identity, I was not worried about any backlash.

In internet parlance, I was just a ruthless capitalist.

My target audience wasn't them.

As for Amy, she would have to face the consequences of her actions.

2.

My father's cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage, and it was Amy who gave up on treatment.

He probably never imagined that his first love, whom he cherished for over thirty years, would be the one to kill him.

I'd always known about Amy's relationship with my father.

I found out when I was sixteen.

At that time, my mother was busy with the company's affairs and was rarely home.

My father took advantage of this, giving the servants time off and secretly bringing Amy home.

Our villa was located in the city's affluent area, worth over a hundred million.

Amy couldn't stop exclaiming in awe as she stepped inside.

"Honey, your business is doing so well, why don't you help me out a bit?"

"In a couple of years, once my business turns stable, I'll help you."

Watching them flirt openly in the living room made my younger self feel nauseous.

But my grandmother always said one should take action at the first opportunity.

So, I steeled myself and switched all the house cameras to small windows, filling my computer screen.

I watched them roll from the living room to the bedroom, then to the bathroom.

Eventually, I could calmly sip coffee and remark, "Dad's health is really declining.

If he knew every corner of the house was under surveillance, maybe he'd try a bit harder."

After all, a man with traditional patriarchal views like my father

wouldn't want to lose face in front of the woman he loved.

When I was eighteen, my mother died in a car accident.

It was as if she had already discovered traces of my father's infidelity. The couple's joint assets amounted to only ten million.

All the family properties and the company were under my name.

My mother's will also stated that the inheritance was mine.

From that day on, I became the wealthiest person in the family.

After my mother passed, my father's relatives came one after another, asking him to help find jobs or lend money to buy houses.

Because my mother had strictly forbidden him from associating with his relatives while she was alive.

He wasn't foolish.

After living a prosperous life for years, with only ten million left in his account, it wasn't enough to keep his company running.

Feeling the crisis, he resolutely decided to uphold his late wife's wishes.

Later, he started asking me for money.

Initially, the excuse was that the company's cash flow was cut off and needed funds.

Seeing how readily I gave money, he eventually stopped giving reasons, just stating an amount and asking me to transfer it immediately.

How could I not know what he was using the money for?

With my mother gone, he could openly be with Amy.

Amy didn't understand the intricacies of our family.

She always thought my father had full control over the Jacksons' finances.

She pouted and got angry, forcing my father to spend five million to secure her the Best Actress award two years ago.

But when the award scandal broke, Amy was boycotted online, losing all endorsements and advertisements.

Overnight, she lost her status and reputation and married my father instead.

On their wedding day, I applauded enthusiastically, smiling even more brightly than when I got into Stanford for my master's.

"Catelyn, I'll be your mother from now on, "

Amy said with a gentle smile, showing her affection for me in front of the guests.

I was even more enthusiastic, tears in my eyes as I hugged her.

"Then I'll be counting on you from now on."

Amy saw me as a spoiled fool, her eyes brimming with calculation.

Not long after entering the house, Amy gradually revealed her true nature.

Seeing me frequently attending business elite gatherings and managing the company's affairs, she assumed my father had temporarily handed the company over to me.

She assumed control of household affairs and ordered me, "Catelyn, you shouldn't go to the company anymore.

Your father is managing the company. Why are you taking on responsibilities that aren't yours?

You're twenty-five now. Don't you think it's time to settle down and start a family?"

I adjusted my glasses, catching a glimpse of her stern face through the lenses.

She no longer had the gentle and loving demeanor she showed at my wedding.

I smiled.

"I'm my father's only daughter. Of course, I need to take these duties.

Otherwise, when he gets old and I know nothing, how will I support you both without money?"

Amy thought she had given me an out, but I was ungrateful.

She approached my father, trying to make me leave the company.

When my father talked to me, he no longer showed the kind demeanor he had when my mother was alive.

"Catelyn, prepare to hand over the company to me.

Business is traditionally a man's world.

You're a lady, mingling with men all day may affect your judgment. Besides, who knows what gossip might arise!"

I looked at him calmly.

Through his narrow eyes, I saw the timid man he once was.

My lips curled into an ambiguous smile, and the probing in my eyes deepened.

"Dad, the company is facing some issues. Can I hand it over to you after I resolve them?"

My father frowned, seemingly thinking it was an excuse.

"What issues? How long will it take?"

I pointed to several reports on the desk, giving him one last chance.

"Unsettled accounts, about two years."

But after hearing this, my father adopted a lecturing tone.

"You can't even recover a few payments. Your mother really wasted her efforts on you!

Two more years? I think in two years, you'll have run the entire company into the ground!"

The downfall of enterprise was inevitable.

It was just a matter of when I decided to let it happen.

Once it collapsed, its subsidiaries would crumble too.

During my mother's lifetime, the enterprise's annual profit reached 1.5 billion.

Knowing this, my father was eager to swallow the enterprise whole.

He repeatedly tried to enter the enterprise but was always rejected by my mother.

Now that she was gone, he straightened his back and naturally chose me, the easy target, to pressure.

I didn't refuse, looking at him with the same gentle and obedient smile as always.

"Understood. I'll step down from the enterprise and let you take over, Dad."

3.

Everyone saw me as an obedient and gentle only daughter of the Jacksons.

The strict etiquette and upbringing of the family didn't allow me to show any real emotional fluctuations.

Most of the year, I wasn't home.

During this time, I stayed with my grandparents, receiving their guidance.

I also discovered something.

My mother resembled my grandfather.

And I, I resembled my grandmother.

In both personality and appearance.

My grandfather was gentle, indecisive, and emotional. His first love and marriage partner was my grandmother.

My grandmother, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

As a third - generation wealthy heiress, she stepped into the shoes of a businesswoman after taking over the family business. Beneath her gentle exterior, she always concealed a sharp edge, like a coiled snake ready to strike at any given moment.

According to her, in her youth, she was known for her many romantic escapades without leaving a trace.

She wanted to break the stereotype that only men could enjoy such freedom.

With money, she could do as she pleased.

Even after marrying my grandfather, she continued to enjoy life, balancing "love" and career seamlessly.

In her words, she was merely engaging in a pragmatic approach to love.

My mother was different.

She was deeply in love with my father. She stood by him unwaveringly, this so - called "phoenix man" who climbed from humble origins to achieve success, usually with the assistance of a wealthier partner.

If I hadn't deliberately let her discover my father's affair, she might not have even made a will.

Before her car accident, she was out of town helping the enterprise negotiate a project.

The reason she rushed home was because Amy sent her a photo of herself in bed with my father.

Amy, as the mistress, thought my mother was clinging to my father.

As long as she held my father's heart and disrupted my mother's emotions, she could successfully cause my parents to divorce and take the position of the lady of the house.

Little did she know, even if my mother hadn't had the accident, it would have been my father who was kicked out.

But I felt sorry for my father!

He must have truly loved my mother.

After she passed, he was in a slump for a long time.

I made sure his favorite dishes were delivered daily.

Those were his favorites.

Seeing how considerate I was, my father seemed somewhat comforted.

"My Catelyn has grown up and knows how to care for her father."

I smiled gently and said to him, "Dad, the kitchen has prepared your favorite roast ribbon for dinner, and there's your favorite snack."

Pausing, I continued softly, "How about some dessert afterward? A little sweetness can lift your spirits."

But he changed the subject, not responding to my suggestion.

Catelyn, I want to discuss something with you

Your mother hasn't been gone long, but being alone, I can't help but feel lonely.

Thinking of your mother, I can't stop myself from crying.

You wouldn't want your father to be in tears every day, would you?"

I stared at him, my smile freezing for a moment before softening even more.

He had been sulking for days, waiting for this moment, hadn't he?

Coincidentally, so was I.

I immediately agreed to him remarrying.

I thought the conversation was over at this point.

My father, chewing on a steak, his mouth shiny with grease, smacked his lips and instructed me.

"With your grandparents gone, visiting the Greens too often might make people think I'm not taking care of you."

After speaking, he lifted his eyelids to test me.

"By the way, your mother once told me that your grandparents' assets were partly donated to charity and partly in a trust fund, right?"

My smile unchanged, I took a small sip of orange juice.

"Dad, you remembered wrong. All of my grandparents' assets were donated.

Because they didn't seem to want you to... "

Before I could finish, my father hurriedly interrupted.

"Alright, I get it!"

He looked impatient, extremely unwilling to bring up the matter.

My grandparents didn't think much of him.

Before my grandmother passed away, she worried about the assets falling into my father's hands and told my mother that all the Greens' assets were donated.

Yet my father was still not giving up, trying to test me again.

At his age, he was still so amusing, truly an old child at heart.

If he could have been more mature, he might not have died of a stroke on the operating table.

What a pity.

4.

My father's funeral was over quickly.

Afterward, Amy and I arrived home one after the other.

As soon as I walked in, I saw her directing the servants to move things.

I approached her and asked what was going on.

She glared at me, seemingly still upset about the incident at the hospital.

"Catelyn, don't think I don't see through your facade!

Your father may not be the sharpest, but I'd been in the entertainment industry for years. I'd seen people much smarter than you.

I don't even consider you worth my time.

Pack your things and get out of the Jacksons' house.

Otherwise, you'll find yourself completely ostracized and unemployable, with no place to stay in this city!"

I acknowledge Amy's ability to manipulate online narratives.

But using it to threaten me?

Didn't she realize she was barking up the wrong tree?

I was not in the entertainment industry.

Even if my address were exposed, they couldn't reach me.

Clearly, staying in one place too long narrowed one's perspective.

I linked arms with her, smiling, "Oh, Amy, would you really want me to leave?"

Amy looked me up and down with disdain and shook off my hand.

"Don't touch me.

If it weren't for your dad, I'd have kicked you out ages ago.

And you dare mock me for not having children?

Well, it doesn't matter if I have a kid or not. What's important is that all the Jacksons' money is mine. I can do whatever I want."

I didn't agree with that.

I wasn't mocking her for not having children.

I was provoking her on purpose.

Otherwise, why would she be so eager to seize the Jacksons' fortune?

"Amy, they say a short marriage can leave a lasting bond. You and my dad were married for two years, that's a deep one to me.

For my dad's sake, could you take down those online slanders?"

I looked at her with hopeful eyes, wishing she'd agree.

She let out a few cold laughs.

"Catelyn, are you scared now?

Then why were you so arrogant at the hospital earlier?"

I lowered my head. "My dad passed away. I'm not in a good mood. Don't you understand the bond between a father and daughter, Amy?"

"Your bond with your dad has nothing to do with me.

Anyway, let me tell you, your dad said all the money he earned was his alone, and it has nothing to do with you or your mom.

After he died, the money belongs to me!

Even though he didn't leave a will, I have a recording! You won't get a penny!"

Amy pulled out a recorder pen from her pocket and pressed play.

My dad's bold and generous voice came through.

"You'd waited so long, how could I let you suffer? I have no feelings for that woman."

Then Amy's sweet voice chimed in.

"Then why do you act like you miss her so much? I saw you almost crying. It made me feel terrible!

That was just for show in front of Catelyn. You know, she's my daughter. Besides, don't you want Catelyn to give up her position in the company? If I act like this, she might feel guilty and step down quietly, saving us from a family feud."

"Hmph! It's your fortune. Why should they benefit? I feel so unfair for you!"

"It's okay. A man should always be considerate towards a woman."

"But I always feel like Catelyn doesn't like me. Do you think when we're old, she'll take all the money and leave us with nothing?"

"Don't worry, darling. Once I get the company back, all the money at home will be yours to manage!"

I was momentarily stunned, clutching my chest, tears welling up.

"No wonder... no wonder my dad cried in front of my mom's portrait at the dinner table that day.

So you had it all planned out!

I even thought it was my mistake that caused the company's project issues. I thought my dad was worried the company my mom built would fall apart in my hands, so I gave the position back to him... !"

Amy laughed triumphantly, clearly enjoying my heartbroken state.

"Now that you know the truth, are you ready to leave?

But, seeing how pitiful you are.

I'll allow you to stay one more night to say goodbye to the things in the house.

By ten tomorrow morning, pack up and get out."

Amy ordered the servants to stop

and carelessly tossed the things they had moved out back onto the floor.

I looked over.

There was a teddy bear on the ground.

It was a birthday gift from my dad when I was seven.

5.

That night, I uncharacteristically opened X.

The top trending topics were all about Amy.

#Stepmothers#

#Amy'sBeautyInHerYouth#

#AmyTheRich#

I glanced at the computer screen.

The surveillance footage showed Amy entering the master bedroom with a young man.

I zoomed in on the screen.

Then, I clicked on the #AmyTheRich# tag.

The comments from netizens were amusing.

"Amy inherited a fortune and is now a rich woman. I want to be his boy toy!"

"Don't get lovesick, Amy. Focus on your career. We want to see you conquer the entertainment industry!"

"Amy, get rid of that stepdaughter! The fortune is rightfully yours, not for those mother-daughter gold diggers!"

I closed X and made a call to the group's assistant.

"Spend some money to push the news of my David's death during the operation to the top of the trending list the day after tomorrow."

David was my dad.

After hanging up, I crossed my arms and watched Amy and the young man's actions.

Amy certainly had good taste.

The man was over six feet tall, with not an ounce of extra fat, and his chest showed defined muscles.

His features were striking, with a playful warmth in his eyes.

He looked down at Amy, who was burning with desire.

Clearly, he was teasing her.

Amy, increasingly impatient, slipped off her nightgown, clinging to the man with her fifty-year-old body.

The man gently pushed her to sit on the bed, smiling tenderly, and handed her a glass of water from the table.

Amy looked up, coquettishly asking, "Aren't you going to feed me?"

The man remained silent, continuing his actions.

Amy seemed to enjoy his control over her, obediently drinking the water.

Beyond that, I lost interest in watching.

Such repetitive behavior, only the young man lasted longer than my dad.

I turned off the surveillance and went to bed.

I hadn't slept long when I felt the mattress beside me sink slightly.