My Family Played Poor While Spoiling My Sister? Sorry, I’m the Real Heiress! Chapter 01

My Family Played Poor While Spoiling My Sister? Sorry, I’m the Real Heiress! Chapter 01

I was scrubbing plates in a restaurant kitchen when another summer job teen showed me a video.

The caption read: “I posted reels for both my daughters. Whichever gets more engagement wins a luxury island graduation trip. Congrats, you’ve stumbled on the younger girl!”

My younger sister Harper’s face filled the thumbnail.

At first, I thought she was pulling some weird internet stunt. My parents made a living driving delivery vans and cleaning offices. I worked every shift just to scrape together tuition for college.

But when I checked the poster’s location tag, it traced back to Myers Group—the largest logistics firm in the city.

I scrolled through their profile and found an ongoing engagement contest pitting me against Harper.

One video promised a full suite of Apple products to whoever earned more likes. Another offered admission to a private prep school, and so on.

Forty-six reels total, and Harper had come out on top twenty-one times.

Only one video broke the pattern: “Whoever gets fewer likes will be subjected to extreme frugality.”

My photo sat front and center, racking up thirty-two thousand likes—a massive lead in this twisted contest.

My coworker gasped beside me. “Who knew, Lorelei? You’re secretly rich!”

I said nothing. I dried my hands and dialed Chase Finch, the sole heir to Washington D.C.’s wealthiest family.

“I’ve confirmed it. The Finch heiress abducted eighteen years ago isn’t Harper. It’s me.”

⋯⋯

A low chuckle rumbled over the line. “Do you take me for a fool, Miss Myers? This clumsy bait-and-switch reeks of greed. Aren’t you reaching too far?”

“The greedy one is you.” I glanced across the street at a matte black sedan. “Your father’s will is crystal clear. You cannot inherit the full estate unless you locate your sister, missing for eighteen years.”

“So will you bring a genuine sister home to legitimize your claim against the family trustees, or parade a fake past them? The choice is yours, Mr. Finch.”

A two-second silence stretched out before Chase spoke evenly. “The board of trustees has identified you and Harper as the two primary candidates. They will arrange tests to uncover the truth. Convince them you are who you claim to be, and I’ll bring you into the Finch household.”

“Deal.”

I’d barely hung up when my phone blared again. My mother’s shrill, hysterical voice exploded through the speaker. “Lorelei, where are you? Get to the hospital right now—your sister’s hurt badly!”

When I reached the hospital ward, Harper lay on the hospital bed. Her left leg was soaked crimson, her face drained of all color.

“Your sister stepped on a rusty nail while working a construction side gig. You two share the same blood type—you have to donate blood to save her.”

I leaned closer. Jagged, torn skin lined the wound, dotted with tiny bite marks. It didn’t look like an injury from a nail.

I thought back to that viral island trip reel and smiled faintly. “I’ll help her. But I need the truth—how did she really get that injury?”

I meant every word. If they dropped their lies and admitted their blatant favoritism, I would willingly give blood for Harper.

Instead, they exchanged a quick look and raised their voices in unison. “How can you be so heartless? Your sister is dying, and all you care about is prying for answers?”

Mom wiped fake tears from her cheeks. “You know exactly how tight money is around here! Harper works construction to ease our financial burden, risking her safety for this family. Meanwhile, you wander around aimlessly doing God knows what,, and now you throw tantrums when your sister needs blood?”

I stared down at my hands, permanently wrinkled and cracked from hours submerged in dish soap. A bitter laugh escaped me.

Harper taking a luxury island vacation counts as supporting the family. Me working restaurant shifts is reckless, entitled misbehavior.

“Mom, it’s fine,” Harper cut in perfectly on cue. “I’ve known my older sister never liked me. It’s my fault for intruding on her life.”

She turned her head, burying her face in the pillow and sniffling. “I guess this is just my rotten luck. Let me fade away if that’s what everyone wants.”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Dad snapped. “You are our daughter too. You brought your sister into this home all those years ago. She owes you her life. Giving blood for you is the least she can do.”

I’d been abducted by human traffickers at age three. My parents searched relentlessly. Due to matching blood types, they mistakenly collected Harper from the missing persons database.

Six months later, police returned me safely. By then, Harper had no living family to claim her, so the Myers officially adopted her.

My parents swore Harper brought the household good fortune the second she arrived. From then on, every sacrifice I made was treated as an obligation.

When I snapped back to reality, two nurses forced me onto the blood donation table.

After running a quick screening, the doctor shook his head. “She suffers from severe anemia. Medically speaking, I cannot recommend her donating blood.”

Dad’s expression darkened. “Is it merely not recommended, or outright forbidden?”

“We could wait for blood bank reserves—”

“Wait for what?” Mom cut him off impatiently. “My daughter is fading fast. If that wound gets infected, can you take responsibility?”

Dad frowned and pressed the doctor further. “I am her legal guardian. I authorize the donation. Start immediately.”

I caught a shadow flickering in the corner of the room. I rolled up my sleeve and held out my arm toward the needle. “Go ahead. I can handle it.”

No parents would risk their biological child’s health to save an adopted daughter.

Unless… I wasn’t their biological child at all.

Seeing is believing. I suspected I’d just passed the first trial from the Finch family trustees.