Three Systems Made the Fake Heiress Unstoppable

"Okay, your uncle will keep your secret."

"That’s not enough! We have to pinky promise." Nora held out her pinky. She was terrified of Willow finding out about the books, so she needed Adrian to promise and give her his word.

Adrian sighed in resignation. They happened to stop at a red light, so he turned to the side, obligingly held out his hand, and hooked his pinky with Nora’s.

"Pinky promise for a hundred years, no take-backs. Whoever breaks it is a little puppy."

When Adrian parked in front of the villa, he saw that the living room lights were on.

"Nora, your mom’s here!" Adrian immediately guessed that Willow had come looking for them.

"Really?" Hearing her mom was here, Nora was absolutely ecstatic.

Adrian lifted Nora out of the car, and her short little legs whirred like a tiny motor as she dashed into the villa. Sure enough, she saw Willow sitting on the living room sofa.

"Mommy!" Nora threw herself right into Willow’s arms.

"Nora, did you miss Mommy these last few days?" Willow asked as she caught her.

"I did! Nora missed Mommy so, so much!" After speaking, Nora planted a big SMACK on Willow’s cheek.

"Oh, it looks like you really did miss me. Mommy was starting to think you didn’t. I said I was coming to pick you up today, but you ran off with your uncle instead."

Adrian, who was putting down his keys, heard this and knew his sister was blaming him for whisking Nora away.

"Sis, I forgot."

Willow ignored Adrian’s explanation and asked Nora instead, "So, where did your uncle take you just now? And remember, little kids aren’t supposed to lie."

Nora looked at Adrian, then at Willow, and lowered her gaze. "Uncle just took me to get something yummy."

"Is that so? Then look at Mommy when you say it."

"It is! Mommy, it’s true! Uncle and I had ice cream and pizza!"

"No one else was there?"

Nora looked toward Adrian again, but he avoided her gaze.

"No one, Mommy. You have to believe me."

"Okay, Mommy believes you. Let’s go home."

"Okay!"

"Take care, Sis!"

Willow shot Adrian a glare before leaving with Nora in her arms. Cradled in her mother’s embrace, Nora turned back to Adrian and gave him a little wink.

Adrian gave Nora a thumbs-up. ’Truth be told, I know Willow didn’t believe a word of it. Nora’s a terrible liar.’

But Willow hadn’t pressed the issue, which meant she was giving him some space.

「The York Residence」

The first thing Miles York said upon returning home was that Brooke York also had to attend the college acceptance party he was preparing.

"You need to attend the college acceptance party too."

"Miles York, this party isn’t for Brooke, so why should she have to go? Are you trying to utterly humiliate her?!" Alice Cole flared up the moment she heard him.

’The party wasn’t for her daughter, so why should she have to go? This was like rubbing her daughter’s face in the dirt!’

Brooke York was also shocked that Miles York was demanding she attend. She hadn’t thought he would actually go through with throwing a college acceptance party for Chloe York.

’He really doesn’t care about my feelings at all!’

"What does a woman like you know? This is precisely the time when Brooke must make an appearance."

"Appear for what? To be a laughingstock? To have Brooke play second fiddle to Chloe York? To make Chloe look that much more amazing by comparison?"

The more Alice Cole spoke, the more she veered off course, and Miles York realized they had misunderstood something.

"Have either of you been online? I’ve already hired paid commenters to build up a good reputation for Brooke. How could she not make an appearance?"

"What do you mean, you built up a good reputation?" Alice Cole, who had been seething with anger a moment ago, was stunned. For the past few days, neither she nor Brooke had dared to look at anything online.

’She couldn’t stand seeing her daughter get gossiped about and criticized online!’

"Go see for yourselves online. This party isn’t just for Chloe York anymore. It’s also because you, Brooke, have become a celebrity. Many people are saying you’re an inspiration they should learn from."

"I’ve also invited a lot of reporters." Miles York’s gaze fell upon Alice Cole. "Find someone to get Brooke properly styled. You should get dressed up, too. Don’t embarrass the family."

With that, Miles York turned and left the living room.

Brooke York quickly pulled out her phone. The moment the screen lit up, she saw her name in the trending topics.

#MostInspirational: Brooke York Faints After Exam From Studying to the Point of Forgetting to Eat and Sleep.#

#Fainting After Exam: Was It a Result of Studying Too Hard?#

#TheGirlWhoFainted: Studied Obsessively, Could She Be the College Entrance Exam’s Top Scorer?#

Beneath these tags were countless comments, and Brooke York scrolled through them one by one.

[So that’s why she fainted! It was because she was studying so hard!]

[If Brooke York isn’t the top scorer, then who is! Everyone should learn from her work ethic, haha. You need that kind of drive, but you also have to take care of your body. It’s all about balance.]

[If she becomes the top scorer, everyone will be so impressed. I mean, she worked so hard she fainted.]

[Kids these days are under so much pressure. But we should still learn from Brooke York. That dedication is amazing. I agree with the comment above, though—balance is important. Just emulate her drive.]

Alice Cole saw the posts as well. "Brooke, I never expected your father to be so clever! This must be the work of those paid commenters he hired. Now your reputation online is positive!"

Brooke York was also stunned. She never imagined this could be a way to salvage her reputation—twisting the fact that she had fainted from exhaustion and rage into the story of a model student collapsing from studying too hard.

"I never would have thought of it either!" Brooke York said. She truly hadn’t considered this angle. And to think she’d spent the past few days so scared she couldn’t even look at the internet or touch her phone, just moping around in a funk.

"See, Brooke? You still have so much to learn. Once you master this, there won’t be any negative trending topics about you online—only good ones. Chloe York must have used similar tactics to confuse the public and build her own good reputation online."

Alice Cole figured that Chloe York’s sterling online reputation must have been the result of hired commenters exaggerating her accomplishments.

Brooke York nodded. "Yes, that’s possible. I always suspected that whole story about her saving someone was fake. I just don’t understand why the principal would cover for her."

"Probably out of respect for your father. If it weren’t for him, Chloe York wouldn’t have even gotten into high school."

"Okay, Brooke, let’s not talk about that anymore. Right now, I need to plan how to get you all dolled up. Oh, that’s right! I’m going to hire a stylist and a makeup artist for you so you can make a dazzling entrance at the college acceptance party."

Alice Cole’s mind was already racing, picturing how she would make Brooke York the star of the show at the party.

’Even if her scores aren’t great when they come out, it’ll be fine as long as she gets into a university. The most important thing is to show everyone just how beautiful and classy her daughter—Alice Cole’s daughter—is.’

All of Brooke York’s previous resistance to attending the party had transformed into eager anticipation.

’She couldn’t wait for the day the scores were released. If Chloe York did poorly, this whole college acceptance party would become a laughingstock.’