Later, Kaia's foster mother died in an accident, leaving Kaia an orphan. Persuaded by her daughter, Ione formally adopted Kaia and gave her the Gale surname. From then on, the Gale family gained a second daughter. Ione tried her best to treat both girls equally, showering them with the same love. In fact, afraid Kaia might feel sensitive or left out, Ione sometimes intentionally showed her extra favor. Darcy, understanding from a young age, noticed but never complained. During university, one day, people from the Lark family suddenly showed up, claiming to be Kaia's birth parents. It turned out Kaia had been kidnapped as a child, sold multiple times, but eventually ended up back in Aethelburg. A twist of fate. The Lark family was wealthy in Aethelburg. Both Darcy and her mother were genuinely happy for Kaia's return to her biological family. But life after the reunion didn't go as hoped. After Kaia was kidnapped, the Lark family adopted a girl from an orphanage. That girl, raised with their doting affection, grew up spoiled and willful. When the true heiress, Kaia, returned, she was targeted at every turn by this fake heiress. And the Larks always took the adopted daughter's side. Hearing this, both Darcy and her mother urged Kaia to come back and live with them. Kaia refused. The Larks were filthy rich, after all. Even the crumbs from their table beat the Gales by a mile. Over the years, the Gales kept a room ready for Kaia, but Kaia drifted further and further away. Fine. A rotten sister isn't one I want anymore.That night, her thoughts too chaotic, Darcy didn't go home. She spent a cramped night on the hospital room sofa. ... The next morning, after breakfast, Darcy was busy with her mother's discharge paperwork. In the car, Ione asked curiously, "You bought a car?" Darcy's hand stilled on the wheel. "Mhmm," she hummed vaguely. She couldn't tell her mother about her new job yet. Not now. They got home around ten. Upstairs, Darcy settled her mother on the couch to rest and took the chance to tidy up. When she was almost done, she said, "Mom, I've hired a housekeeper. She'll start this afternoon, so from now on—" She turned and found the couch empty. Ione emerged from the storage room, her expression serious."Darcy, where are the engagement gifts Zane sent over? They're gone." Darcy froze. She hadn't expected her mother to notice so soon. She stammered, struggling to find a convincing excuse. Just as she was fumbling for words, the front door clicked open. Kaia walked in, laden with shopping bags. A bright smile lit up her face. "Mom! I came to see you!" Ione's attention instantly shifted. She beamed, taking the gifts. Took the day off just to come? Why'd you buy so much? What a waste of money!" Kaia's eyebrows lifted with pride. "Yep, took the day off just for you. It's my duty to spoil you. Besides, I just got a promotion and a raise. My salary's way higher now!" "A promotion? Oh, that's wonderful!" Ione laughed.Kaia watched Darcy's face from the corner of her eye. Seeing Darcy's look of surprise, she felt even more smug. "Yeah! I'm now an assistant to a truly exceptional person at the company. I'm sure my skills will skyrocket soon! And I earned this opportunity all by myself." Without any help from Darcy. Kaia added silently in her mind. In the two years since joining SummitCore Tech, Darcy had never once tried to get her a promotion. Kaia had begged Darcy, asking her to put in a good word with Zane. Darcy wouldn't even do that. All that talk about lifelong sisters, best friends forever—total crap. Dr. Moss is the real decent one. She had just mentioned it casually over a meal, not expecting much. But Zora immediately had HR issue her a transfer and salary adjustment form.Her salary had literally doubled! Kaia could understand now why Zane had pined for Zora all these years. Who could resist a woman who was beautiful, capable, and generous? Darcy guessed Zora must have been behind Kaia's promotion—probably making Kaia her personal assistant. That explained seeing Kaia at the client's building yesterday. Darcy kept her face calm and stepped into the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with a plate of sliced fruit. "Mom, Kaia, have some. I'm going to my room to read for a bit." Kaia speared a piece of honeydew with a fork, a subconscious frown flickering. Still studying at this age? No matter how hard you try, you'll never match a natural talent like Dr. Moss. Of course, she didn't say that out loud."Darcy," Kaia said, raising an eyebrow. "Now that Mom's home, you'll be heading back to the company soon, right?" Honestly, Kaia couldn't wait to see Darcy crash and burn back at work. With Zora being adored by the whole company, could Darcy still keep her cool like now? No way! And if she found out Zora was Zane's dream girl, that Zane had never truly loved her... Kaia couldn't suppress a smile. "Your sister still has the engagement to prepare for. No rush to go back to the office yet," Ione said, answering for Darcy. Her daughter had worked herself to the bone for that company for years, never able to fully relax even on holidays, practically on call year-round. Now that she finally had a break, Ione selfishly wanted her to rest a little longer.