"Are the guardians here? Come take a look—this kid just got found!"

"She’s been missing for ten years. Now that she’s back, you’d better take good care of her."

The female officer led the way inside as she pushed open the office door.

Inside sat a young girl, dressed so simply it almost felt deliberate. A pink flower hairpin stuck awkwardly in her hair only made her stand out more—for all the wrong reasons.

She jumped to her feet the moment the door opened, nerves written all over her face.

Her name was Evelyn Harrington. She was twenty.

Before she turned ten, Evelyn had led a carefree city life like any other kid.

But life can flip in a second—her parents died in an unexpected accident, leaving her all alone.

That’s when her uncle James Harrington and wife Monica Nguyen, who lived in the countryside, came to the city to handle the funeral.

Not even half a year later, Evelyn went out one day and vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, James and Monica cashed in on her parents’ inheritance and started a business.

No one saw it coming, but in just a decade, they’d built a massive empire and climbed to the top of Rongcheng’s elite.

They had long moved on from the niece they had “lost,” until Evelyn suddenly reappeared.

The police explained that after she went missing, an elderly farming couple had taken her in and raised her. She recently made her way back to Rongcheng, and with familiar places jogging her memory, she realized who she was again and went to the police.

James sent Monica to pick her up.

She wasn’t thrilled, pinching her nose the whole way there.

Monica had never liked Evelyn — even back then, she only played nice because of the inheritance. Now that things had changed? That patience was long gone.

She was now the wife of a wildly successful businessman, dripping in luxury labels. Whatever event she showed up at, she was the talk of the crowd.

Now look at Evelyn — straight out of the countryside, awkward and plain.

If those high-society ladies saw this niece of hers, they'd be laughing for days.

If James hadn’t insisted she bring the girl back home, Monica would’ve turned right around and left her at the station.

By the time they got back, James had just arrived too.

"Evelyn, you're finally home! Let me take a good look at you. You’ve gotten so thin! Must’ve had a hard time these past years, huh? Don’t worry now. You’ve got your uncle looking out for you. From here on out, you’ll be living easy, alright? This is your home now—settle in."

Compared to Monica’s icy attitude, James was all smiles and warmth, talking nonstop as he tried to make her feel welcome. After a while, he had one of the maids lead her to her room to rest.Monica Nguyen was fuming. She jabbed a finger in James Harrington’s face and snapped, “James, are you out of your mind? You really think we’re letting some outsider crash here? No way! Tell her to pack and bounce tomorrow!”

James rushed to cover her mouth. “Not so loud! What if she hears you?”

Monica scoffed. “So what if she does? She’s not some precious heiress anymore! Just a girl from the boonies with zero education and no parents. We’ve got our own daughter—why should we take in this dead weight?”

James lowered his voice. “Oh, now you remember we have a daughter? You seriously wanna watch Lydia end up married to some nutjob?”

He gestured toward the guest room upstairs. “I’ve been racking my brain about what to do. Then, boom! Like a blessing from above—she shows up, ready to take the fall.”

Monica paused, gears turning. “You mean make her marry into the Hart family instead of Lydia? Isn’t that kinda letting her off easy? I mean, it’s the Harts!”

James looked at her like she was missing the point. “Who cares about that crap now? How many times have I said it? Rich families like theirs would never actually want folks like us. You messed up by agreeing without asking questions, and now we’ve got the Harts breathing down our necks about that engagement.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “This solves everything. Evelyn takes the bullet, and we’re off the hook.”

Monica clapped her hands together, impressed. “Genius! The engagement was to a Harrington girl, not necessarily our own kid.”

James nodded slowly, a sneer on his lips. “Honestly? Getting hitched to that psycho’s a step up for Evelyn.”

Upstairs in the guest room, Evelyn Harrington unclipped the barrette from her hair and calmly tapped the hidden call button. “Luke, you there?”

“At your service,” came the cool voice on the other end.

Gone was the gentle, delicate girl—Evelyn’s aura turned sharp in an instant. “Status update on Y Country?”

“Mission accomplished. All targets neutralized, per your command.”

“Hostages in S Country?”

“Rescued safely. No casualties.”

Luke hesitated, then added, “Ma’am, with all due respect... this Hart family drama? Kind of beneath you. Compared to our usual ops, it’s small potatoes.”

Evelyn’s tone was measured. “It’s been a while since I was home. Consider it a staycation.”

She ended the call and reattached the barrette. It wasn’t just an accessory—this top-tier gadget could record, call, take pictures, and only her fingerprint could activate it.

Just then, a shrill voice pierced the air outside the door. “What? We’ve got some country bumpkin living here now? Some so-called cousin? I don’t care—get her out of here!”

Before the words had even faded, the door flung open. A girl stormed in, heavy makeup, designer everything, attitude dialed to max.Evelyn Harrington recognized her right away — of course, it was Lydia Harrington.

Lydia gave her a once-over, her face full of disdain. "I don’t care what my parents think, but I’m not claiming some broke relative like you. If my friends find out I’ve got a country bumpkin for a cousin, that’d be social suicide."

Evelyn didn’t even blink, just waited for her to finish ranting before calmly saying, "I'm tired. Could you leave?"

That hit a nerve. Lydia snapped, her voice rising, "Excuse me? Do you even know whose house this is? Who do you think you are, kicking me out? You're just some stray nobody picked up off the street! What, you think you matter now?"

Fuming, she raised her hand, clearly ready to slap Evelyn.

But before she could react, Evelyn moved like lightning, pinning her to the floor with a hard thud. Lydia winced, gasping for air, completely winded.

Honestly, Evelyn had held back — if she hadn’t been cautious about her bigger objective, Lydia might’ve ended up bedridden for weeks.

The moment Lydia hit the floor, the noise drew James Harrington and Monica Nguyen rushing in. They found their spoiled daughter crumpled on the ground, and as soon as she managed a breath, she burst into dramatic sobs.

"Dad, Mom, look what she did!" Lydia bawled, sniffling. "It’s either her or me — kick her out, or I’m leaving!"

Monica immediately rushed to help Lydia up, glaring daggers at Evelyn. "We take you in out of kindness, and you hit your cousin? That’s outrageous!"

James, at least, kept a level head. "Evelyn, what happened?"

Evelyn lowered her head, voice trembling with just the right touch of pitiful, "She came in yelling at me to leave and tried to hit me. I’ve had a rough time in the countryside... I got scared, lost control. I’m really sorry, Uncle."

James wanted to scold her, but remembering her usefulness, he swallowed his anger.

"Forget it. Just rest. I'll have someone bring you food." He pulled his fuming daughter out behind him.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Evelyn looked up. Her eyes sharpened like a blade.

She wasn’t here just to “come home.” Her real aim was to uncover the truth behind one of the big three families of Z country — the Harts.

William Hart, their head, had suddenly gone mad — no illness, no warning.

Evelyn guessed something dark was behind it. And using this marriage as her entry point into the Hart family?

Perfect.