Ch. Fake Daughter Is The Real Legend 114 Fake Daughter Is The Real Legend 114

Chapter 114 The Pit

“Huh?”

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The light had just turned red. Zane glanced back at Iris in the rearview mirror, looking puzzled.

“Are we still expecting trouble?”

“No.” She closed the book on her lap. “I just don’t like unnecessary trouble.”

If the Sutton family ever learned the truth, they’d undoubtedly come running back to pester her.

She had no interest in letting them back into her life.

“Oh, come on, Boss.” Zane couldn’t help but complain. “If they come looking for you, I’ll throw them out myself! Honestly, I’d love to see them shamelessly begging you for help. The moment they found out you weren’t their biological daughter, they shipped you overseas. They never even told you why they suddenly started treating you so coldly-and they even cut off your living expenses.”

He shook his head.

“You were just a kid. Emotionally abandoning a child, then sending her to another country without a penny to live on… that’s no different from slowly leaving her to die.”

As the public face of their business-and someone who had watched Iris grow up over the years -Zane understood better than anyone what the Sutton family had put her through.

“The light’s green.”

“Oh! Right!” He hurriedly started the car.

Understanding that Iris didn’t want to discuss the subject any further, he wisely let it drop.

Back at Capital University, Ethan remained blissfully convinced that everyone around them was simply envious.

He spent the rest of the afternoon walking Olivia around campus, practically announcing to the entire university that she was his girlfriend.

The moment he returned to his dormitory, however, one of his roommates shoved a phone into his face.

“This video’s all over the campus forum.”

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“You two are dating?”

Ethan was still floating in the afterglow of Olivia’s sweetness.

Trying to convince both himself and his roommate, he said,

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“You can’t really tell what happened from the video. It was just a misunderstanding. Olivia thought her sister had entered the archive room without permission.”

“Dude.” His roommate stared at him in disbelief. “She outright implied her own sister had an improper relationship with Professor Joe. You call that a misunderstanding?”

Seeing Ethan remain oblivious, his roommate jumped up, grabbed him by the shoulders, and started shaking him.

“Wake up! What if Professor Joe sees that video? What do you think he’ll think? What if he finds out you’re dating that girl?”

“Professor Joe is grading your finals! He might even have Nathan help with the grading!”

“But Professor Joe’s a professor.” Ethan still clung to wishful thinking. “He’s not going to care about something this trivial.”

Then he frowned suspiciously.

“Wait a minute… you’re always trying to convince me to break up with Olivia.”

“Do you like her or something?”

Earlier that day, Olivia had told him he was her first love.

That everything she had belonged to him.

She had poured so many sweet words into his ears that he couldn’t help believing them.

His roommate was so frustrated he almost laughed.

His good intentions had been twisted into jealousy.

Fine.

If Ethan refused to listen, he wasn’t going to waste another word.

Meanwhile, Iris ran into Linda outside Venus’s office building.

Seeing Iris heading inside, Linda hesitated before walking over.

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“President Zero…”

Gone was the arrogance in her voice. Instead, she smiled ingratiatingly.

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“I was too full of myself before. Even though Venus has a new makeup artist now… one person can’t possibly handle everything alone, right? I could still-”

After leaving Venus, Linda had finally realized how badly she’d fallen behind the industry.

Many companies rejected her outright, saying her makeup style was outdated and overly conservative.

Mr. Smith, on the other hand, had already landed a new position elsewhere. He no longer had any reason to look after her.

After thinking it over again and again, Linda had decided to come back and try her luck.

President Zero was young. Maybe if she swallowed her pride, admitted her mistakes, and flattered her a little…

There might still be hope.

Iris’s response was brief. “The moment you and Mr. Smith left, Venus placed both of you on its permanent no-rehire list.”

One sentence.

That was all it took to shatter Linda’s last hope. She stood there in a daze, watching Iris disappear into the building.

Unwilling to give up, she tried to chase after her.

The security guards immediately stopped her.

“I’m not an outsider!”

“I’m an employee of Venus!”

Neither guard was buying it. “If you’re an employee, where’s your ID badge?”

“President Zero! Please! Give me one more chance!”

No matter how loudly she shouted…

No one answered.

Back in her office, Bella showed Iris the replay of Belinda’s livestream.

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After the red carpet event, Belinda fulfilled her agreement with Venus by officially announcing herself as the company’s brand ambassador across its entire product line.

During the livestream, she also reviewed and recommended several of Venus’s existing products.

The company’s popularity was skyrocketing.

“We need new products as soon as possible,” Iris said. “Otherwise production won’t keep up with demand.”

Bella nodded. “Miss Summer is already in a meeting with the R&D department.”

Lilian wasn’t just a gifted makeup artist. She was also exceptionally talented at cosmetic product development. Helping evaluate formulations and ingredient ratios was well within her abilities.

“President Zero really is impressive.”

A sarcastic voice interrupted from the doorway.

“What remarkable methods. What remarkable connections.”

Mr. Nick strolled into the office, slowly clapping. He hadn’t expected this young woman to actually have real ability.

His original plan had been simple. Let Iris stumble, force her to realize she was in over her head, then have her beg him to take over as CEO.

Instead, she had somehow recruited someone as influential as Lilian and successfully completed the partnership with Belinda Studio.

At last…

He had no choice but to treat the young woman before him as a genuine opponent.

Iris set down the documents in her hand. Her expression remained as calm and composed as any seasoned business executive’s.

Not a trace of emotion escaped.

“So, Mr. Nick. Did you come all this way just to compliment me?”

Mr. Nick smiled. “Of course not. This incident proved your capabilities beyond question. I admit defeat. So I’d like to hand the upcoming new product launch over to you as well.”

Iris looked at him evenly. “If I remember correctly… the product launch was your responsibility

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from the beginning.”

She wasn’t about to fall for his act.

0:

His smile only widened. “I won’t hide it from you. The launch requires cooperation from several outside companies. Unfortunately, my discussions with them haven’t gone very smoothly.”

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“Your abilities far exceed mine, President Zero. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble resolving those issues.”

Meeting the calculating look in his eyes, Iris asked, “So you’re asking me to clean up your mess? And if I succeed?”

“I know you’re still new here and haven’t established your authority yet. If you can successfully secure partnerships with all three companies…”

“My people…”

“Will become your people.”

Standing behind her, Bella rolled her eyes so hard she nearly saw the back of her own head. The trap was so obvious she could practically smell it.

He had already dug the pit.

Now he was politely inviting President Zero to jump into it.

On the surface, it sounded like a request.

In reality, she had no choice but to take it.

“All right.” Iris answered without hesitation. “I accept.”

Bella’s eyes widened. ‘She agreed? Shouldn’t she have refused outright?”

Even Mr. Nick was caught off guard. He had prepared an entire speech to pressure her into accepting. Now all of it was useless.

‘Maybe she’s not as clever as I thought. She’s still just a young girl. A little praise, and she’s already overconfitted.’

‘She has no idea how dangerous those business dinners are.’

“Bella,” Iris said calmly, “contact the three partners and arrange dinner meetings.”

Since Mr. Nick had carefully prepared this trap for her… she intended to use it to create an

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opportunity of her own.

Surprisingly, scheduling the meetings proved easy.

All three companies agreed to meet that very evening, each claiming they had no other available time.

“Then we’ll head over after work.” Iris stood. “I’m going to see Lilian first.”

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