Chapter 2The Counterfeit Mom

The Principal, Mrs. Vance, arrived quickly.

The second she saw Vanessa, her stern expression instantly melted into fawning concern.

"Mrs. Sterling! What happened? Who upset you?"

Vanessa pointed a shaking finger at my mom, the fake tears activating instantly.

"Principal Vance, this psychotic woman has been obsessively stalking my husband for years, and today she actually had the audacity to show up at the school and try to kidnap my son!"

"And she brought this feral brat with her, and they physically assaulted me!"

Hearing the words "feral brat," my mom immediately snapped her head up.

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.

Her palms were freezing cold.

My mom was exactly the kind of woman who was too soft for her own good. Because my dad spoiled her so relentlessly, if she even had to ask a sales associate for a different dress size, she would smile apologetically first.

When confronted by a vicious, screaming sociopath like Vanessa, her default reaction wasn't rage; it was terrified, confused distress.

I looked dead at Principal Vance. "Are you the administrator in charge?"

Mrs. Vance looked at me with thinly veiled disdain. "I am. And who exactly are you?"

"Mia Sterling."

I dropped my name. The crowd had absolutely zero reaction.

Which made sense.

I left to study in Europe when I was seventeen, and after graduating, I stayed overseas managing our family's international hedge funds.

The public face of the Sterling family was always my father.

And my mother? She rarely made public appearances outside of high-society charity galas where my dad escorted her. The rest of her time was spent in her greenhouse or her jewelry design studio.

It wasn't surprising that these suburban moms didn't recognize us.

But ignorance doesn't excuse deliberate blindness.

Principal Vance looked me up and down, her tone dripping with polite condescension. "Ms. Sterling, I assume?"

"Whatever personal, unfortunate domestic drama is happening between you and this woman... it is not my place to judge."

"However, regarding the child's identity, our administrative database is absolute."

She signaled an assistant, who rushed over and handed her an iPad. She tapped the screen, pulling up a student profile.

She turned the screen to face us.

It read:Student Name: Leo Sterling.Mother: Vanessa Thorne.Emergency Contact: Ethan Sterling.Authorized Pickup Personnel: Vanessa Thorne, Robert Vance.

In the profile photo section, it was the exact same little boy Vanessa was currently holding.

My mom stared at the photo, her breathing turning erratic and ragged.

"That is not my Leo."

Principal Vance frowned, her tone hardening. "Ma'am, I need you to calm down. The child is physically standing right here in front of you. You cannot use your personal, marital delusions to deny a child's legal identity."

My mom was frantic. "He's my own son! How could I possibly not recognize my own son?!"

Vanessa let out a shrill, piercing laugh. "Of course you wouldn't recognize him! You didn't give birth to him!"

"Stop playing the victim. You've been clinging to my husband for years because you're desperate to marry into the Sterling family, aren't you?"

"You couldn't give him a son, you only gave him a worthless, money-draining daughter, and now you want to steal mine?!"

My mom's face flushed a violent, furious red. Tears welled in her eyes, and she looked like she was about to collapse. "Mia is not worthless!"

She was panting heavily. "Don't you ever say that about her!"

I grabbed her arm, pulling her slightly behind me. "Mom. Don't engage with rabid dogs."

Vanessa's face went dark. "Who are you calling a dog?!"

I raised my eyes, my gaze lethal. "Whoever barks the loudest."

She shrieked and lunged forward, trying to attack me. A security guard immediately stepped in to block her.

But I noticed that when the guard blocked her, he barely used any force. Yet when he turned to block me, he planted his feet aggressively.

The last spark of patience in my chest completely ignited into an inferno.

"Principal Vance. Pull the original enrollment files. Right now."

Principal Vance scoffed coldly. "Student enrollment files are strictly confidential. We do not release them to unauthorized individuals."

"Unauthorized?"

I let out a dark laugh. "I am Leo Sterling's biological older sister."

Vanessa immediately interjected. "You say you are, so that makes it true? In that case, I'm the First Lady of the United States!"

The surrounding parents eagerly jumped in to agree.

"Exactly. If they were actual billionaires, they would just swipe their security credentials and drive right in. Who stands on the sidewalk and screams like this?"

"People are absolutely psychotic these days. They're actually pretending to be a billionaire family outside an elite school."

"Mrs. Sterling literally donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to the PTA. You really think she's a fraud?"

I looked at the crowd.

Every single one of them was draped in designer clothes and carrying expensive bags, desperately clinging to their facade of high-society elegance.

But when it came time to bully and trample someone, they were faster and more vicious than anyone else.

I pulled out my phone and dialed my dad.

No answer.

I called again. Still no answer.

I dialed Robert Vance, our family's head driver.

Also went straight to voicemail.

My mom was panicking, tears streaming down her face. "Why isn't Robert answering? He drops Leo off every single morning! He definitely knows what's going on!"

Seeing my phone calls fail, Vanessa let out a victorious, mocking laugh.

"What's wrong? Did you forget the lines to your little script?"

She took a step forward, shoving her finger toward my mom’s face. "You pathetic bitch. If you drop to your knees right now, apologize to me in front of all these parents..."

"And publicly admit that you are a cheap mistress, I might consider not having you arrested."

Tears rolled down my mom's cheeks.

She looked at me, looking exactly like a terrified child who had just made a terrible mistake. "Mia... is Mommy completely useless?"

It felt like someone had physically stabbed me in the chest.

"No."

I stared at the crowd, enunciating every single word with absolute, chilling precision. "They are just begging to be destroyed."