The Real Heiress Rules the World

Chapter 204 Who Is She Really?

Joanna stood frozen for a beat, her mother’s words hitting like a slap. Bitterness welled up inside her. She’d always known where her mother’s priorities lay- power, appearances, and most of all, profit. And nothing offered a higher return than marrying into the right family.

She lowered her gaze, her voice tinged with quiet frustration. “Mom… relationships don’t work that way. You can’t force feelings.”

Her mother scoffed, full of contempt. “Feelings? You think those rich boys actually care about love? They care about power and connections. Joanna, stop being so naive. That’s how they operate. Wake up. If you keep dragging your feet, you’ll be stuck picking from whatever’s left.”

Joanna bit her lip but didn’t argue. She knew better–pushing back would only make things worse. So she just said quietly, “I get it. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Her mother shot her a glare, full of disappointment. “Keeping it in mind‘ won’t get you anywhere. You need to act. I heard Larry from the Houston family just got back into the country–he’s running the Houston Group now. If you can get close to him, we’d finally have some real standing in the Rivers family.”

At the mention of Larry’s name, a subtle shiver ran down Joanna’s spine. She’d heard the stories–how calculating he was, how ruthless. Cold, unreadable, and dangerous in all the ways that mattered. That kind of man wasn’t someone you “got close” to. He was the kind you stayed far, far away from.

She nodded vaguely. “I get it. I’ll figure out a way to talk to him.”

And with that, she used work as an excuse and made a quick exit.

Her mother shouted after her, her voice ringing through the house. “Work, work, work! You act like that job’s going to secure your future. No matter how well you perform, it won’t land you a marriage!”

arrived at the meeting point where Lena was already

1/3

she walked up and handed over two folders. “Ms. Rivers, here are the

breath to steady herself, then opened the envelope containing

analysis, Marshall is excluded

eyes froze on the sentence. Her heart dropped–but she didn’t stop. She flipped to the second file, the one comparing her

No biological relationship.

her mind blank. If ner Helen nor

on to the third report—Samantha

data and DNA analysis, the results support Marshall as Samantha’s biological

test. Just as she expected, Samantha was the biological child

Sloane had been right.

But now, thin

more tangled.

years ago? Who

knew the truth? they hiding? What

of all… who