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!”

the meeting point where Lena

1/3

and handed over two folders. “Ms. Rivers, here are the DNA

steady herself, then

available data and DNA analysis, Marshall is

she didn’t stop. She flipped to the second file, the one comparing her DNA

No biological relationship.

Sloane just stood there, the pages in her hands, her mind blank. If ner

moved on to the third report—Samantha

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

envelope–Helen’s test. Just as she expected, Samantha was the biological child of both Helen and

Sloane had been right.

But now, thin

more tangled.

Who switched the

knew the truth? they hiding?

all… who was