Chapter 2

The professor, Jamie Smith, replied quickly. The visa would take about a month to process. "Natalie, don't you want to reconsider? You've worked so hard on your research. If you don't keep going, it'll all be wasted. "And Middleton is a war zone right now. You could lose your life out there," Jamie said. A sharp ache welled up in Natalie's chest. How could Natalie possibly let it go? It had been more than a decade since she studied medicine. She'd turned her life upside down, losing count of all the nights spent in the lab, running experiments, and chasing results. But she knew the Shaw family's methods all too well. Rather than letting Zia, who was clueless about medicine, get into the hospital management and endanger patients, Natalie would rather sacrifice her own future. "Professor Smith, just think of it as me taking a break, okay?" Natalie said. During the month-long wait for the visa, she locked away all her data and put all her research projects on hold. The sudden emptiness hit her hard, but the month gave her just enough time to prepare to leave. The first thing she did was move out. She had chosen everything in the apartment, from the decor to the furniture, with Lucas. Now that she was leaving, there was nothing left to hold onto. She worked quickly. By the end of the day, every trace of herself in that apartment was gone. But when she stood at the door with her suitcase, she hesitated. Aside from the Shaw residence and the Moore residence, she realized she had nowhere else to go. She felt adrift, as if she didn't belong anywhere in the world. Finally, she found herself standing in front of the Shaw residence. After all, this had been the only home she'd ever known. She pressed her finger to the fingerprint lock for a long time, but the access kept getting denied. The shrill alarm pierced the air, making her heart sink. After a while, the housekeeper came to open the door. Zia and her parents were sitting at the dining table and eating breakfast. When Natalie appeared, Zia covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Natalie. I didn't know you were coming home. The fingerprint system was full, so Dad had Maryanne remove yours." Natalie said coldly, "A fingerprint lock can store dozens of prints. Did you register your entire body?" Zia hadn't expected the usually quiet Natalie to snap back. Her face went pale. "That's enough. You start bullying Zia as soon as you're home. Where did all your manners go?" Natalie's father, Benedict Shaw, finally spoke. He sounded annoyed and didn't even look up. "Natalie, have you eaten? Come sit down. Your father and I have something to talk to you about." Natalie's mother, Sapphire Hayes, waved at Natalie with a gentle smile. Before Natalie even sat, Sapphire went straight to the point. "Natalie, could you give your Hansford placement to Zia? We've barely done anything for her all these years. Your father and I want to make it up to her." Natalie already saw this coming, but hearing it from the woman who had once loved her most still made her chest tighten painfully. Her throat went dry. "I worked ten years for that. If you want to compensate her, why are you taking what I earned?" Benedict slammed his cutlery onto the table. "What kind of nonsense is that? If you hadn't taken Zia's identity, how would that spot ever have gone to you? "We raised you for over 20 years, and you're still this selfish and narrow-minded. Some traits are just in your blood and can't be changed." Natalie dug her fingers deep into her palm, forcing down the sting in her chest. "Even if I took her identity, I earned that placement with ten years of sleepless nights. I'm not giving it up." Zia's eyes filled with tears. "Natalie, please don't be angry. I know I don't deserve to go to Hansford Medical School. Don't fight with Mom and Dad over this." Watching Zia's fake, pitiful act, Natalie let out a cold laugh. If she hadn't seen Zia bullying classmates at school with her own eyes, she might have believed her. "You don't deserve it." Natalie meant every word. When Zia first returned to the family and saw Natalie studying medicine, she threw a tantrum and also transferred into the medical program. Medicine wasn't something one could master overnight. On top of that, Zia indulged in the extravagant life of a socialite heiress and rarely attended classes. Even multiplying her effort a thousand times wouldn't put her anywhere near Hansford Medical School. Benedict's face darkened as he shot to his feet. "Let me make this clear! This is a notification, not a discussion! "I've already had someone change your application and grades to Zia's name. Whether you agree or not makes no difference!"