[2] The Vicious Wife

Adopted daughter

Choi Tzuyu stared at the photo that Roseanne gave her. She bit her lips as her hands started to shake. "This is..."

"Choi Huang's brother and his wife, and that infant is their daughter," Roseanne answered. "Do you think the man looks familiar?"

"I... I look like him?" Choi Tzuyu said as she shifted her gaze towards Roseanne, her eyes full of wariness. "Is he... Am I... adopted?"

"Let me tell you a story, Miss Choi," Roseanne shifted as she sat on the edge of the small hotel bed as she smiled at Tzuyu. "Let me start with the classics. Once upon a time, there was a dysfunctional family in China. As with most influential families, theirs was also full of poisonous mistresses and bastard children. One day, the patriarch of the family met a beautiful young woman who instantly caught his attention. It was love at first sight and well... that woman quickly fell pregnant."

"The patriarch loved this woman so much that he bought a mansion abroad just to keep this woman safe from his...legal wife. He also stopped seeing his other mistresses and gave all of his attention to this pregnant woman. Nine months later, the woman gave birth to a beautiful boy."

"The patriarch was ecstatic! The boy looked a lot like him! He instantly changed his will and gave this boy his company and many of his finest properties. He even named the child after him. See?The man in the photo was that much loved little boy. After the patriarch's death, that boy went to China to claim his tremendous inheritance. But... this is not a fairytale. The man died. According to the news, he died along with his wife and his infant daughter."."

"However... the baby in that picture survived. You see where I am going with this?" Roseanne raised an eyebrow. At this point, Choi Tzuyu was already a mess. Her tears were flowing down her cheeks like an unstoppable stream. She stared at the photo then looked at Roseanne, her gaze full of undisguised pain and sadness. "That child is you, Miss Choi, and your father was the sole owner with a staggering 35% ownership of Choi Group shares.This is based on the will written by your grandfather before he died."

"They... adopted me?" Choi Tzuyu stuttered. "How... why should I believe you? Are you trying to manipulate me as well?"

"I see you have gotten a little smarter," Roseanne gave a joyless laugh. "DNA test, of course. I took the liberty of stealing Choi Yuqi's hair and compared it to yours. Take a look in the envelope. Inside you'll see DNA results that prove you are cousins, not siblings." In response, Choi Tzuyu examined the results before studying the photo once again.

She thought about how Yuqi never fail to show off how smart she was in front of her. Tzuyu could never forget how... she had always felt like an outsider. The dumb one, the ugly duckling. Her mother, He Lan, favored Yuqi and would always give her the cold shoulder.

As a child, all she remembered was Yuqi giving her things, second-hand toys and even clothes. She remembered how her sister was the only one who supported and protected her. Yuqi supported her love of dance over practical knowledge.

However,this all changed when she realized that all she ever learned was the exact opposite of what Choi Yuqi was being taught. She learned arts instead of science. She learned how to dance instead of how to manage their company.

When she asked her father to at least hire her as an assistant, he would never agree and would always use the reason that she lacked the knowledge to become one. Of course, she lacked the knowledge! She never even had an interest in learning this as she was so focused on her dancing!

"Yuqi... she..." Choi Tzuyu was unable to continue speaking as she recalled how Yuqi helped her kept this hobby a secret from her parents. She was also the one who gave her cash so she could take dancing classes. She even helped her register for competitions abroad!

She used to think that Choi Yuqi was being generous in helping her, but now... she felt that this was all a scheme! A deep scheme to keep her useless and uninformed when it comes to company matters. How could a small child even think of something like this? How could she even think that her sister- the person that she considered her only ally before would be capable of doing such a thing at such an early age?

"Calm yourself."

"You want to use me against the Choi Family," Tzuyu realized.

*clap*

*clap*

*clap*

Roseanne's slow clap reached Tzuyu's ears and before she could even say anything, Roseanne acknowledge her words. "You are correct," Roseanne nodded.

"I would love to use you to destroy your sister. However, I am not here because of that," Roseanne said as she handed a small recorder to Tzuyu. "I always have one of these on hand whenever I go out. This contains Yuqi's confession of how she already knew that you are not her sister. Tomorrow... or maybe in the coming days, she will reveal this fact to the public and would sell out her mother and father for killing your family."

"She will say that she just discovered this fact and will act righteous in front of everyone. This will make the investors kick Choi Huang out of the company while they  applaud Yuqi's bravery. Choi Yuqi is smart. She is planning to turn the table and make herself look good. She will then attempt to reconcile with you and will let the world watch as you insult her, the one woman who did not hesitate to turn her parents in for the wrongs they committed against you."

"By then... people will label you as ungrateful while they will applaud Choi Yuqi's righteous ways," Roseanne added as a smile bloomed on her face. "See, I would offer to help you destroy Choi Yuqi. In return... you make her suffer and give her what she deserves."

"If you hate Choi Yuqi so much... why not just destroy her on your own? I am... useless. I don't have money or influence. Why are you still planning to help me? I can't give you anything," Choi Tzuyu was truly reluctant as she is scared -  very scared of Roseanne and Park Jimin.

"I am lazy. I would rather sit and watch than do it on myself," Roseanne shrugged. "You have one minute to think about it," she declared as she checked the time on her phone.

Choi Tzuyu looked at the photo in her shaking hands as another stream of tears tumbled down her cheeks. "I'll take it," she said.