Lily stared grimly into the mirror and whispered to herself:
"An orphanage rat through and through. But even a rat has claws and sharp teeth. And I have no intention of going down without a fight."
Such words were explained by the girl's past. She had grown up in the foster care system, and for as long as she could remember, no one had shown the slightest interest in her. Before her eyes, dozens of children had found spots in adoptive families—even if some eventually returned, failing to find a common language with those who had chosen to take them in.
However, little Lily had a brilliant mind for her studies. Many of her teachers and social workers used to say:
"If only she were a bit softer. She's a very smart girl. Beautiful, too."
Lily truly possessed a striking, memorable beauty, which led many of the other girls to target her. They would often "jump" her, locking her in a supply closet or throwing a blanket over her head to beat her without being recognized. Lily never complained to the staff, preferring to settle scores with her tormentors on her own. Once they realized that messing with her was a losing game, the others backed off.
The moment finally came when Lily and the other legal-age wards were ceremoniously sent off into adulthood, handed their relevant documents. Lily had always been fascinated by numbers and logic, so she chose to major in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.
For the first two months, she received housing assistance. However, as soon as she started university, she needed to find a job. Lily wasn't picky; she found a room in a boarding house run by a retiree who was looking for a tenant to help pay the bills.
"Just see to it that there's no mess in that room!" the landlady said sternly.
The apartment was what you might call "run-down," but that didn't stop the owner from demanding her property be treated like a museum exhibit. For the first two months, whenever Lily was out, the landlady would enter the room and peevishly inspect how the girl washed her linens, checking for cleanliness and sniffing for cigarettes or alcohol. Finding nothing suspicious, the elderly woman would retreat, checking for dust on the furniture as she went.
Lily gave her no cause for complaint, and soon enough, the landlady softened, even inviting the girl to have dinner with her.
"I went a bit overboard today... cooked so much. Come on, sit down! Otherwise, it'll just go to waste."
Lily found a job as a night janitor at a private medical clinic and performed her duties diligently. Arriving early, she would quickly mop the floors, dust the surfaces, refill the water coolers, water the plants in the lobby and patient rooms, scrub the sinks, and polish the mirrors until they shone. She managed to get everything done before the administrative staff arrived. Everyone was pleased that she wasn't underfoot during the workday like the previous employee had been.
Self-conscious of her drab clothes, Lily never went out with her peers. They soon gave up on her.
"She's such a cold fish! Just a typical bookworm. What is there to even talk to her about?"
All her college years passed in a cycle of study-work-apartment.
No flings, no social life. Lily understood she had nothing to offer materially, so she poured all her energy into achieving professional success.
Her programming projects were highly successful, and several tech journals offered her the chance to write articles for a general audience.
"We don't need it to be strictly academic," they told her. "We need you to be able to explain the most complex concepts in layman's terms. Can you do that?"
Lily tried. And she succeeded. In a popular magazine with a million-strong readership, she was given her own column, writing twice a month.
Thanks to positive reader feedback, Lily began to earn a decent living. She quit her job at the clinic and dedicated all her time to intellectual work. During a tech conference, the head of the committee approached her and said admiringly:
"I've wanted to meet you for a long time. It's a great honor!"
The girl was flustered. She had never heard such words directed at her before.
At the banquet, a young man approached her:
"I heard your presentation today. I was simply blown away! Forgive my boldness, but I absolutely had to introduce myself. By the way, my name is Steve."
Lily was practically tongue-tied. She wasn't used to men paying her so much attention. Her new acquaintance watched her intently, seemingly enjoying the blush her shyness brought to her cheeks.
Steve began to call her frequently. Sometimes he would come by after work to walk her home to her rented apartment. He turned out to be the only son of wealthy parents. He worked as a linguistics professor at a prestigious university. At his father's insistence, he was looking for an intelligent woman to marry.
"Son, intelligence is passed down through the maternal line," his father would say. "So don't get distracted by a pretty face. Otherwise, the kids will end up neither attractive nor bright."
He and his wife had decided in advance what their son's future wife should be like. The list of requirements for a daughter-in-law was impressive: intelligence, a pleasant appearance, and a good family with connections were at the top. While Lily had no problem with the first two, the rest was a non-starter.
Her mother-in-law would sourly purse her lips and frown whenever Lily wanted to say or do something without consulting her first. The woman's reaction applied to absolutely everything.
"Why did you buy this brand of tea? Yes, it's the one we drink. But you still should have asked me!"
"Why did you change the bedsheets a day early? I wanted to air out my coat on the balcony! You should have asked! What if there hadn't been enough space?"
However, the mother-in-law was angriest about the fact that Lily's colleagues called her to invite her to board meetings and academic roundtables.
"Good grief! As if they can't have a meeting without this little mouse!" she would say, rolling her eyes. "If they knew what gutter she crawled out of, no one would want anything to do with her!"
Steve preferred to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. He found it difficult to be torn between his wife and his mother. But soon, he began to distance himself from Lily.
One day, when his mother reminded Lily that she was from the system and would likely fail to raise her child properly, Lily replied with a smile:
"I may be from foster care, but our baby has you: a grandmother and a grandfather. You have such a close-knit family! You gave me such a wonderful husband. Surely you can help raise your own grandson? So he can grow up to be as decent a man as his father?"
The mother-in-law froze for a second, then, licking her lips, she said clearly:
"Don't count on it. We won't consider that brat our grandson. How are we to know what alleyway you conceived him in?"
Lily went pale. Then she flushed deep red with rage. Steve stood still, hearing his mother's words. But he did absolutely nothing to defuse the conflict; instead, he retreated to the balcony, pretending he needed to close a window that had blown open. His voice drifted back from outside:
"Lily! Why are you just standing there? Why did you open the window when the screen is torn? The bugs will eat us alive tonight!"
"The window? The bugs?" Lily stared blankly at her mother-in-law, who was savoring her triumph.
"You can't even think of basic things yourself!" the mother-in-law sneered. "Where on earth did my son dig you up? Is life really that great in the slums? I'm ashamed to even show you to the relatives. You're a nobody!"
Lily realized she had had enough. However, she wanted to hear the opinion of her husband, who—judging by his behavior—was terrified of his mother's reaction. Shortly after, the young woman heard:
"My mother never says things for no reason. It's your own fault for not finding common ground with her."
"So, the fact that she's insulting me, practically calling me a street-walker, doesn't bother you one bit?" Lily clarified. "And the fact that she's talking about our child isn't a problem either, right?"
"Why are you hung up on it?" Steve shouted. "It's her business what she says. You should just say you agree with everything she says and get back to your work."
"Fine. I'll do my work. Tomorrow, I'm filing for divorce," Lily replied coldly.
***
Life in the orphanage had taught her not to complain and to make quick decisions. It might be hard at first, but she would live in a peaceful environment where no one would walk all over her.
This thought gave the mother-to-be strength and confidence. The next day, with a steady hand, she signed the divorce papers.
Returning to her in-laws' house, she packed all her things into a suitcase and called a cab. Before that, Lily had managed to find a new apartment for herself and paid the security deposit.
Her mother-in-law watched like a hawk as Lily packed. Satisfied that she hadn't taken any of the family's belongings, the woman silently left the room.
Steve was at work. Lily had to carry her heavy suitcase down to the street alone. She had no intention of asking her in-laws for help. She hauled the luggage to the taxi herself and drove away.
When Steve returned home, he found his mother unusually pleased with herself.
"Thank God! That penniless nobody is gone. And don't you worry. There are plenty of women. They'll flock to a man like you by the hundreds. You'll have your pick."
Steve shrugged and went to wash his hands. He never quite figured out how he actually felt about his departed wife, and he only went to the courthouse to finalize the divorce formalities.
His mother was delighted:
"What a blessing that she didn't try to squeeze us for child support. It's more honor than she deserves: being associated with an orphan! No family, no background!"
The mother-in-law began feverishly searching for a new wife for her son, whom she had considered the pinnacle of perfection since childhood.
"My boy speaks four languages. He's very domestic, very calm. You can talk to him about the finer things," she would gush, praising Steve. "He was so unlucky with his first wife! A nightmare. How he managed to fall into her clutches, I'll never know. At least she left on her own once she realized she couldn't ride our coattails to a better life."
Acquaintances listened politely, nodding sympathetically, but were in no hurry to provide the "perfect" Steve with new candidates. Everyone knew about the woman's—to put it mildly—difficult personality, having spent her life in management positions and using ruthless methods to get ahead.
Blackmail and flattery were her primary weapons, and she wasn't used to being ignored. The silence from her former daughter-in-law irritated her. In her mind, Lily should have come back on her knees, begging for forgiveness and a second chance to serve the family. But it never happened.
After the birth of her son, whom Lily named Ethan, she cut off all contact with everyone associated with Steve. Gradually, rumors reached Steve that his ex-wife was successfully continuing her writing for magazines while managing to look after the baby.
One fine spring day, while walking with Ethan in the park, Lily came face-to-face with Steve and his mother, who were walking arm-in-arm.
The mother-in-law wasn't feeling well, and the father-in-law couldn't join them because of a bad knee. She had dragged her son away from his work and demanded he walk with her. Steve obeyed. He walked with a brooding expression, oblivious to his surroundings. Suddenly, they both heard a familiar voice:
"Yes, I've almost finished the article. I'll send it over this evening, by seven. Yes, exactly as you requested. Fine, have them call me to discuss it. Great! Payment on the same terms. Goodbye."
It was Lily, pushing a stroller with a sleeping infant. The mother-in-law frowned, eyeing her former daughter-in-law intensely and shaking her head in disapproval. Lily was well-dressed. The stroller was clearly expensive: sleek, sturdy, and well-designed. The baby's face was covered by a wide canopy. One could only see Ethan's feet in little leather walking shoes.
The mother-in-law, being a woman of the world, immediately estimated the cost of everything the baby and Lily were wearing. She concluded:
"That little mouse couldn't possibly earn that much on her own. She must be sleeping with someone for a high price. It's a good thing she left. She would have disgraced my son with her questionable behavior."
Steve wanted to approach his ex-wife and at least see what his son looked like, but under his mother's stern gaze, he stayed put. Lily walked past him, pretending to look for something in her bag, and never once looked back. His mother just snorted:
"Social climber!"
***
When Ethan turned two, Lily received a phone call asking for a personal meeting. Before this, Steve had tried to contact his ex-wife behind his mother's back, but she had firmly shut down all his attempts.
"You didn't say a word when your mother said she wouldn't recognize Ethan as her grandson because she thought I'd picked him up off the street. So forget about us and go back to Mommy's wing. Otherwise, she'll have the whole city out looking for you with sirens and dogs."
Lily was about to refuse the meeting, thinking it was another ploy by Steve. However, the stranger interrupted her. He had a slight foreign accent and was persistent:
"Forgive me, Ms. Lily. I will try not to take up much of your precious time. I have come specifically from Salzburg. It is vital that I meet with you."
Intrigued, Lily agreed to a meeting at a quiet restaurant where there would be less noise.
Two hours later, Lily entered a private booth at "The Magnolia" and saw a man in his sixties who looked quite fit and youthful for his age. He bowed politely and invited her to sit.
"My name is Klaus Korn. I am the attorney for Mr. Erwin Heinz. I have been tasked with executing his final will and testament."
"Who is Erwin Heinz?" Lily asked, puzzled. She didn't understand what could possibly link a girl from foster care to some foreign tycoon.
"If you don't mind, I will tell you the story..."
In his youth, Erwin Heinz frequently traveled to this region and, at a party, met a woman named Anna Sokolov, a university student. They had a whirlwind romance that ended in a pregnancy. When Mr. Heinz's father found out, he demanded his son return home and forced him to marry the daughter of a business partner. Anna was left alone: pregnant and penniless. She had to drop out of school and return to the small town she was from. She gave birth to a girl whom she eventually had to place in the care of the state.
"An interesting story," Lily noted.
Anna tried to contact the young Mr. Heinz but was unsuccessful. Under the stress, her health declined, and she wrote a letter to the Austrian Embassy. In it, she spoke of the birth of her daughter and asked them to look after her. Mr. Heinz received the message too late, after Anna had already passed away. However, he himself was unhappy in his marriage. His wife could not have children, and their relationship was strained. Eventually, after Mr. Heinz suffered a stroke, he ordered a new will to be drafted. According to its terms, his daughter was to be the sole heir to his entire estate.
"I've said it's an interesting story, haven't I?" Lily replied, glancing at her watch. She needed to get back to her son. "But what does this have to do with me? I'm an orphan. I have no relatives."
"That is my point, Ms. Lily. You are the daughter of Mr. Heinz. We established this through the letters and the documents from the institution where your mother, Anna Sokolov, placed you."
Lily was stunned and lost her voice for a moment.
"You're saying this Mr. Heinz was my father?" she asked in disbelief.
"Exactly! And you are his sole heir. It has been three months since the reading of the will, and you can now begin the process of claiming your inheritance."
"It's still... hard to believe," she murmured.
In response, Korn pulled out a thick folder containing envelopes, fragments of letters, and copies of documents. After reviewing everything in the folder, Lily believed him.
"I can't believe it! I see it's true, but still... it's hard to wrap my head around."
"If you agree, I will begin the probate proceedings for you," Korn said with a bow. "I have little time; I must fly back to Austria tomorrow. The important thing is that I found you and confirmed your identity."
***
Six months later, Lily moved into a new apartment in a prestigious neighborhood, not far from where Steve—still considered an "eligible bachelor"—lived. His mother occasionally saw Lily walking with the little boy, who looked so much like Steve as a child. Eventually, the mother-in-law couldn't take it anymore; she approached her former daughter-in-law, wanting to meet Ethan.
She still assumed Lily was just playing hard to get. When she received a flat refusal, the woman scowled.
"I don't understand why you're acting so high and mighty when you're out here every day just to stay in our sight!"
"I bought an apartment here. I like the neighborhood. It has a good preschool for my boy and plenty of shops. When I need something, I don't have to go far. But you're right. I shouldn't appear before you too often—it just causes unnecessary talk."
"She bought an apartment!" the mother-in-law sneered to her friends later. "I wonder how many men she had to serve to buy some little shack. She probably walks through our neighborhood on purpose just to pretend she's doing fine."
"Actually, it's not a shack," her listeners informed her, disappointing her. "Your former daughter-in-law didn't buy just anything—she bought into that luxury complex. Have you seen the new building? Only two units per floor. That's where she lives. She even has a spot in the underground garage. We heard she found a father abroad who left her a massive inheritance."
At these words, the mother-in-law practically jumped:
"That can't be! What is she going to do with that kind of money? She has no brains, no imagination! Where's Steve?"
Steve had been spending his time lately in bars and clubs, where he felt understood and loved—at least as long as he had money. As soon as his resources ran dry, he was quietly ushered out, and he would head home to sleep through most of the day.
The mother found her son in his room, where Steve was staring grimly out the window, muttering under his breath.
"Why are you sitting there looking like a mess?" the woman barked. "Take a shower, clean yourself up. We have to get Lily back! She's raising our flesh and blood."
"Ma? What are you talking about?" Steve didn't understand. "It sounds like you're the one who's had too much to drink, not me. Why on earth would I want Lily back? And why are you suddenly calling her by her name? You never did that before..."
The mother-in-law rolled her eyes:
"Can't I change my opinion of a person?"
"No, you can't," her son smirked. "At the very least, you'd need a very compelling reason. Why don't you just tell me what you expect to get if Lily comes back to me?"
The mother realized there was no point in hiding it and told him about the inheritance.
"You gave her a son, after all. She should be grateful for that. Let her share with us. We're her only family!" she insisted, and Steve, once again, obeyed his mother's will.
When he showed up at Lily's door, she wouldn't even listen to him and sent him away.
"Did Mommy send you again? Can you make a single decision without her involvement?" she asked mockingly.
Steve replied seriously:
"I married you! And I did that without her!"
"And that's why she took it out on me," Lily laughed. "Let's be clear: you are not to darken my doorstep or mess with my head ever again. We've been divorced for a long time. You have no claim on me. I never took a penny from you, even in the hardest times. And you haven't seen your son for nearly a year. Draw your own conclusions."
Steve returned empty-handed. From that day on, he began drinking at home. He would bring alcohol back and get drunk while his parents were out. To all his mother's reproaches, he said the same thing:
"What did you expect? You did this, so deal with it."
Lily, deciding to travel abroad for the first time to see the house her father had left her, met an architect named Alex, who was ten years older than she was. He immediately hit it off with little Ethan. After two years of dating, he proposed. The couple had a beautiful wedding, and Alex's parents were proud of their daughter-in-law.
"It's so rare to find intelligence, beauty, and integrity all in one person," they said. "Alex is lucky to have found a gem like Lily."
Testing Alex's feelings, Lily hadn't mentioned the inheritance until the very end. When he heard about her Austrian father, her husband simply shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. The important thing for me is that because of him, I met you and Ethan. I haven't exactly been sitting idle either; I have my own firm. So, even without your inheritance, we won't be going hungry."
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