Elizabeth remained motionless.

She towered over Nancy, her presence casting a shadow.

"Never call me that again." Her voice was like ice. "You are not my daughter."

Nancy recoiled in shock.

Even as a child, no matter how mischievous she had been—no matter how disobedient or what mistakes she made—her mother had never spoken to her with such coldness.

Had she truly angered Elizabeth this much?

She reached out to Elizabeth like a spoiled child, trying to charm her way back into favor...

Elizabeth shifted her hand away, avoiding the contact completely.

Undisguised contempt flashed in Elizabeth's eyes.

Nancy's heart skipped a beat.

Something felt terribly wrong.

No matter what happened, her mother would never be this distant.

Even if Elizabeth was furious about the danger Nancy had been in, she should be crying with relief and embracing her daughter for surviving.

This cold detachment...

It made Nancy feel like she wasn't Elizabeth's daughter at all.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Nancy asked cautiously, her voice trembling.

"I'll repeat myself, Nancy York," Elizabeth snapped, her tone frigid. "You are not my daughter. Do not call me mother!"

Nancy forced a smile despite her growing fear—her mother was truly terrifying her now! "What are you saying, Mother? Of course I'm your daughter. I look exactly like Father. No one would ever believe I'm adopted—"

"You are Ivan York's daughter, but not mine. My daughter is Cora Bennett—your stunt double," Elizabeth declared loudly and clearly.

"That's impossible, Mother. You're just—"

"Here are the paternity test results," Elizabeth interrupted, throwing the papers at her.

Nancy scrambled to pick them up, ignoring the IV drip still attached to her arm.

The needle wobbled dangerously as she moved, but she seemed oblivious to the discomfort as she frantically scanned the documents.

The first set confirmed that her DNA did not match Elizabeth's.

The second confirmed that Cora was Elizabeth's biological daughter.

No...

Nancy stared at the text, feeling as if she'd been struck by lightning.

She couldn't believe this was real—that she wasn't Elizabeth's biological daughter!

"I was just like you—I couldn't believe it when I discovered the daughter I cherished so deeply wasn't mine at all, but the child my husband had with a mistress! I raised you for twenty-five years while my real daughter suffered out there in the world!"

It had taken Elizabeth over a night to calm down, but the flood of emotions burst forth once more.

Nancy had always been the apple of Elizabeth's eye—she never imagined her own mother would scream at her like this, using such cruel words! Since childhood, she had envied families with multiple children and often begged her mother for a sibling.

Elizabeth would simply smile and give Nancy a loving embrace, insisting that she was content with just one daughter and didn't want siblings competing for her affection.

That same mother who had adored Nancy so completely was now so cold! Elizabeth growled through clenched teeth.

"Nancy York, I hate you now as much as I once loved you. Let me be perfectly clear—I never want to see you again, and my family is no longer yours! I'll remove you from every project you're involved in, and every asset under your name will be frozen. Don't bother asking your so-called friends for help—anyone who sides with you becomes my enemy!"

"I will reclaim everything my family has given you, with interest, because you don't deserve any of it!"