Three Systems Made the Fake Heiress Unstoppable

Brooke York breathed a sigh of relief when she got home and didn’t see Miles York or Alice Cole. She wasn’t ready to explain to Alice how her latest test scores were even worse than Chloe York’s.

But just as she was about to head upstairs, she heard Alice Cole’s voice call out from the kitchen, "Brooke, you’re back!"

Hearing no hint of displeasure in Alice’s tone, Brooke York quickly replied, "Yeah, Mom, I’m back. I’m going to head upstairs to study. The teacher handed out several more worksheets today, and I want to finish them first."

"Alright, you go on up. I’ll call you when dinner is ready."

"Okay!"

Brooke York hurried upstairs. The moment she closed her bedroom door, she let out another sigh of relief. ’Looks like the homeroom teacher hasn’t sent the grades to the parents yet.’ But then another thought occurred to her. ’We have a new homeroom teacher. Maybe he doesn’t send grades out. Or maybe he just doesn’t know he’s supposed to send these test scores to parents!’

Besides, this was already the third mock exam. After the first and second ones, her parents already knew what to expect.

The more Brooke York thought about it, the more convinced she became that the homeroom teacher wouldn’t be sending the grades to her parents.

With this speculation, Brooke York’s mood lifted. She dropped her schoolbag and started working on practice problems.

’I have to bring my grades back up by the time the college entrance exam comes,’ she resolved. ’Otherwise, I’ll really become a laughingstock.’

Downstairs, seeing Brooke York so eager to go to her room to study, Alice Cole felt very gratified.

’This is how a child of mine should be. This is how my daughter should be—good grades, beautiful, and sensible!’

In high spirits, Alice Cole returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner with the maid.

As the lady of the house, she normally didn’t need to help with dinner preparations. However, with Brooke about to take the college entrance exam and her grades having slipped, Alice was worried she wasn’t getting enough nutrition. So, she decided to personally prepare some nutritious food for her.

"Ma’am, you’re so good to the young lady. You’ve prepared so many protein-rich foods and are even cooking for her yourself."

The maid watched Alice Cole carefully cooking the seafood. This had never happened before. In the past, Alice might enter the kitchen once or twice a year, let alone personally cook a delicious meal.

"Of course, I have to dote on my own daughter. Besides, I feel I owe Brooke. Now that I have this chance to make it up to her, I have to take it."

Alice Cole was also in a great mood and started chatting with the maid. Although she was a maid, she had worked for the York Family for over a decade, so Alice was willing to talk with her.

The maid nodded. "The young lady is certainly very smart. I have a relative, you see, whose grades were originally very good. But after she changed schools, her performance dropped. She couldn’t keep up with the pace of a better school. But the young lady is so amazing! Not only did she keep up, but her grades are still so good!"

"Exactly! That’s my daughter for you. She’s outstanding, isn’t she?"

"Yes, exceptionally so. Oh, right, the fruit we bought today. Wash some, and I’ll take a plate up. We can’t let Brooke get hungry."

"Yes, ma’am!" The maid hurried to get the fruit from the refrigerator. After Alice Cole washed it carefully, she carried the plate of fruit to Brooke York’s room.

At that moment, Brooke York was staring at her report card, feeling worse and worse the longer she looked. She had been unhappy and unable to accept her English score of 89, the first result she’d received, but she never expected it to be her highest score on this third mock exam.

Her math score was a mere 71. At this rate, just getting into a university would be a problem.

’But I’ve been studying so hard!’

"Brooke!"

Wrestling with her frustrations, Brooke York heard Alice Cole’s voice. She quickly rolled up her test papers, stuffed them into her desk, and stood up.

Just then, Alice Cole opened the door and walked toward her.

"Mom!"

"What were you just stuffing in there in such a hurry?" Alice Cole had noticed Brooke shoving something under her desk as she came in.

"It was nothing, just some scratch paper. I just happened to be putting it away when you came in."

"Is that so? Dinner won’t be ready for a little while. Here, have some fruit first." Alice Cole placed the fruit platter on the desk.

"Thanks, Mom."

"You don’t have to be so polite with your mother. You need to balance work and rest. Don’t tire yourself out." Alice Cole was worried Brooke would overwork herself.

A lot had happened to Brooke York recently, and Alice had been concerned that the incident with Sophia Quinn might have left a lasting psychological mark on her. It seemed now that it hadn’t.

Brooke York nodded. "I know, Mom!"

"By the way, did you get your third mock exam papers back today?" Alice Cole suddenly remembered that today was the day the papers should be returned, and the scores should be sent out later.

"Not yet!" Brooke York lied. She was now certain that Mr. Parker really hadn’t sent the report cards to the parents. It seemed he was the type who simply didn’t send student grades home.

"They haven’t been handed out yet?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright then. I’ll leave you to it. Study hard, and I’ll call you for dinner." Alice Cole patted Brooke York’s shoulder and prepared to leave the room.

"Okay!"

Just as Alice Cole was about to leave, her phone chimed with a new message. A look of terror flashed in Brooke York’s eyes, and her whole body tensed. She had a premonition—that message was definitely from her teacher at school, with her grades.

Alice Cole had already unlocked her phone. "Brooke, it’s a message from your teacher with your grades."

Hearing those words, the tension drained from Brooke York’s body in an instant. She couldn’t hide it anymore.

"Mom, I’m sorry," Brooke York said, apologizing first.

Alice Cole, who had been about to look at the grades, paused at Brooke’s words. She looked at her in confusion. "Brooke, why are you suddenly apologizing to Mom?"

"The test papers for the third mock exam were handed out today. I did really poorly. Chloe York did really well. I was afraid you and Dad would be disappointed in me, so I lied to you."

"You did poorly?"

Brooke York didn’t speak, only nodding.

"Let me see first!"

Alice Cole turned her attention back to her phone and looked at Brooke York’s grades. Just as Brooke had said, they were indeed not very good.

At the same time, she also saw Chloe York’s scores. She never imagined that Chloe’s grades were now so good, while her daughter’s were so poor.

She even suspected that the names had been mixed up—that they had been swapped, and so the scores were swapped as well.

But the students get their own test papers back. Their names are written right on them.

Seeing Alice Cole staring at the scores without a word, Brooke York started to feel a bit scared.

She wasn’t afraid of Alice Cole; she was more afraid of and concerned about Miles York’s reaction. But Alice’s silence was making her a little worried, too.

"Mom, are you really disappointed in me?"

Brooke York’s words snapped Alice Cole back to reality. She looked at Brooke. The girl’s face was a picture of misery, a mix of fear, worry, and guilt.

"Brooke, Mom knows you did your best. Can you tell me, was it because of the incident with Sophia Quinn—with Mrs. Prescott—that you were affected?"