Chapter 1 She Hates Everyone Equally
Evangeline Castillo got home after leaving the hospital, only to find her birth parents and her three brothers throwing a party for Meghan Gallagher's birthday.
Talk about irony—Meghan was the same girl who caused the mess that put Evangeline in the hospital to start with.
Steam coming out of her ears, Evangeline stormed over. She grabbed Meghan's hair and smashed her face into the birthday cake.
"Evangeline Castillo! What the heck? Say sorry to Meghan, now!" yelled Edward Gallagher, her eldest brother.
Evangeline answered him with a slap to his face. She retaliated, "Shut up! You want me to say sorry? Dream on!"
Jasper Gallagher, her second brother, questioned, "What is wrong with you?" Answering with another slap, Evangeline snapped, "You heard me. Hush up!"
Before her third brother, Samson Gallagher, could get a word in, Evangeline shut him up with yet another slap. Holding his face, Samson yelled, "I didn't even say anything. Why'd you hit me?"
Evangeline let out a cold chuckle. "If I wanna hit you, I will. Who needs a reason?"
Samson was boiling mad but choked on his words. "You..."
George Gallagher, their dad, was about to blow a gasket, but Evangeline cut him off. She hissed, "I said be quiet. Don't wanna hear a peep outta you!"
She grabbed a cup off the table and doused Bethany Gallagher, her mom, with whatever was in it. "I treat everyone the same here. I don't play favorites like you do," Evangeline declared.
They were shell-shocked. They couldn't believe this was the same Evangeline who had tried so hard to win their love just three months back. Evangeline had woken up from a coma like a woman on a warpath, hitting and cussing at her own family.
Turns out, Evangeline was the real Gallagher heir but got swapped with the maid's baby by mistake. Nineteen years went by before the Gallagher family figured it out and brought her back. But they just couldn't let go of Meghan, who they raised for nineteen years like she was their own. Scared they might treat Meghan badly after the swap, they ended up giving her more attention and leaving Evangeline out in the cold.
Meghan, a pro at playing the victim, always twisted things to make the Gallagher family turn against Evangeline.
Three months ago, Meghan had pushed Evangeline off a stage that was like 17 feet high. And get this, instead of helping Evangeline who was hurt pretty bad, the Gallagher family rushed to Meghan. They actually stepped on Evangeline to get to Meghan, which messed up Evangeline even more and left her in a real bad shape, like a coma.
Evangeline finally calmed down. She peered over the crowd, her eyes like ice, until they landed on Meghan. Meghan got the chills and hid behind Edward, scared.
Evangeline sneered, "Keep her. I'm done with this family. If you want me to stay, kick her out and never let her set foot in this house again!"
Before, Evangeline really tried to fit in with the Gallagher family. She went all out, being super nice, hoping they'd see she was for real and take her in. But nope, they were all about Meghan, their fake daughter. Evangeline was done trying to get them to like her. If they didn't appreciate her, she'd make sure they didn't like her at all. They had made her life horrible, and she was going to give it right back.
George was ticked off. "Meghan is our girl. As long as we're breathing, this is her home."
Samson was like. "Why are you being so mean? Meghan is good to you. Why you always picking on her?"
Evangeline gave him another slap right then.
Samson lost it. "That's it, Evangeline, you crossed the line. I'm gonna teach you a lesson!" He got up, ready to hit back.
The rest of them snapped out of it, stood up, all set to show Evangeline she couldn't mess with them. They were going to put her in her place, once and for all, or their pride would be stomped on.
Facing off against them, Evangeline went totally beast mode. The four guys just couldn't pin her down.
In all the commotion, Evangeline dashed upstairs shouting, "If you won't show Meghan the door, I'm out. I'm cutting ties with you guys right now. Hope we never see each other again! And if you see me around town, don't you dare call me. You all bring nothing but bad luck," she said spitting the words out.
She ran to her room, grabbed her ID, and jumped out the window. It was the second floor, but that was a piece of cake for someone who knew how to fight like her.
Downstairs, Meghan was putting on a big tearful show, clinging to Bethany. She sobbed, "I always tried with Evangeline. Anything good happened, I wanted her to know. I never thought she didn't want me around. Dad, Mom, maybe I should just leave. Evangeline is your real kid. I'm just... outside. I'll even beg on my knees for her to come back, no problem. Just please, let her come home."
Her act really got to the Gallagher family; they were buying her words.
Bethany jumped in, "Don't say that. You're my daughter, always. Others can leave, but not you."
George added, "Evangeline's nothing like you. She only causes drama and wouldn't help us at all. She even hit us! How rude!"
Samson chimed in, "With you here, we see how nice you really are. We're lucky you're our sister."
Then Meghan, all worried, said, "But, remember? Grandpa left Evangeline 30% of the company's shares. If she starts messing things up there, what will we do?"
George frowned and said, "Yeah, that's trouble. She's got our company shares, but wants to ditch the Gallagher family? She shouldn't keep what's ours! I'll send some guys after her tomorrow to get our shares back."
*****
Evangeline was waiting outside the hotel, leaning casually against a pillar with her arms crossed.
Then this fancy Maybach rolled up, smooth as silk. The door popped open and out stepped this seriously hot dude—a six-foot tower of muscle with a face carved out of stone. He was The Man—none other than Arthur Ferdinand, the big cheese of Ferdinand Group and the richest guy in Hofcaster.
Evangeline stepped forward, blocking his way. Arthur stopped, piercing Evangeline with an icy stare.
Before he could even get a word out, Evangeline cut in, "Mr. Ferdinand, I've got a business thing to throw at you. See, I got this 30 percent chunk of Gallagher Group, and I'm looking to unload it. How about to you?"
The Gallagher family was once the wealthiest family in Hofcaster. Though it was overshadowed by Ferdinand Group, it still held significant influence in the city. Gallagher Group and Ferdinand Group were like cats and dogs, always scrapping. If Arthur nabbed those shares from her, his company would be gobbling up Gallagher Group for sure.
Arthur, who'd been playing it cool, suddenly honed in on her, sizing her up for real.
Evangeline, picking up on his side-eye, whipped out her ID. "Let me lay it out for you. I'm Evangeline Castillo, the offspring of the Gallagher family. And you've got to know that the late head of the Gallagher family left me 30 percent of Gallagher Group when he passed away, right?"
Arthur's eyebrow did this funny little dance. He took a peek at the ID she handed him and said, "All right, come with me." Evangeline followed Arthur to the presidential suite on top of the hotel. Arthur didn't beat around the bush. "How much you want for those shares?" he asked.
"6 million dollars!" Evangeline proposed.
Arthur blinked, making sure he heard her right. "Hold up, Ms. Castillo. You sure you're not playing me?"
Evangeline replied, "I'm not kidding around. 6 million dollars's my price."
Arthur narrowed his eyes and said, "You better think twice. I don't have time for your games."
Dead serious, Evangeline said, "I am not playing games with you. I'm being serious. As long as you are willing to buy, I can transfer the shares at any time."
Speaking in a low voice, Arthur said, "You got the whole picture of how much Gallagher Group's worth?"
Evangeline nodded like it was no biggie. "Totally. A cool 30 billion dollars."
Being the former wealthiest family in Hofcaster, the value of Gallagher Group was undeniably high.
Arthur couldn't hide how he felt. "You're telling me you're giving up your slice of a 30-billion-dollar pie for just 6 million? You're not messing with me?"
Evangeline stared him straight in the eye and said, "Not even a little bit. But hold up—there's a catch. We've gotta sign a side deal."
Arthur raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to continue.
Evangeline said, "The Gallagher family would be out for blood if this sale goes through. I want you to watch my back. Plus, I want them to lose grip of the company within a year. This family might not have the fattest wallet anymore, but they're still deep-rooted. Bringing them to their knees? It's on you now, Mr. Ferdinand."
Arthur, knocked a bit off balance by her gutsy move, was still game. He went, "You really wanna bring Gallagher Group down even though your grandad gave you those shares? Ain't you worried about him haunting you?"
Evangeline's eyes danced a bit. "I want them to never have a moment of peace," she snapped.
Most folks thought David Gallagher had a soft spot for her when he handed over those shares, but little did they know Evangeline twisted his arm to get them. The entire Gallagher family reeked of corruption. David, especially, was the worst of them all.
Arthur didn't dive any deeper. He whistled for his legal eagles to whip up the contracts and Evangeline signed on the dotted line. Just like that, Arthur's crew wired the cash over.
With the ink fresh on the contracts, Evangeline blurted out, "Mr. Ferdinand, I got another thing to ask."
Arthur replied, "Shoot, but no promises."
She paused—maybe thought she pushed it too far. Businessmen had always stood by the principles. Once the deal was sealed, additional requests were out of the question. "Oops, my bad then. See you around," she said, getting up to leave. "Speak freely, Ms. Castillo. You never know, I might just agree," Arthur urged.