True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee Episode 5

📖 The Story Continues

True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee — Episode 5

Candice did not stop walking until the classroom door had closed behind her and the laughter inside became muffled. Her confident posture collapsed the moment she was alone. The Kaplan castle was protected by gates, cameras, staff schedules, and a security system she had only heard her mother complain about. No rented dress could carry her through that entrance.

She scrolled to Dedra Mathis’s number and pressed call. While it rang, Candice rehearsed a version of the request that sounded harmless, but panic kept stripping away her patience. She had promised an entire class the party of their lives. By evening, everyone at Western High would either worship Candice Kaplan or discover Candice Mathis.

Dedra answered in a whisper, reminding her daughter that she was working. The sound of a vacuum faded in the background, and Candice pictured her mother in a maid’s uniform inside rooms larger than their entire apartment. Shame pricked at her, though not because she intended to exploit the household. She hated that the woman capable of saving her was only a cleaner.

“You’re at the Kaplan place, right?” Candice asked. She explained that she needed to get inside that night to host a birthday party, then dismissed the violation by saying the family hardly used the castle anyway. To her, empty rooms seemed wasted if they could not elevate her status. Dedra’s horrified silence made the request sound as serious as it was.

Dedra told her no. She was an employee trusted with access, not an owner entitled to invite strangers. The Kaplans had already shown extraordinary generosity by paying Candice’s tuition, and betraying them could cost Dedra her livelihood as well as her reputation. She begged her daughter to understand that kindness did not create ownership.

Candice heard only refusal and the danger closing around her. She accused her mother of failing her at the worst possible moment. “It’s bad enough having a cleaner as a mom,” she snapped, each word chosen to strike the wound Dedra never discussed. If her mother truly loved her, Candice insisted, she would help her obtain the life she deserved.

The cruelty produced a long pause. Candice knew she should apologize, but contrition would weaken the pressure, and she needed Dedra desperate to keep their bond intact. She softened her voice just enough to call the party her only birthday wish. The lie about her identity remained unspoken, buried beneath pleas and entitlement.

Dedra stood in one of the Kaplan guest rooms with the phone pressed to her ear. She had spent years working overtime so Candice would never feel trapped by the poverty that shaped her own life. The Kaplans’ tuition assistance had opened a future Dedra could never have purchased. Somehow, gratitude had turned into embarrassment in her daughter’s eyes.

She imagined refusing and hearing Candice withdraw further from her. Their relationship had already become a series of slammed doors and complaints about everything Dedra could not provide. A party seemed trivial beside the fear of losing her only child. Maternal love twisted with guilt until the boundary she knew was right began to blur.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Dedra finally whispered. Relief flooded Candice so quickly that she barely registered the hesitation. Her voice turned sweet as she thanked her mother, called her Mommy, and ended the call before Dedra could impose conditions. The screen went dark, leaving Dedra alone with the weight of her promise.

Candice straightened and checked her reflection in the hallway window. The frightened daughter of a maid vanished beneath a practiced smile, replaced again by the Kaplan heiress. She did not yet have a passcode or permission, but her mother had never managed to deny her for long. That felt close enough to victory.

When Candice returned to class, Gail immediately asked whether the castle was ready. Candice claimed the staff had already begun preparations and complained about how difficult it was to make employees understand her standards. Her classmates accepted the explanation without question. Every new lie made the next one easier to speak.

Hailey watched from the back of the room. Candice’s renewed confidence told her the call had produced a possibility, though not necessarily a solution. Only a limited number of employees could provide access, and the party’s timing made formal approval impossible. Someone inside her home was being pressured.

The thought chilled Hailey more than the stolen name. The staff had served her family for years, and she knew most of them by name. If Candice manipulated one of them into risking employment, the consequences would extend beyond a school rivalry. Hailey considered warning her father, then stopped herself because she still lacked the crucial connection.

Candice announced that invitations would be delivered after lunch. Gail and her friends crowded around, offering decorations and playlists, while discussing the photographs they would post from the castle. They spoke of the event as proof that they belonged among the elite. No one asked what Candice wanted for her birthday beyond attention.

For a fleeting moment, Hailey wondered whether that emptiness explained the impersonation. Candice seemed less interested in possessing money than in commanding admiration, as if a crowd could silence some private sense of inadequacy. Understanding the hunger did not excuse the harm. It only made Hailey more certain that Candice would not stop voluntarily.

After class, Candice passed Hailey’s desk and leaned close. She thanked her for the wonderful party suggestion with a smile sharpened by spite. Hailey replied that she could not wait to see the castle through Candice’s eyes. The answer carried enough irony to make Candice stiffen.

“Don’t worry about how I handle my home,” Candice said. “Worry about where you’ll spend tonight, because you aren’t invited.” She swept away before Hailey could answer, Gail trailing behind her. Hailey looked down at the faint red marks still circling her wrist and decided an invitation was the least of Candice’s problems.

At the castle, Dedra moved through familiar halls while searching for a way to fulfill her promise. Cameras guarded the entrances, and all temporary access required authorization. She could not simply unlock a door and hope no one noticed dozens of teenagers. Eventually, she realized the only person who might grant access without suspicion was the young woman Candice had chosen to impersonate.

Dedra closed her eyes as guilt settled over her. To save her daughter from the consequences of one lie, she would have to deceive Hailey Kaplan herself. She had not yet decided what story to tell, only that Candice was counting on her. Somewhere across town, Candice smiled as though the castle were already hers, unaware that the true heiress was watching every crack form beneath her feet.