Chapter 1
I was the real daughter who was switched at birth.
My biological brother, Maddox Thompson, pulled up in a luxury car to pick me up.
He would take me to meet the most elite private tutors so I could be properly trained in the etiquette and rules of high society.
I looked up and declined. "I've got Administrative Litigation Law to memorize tonight. Thirty-eight days until the written exam."
He stared at my backpack—stuffed with past papers and practice tests—and went quiet for a full five seconds.
He asked, "Anastasia, do you really not care about this family, or are we just beneath your notice?"
I zipped my bag, didn't even turn around, and said, "Neither. I just don't have the time."
*****
When Maddox found me, I was sitting at a stone table in the neighborhood, working through some civil service essay questions.
His black Bentley looked totally out of place next to the wire fences hung with blankets.
The car door opened, and a man in a custom-tailored suit walked over to me.
His features had a bit of similarity to mine, enough to make me do a double-take.
He was my biological brother, the one I'd never met before.
"Anastasia?" he called.
His eyes fell on the table, which was covered in study materials.
I looked up at him, calm and collected.
"Hello," I said.
He looked a little lost, not expecting me to be so composed.
After a brief pause, he sat down on the stone bench beside me.
"I'm Maddox Thompson, your brother," he said.
"Okay," I replied.
I kept my head down, continuing to outline my essay on the scratch paper.
First, it was the inevitability of an aging population.
Second, it was the current gaps and weaknesses in the senior care system.
Third, there should be strategies for building a multi-tiered and diverse elder care system.
My outline was clear and logical.
I felt pretty satisfied with my work.
Maddox's silence was thick and sticky, almost suffocating, settling over the small stone table.
He probably never pictured a reunion with his real sister playing out like this.
There were no tearful hugs, no heated questions, not even the slightest ripple of emotion.
I was just scribbling away at my notes.
Maddox finally broke the silence and cleared his throat.
He said, "Mom and Dad have set up a homecoming dinner for you. They've also brought in a team of top private tutors to give you a full academic evaluation.
"After that, they'll design the most elite education plan for you, tailored to your needs."
My hand paused with the pen.
It wasn't because I was touched or anything—his voice just broke my concentration as I was figuring out the details for my third strategy.
I looked up at him, focused and attentive. "Thanks, but I don't need it."
Maddox was stunned. "What?"
"I said, I don't need a private tutor, and I don't need an academic evaluation," I repeated.
I slipped my finished outline into a folder and started packing up the rest of my study materials.
"I have to study the Administrative Litigation Law tonight. The written exam is in thirty-eight days," I said.
Maddox watched as I stuffed my worn-out textbooks and binders full of practice exams into my faded canvas backpack, and fell silent.
It was a silence mixed with shock, confusion, and a hint of curiosity.
The faint scent of his expensive cologne clashed strangely with the smell of old books and ink coming from my backpack, filling the small space with an odd mix of aromas.
Finally, just as his multi-million-dollar car was about to be overshadowed by a clothesline hung with dried fish, he finally asked the question.
"Anastasia, do you honestly not care about the Harrison family, or have you just never given us a second thought?" Maddox asked.
That question was kind of funny, actually.
He was basically giving me two extremes to choose from.
Either I was acting all high and mighty just to prove a point, or I just didn't give a damn about them.
But honestly, it was neither.
I zipped up my backpack and stood up.
"Neither," I said.
I looked at him, speaking each word clearly. "I just don't have time."
I didn't have time to adjust to a family of strangers.
I didn't have time to learn those so-called high-society manners.
I didn't have time to make up for eighteen years of lost family ties.
My life was already mapped out before anyone found out I was the Harrison family's real heiress.
I wanted to land a civil service job in a small town, secure a government job—a real ironclad position, and then, finally, break free from my vampire-like foster mom and that deadbeat foster brother.
That was my goal—straightforward, rock-solid, and nothing was going to mess it up.
Maddox just couldn't get it.
In his world, the words "no time" probably never even crossed his mind.
To him, time was a resource you could buy with dollars or bend with influence.
But for me, time was the only thing I had, the only capital I could use to change my fate.
"Hop in," Maddox said.
He got up and pulled open the car door for me.
"Let me take you home," he added.
He probably thought that if I saw just how shabby my so-called "home" was, I'd suddenly want something better, or maybe even start craving the Harrison family's luxury.