Chapter 1

On the third day after my wealthy parents found me, I rented out the biggest amusement park downtown using the bank card they gave me. I threw a huge party.

The butler invited all the rich young locals and plenty of my parents' old friends to celebrate.

Just as I was being nudged onto the stage to speak, one of the fake heiress's friends pointed at me and covered her mouth.

"You look familiar," she gasped. "Aren't you that scam artist who faked accidents at the train station to shake down luxury car drivers? You tried to hustle Jeffrey Bartlett when he drove his Ferrari last time, didn't you?"

Her tone dripped with contempt. Anyone with money knew she was calling me a lowlife.

I didn't want to sour the mood, so I kept my expression serious and said, "You've got the wrong person."

"No way," the girl cut in. "My friend at Traffic Division sent me the body cam footage. You were rolling around, pretending to be hurt to scam him. Not just Jeffrey. Quin Woodruff was there too."

A murmur rippled through the crowd. I stayed calm, picked up the mic, and slowly turned my gaze toward her.

I cleared my throat and said, "You look a little familiar too. I saw you in a news report two weeks ago about illegal plastic surgery.

"In that clip, you were being led out of a black-market clinic, pus oozing from a botched nose job, surrounded by unlicensed 'doctors.' If anyone doubts it, they can watch the video. I have it on my phone right now."

The girl, Lily Warren, had her smug expression froze, and all the color drained from her face.

Sophie Nolan, the fake heiress who'd been living in my family for twenty years, quickly grabbed her arm, her eyes wide with panic.

"Grace, what nonsense are you spouting?" Lily snapped.

"It's only thirty seconds long, just a news clip. Want me to play it out loud for everyone right now?" I replied.

Lily turned to Sophie, her eyes begging for help.

Sophie grabbed my wrist, pleading, but there was a warning in her tone. "Grace, this is your big day. Please don't make things awkward for everyone. Lily's just got a big mouth. I'm sorry for what she said."

"An apology?" I pulled my hand away and glanced at my parents sitting in the audience.

My father, Richard Nolan, furrowed his brow, while my mother, Evelyn Nolan, looked uneasy.

They didn't rush to defend me. Instead, they hesitated, weighing the pros and cons.

In the three days since I was found, they'd showered me with everything money could buy, but the one thing I truly needed, their trust, was still missing.

"When she was slandering me in front of everyone, why didn't you stop her from causing trouble?" I shot back at Sophie, my voice icy.

Sophie was left speechless, her eyes welling up with tears. She looked so miserable that I almost felt bad for her.

"Grace, I know you've only just come back and that you're upset, but Lily didn't mean it," she said.

She twisted it around, making it sound like I was being unreasonable, like I was the crazy one here.

The guests started whispering among themselves, casting curious and suspicious glances my way.

After all, Sophie was the graceful, kind-hearted heiress they'd seen grow up, while I was the one who'd suddenly appeared from the bottom rung of society, shrouded in mystery.

Charles Nolan, my older brother, who had been silent the whole time, finally stepped forward.

"Grace, that's enough. Don't make things difficult for Sophie," he said.

I became the villain who was ruining everything.

I swallowed the sour ache in my chest and finally put down the mic.

"Fine. For Mom, Dad, and Charles's sake, I'll let it slide today," I said.

I gave them the dignity they wanted, but who was ever going to stand up for me?

Lily was hauled off by Sophie, and the whole fiasco wrapped up abruptly.

The butler rushed onto the stage to smooth things over, but the party never regained its earlier excitement.

After the party, I went back to the Nolan family's cold villa, only to be called into Richard's study.

He handed me a glass of warm water, his voice polite but distant.

"Grace, I'm sorry you were treated unfairly today," he said.

I didn't respond, just met his gaze in silence.

He let out a sigh and finally asked the question I'd been waiting for. "What exactly happened with the video Lily brought up?"