Chapter 1
At my twentieth birthday party, I was exposed in front of everyone as a fake heiress.
My best friend, Olivia Lane, immediately let go of my hand.
My boyfriend, Alex Carter, turned and walked away.
My foster parents watched coldly. They said, "Pack your things and get out."
I smiled.
They probably didn't know that I had received a call from my biological parents.
My mom said, "Sweetheart, your father is the world's richest man, and I run a multinational conglomerate. Our family is ten thousand times richer than the Anderson family."
At my twentieth birthday party, the crystal chandeliers were so bright that they almost made me dizzy.
Dressed in Chanel's latest collection, I stood in the center of the ballroom, cold sweat beading on my palms.
The Anderson estate was packed with guests today.
All the big names in Riverdale showed up, supposedly for my birthday, but everyone knew the truth; this was the Andersons' chance to flex their influence and make connections.
I was Nina Anderson, the girl the Anderson family raised for twenty years.
At least, that was what everyone believed until today.
*****
"Nina, happy birthday!" Olivia said as she came over and wrapped her arm around mine, the Cartier bracelet I gave her last week glinting on her wrist.
"Where's your boyfriend, Alex? Why isn't he here yet?" Olivia looked around, curious.
I was about to answer when my eyes landed on the entrance of the ballroom.
My foster parents, Robert Anderson and Mary Anderson, were standing there, their faces more serious than I had ever seen.
Next to them stood a girl.
She was someone I had never seen before—small and skinny, dressed in an old, ill-fitting dress. Her eyes darted around nervously, like a scared rabbit.
I felt a sudden jolt in my chest.
A chill of dread crept up my spine, cold and slick like a snake.
"Everyone," Robert picked up the microphone, and his voice filled the entire ballroom.
The laughter and chatter died down instantly.
Everyone turned to look toward the stage.
"Thank you all for coming to celebrate Nina's birthday," Robert said, pausing as his gaze lingered on me for a moment before quickly shifting away. "But before we cut the cake, there's something important I need to announce."
Mary stepped in, her voice trembling—though it sounded a bit forced. "Twenty years ago, there was a baby mix-up at the hospital."
A collective gasp rippled through the ballroom.
My fingers clenched the hem of my dress so tightly that my nails pressed painfully into my palm.
"The girl we've raised for twenty years, Nina," Robert said, gesturing toward me, "is not our biological daughter."
"And this girl," Mary continued, wrapping her arm around the skinny newcomer, her tears slipping down her cheeks as she spoke, "is our real daughter, Sophie Anderson, who was lost to us for twenty years."
The whole room went dead silent.
The very next second, every eye in the place shot toward me like arrows.
Shock, contempt, gloating, and people hungry for drama—those looks pierced right through me.
All those friendly faces I saw every day had suddenly turned cold and unrecognizable.
"Swapped at birth?"
"So Nina's a fake?"
"No wonder she doesn't look like the Andersons at all."
The gossip buzzed around me, like a swarm of pesky flies.
Olivia yanked her arm away from me like she had touched a hot stove.
She pulled so hard, I almost lost my balance.
"Olivia..." I said as I reached out for her unconsciously.
Olivia took two steps back, avoiding my eyes. She said, "Nina, no, Ms. Anderson, I really had no idea about any of this."
That Ms. Anderson drew a line in the sand between us.
Just last week, we were having sleepovers, joking about being godmoms to each other's future kids.
So much for our so-called sisterhood—it shattered the second status got in the way.
Someone at the entrance whispered, "Alex is here!"
I turned around and saw my boyfriend, Alex, standing there in a suit, holding the gift he had picked out for me.
He had obviously heard the whole announcement.
His expression turned absolutely grim.
"Alex," I called out, my voice shaking as I walked toward him. "Let me explain."
"Explain what?" Alex cut me off. His eyes were icy and blank, like he was staring at a total stranger.
"Nina—no, what am I even supposed to call you now?" he sneered, his lips curling in a mocking smile. "You lied to me for two years. Did you enjoy playing with me?"
"I didn't lie to you. I just found out myself," I tried to explain.
"Just found out?" Alex snorted, tossing the gift box onto a waiter's tray. "So what, all those years living it up as the Anderson heiress—was that news to you, too?"
The box didn't land right and slipped off the tray, falling to the floor with a soft thud.
Inside was a Tiffany necklace, the diamonds sparkling under the lights. It was the exact one Alex had said last month was way out of his price range.
Turned out he could afford it after all.
He just thought I wasn't good enough for it anymore.
"Alex, don't our feelings over the past two years..." I said.
"Feelings?" Alex laughed, as if I had cracked a joke. "It was never really about us; it was always about the Andersons and the Carters. Now that you're not the Anderson heiress, what are we supposed to be?"
He turned and walked away without a second thought.
The way he left made it seem like our whole relationship meant nothing.
Maybe it never really did.