Chapter 1

My roommate slapped the DNA printout on my face, screaming she was the true heiress and I was the impostor.

I blinked at the page. "Wait, what?"

The father's line clearly read the name of our family bodyguard.

*****

The results for the campus belle contest just dropped on the school forum.

I snagged first place, edging out my roommate, Flora Wallace, by only five votes.

Flora was so angry that she snapped her pen in two right there in our dorm room.

"What is wrong with everyone?!" I heard her seethe. "What kind of class does the daughter of some nouveau riche family have? How could she win?"

I just stood there, dumbfounded.

My family's wealth went back generations, and my mother's side was old academic aristocracy. Since when were we nouveau riche?

Then I heard Flora keep sneering, "Just look at her dad, fat, clueless, and totally uncultured. Even if they're swimming in cash, what's the point? You can tell he's never cracked open a book in his life!"

And that was when it finally clicked for me.

Not long ago, I got sick. My parents were overseas and couldn't come pick me up from school, so they sent Evan Sullivan, my dad's bodyguard, instead.

Evan served in the military in his youth and has put on some weight since those days.

Having seen combat, he's a bit superstitious and tends to wear a mix of agate crosses, Buddhist prayer beads, and all sorts of lucky charms.

And on top of that, I was always carrying around my Chanel and Hermès bags like it was nothing.

Flora had mistaken Evan for my father and decided he was some tacky, newly-rich tycoon.

But I couldn't be bothered to spell it out for her. I just smirked, cold and mocking.

"And you lost to the nouveau riche girl? What does that make you? The no-riche?" I shot back.

"You!" Flora sputtered, completely losing it.

She jumped to her feet, but I didn't even spare her another glance. I tossed my Hermès mini bag over my shoulder and headed out of the dorm.

It was Friday. My parents were busy again, so Evan was picking me up.

But as soon as I got into the car, I noticed Evan looked troubled, sighing heavily.

I couldn't help asking, "Evan, is something bothering you?"

That was when Evan finally started pouring his heart out to me.

"Miss, I only recently found out that my daughter Diana isn't actually my real child. Turns out she got swapped at the hospital when she was born!" Evan said, voice trembling with emotion and disbelief.

I was totally floored.

I never thought a soap-opera plot like a baby switch could happen in real life.

"So what are you going to do now?" I asked.

"I've got to find my biological daughter, of course," Evan sighed deeply, sounding just worn down. "She's my own flesh and blood."

I couldn't help but frown, concern filling my voice. "But what about Diana?"

Diana was Evan's daughter, the same age as me. We'd grown up side by side and were so close, so of course I was worried sick about her.

Just hearing Diana's name made Evan's face soften. "I watched Diana grow up. Blood or not, she'll always be my daughter."

Hearing that made me relax. I immediately started thinking up a plan to help him out.

"Don't worry, Evan. My dad just picked up a couple of new media companies, so I'll have them post some announcements online for you. With those connections, I bet you'll find your real daughter in no time," I said, trying to cheer him up.

Evan's face finally lit up, and he kept thanking me over and over.

My dad never wastes a second. Once he set his mind on something, it got done fast.

After I mentioned it to him, Monday rolled around, and I'd barely walked onto campus before my phone blew up with a message from Evan. He sounded on top of the world.

[Thank you so much. I found my real daughter!]

I was just about to reply with a quick "Congrats," when a stack of papers got slammed down hard right in front of me, shaking the whole desk.

I looked up to see Flora standing there with a smug little smirk, like she'd just won the lottery.

I barely had time to ask what Flora's problem was before she jumped in, all hyped up.

"Brittany, turns out I'm actually Dad's real daughter, the true heiress. You're just a nobody who got switched at birth. Hand over everything you've stolen from me, right now," Flora practically crowed, her voice full of smug triumph.