Chapter 1

I was the fake heiress, living the good life for eighteen years.

The day the real daughter Charlotte came home, my mom Mary Lynn pointed at me and said, "Get out, you ungrateful brat."

All because I wouldn't give up my room.

My dad, Richard Lynn, froze every one of my cards and kicked me out with just the clothes on my back.

They probably thought I'd come crawling back, crying and begging them to take me in.

But they had no idea my real family had already sent someone to bring me home.

*****

The light from the crystal chandelier was so harsh that it made Charlotte's pale, nervous face look even more pitiful.

She stood in our fancy living room wearing a faded old school uniform, looking small, fragile, and completely out of place.

Mary, the woman I used to call Mom, was holding Charlotte's hand with tears streaming down her face. "My poor girl, you've suffered so much out there all these years."

Richard stood off to the side, his eyes red-rimmed, letting out sigh after sigh.

I stood by the stairs, still holding the physics competition trophy I'd just brought home from school. The cold metal dug into my palm, hard enough to hurt.

I'd called them Mom and Dad for all the past eighteen years.

Just yesterday, they'd thrown a huge party for me after I won this very gold medal.

But today, with the DNA test results back, I'd gone from being their pride to nothing but a stain on this family.

Mary finally stopped crying and turned to see me standing there. The sadness on her face instantly shifted to a mix of guilt and annoyance.

She snapped, "Riley, why are you just standing there? Come here and meet Charlotte, your sister."

I didn't move or say a word. Sister? The DNA test made it clear as day. I wasn't related to any of them.

The living room went dead silent.

Charlotte nervously tugged at Mary's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, it's okay. I-I'm not really used to this yet."

Just hearing Charlotte call her "Mom" made Mary's heart melt. She wrapped her arms around Charlotte, patting her back gently.

But when her eyes landed on me, they went cold. She ordered, "Charlotte just got back and doesn't know her way around yet. Move out of your room so she can have it."

The message was clear: this wasn't up for debate.

My room was upstairs, the biggest one in the house, always filled with sunlight. They'd decorated it for me ever since I was born.

Every corner held traces of my life growing up. The desk where I'd pulled all-nighters. A whole wall of bookshelves crammed with trophies, certificates, and every book I'd ever used for competitions.

"I won't," I said. My voice was quiet, but in the dead silence of the living room, every word landed perfectly clear.

Mary's face went bright red. "What did you just say? Riley, say that again!"

"That's my room." I tightened my grip on the trophy.

Charlotte started crying again. She grabbed Mary's arm and shook her head frantically. "Mom, please don't be mad at Riley. This is all my fault. I never should have come back. I'll stay in the guest room, I swear. I'll sleep anywhere."

But the more Charlotte tried to protect me, the angrier Mary got. She shoved Charlotte aside, marched right up to me, and slapped me across the face without warning.

The smack echoed through the living room. My cheek stung like crazy and my ears were ringing.

Mary shouted, "You're nothing but a freeloader, living off us all these years, and now you won't even give up your room? Do you have no conscience at all?

"Charlotte is our real daughter, who belongs here. Who do you think you are?"

I didn't cry or touch my burning cheek. I just stared at her in silence.

This was the same woman who used to tear up whenever I got the tiniest scratch. But her face, twisted with rage, was completely unfamiliar to me now.

Richard, who'd been silent the whole time, finally stepped forward. He didn't even look at me, just turned to Mary and said, "Why bother talking to her?"

Then he pulled out his phone and called his assistant. "Mike? Freeze all the cards I gave Riley. Yes, right now."

After hanging up, Richard finally looked at me. His eyes were ice cold, like he was staring at some annoying stranger he'd never seen before. "Get out and cool off. Don't come back until you've got your head straight."

They kicked me out. Eighteen years as their daughter, and this was how it all ended.