Chapter 2

I looked at them. Mary's face was twisted in anger, Richard was cold and distant, and Charlotte, standing behind them, watched me with a timid look that somehow felt triumphant.

Suddenly, I couldn't help but find it ridiculous.

Slowly, I placed the heavy trophy I was holding down on the floor by my feet. Then, I turned and walked upstairs.

Mary let out a cold laugh behind me. "What, you think you can pack up and leave? Let me make something clear, Riley. Nothing in this house belongs to you."

I ignored her.

Back in my room, I didn't even glance at the designer clothes in my closet or the expensive skincare products on my vanity.

Instead, I grabbed my ID from my backpack along with a small wallet holding a few competition award cards.

Then I opened the bottom drawer of my desk, sifted through a stack of old notebooks, and pulled out a yellowed envelope.

When I came downstairs, the three of them were still standing there, like they were passing judgment on me.

I didn't look at any of them and walked straight to the door.

"Stop right there," Richard barked. "Are you giving us attitude?"

I stopped, but I didn't turn around. I just said, "I'll have my lawyer send over the agreement to cut ties. Please sign it."

With that, I pulled open the heavy door and walked out.

Richard's angry shout rang out behind me. "How dare you! I'm telling you, Riley, you'll be back here in three days, begging me to let you in."

I didn't look back.

The early autumn wind burned against my face, sharp and stinging.

I took out my phone. There was an unread message from Professor Phillip Carter waiting for me.

The message was brief: [Are you ready?]

I deleted Mary and Richard's contacts from my phone, and then typed out a simple reply: [Yes, I'm ready.]

*****

I didn't go crawling back, begging for mercy. I didn't even leave town.

Using the prize money I'd won from competitions, I rented a small studio on the top floor near the university district.

It was tiny, barely two hundred square feet, but the big south-facing window let sunlight pour in across the whole room.

Since I was a student, the landlord threw in a nearly new desk and chair set.

I put the books I'd brought on the desk, and suddenly, this tiny apartment felt more like home than the Lynn family's cold mansion.

The first thing I did after getting settled was update my personal information with that yellowed envelope. Inside were the documents that proved who I really was.

My real father, Alex Newman, was a border soldier who died on the snowy plateau before I was born.

My real mother passed away giving birth to me.

A hospital mix-up right after we were born ended up swapping my life with Charlotte's, and we grew up living each other's stories.

All these years, the government had been searching for me, a hero's daughter.

But the Lynn family had their reputation to protect. Instead of telling the truth about the swap, they covered it up and raised me as their own daughter.

They were happy to soak up all the praise and recognition my grades and character brought them.

But the moment my real identity was at risk of coming out, they didn't hesitate to push me further into the shadows.

When Charlotte's adoptive parents found them, they finally had to admit everything.

The officers studied the martyr's certificate and my documents, their silence filled with quiet respect.

The whole process of updating my personal information went more smoothly than I ever imagined.

When I finally held that new ID with my real name staring back at me, it felt like invisible chains I'd been carrying my whole life had finally been broken.

My name was Riley Newman. And from now on, that was all I'd ever be.