Chapter 1
Winnie Lynn was at home chasing after several plump, overfed hens to feed them when a sleek, expensive black luxury car pulled up at her front gate.
Winnie froze mid-chase.
The imposing presence of the vehicle made it look as though loan sharks had come to demand payment.
Winnie could not recall her family ever borrowing from loan sharks. Her sister, Rosa Lynn, had never mentioned anything of the sort.
When Winnie was little, her adoptive parents found her abandoned outside a city hospital on a bitter winter night. The sight of her alone in the snow moved them to bring her home.
Back then, they already had a daughter, Rosa, who was ten years old. Even though Winnie wasn't their biological daughter, they loved her as if she were their own.
After they passed away, Rosa stepped up and raised Winnie herself.
Rosa dropped out senior year and set up a taco truck outside the lumberyard six days a week. The money barely covered Winnie's in-state tuition and the mortgage.
Winnie graduated valedictorian. Rosa had sworn that she'd get Winnie through college no matter what.
She clipped coupons religiously, haggled at the flea market, and stiffed the pizza delivery guy on tips. Her philosophy: Better them than me.
Winnie knew Rosa was trying to protect her, so she never complained about anything Rosa did.
But Winnie drew the line at loan sharks. Poor was one thing. That was something else.
Just then, a couple got out of the car. The guy was dressed in a sharp suit, and the woman had on a straw hat like she was headed for a beach vacation, plus a breezy little dress that looked expensive.
Winnie rolled her eyes. They were in a dump after all, wearing fancy clothes like that was asking for trouble or selling it.
The woman came over, tears in her eyes, looking all pitiful. "Dear, I'm your mom, Emily Shaw. Sorry you had to suffer." Then she pointed at the man in the suit. "And that's your dad, Peter Shaw."
Winnie replied coolly, "What kind of soap opera is this supposed to be?"
But the instant she saw the DNA report, her attitude shifted completely.
They were really her parents.
"Come with us, Winnie. We'll give you a better life," her mom said earnestly.
Winnie did a quick mental calculation. These folks had money, real money. If she went with them, Rosa could quit the double shifts. Maybe even come along for the ride.
So Winnie didn't hesitate. She fired off a text to Rosa, grabbed nothing, and climbed into the back seat of her birth parents' car.
On the way, her parents kept fussing over her. Winnie stared. Her T-shirt had been white once, maybe. Now it was the color of hard luck and dish soap. Her parents looked right past it, asking if she needed a sweater.
Winnie replied honestly.
Emily's smile froze, then cracked. "Sorry, Winnie."
Winnie had spent her life surviving on instant noodles and thrift store bread. Now she had one goal: get to that house and eat until she couldn't move.
Three hours later, the car stopped at a wrought-iron gate twelve feet high.
Through the bars, Winnie saw lawns like green carpets, a fountain throwing water twenty feet in the air, and a house that belonged on a postcard.
Rich. That was the only thought in Winnie's head.
Inside, it was even more over the top. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling like frozen fireworks.
Three people waited at the dining table: two men, one woman.
Based on what Emily had told her about the family on the way here, Winnie figured the older guy must be her brother, David Shaw. The younger one was probably Henry Shaw, her other brother.
But that girl around her age? Emily had never mentioned her.
Winnie shot Emily a look, eyebrows up.
Emily quickly looked away, a bit guilty.
Winnie asked bluntly, "Who's this girl?"
Emily looked uncomfortable. "After you went missing, I missed you so much that I adopted another girl. She's grown up here. I couldn't send her away now. So she stays. As your sister."
Winnie frowned. This setup was straight out of those novels she'd read, the kind where the family doted on the fake daughter while the real one suffered.