Chapter 1
When I was three years old, I was kidnapped.
After I was found, my parents, for my own safety, brought in a lookalike, a girl who could pass for me about eighty percent of the time, to be the public face of the Summers heiress.
Meanwhile, I was secretly sent abroad to study, kept far from any lingering threats.
After graduation, following my parents' instructions, I joined my family's company and started in an entry-level position while keeping my identity hidden.
But the moment I stepped into the department, the fake heiress took one look at my face and sneered in anger.
She said, "What kind of audacity is this? Who gave you the nerve to copy my face?
"Think a little cosmetic surgery will let you swan around here and trick everyone?
"You pathetic creature! I'll give you three days to get your plastic surgery reversed, or I'll make sure you regret it."
Frowning, I reached for my phone to call my parents and let them handle the situation.
But the next second, a photo of me with my parents accidentally slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.
*****
The photo landed softly on the gleaming floor.
In the picture, I was grinning, linking arms with my mom and dad, with the sunset casting a warm glow behind us.
That was taken just last month, when they flew to my school to celebrate my graduation.
Emily, the fake heiress who'd been spoiled by the Summers family for twenty years, saw the photo.
The sneer on her face vanished, replaced by a twisted fury.
She stormed over and slammed her high heel down on the photo, grinding it mercilessly into the floor.
Emily scoffed, "You totally photoshopped this, didn't you?
"A lowlife like you thinks you deserve to be in a photo with my mom and dad?"
Her eyes blazed red as she glared at me, as if she was ready to eat me alive.
Emily said, "Not only did you get surgery to copy my face, you even dared to fake a photo with my parents? What's your game here? Trying to fool everyone and steal my life?
"Forget it. That's never happening."
I stared back at her, totally unfazed by her furious, twisted expression, and said each word slowly and clearly, "I never had any work done."
Emily snorted, her laugh exaggerated and her eyes nearly overflowing with contempt.
She said, "Still pretending, huh? I've seen plenty of bottom-feeders like you. People who'd stoop to anything nasty just to claw their way up."
She swept her gaze across the office, her arrogance on full display, and addressed the nervous, silent crowd like a queen laying down the law.
She said, "I'm Emily Summers, the one and only heiress of Summers Group. Listen up. This loser is officially fired."
As soon as she finished, everyone started chiming in, eager to suck up to her.
"Ms. Summers is right. Snakes like her need to get lost."
"Has she even looked in the mirror? Who does she think she is, trying to challenge Ms. Summers?"
Emily was absolutely reveling in all the attention, and her chin raised even higher in smug satisfaction.
She added, "And fire every single person who let her through. The Summers family doesn't keep fools who can't spot trouble."
She whipped out her phone, jabbed in the number, and switched to speaker.
She ordered, "John, get your ass to my office. Right now. Immediately."
Her voice was all authority, brooking no argument.
Less than a minute later, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a beer belly came huffing and puffing into the office, his face plastered with a fawning grin.
"Ms. Summers, what can I do for you?" he asked, practically tripping over himself to please her.
Emily pointed at me with her perfectly manicured nails, as if I were nothing but disgusting trash she couldn't stand to look at.
She ordered, "Fire her. Right now. I want to see it happen. Do it in front of me."
John gave me a look that was equal parts pity and barely hidden glee.
He obviously figured I was just some poor rookie who'd gotten on the princess's bad side.
He mumbled, "Yes," as he hurried to boot up his computer, eager to do the dirty work right in front of her.
But when he typed in my employee ID and hit the [Terminate] button, a bright red warning box popped up on the screen.
It read: [Insufficient Permissions]
John froze, totally stunned.
He tried again, but got the same result.
Sweat popped out on his forehead as he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then he gave it another shot, just to be sure.
It read: [Termination restricted to the Chairman's Office only.]
The office went dead silent.
Everyone's eyes turned into spotlights, sweeping back and forth between Emily, me, and the computer screen, loaded with tension.
Emily's smug grin froze on her face.
She shoved John out of the way and got right up in front of the screen, staring daggers at the message.
"No way!" she shrieked. "This is impossible. How could someone from the bottom like her be connected to the chairman at all?"
She spun around to face me, her eyes full of disbelief, and for a split second, I caught a flash of panic she probably didn't even realize was there.
Emily glared at me, her voice shaking. "Just who are you, really?"
I looked at her. My voice was steady as I spoke, "I'm Olivia Summers.
"The real heiress of the Summers family."
Seeing her face turn ghostly pale, I kindly reminded her, "Emily, when you were three, your deadbeat gambler parents sold you for twenty grand and handed you over to the Summers family.
"Have you forgotten?"