Chapter 1

The day after my birth family took me back, my mother slid a confession statement across the table at me. "Sign it," she said, still holding her bowl of bird's nest soup, as casually as if she were asking me to sign for a package.

I lowered my eyes and looked at it. It's the Statement of Voluntary Surrender in a Traffic Accident Case. The driver's name had already been filled in for me: Emily Grant.

Yesterday, I was the real daughter the Grant family had found. Today, my own mother was sending me to take the fall for a drunk-driving injury case.

I looked up. Victoria Grant was seated at the head of the table in a perfectly pressed silk suit, every pearl on her earrings perfectly in place.

She didn't look like a woman about to send her biological daughter to prison. She looked like she was heading into a board meeting.

"The accident happened the night before last. Sophie had a little too much to drink and was upset. That's why this happened." She looked at me. "The victim isn't dead. The Grant family will pay compensation. You go turn yourself in, and this ends here."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because you're the best fit." The words came from James Grant, leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window with his jacket over one arm, fresh from the office. "Nobody knows you yet. Sophie's signing an endorsement deal with Serenity Jewels next week. She can't have a record."

I let out a soft "oh" and turned to Richard Grant, who was sitting in the armchair. "And you?"

Richard set down his teacup without looking at me directly. "The Grant family will make it up to you."

"How?" I asked.

"Money, a house, a spot at any school you want. Whatever you want, the Grant family can give you." He paused, then finally looked at me. "Emily, you're a Grant. At a time like this, you should think of the family first."

I almost laughed. During our family reunion yesterday, they said, welcome home. This is your family now.

Today, when they wanted me to go to prison for someone else, they said I should think of the Grant family first. Same blood, different use. Yesterday it made me their daughter. Today it was a weapon to crush me.

"Emily..." A trembling voice cut in. Sophie Grant came hurrying down the stairs, eyes red, still wearing the white nightgown from last night. She ran up to me and dropped straight to her knees before me.

"This is all my fault." She grabbed my wrist; her fingers were cold, fresh out of ice water. "After that gala, I really only had a little to drink. I didn't mean to hit anyone. I was so scared... Emily, please help me, okay?"

"Don't worry," James cut in fast. "As long as you sign, the Grant family will handle the rest. It'll be treated as voluntary surrender, and with the lawyers we've hired, probation is the worst-case scenario."

I looked at him. "Didn't you major in finance? Since when can you estimate prison time that easily?"

James's face darkened. "Emily, don't be so ungrateful."

Victoria finally set down her bird's nest soup and pulled out a tissue for Sophie, gentle as if she were soothing a frightened child.

"Get up. The floor is cold." She wiped Sophie's tears away, then turned back to me, her voice returning to that polished calm.

She said: "Emily, after all those hard years out there, you should understand better than anyone how much a young woman's reputation and future matter. Sophie grew up in front of cameras. She can't survive something like this."

"And I can?" I asked.

Victoria paused, like she hadn't expected me to be that direct. "You're our real daughter," she said. "The Grant family won't leave you hanging."

I nodded. "Got it. Because I'm the real daughter, I'm the safest one to throw under the bus."

"Watch your mouth." James frowned. "Mom's doing this for your own good. You're part of the Grant family now. If this blows up online, it won't do you any favors either."

I flipped the statement to the last page and tapped the signature line with a fingertip. "What if I don't sign?"

Richard finally lifted his head, his voice heavier than before. "Emily." one word. It wasn't persuasion. It was pressure.

I understood. In this house, not one person thought there was anything wrong with what they were doing. They were only weighing which one of us, Sophie or me, would make the better human shield.

I picked up the pen and twirled it once under their watchful eyes. Relief flashed across Sophie's eyes, and even Victoria's expression eased a little.

Only James kept staring at me, like he was afraid I'd pull something at the last second. "I can sign," I said.

The living room went quiet for a beat. Sophie's grip on my hand tightened so suddenly she even forgot to keep crying. James was the first to relax. "See? That wasn't so hard."

"But I have conditions." I added.

Victoria straightened again. "Let's hear them."

"If I'm going to confess, then let's do it right." I closed the statement and slid it back to the middle of the table. " I said, "Don't take me straight to the police station this afternoon.

"Hold a public apology first. Invite the press. Invite the victim's family too. Let the Grant family tell everyone themselves that I was the driver who hit her."

James was the first to object. "Are you insane?"

"Didn't you say I should think of the Grant family first?" I looked at him. "Someone already leaked video from Sophie's accident. People online are waiting to see whether the Grants will cover it up.

"If you really want to protect her, you need to go all in. Public apology, public compensation. That's the only way the brand and the police will buy it."

Richard stared at me for a few seconds. "Why do you want to do that?"

"Because what I'm covering for is the Grant family's image." I smiled faintly. "And something like that only works if you put it out where everyone can see it."

Victoria was clearly swayed. Right and wrong had never mattered most to her. Appearances did. After a moment of thought, she nodded. "Fine."

I snapped the pen cap back on and added it like an afterthought. "Since I'm the one showing up for this, I need the case details. Scene photos, statements, vehicle condition, the victim's medical status. I want to see all of it.

"Otherwise if I say the wrong thing later and embarrass the Grant family again, don't blame me."

James let out a cold laugh. "You really know how to make a whole production out of this."

"First time taking the fall for someone. I'm new at this." I said.