Chapter 1

It was my twentieth birthday party. I stood beneath the crystal chandelier in the Currey family's mansion, watching the guests raise their glasses and mingle.

Honestly, I never really liked these kinds of events. I'd been getting ready since three in the afternoon—putting on makeup, slipping into four-inch heels, and forcing a polite smile as people kept telling me how I was the perfect heiress, the epitome of a socialite.

I'd heard it all for twenty years, and by now, I could tell who was being genuine and who was just here for business.

But I still came. My parents had spent three months planning this, sent out over five hundred invitations, and every big shot in Riverheim was here. If I didn't show up, people would say I was being ungrateful.

The Currey family raised me for twenty years. The least I could do was show up.

My mom was wearing a dark green dress tonight, custom-made in Berciles earlier this month. She stood beside me, handling the guests with ease, and every so often, she'd glance at me with that soft, gentle look in her eyes.

"If you're tired, go sit in the lounge for a bit," she said quietly. "Don't force yourself."

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm not tired."

She reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear, her movements so natural, like she'd done it countless times before.

Just then, the doors to the banquet hall swung open.

By now, everyone who was supposed to be here had already arrived. I couldn't help but turn to look, only to see two people who definitely didn't belong.

It was Miriam Tenny and her daughter, Melissa.

Miriam had been our family's maid for almost twenty years. She'd been with us since I was a kid, handling the cleaning, cooking, and sometimes running errands for my mom. She was quiet, efficient, and always kept to herself. When I was little, I'd always beg her to braid my hair.

Melissa was her daughter, a year younger than me. She used to come over to the Currey house a few times when we were kids, but after that, I hardly ever saw her.

All I knew was that she went to a regular high school on the other side of Riverheim, her grades were nothing special, and I think she started at a vocational college last year.

Normally, there was no way these two would show up at a Currey family party.

Showing up like this? That was even more out of place.

Melissa was dressed in a white gown I'd never seen before. The material looked pricey, but it didn't really fit her. Miriam walked right next to her, eyes red and mouth set in a tight line, like she was swallowing some massive injustice.

Trailing behind them were a couple of people lugging cameras.

The whole place fell silent for a second.

My mom's brows knitted as she was about to ask what was happening, but before she could, Miriam suddenly rushed forward and knelt down with a loud thud right in the middle of the hall.

"Mrs. Currey, I'm sorry!" Miriam cried out.

Her voice was shrill and cut through the entire banquet hall. A few guests holding champagne flinched and stepped back, while the rest stood frozen, exchanging bewildered glances.

My mom's face shifted slightly, but she stayed composed. "Miriam, what's going on? Whatever it is, you can stand up and talk."

"I'm not getting up," Miriam cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. "I need to clear things up in front of everyone today—Mrs. Currey, I've wronged you; I've wronged the Currey family.

"This secret has weighed on me for twenty years. Even if it costs me everything tonight, I have to say it."

The guests started whispering among themselves.

Melissa stood behind her mother, head bowed, hands clasped in front of her, looking so meek and helpless. The hem of her white gown trailed on the floor, and as people walked by, their shoes brushed against it, but she just stood there, not moving at all.

I stood there, watching it all happen, a weird feeling I couldn't even put into words creeping up inside me.

Something was coming for me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Mrs. Currey—" Miriam shuffled forward on her knees, looking up at my mom. "It was me, I was the one who messed up all those years ago. I lost my head, I did you wrong, but Melissa is innocent.

"She doesn't know anything. She's been struggling for twenty years out there. Please, you can't just leave her out in the cold."

My mom frowned, her brows knitting tighter. "Miriam, what are you even talking about? What happened back then? What child?"

Miriam raised her hand, her fingers quivering as she pointed straight at me.

Then at Melissa, standing quietly behind her.

"Mrs. Currey... these two girls—they were switched," Miriam choked out, her voice trembling and barely audible.

The hall went dead silent.

"Back then... twenty years ago, you gave birth to a daughter at St. Joseph Hospital," Miriam said, her voice shaking but every word clear. "My husband had just died, and I was working as an aide in the room next door, with Melissa by my side.

"I saw you holding your baby, looking so happy, so content—and something just came over me..."

She covered her face, tears seeping through her fingers.

"I switched the two babies. I took your daughter away and left mine with you."

Someone gasped.