Chapter 4

By the end of summer break, I had saved fifty-six hundred dollars. If I pinched my pennies, it would have been enough to cover all my senior-year expenses—tuition, dorm fees, meals, supplies, everything.

The foreman gave me a few days off so I could rest up and start school in better shape.

Right then, Richard called, saying he needed to talk.

It was the first time I had looked in a mirror in a month, and I almost didn't recognize the girl staring back at me.

My skin was rough and dry, and my hair was full of dust.

I was only 17, yet I looked like a village woman who'd spent her whole life working in the fields.

No wonder those young girls without diplomas would rather earn two thousand dollars a month at a supermarket cash register than make six thousand dollars working on a construction site.

I scrubbed myself clean, then dug out the only school uniform in my suitcase that wasn't torn, and headed out.

The Carter family had booked a private room in a five-star hotel.

I didn't even make it past the door—my construction-site smell alone was enough for the staff to block me outside.

I called Richard and Grace, but neither answered. No matter how I explained myself to the security guard and the receptionist, they still refused to let me in until Daniel showed up.

He gave me a quick look, not the slightest bit surprised. He simply said, "Come with me."

I didn't look at him. I kept my head down and followed him.

"How have you been lately?" he asked.

"Fine," I replied, and that was that.

Inside the private room, Richard was cutting steak for Rachel, and Grace kept piling food onto Rachel's plate. "Rachel, try this... Rachel, try that... You never got to eat any of these before. From now on, your dad and I will take you to try every delicacy there is."

Rachel looked perfectly content, and the three of them looked like one big happy family.

My arrival was like dropping a fly in the ointment of their perfect soup of happiness.

It wasn't until Daniel cleared his throat that Richard and Grace finally noticed I was standing there.

"Emily, you're here. Come, sit over here." Grace stood up right away and tugged me to the seat beside her, just like she used to. She didn't notice I had lost weight or that I'd gotten darker and rough around the edges.

Rachel flashed me a smug grin. Her eyes were full of contempt. She was now the Carter family's precious princess, sitting high above everyone else, while I had fallen straight into the mud like some useless weed.

Rachel wasn't throwing tantrums at me anymore, and Richard and Grace felt relieved.

"Emily, we asked you here for one thing," Richard said, cutting straight to the chase. "Rachel fell behind in school. There's no way she can get into Westview High on her own. How about you give her your spot in the honors track?"

This had happened before too, so it didn't catch me off guard. I just lifted my cup and took a sip. "You mean you want Rachel to take my identity?" I asked.

It was the quickest way. There was only one student record, and all the Carters had to do was switch my identity with Rachel's.

My ID was still under their name. For a family with power and connections, swapping me out for Rachel with a new photo and leaving everything else untouched was child's play.

"Emily, you only got into Westview High and earned the chance to aim for a top university because the Carter family raised you," Richard said. "Without us, you wouldn't even have that opportunity, right?"

There it was again—the same old line. Everything was something I supposedly owed them.

"You don't want to agree, do you?" Richard's tone sharpened the moment I didn't answer.

Grace saw I was upset. She grabbed my hand, and her eyes started to well up again. "Rachel suffered so much out there and fell behind in school. Emily, you owe her. Just treat this as giving her back what she deserves, okay?"

It was the same excuse as always. I almost couldn't stop myself from sneering.

Rachel dropped the big chunk of steak she'd been eating. "Emily, it's not like we're asking you to do this for nothing. As long as you agree to switch identities, I'll agree to let you come back to the Carter family. You won't have to suffer and scrape by with the Harris family anymore. It's a win-win for you."

Grace held my hand and added, "I really worried about how hard things were for you with the Harrises."

Worried? Maybe a little—just enough to ease her conscience—but certainly not enough to lose sleep over.

I said, "Rachel can't even get in. Putting her in the honors track is pointless."

I simply said the truth, but Richard slammed his cup down with a loud crack. "My daughter—my real daughter—how could she possibly lose to an outsider like you? All she lacks is an opportunity."

"Dad, that's enough," Daniel interrupted.

Richard's expression tightened.

"I think Emily has a point," Daniel said calmly. "With Rachel's grades right now, even if she entered the honors track, she'd still struggle to get into a top university. But Emily'd get in without a doubt. Emily is also a Carter—her success is our success too."

Daniel had just graduated this year, but he'd started running the family business back in his sophomore year. Under his hand, more than a dozen Carter-owned companies had grown fast. Therefore, Richard valued him—and he weighed every word Daniel said.

Richard muttered, "Forget it. Kids grow up and stop listening." But as I was leaving, I caught him muttering, "Ungrateful little brat."

"Enough," Daniel said. "At worst, we'll hire more tutors for Rachel. She'll get into a good college."

As I stepped out of the private room, Daniel said, "I'll walk you out."

"Don't bother," I said. I walked away without a second glance.

But Daniel stayed there for a long time behind me—long enough that I felt my skin crawl.