Chapter 2

The next day, Lucy stormed into my place. "I want a DNA test!" She slapped the table. "Right now! No waiting! Immediately!"

My parents exchanged a look and both looked troubled.

"Miss," Amelia said, "it's not that we don't want to."

"What, are you guys feeling guilty?" Lucy sneered. "Afraid the test will prove I'm your real daughter?"

Liam rubbed his temples. "Last year, we had our blood drawn for DNA tests thirty times.

"And this year alone, we've already done it fifteen more times. The doctor said if I keep going, I'll be anemic."

Lucy was so stunned she couldn't get a word out.

I walked over with a cup of coffee. "Actually, there's another way."

"What way?" Lucy shot me a suspicious look.

"Use hair or nails," I replied. "Technology's come a long way. You don't have to draw blood anymore."

Lucy's eyes lit up. "Let's do it right now!"

I smiled, "Sure, but you'll still have to wait in line."

"What line? Why do I still have to wait?" Lucy snapped.

"My parents only give out a set number of hair and nail samples each month, and they've already maxed out for this month," I replied.

"There are more than two hundred people ahead of you waiting for their tests, so you won't even get your turn until next month at the earliest."

Lucy blew up. "Claire Sinclair! You're doing this on purpose!"

I just shrugged. "Just following the rules."

Lucy couldn't wait a second longer. She forked over six thousand dollars to a scalper just to jump the line.

Then she was led up to the third floor, straight into the Token Verification Room.

She strutted in, head held high, looking like a peacock showing off its feathers.

"I have a token proof," Lucy declared, whipping out half a pearl pendant. "A nurse at the hospital gave this to me back then. It's one of a kind."

Sophia Jones, the staff member, took the pendant and scanned her appointment QR code.

"YM37, Lucy Lane, presenting a pearl pendant as the token," Sophia announced.

"There are currently 287 pearl pendants on record."

Lucy's smile froze. "How many?"

"287," Sophia said, pulling up the records. "143 are halves, and 144 are whole."

Lucy freaked out. "No way!"

Sophia smiled, "Back in the day, people matched up half pendants, real and fake. Then they started bringing in quarter pieces instead."

She clicked open a webpage. "Want to try your luck? There's a 'pearl pendant puzzle' service for 30 dollars, shipping included."

Lucy's face fell.

I sent her a voice message through the surveillance system. "Miss Lane, your pendant is just a regular type. Market price is 120 dollars."

Lucy looked up, searching for the camera. "Claire! You set me up!"

I just laughed, "That's just market research."

Lucy wasn't about to give up.

"I have a birthmark!" She pulled her collar aside, revealing her left shoulder. "It's butterfly-shaped. One of a kind!"

Sophia let out a sigh and opened up another database.

"Out of the 500 'heiress' candidates who applied this year, 108 said they have a butterfly-shaped birthmark," she reported.

Lucy gaped. "How many?"

"108," Sophia said, zooming in on the data. "76 on the left shoulder, 32 on the right."

Lucy was getting frantic. "Mine is unique! It has a special design!"

Sophia nodded. "That's what numbers 43, 87, and 201 claimed too."

She pulled up the photos. "Number 43's butterfly has spots, number 87's has patterns, and number 201's is 3D."

Lucy's lips quivered. "This can't be happening!"

I threw in a snarky remark. "Miss Lane, maybe try adding a tattoo? They're accepted as tokens these days too."

Lucy lost it and hurled the coffee cup to the floor in rage.

"Time to pay up." Sophia immediately started writing up a bill. "It's custom-made, 900 dollars."

Lucy still wasn't ready to give up.

"I look just like Mrs. Sinclair when she was young." She pointed at the photo on the wall, practically shouting, "See? Check it out!"

Sophia sighed again and fired up the projector.

"Check out this 'heiress'," she said.

A lady popped up on the screen.

She didn't just look like my mom. She looked like my dad, and even like my grandma.

"We call her the 'Sinclair Family Mashup,'" Sophia said. "Last year, she took home the 'Sinclair Family Lookalike Champion' award."