My boyfriend had secretly planned a proposal for me, and the fake heiress tipped me off three days in advance.

I pretended I didn't know a thing.

Three days later, she dragged me to the venue.

I was about to act surprised when my boyfriend dropped to one knee in front of the entire crowd—facing her.

Althea Winfield gasped, hands flying to her mouth.

"Oh, Doreen, I had no idea he was going to propose to me. You two are so close, I just assumed it was for you..."

Solomon Simmons looked down at me, his expression dripping with condescension.

"Doreen Winfield, so what if you're the real daughter? Althea is the one who grew up with me. Let today be a lesson—know your place, and stop coveting what was never yours."

My best friend, Mia Lawson, was shaking with rage beside me.

"You're just going to take that?!"

Yeah. I could.

...

When the diamond ring slid onto Althea's finger, every pair of eyes in the room swiveled toward me, gleaming with mockery.

"She actually thought it was for her. I'm dying."

"If that were me, I'd crawl into a hole and never come out. How humiliating."

"She deserves it. Everyone knows Althea and Solomon are the real couple. She just throws her 'real heiress' card around and tries to steal everything from Althea."

Mia was already lunging forward. I grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"They're doing this to mess with you on purpose! And you're just going to stand there?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

I watched Solomon pull Althea into his arms, his lips curling into a smirk aimed squarely at me.

All I felt was relief.

This whole deranged circus of a family—I was finally done performing.

Three years ago, on my first day at Winfield Corp, Kevin Winfield's eyes had gone red the moment he saw me.

"Doreen, after all this time, you've finally come home."

"You stormed off after that fight with Althea, and she's been blaming herself ever since."

I explained, over and over.

My name wasn't Doreen Winfield. It was Sybilla Sawyer. It was right there on my employment contract.

But they stared at my face with deadly seriousness.

"You're home now, so stop with the games. A fake name? Really? Are you trying to cut ties with the Winfield family? Or do we have to send Althea away before you'll be satisfied? She's lived with this family for over twenty years. Sending her away would be no different from abandoning her!"

That was when I learned the truth. This family had a real daughter and a fake one.

After the real daughter was brought home, she couldn't stand how the family bent over backward for the adopted one. Even her childhood fiancé refused to take her side. Three years ago, she'd blown up at her family and walked out.

No one had heard from her since.

And apparently, I looked exactly like her.

Solomon had stepped in front of Althea, shielding her.

"During the three years you pulled your disappearing act, Althea was worried sick about you. She thought everything was her fault. She nearly fell into depression. As long as you stop causing trouble, I'll honor our engagement. But the condition is this—you leave Althea alone."

I had no interest in getting tangled up in this family's mess. I tried to resign on the spot.

Solomon chased me down. He tossed me a bank card loaded with two hundred thousand dollars.

"Are you trying to push Althea over the edge again? Stay. You'll get one of these every month."

Who would say no to that?

So I played the part of the Winfield family's real daughter.

I kept a low profile, stayed out of sight, and collected my paycheck on time.

But Althea always found new ways to frame me. One day she'd throw herself down a staircase; the next she'd slip an allergen into her own food.

The security footage showed everything. Not a single person chose to believe me.

Two hundred thousand a month—at that point, it felt more like compensation for emotional damages.

Now the charade was over.

And I could finally quit.

In front of everyone, I walked up to the happy couple.

"Congratulations to you both. I'm truly happy for you.

"I wish you nothing but happiness from here on out. I'll be going now."

Althea froze.

Solomon frowned. "Doreen, what kind of act is this?"

Althea's eyes turned red. "Please don't be like this. I really didn't expect Solomon to propose to me either. If you're upset, I'll give you the ring."

"No need."

"I mean it. Take the ring."

"I said I don't want it!"

"Ah!"

I pushed her hand away. The ring slipped right off and clattered to the floor.

Althea's eyes glistened instantly. "Do you really hate me that much?"

"Enough!" Solomon pulled Althea behind him. "Doreen, who do you think you are? You may be the real daughter, but Althea and I have known each other for twenty years. If we're being honest, you're the outsider here."

I couldn't take it anymore.

"That's right! I am the outsider! I'm not the real heiress, and I'm not Doreen! My name is Sybilla Sawyer!"

The entire room went dead silent.

My breathing came quick and shallow.

Althea covered her mouth. "You'd really say something like that just to spite me? How am I supposed to live with that?"

I stared at her. "Excuse me?"

Were these people incapable of understanding plain English?

I pointed at my own face. "Look closely. I don't look exactly like Doreen. Her eyes are slightly larger than mine, and her earlobes sit lower."

"Enough!" Solomon shoved me back. "I told you—you are never to give Althea a hard time again."

Behind him, Althea pressed her hand to her mouth and sobbed.

Every pair of eyes in the room turned on me with open disapproval.

"What is she playing at? She looks identical to Doreen."

"She's making things up just to humiliate Althea. This is obviously a ploy to guilt-trip her into giving up Solomon."

Solomon fixed me with a cold stare. "Doreen, my patience has a limit. If you keep making a scene and tormenting Althea, don't expect me to show you an ounce of mercy."

…Was there a single rational person in this room?

I was out of options.

"Fine! You don't believe me? Then let's go get a DNA test. Right now."

Solomon and Althea both stiffened.

I pointed at Althea. "We go home, get samples from Mom and Dad, put a rush on it, and wait for the results. Then you can all see for yourselves whether I'm a Winfield or not."

Solomon's brow furrowed. He looked at me with something close to surprise.

The guests who'd come to witness the proposal exchanged uneasy glances.

"She doesn't sound like she's bluffing. She's not actually going to do it, is she?"

"What if she really isn't Doreen?"

"She looks serious."

Solomon opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could, Althea burst into tears, both hands pressed to her face. "I know I'm the outsider. You don't have to humiliate me to remind me of that!"

She flung the engagement ring aside, turned on her heel, and stormed toward the exit. When someone tried to stop her, she wrenched free and kept going.

My mind went blank. "Wait, that's not what I—"

A brutal shove sent me stumbling backward.

Solomon was livid. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

"I'm telling you the truth! I'm not Doreen!"

"That's enough!" He spun around and took off after Althea. "Althea! Althea, where are you going?"

Mia leaned in close. "Do rich people actually have functioning brains?"

"Evidence suggests not," I said with a shrug.

I headed straight home. I'd more than earned my paycheck from this gig. Whether they believed me or not, I was packing my things and quitting.

But the moment I stepped through the door of the Winfield mansion, the servants grabbed me by both arms.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winfield heard about you making the younger miss cry. They've ordered us to lock you in the attic for three days to reflect on what you've done."

"What? Wait! I'm not Doreen! I'm really not her! Let go of me!"

The attic door slammed shut.

I pounded on it, screaming until my throat was raw. No one came.

I slid to the floor and stopped struggling.

Fine. Three days. I'll leave after three days.

But then I noticed a problem.

No one had been assigned to bring me food.

I lost track of how long I'd been starving. Eventually I didn't even have the strength to call out anymore.

Three days. Not even water.

I'm going to die in here, aren't I?

A piece of bread slid through the gap beneath the door. I snatched it up and bit into it before I'd even fully torn the wrapper open.

"It's me."

The voice on the other side made me freeze.

"Althea?"

I frowned.

Althea's voice dropped to a whisper. "I believe you. You're not Doreen. I can get you out of here, but you have to promise you'll never come back."

That was exactly what I wanted.

"Swear it!"

"I swear. I'll never set foot in this house again. I'll never show my face in front of anyone in this family."

"Then wait here. I'll go get the key."

I never expected Althea, of all people, to be the one who got me out. She wasn't a good person. But she'd helped me, and that was what mattered.

She drove me to a hotel. She even carried my luggage upstairs for me.

But when I opened the door, I realized I wasn't alone in the room.

Seven or eight hulking men stood inside with their arms crossed, eyes locked on us like wolves sizing up prey.

Before I could say a word, Althea shoved a baseball bat into my hands, ripped her own clothes apart in a few quick jerks, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I'm sorry, sis! Please don't let them touch me!"

I stood there, stunned.

The men dragged Althea toward them in seconds. Before I could even move to stop them, the sound of footsteps thundered down the hallway, growing louder and louder.

"Althea!"

"My baby!"

Kevin and Patricia Winfield burst through the door. Solomon was right behind them.

"Althea!" Solomon's eyes went red instantly. He shoved me hard, then drove his fist into the face of the nearest thug. "You want to die?"

Kevin and Patricia stared at the fresh red marks smeared across Althea's face and body. Their hands were shaking.

"Doreen!" Patricia screamed. "She's your sister! How can you be this vicious? This heartless?"

"I didn't—"

I dropped the bat immediately.

Althea curled into Solomon's arms, the picture of fragile innocence. Her voice trembled.

"Sis, if you want Solomon, I'll step aside. I know you're the real Winfield daughter. Everything here is yours. Just say the word, and I won't fight you on a single thing." Her lip quivered. "But why did you have to do it like this? Ruin me? Make Solomon hate me? Make Mom and Dad despise me?"

She dissolved into sobs.

I stared at her.

I genuinely hadn't seen this one coming. Althea had another card up her sleeve, and she'd played it flawlessly.

Kevin and Patricia pulled her into their arms, tears streaming down their faces, and turned on me with raw fury.

"How did we give birth to a monster like you? Hiring thugs to destroy Althea's innocence? Are you even human?"