Chapter 1

I was the Vance family’s stand-in for ten years, a near lookalike of their long-lost Chloe. I won the only business school exchange spot at the cost of a gastric hemorrhage, yet they forced me to give it to Chloe. She crushed my foot with her stiletto under the table, and they tried to buy my future for fifty thousand dollars. My fiancé watched, besotted with her. I said yes, my hopes broken. I will leave the Vances and reclaim what is mine.

Nina's POV

Dinner was served, and the long dining table in the Vance family's mansion was covered with an extravagant spread.

I sat quietly at the far end of the table, not saying a word.

"Chloe, sweetheart, eat more! You suffered so much out there all these years. This honey-glazed BBQ rib is your favorite flavor. I specifically had the kitchen make it just the way you loved it when you were little! I know you'll love it."

Evelyn Vance’s eyes reddened as she smiled warmly, placing a large, glistening rib straight onto Chloe's plate.

Dressed in a ridiculously expensive designer dress, Chloe flashed an innocent, sweet smile. "Thank you, Mom. You're the best."

Hearing Chloe call her "Mom" made Evelyn beam with pure joy. But when she turned her gaze toward me, that warmth vanished instantly, replaced by a cold detachment. "Nina, your father has something to say to you."

I set my silverware down, raised my head, and looked at the middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table. "Yes, Dad?"

Arthur Vance cleared his throat, set down his wine glass, and deliberately avoided meeting my clear eyes.

"Nina, I heard that the business school has an overseas exchange slot available next month. I want you to give it up to Chloe."

"Chloe just came back," he continued matter-of-factly. "She needs to beef up her resume so she can hold her head high in high society. You've had the best education here with us since you were little. Your grades are great—it won't hurt you to wait another year."

The air in the dining room froze.

Did they have any idea how much blood, sweat, and tears I had poured into winning that single, coveted slot?

I pulled all-nighters for three straight months. I lived on black coffee, ended up in the ER with a bleeding ulcer, and fought tooth and nail to rank first in the entire department to secure the only spot available!

This prestigious international exchange program wasn't just about advanced business knowledge—it was the ultimate gateway to building elite networking ties that would shape my entire future!

And now, Arthur was casually ordering me to hand the fruits of my agony over to Chloe...

We were both supposed to be his daughters. How could he ask for something so cruel? What did he take me for?

A sharp, stabbing pain twisted in my chest.

I had lived in this house for ten years. Ever since they adopted me from the orphanage when I was ten, I knew I was nothing more than a stand-in.

I looked about seventy percent like their lost daughter, Chloe Vance. That was why they named me Nina Vance—"Nina," a reminder of the longing they felt for the daughter they lost. I was nothing but an emotional crutch.

For ten years, I pushed myself to be the best. Top grades, mastered every refined hobby, swallowed every grievance. I foolishly believed that if I were obedient and exceptional enough, the Vances would truly see me as family.

Then, two weeks ago, their real biological daughter returned.

The second Chloe crossed the threshold, I turned into an unwanted ghost.

The entire household revolved around her. My private piano room was gutted and turned into her walk-in closet. And now, even the future I had bled for had to be served to her on a silver platter.

"Nina, if you don't want to, it's really okay," Chloe murmured timidly. But beneath her submissive lashes, a venomous, triumphant gleam flickered. Under the drape of the long tablecloth, her sharp stiletto heel reached out and crushed down viciously onto the top of my foot.

Agony shot up my leg. Yet my face remained completely still. I didn't even flinch.

I stared at Arthur, then glanced at Evelyn, whose face practically screamed, *If you refuse, you're an ungrateful brat.* Finally, I parted my lips and whispered, "Okay."

Arthur let out a long sigh of relief, his tone softening noticeably. "Good girl. I knew you were sensible! I'll wire seventy thousand dollars to your account tomorrow. Go buy yourself a few nice designer bags."

Seventy grand to buy off my life and future. It was the kind of petty handout one tossed to a stray dog on the street.

Utterly pathetic.

After dinner, I returned alone to the guest room tucked away at the very end of the hallway. It was dim and cramped—a room originally intended for the live-in maids.

I used to live in the sunny master suite upstairs. But the day Chloe returned, I voluntarily moved down here.

Closing the door shut out the laughter and chatter of the Vance family downstairs. The silence in the room was deafening.

I flicked on a small, amber desk lamp, walked over, and pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside lay an unmarked manila envelope.

I pulled the documents out carefully.

It was a DNA paternity test report, accompanied by a thick stack of private investigation dossiers.

Two weeks ago—on the third day after Chloe was brought back—this package had been delivered to me anonymously.

On the final page of the report, bold black letters declared: *Biological Paternity Confirmed.*

The name listed beside it was the matriarch of New York's ultimate, untouchable elite dynasty, the Hayes family: Violet Hayes.

My name wasn't Nina Vance. I wasn't an orphan kept as a substitute pet. My real identity was the sole legitimate heiress of the Hayes empire, abducted fifteen years ago from a luxury mall.

Looking down at the papers, my eyes were chillingly calm.

For two weeks, I had done nothing with this truth. Deep down, I still held on to a pathetic, final shred of hope for the Vance family, for my fiancé Brandon Hayes, and for the adoptive brother who had once protected me, Julian Vance.

I had been addicted to the warmth of those ten years, even if it was borrowed. I thought a decade of companionship, even without blood ties, had to mean something. I had even thought that if the Vances still treated me as their own, I would never go back to the Hayes family. I would stay Nina Vance forever.

Tonight's dinner had crushed that delusion into dust.

Rain began to pour outside, heavy droplets slamming against the windowpane with sharp, rattling clatter. I slid the DNA report back into the drawer and locked it.

My gaze drifted to a framed photo sitting on the corner of my desk. It was from the night Brandon and I got engaged. The man in the frame looked aloof and noble, yet whenever he looked at me, there had always been an elusive hint of tenderness.

Brandon was an extended relative of the Hayes family. Only because I had been stolen did his branch of the family manage to worm their way into the core business.

He had always strutted around calling himself the sole heir to the Hayes empire.

Tomorrow night was the annual Hayes grand gala. As a Hayes man and my fiancé, he was supposed to pick me up.

"Brandon Hayes..." I murmured the name softly, closing my eyes. This was my very last gamble. If even he...