Chapter 1

Introduction

Eight years after she was abducted, Pearl Vance was finally brought home by the family.

And I, the foster daughter who had lived as her substitute for those eight years, instantly became an outsider in everyone’s eyes.

To make up for lost time, my parents forced me to give up my bedroom, and my fiancé, Harrison Hayes, sided with her at every turn.

When Pearl framed me, everyone rallied behind her.

I loved Harrison for eight years. In return, I received only his distrust and humiliation.

What they didn't know was that I had already found my biological parents.

In two weeks, I would walk away from the Vance family for good—giving back everything, including every scrap of affection from the past eight years.

Selena's POV

Pearl Vance, the true heiress who had been lost for eight years, was finally back.

The welcome-home gala was lavish, attended by practically every high-society figure in the city.

Dressed in a simple champagne-colored gown, I stood quietly behind Arthur and Rebecca Vance. I was a stand-in. Ever since I was adopted into the family at age eight, everyone knew it.

Pearl, however, wore a custom designer dress, clinging to Rebecca’s embrace with rimmed, tearful eyes.

"Mom, I was so scared I’d lose you all again..." Pearl murmured timidly, trembling like a frightened fawn.

Rebecca stroked her hair, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't be scared, sweetheart. This is your home now. Whatever you want, it's yours."

Pearl lifted her head shyly, her gaze drifting over the crowd before landing squarely on me.

"Mom, I want the bedroom she's staying in," Pearl whispered, biting her lower lip. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was just clear enough for the surrounding guests to catch every word. "I remember... that was supposed to be mine."

The entire hall fell dead silent. Every pair of eyes turned toward me.

That room was the primary suite on the second floor, the largest and brightest in the house. I had lived there for eight years. Every book on the shelves, every plant on the sill—I had placed them there with my own hands.

The warmth on Rebecca’s face froze for a fraction of a second. She glanced at me instinctively, her eyes shifting with guilt before being swallowed whole by the debt she felt toward her real daughter. "Selena, dear, you see..."

Before she could finish, I already knew what she was going to say.

Lowering my eyes, I snuffed out the very last ember of hope I had for this family. "Okay," I said evenly. "I'll pack up and move out tonight."

Without another word, I turned and headed straight upstairs.

Behind me, the guests began to murmur among themselves. "Well, at least the foster girl knows her place..."

"None of that was ever hers to begin with!"

That night, I packed everything into boxes and moved into the small storage room at the end of the hallway.

The space was cramped, practically devoid of natural light, and smelled faintly of damp mildew. I didn't complain. I simply set to work smoothing out the sheets on the narrow cot.

Just then, familiar, steady footsteps echoed outside.

Harrison Hayes stood in the narrow doorway. Seeing the room crammed with boxes where you could barely turn around, his usually calm, gentle face creased with a frown.

"What's going on here? Why did you move into this place?" Harrison stepped inside, his tailored black designer suit completely out of place in such a drab little room.

He was my fiancé. When Pearl went missing eight years ago, the arranged match between our families fell onto me. Over the past eight years, Harrison had always been attentive and kind.

I had genuinely believed his love was real.

"Pearl wanted my old room," I said quietly, keeping my head down as I taped up another cardboard box.

Harrison’s frown deepened. He opened his mouth to speak, but a petite figure suddenly darted into the room, throwing her arms around his waist.

"Harrison!" Pearl buried her face against his chest, her voice choked with sobs. "Do you think I'm terrible? Do you think I'm picking on my sister?"

Harrison’s body stiffened. His hands hovered in the air for a moment before gently resting on her shoulders. He didn't push her away.

Watching them, my grip tightened on the edge of the book I was holding, the paper digging a white crease into my fingertips.

"Harrison, I know you're engaged to her," Pearl whimpered, looking up with tears spilling down her cheeks. "That was my engagement once, but I'm willing to let her have it. I lived on the streets for so long, I don't have anything left. All I want is... a little comfort. Could you spend some time with me? Just a little?"

It sounded so heartbreaking, as if she were carrying the weight of the world.

A flicker of remorse flashed across Harrison’s eyes. Looking down at the trembling girl in his arms, he let out a soft sigh.

He gave Pearl’s back a soothing pat, then lifted his gaze across the cramped room to meet mine.

"Selena," he said, his voice still gentle, "Pearl has suffered so much over the years. She feels deeply insecure. You're the older sister here. Be the bigger person. Just think of giving up the room as a way to make it up to her."

*Be the bigger person. Make it up to her.*

I let go of the book. Suddenly, the whole thing felt absurd. Pearl’s years of hardship were caused by traffickers, not by me. I had fulfilled every duty of an heiress for the Vance family for eight years, kept this engagement for eight years, yet somehow everyone acted as though I were the one in her debt.

"All right," I replied without arguing. I simply nodded. "Understood."

Seeing how compliant I was, the tension in Harrison’s shoulders eased. Assuming I was just being sensible, he guided Pearl by the shoulder and walked out of the dark storage room.

Their footsteps faded down the hall. I sat down on an old folding chair, pulled out my phone, and dialed a number saved without a name.

It rang twice before a middle-aged woman answered, her voice tight with nervousness and longing. "...Selena? Is that you, sweetie?"

It was my biological mother. A few months ago, I had tracked down my real parents. They were just an ordinary, working-class couple, but they had spent every single day grieving and searching for the child who had been stolen from them so long ago.

"Mom," I said softly, my voice carrying clearly through the chilly, empty room. "I'm coming home in two weeks. And I'm staying for good."

A choked sob of pure joy came through the speaker. I hung up and stared out the small window at the pale, solitary moon.

*Harrison, you want your compensation? Fine. I will return every single thing I ever borrowed from you all.*

Fourteen days. It would be my final goodbye to eight years of wasted youth.