Chapter 1

Our town, Blackwood Falls, has a dark secret.

Every time a child is born, it is always twins.

But there is a price to pay when they turn eighteen.

The mother must choose one child to die so the other can live a full life.

My sister and I are identical twins, so similar that even our parents mix us up.

Tomorrow is the weekend, and our family is going for a picnic by the river.

The night before we left, I overheard my mother whispering in the kitchen.

"We have to kill Layla," she said.

My father let out a long, heavy sigh and finally grunted in agreement.

A cold shiver ran from my toes to the top of my head as I stood there frozen.

My own mother wanted me dead.

I couldn't believe it, but the truth was staring me in the face.

Why did she choose to sacrifice me?

I've spent years studying hard, being the perfect, obedient daughter.

I'm better than my sister in every single way.

If this was about survival of the fittest, my plain, average sister Tinsley should be the one to go.

1

I was filled with a mix of burning hatred and paralyzing fear.

The next morning, I did my best to act like nothing was wrong.

Before we set off, I turned to my sister with a playful grin.

"Hey, want to play a game?"

Tinsley looked at me, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"What kind of game?" she asked.

I gave her a mischievous smirk.

"Let's swap identities for the day. You pretend to be Layla, and I'll be Tinsley. Let's see how long it takes for Mom and Dad to notice."

She agreed immediately, thrilled by the idea.

My trap was set.

During the picnic, we wandered near the water.

Mom stood by the riverbank and suddenly called out my name.

"Layla!"

I felt a jolt of panic shoot through my body.

Tinsley was already deep in her role and remembered our game.

She answered naturally and ran over to Mom with a smile.

I watched her go, knowing she was walking toward her grave.

Then, it happened.

Splash!

Without a single moment of hesitation, Mom pushed her into the freezing river.

Tinsley thrashed in the water, her eyes wide with terror as she tried to claw her way back to the bank.

But Mom held her head down, pressing with all her strength.

She didn't let go until the struggling stopped and the water went still.

Only then did Mom stand up, breathing a sigh of relief.

My father and I watched the whole thing from the shore.

I was horrified by my father's silence and my mother's cruelty.

But mostly, I was relieved that Tinsley had died in my place.

After that day, I became Tinsley.

Mom called the police and told them Layla had slipped and fallen into the river.

When the detectives questioned me, I told them the exact same story.

At the funeral, the guests were draped in black and drowning in tears.

Only Mom and I stood in the corner, hiding our twisted smiles.

Once the guests left, Mom didn't shed another tear.

That night, she cooked a massive feast, looking happier than I'd ever seen her.

She piled food onto my plate and served me soup.

She kept smiling at me, reaching over to wipe a bit of grease from the corner of my mouth.

I felt a strange sense of bliss.

I was so glad I was the one who survived.

Sometimes, I wondered what her face would look like if she found out she killed the wrong daughter.

The thought made me giddy.

Late that night, I couldn't sleep from the excitement.

I sat cross-legged on my bed, reading a textbook on Aerospace Engineering.

My dream was to get into a top-tier flight academy.

I was so absorbed in my reading that I didn't hear my father enter the room.

When I looked up and saw him, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I quickly shoved the textbook under my pillow and forced a nervous laugh.

I grabbed a trashy romance novel, "The CEO's Obsession," from the nightstand instead.

To avoid suspicion, I mimicked Tinsley's ditzy giggle.

"Ugh, why would Layla like those boring science books? They're so lame."

Despite my best acting, my father just stared at me with a hollow look in his eyes.

My heart skipped a beat.

Tinsley hated school and couldn't care less about astronomy or engineering.

She spent all her time reading mindless stories about billionaires falling for high school dropouts.

She was a fool who believed in fairy tales with a one-in-a-billion chance of happening.

And yet, Mom had chosen her over me.

The look in Dad's eyes told me he knew exactly what I had done.

I wanted to beg him for mercy, but he didn't say a word.

He simply turned around and walked out of my room.

I stayed awake all night, terrified he would tell Mom the truth.

The next morning, I crept out of my room, trembling.

Mom was in the kitchen, humming a tune while she made a hot breakfast.

Dad was sitting at the table with his head down, eating as if nothing had happened.

Mom looked up and beamed at me.

"Morning, Tinsley! Wash your hands and come eat, sweetie."

I glanced at my father, stunned.

He hadn't told her my secret.

Why was he keeping it for me?

I was confused, and although I felt a wave of relief, I felt like a ticking time bomb.

After breakfast, Dad drove me to school.

He remained silent the whole way, making no attempt to expose me.

Finally, as I got out of the car, he spoke.

"Be careful."

Be careful?

Be careful of what?

Crossing the street? Or being caught?

Was that a warning or did he actually care about me?

I spent the whole day on edge, unable to focus on my classes.

When I got home, I looked at Mom with a sense of dread.

She gave me a warm look and asked, "What's wrong, baby? Did something bad happen today?"

"Did you fail another test? It's okay if you did."

I was holding a paper with a perfect score in my hand, but I hid it behind my back.

I looked toward my father's room, feeling like a criminal.

Mom noticed my strange behavior and followed my gaze to Dad.

The next second, she pulled me outside and put a finger to her lips.

"Shh. I figured it out a long time ago. That man isn't your father."

My mind went completely blank as I stared at her in total confusion.

"What do you mean? Dad is Dad. How can he not be my father?"

I couldn't wrap my head around her words.

Mom gripped my shoulders firmly.

"Wait for me out here. Whatever you do, do not go inside."