Chapter 1

1 When my folks finally found me at the hospital, I was a mess. Not a single patch of skin that wasn't bruised or cut.

"Who... who are you? Stay away from me!"

Seeing me cowering in the corner of the room, Mom finally broke down, tears streaming down her face. "Honey, it's Mom!"

I shook my head, fear clawing at my throat. "That's not true! The guys who kidnapped me said my parents would rather watch their adopted daughter dance ballet than believe I was taken. You're not my real parents."

"Darling, we messed up. Can you ever forgive us?"

No.

The girl who loved her parents unconditionally was dead. Killed by their favoritism, their sharp-edged devotion to someone else.

......

When I woke up, a lot was gone. Just... blank. All I could clearly remember was some dude with a nasty scar across his face slapping me hard.

"You really are a freaking Van Derlyn, princess? We've called a million times for the ransom, and your old man just says, like, 'Go get the money at the damn opera house!'"

Another guy kicked me in the gut, hard, then yanked my hair, slamming my head against the wall. "Maybe we screwed up! Heard the Van Derlyns adopted some girl. Could be she's the real deal and we got stuck with the fake."

"Yeah! What kind of parents don't give a crap about their own kid?"

That was the last thing I heard before passing out again.

This time, I woke up in a hospital room, the sterile smell of disinfectant stinging my nostrils.

The door opened.

A middle-aged guy in a suit walked in, a woman clinging to his arm. Looked like his wife. Trailing behind them was a girl in a frilly princess dress. Looked like a happy little family portrait.

Except I didn't recognize a single one of them.

The woman gasped when she saw my bruises, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Darling, how are you feeling? How could they do this to you?" She reached out to hug me.

Instinctively, I recoiled, backing away, my space invaded by strangers.

"Who... who are you? Stay away!"

She looked shocked. "Honey, don't you know who I am? I'm your mom!"

The girl in the princess dress grabbed my arm. "Ashley, are you confused? Maybe you just can't remember Mom, Dad, and me."

My arm throbbed under her grip, a map of purple bruises blooming beneath the pale skin. I yanked away, without thinking.

The girl let out a little "Ouch!" and promptly fell to the floor.

"Ashley, why would you do that?"

Did what? Hurt her?

My arms were covered in bruises; I couldn't even take on a kindergartener in a fight.

Was she faking it?