Chapter 1

1

I was the shadow of Lilah Vance, the pampered heiress of the Vance family. We looked nearly identical, a twist of fate that allowed her to live my life while I lived hers.

Lilah used my name to hit the clubs, drag race through the city, and flirt with every man in sight. Meanwhile, I was the one attending her lectures, managing the family business, and grinding through her academic research.

To the public, Lilah Vance was a paragon of modern womanhood―a brilliant, sophisticated leader.

I, on the other hand, was notorious. The internet trolls called me a shameless leech, an ungrateful girl adopted by the Vances who spent her days in a drunken, scandalous haze.

I endured it all because I owed the Vance family my life. I bit my tongue even as my friends abandoned me and my own boyfriend began to despise me, turning his affections toward the "brilliant" Lilah instead.

I still remember him holding her close, spitting words of venom at me. "Lyra Sterling, you're a filthy woman. You aren't even fit to tie Lilah's shoes!"

Years later, at a high-society gala, the heel of my shoe snapped. He knelt before me, trembling as he tried to put it back on, but I had already been swept up into the arms of a man who treated me like a goddess.

"Your hands are dirty," the man said coldly. "You aren't worthy of touching her shoes."

...

"Lyra, you make me sick!" Landon Cross roared into the phone.

We had been in a cold war for two weeks. I had been foolishly hoping he'd call to apologize, but it seemed he only called to twist the knife.

"Two years ago, we were happy in Chicago. Then you suddenly said you wanted to move to San Francisco to build a career. And what have you done since?"

Landon's deep, melodic voice was laced with a chilling sneer. "Aside from clubbing and sleeping around, you've managed to bag a pop star. Congratulations, you're trending on the front page!"

I checked the news. The top headline was: "Pop Idol Zane Rhodes and Socialite Lyra Sterling: The Bedroom Scandal."

My heart sank. Lilah was at it again, using my name to cover her tracks.

I clicked the link. The photos were blurry but unmistakably suggestive. Even with the pixelation, you could tell the man was Zane Rhodes.

The woman had pale skin, thick dark hair, and a face that looked just like mine. I had one of those classic, striking faces that was easy to replicate with the right makeup.

Lilah already looked like me, but after a few rounds of plastic surgery, she had become my double. She always wore heavy makeup, which blurred the tiny differences between us.

Even Landon, the man I'd loved for five years, couldn't tell the difference.

As the sole heir to the Vance empire, Lilah carried a heavy burden, but she hated work. She loathed studying and found the business world repulsive.

Two years ago, I signed a deal with her mother. The Vance family would provide the best medical care for my autistic younger brother, Milo.

The catch? I had to be Lilah's body double.

Lilah got to live her wild, free life under my name, Lyra Sterling. I, in turn, fulfilled her duties as the Vance heiress, working myself to the bone so she could return and claim the credit.

Right now, while she was trending for a sex scandal, I was hiking up a muddy mountain in a downpour. I was here to inspect the high-end silk production for Celeste Silks.

The Vances specialized in luxury heritage textiles, a multi-generational business. This specific silk required a rare type of silkworm, and I hadn't slept for days, trekking through the wilderness with the local farmers.

My feet were covered in blisters. Blood had soaked through my socks.

Landon knew none of this. He only knew how to scream at me. "You're disgusting! How could you let those photos end up online? Have you no shame?"

"It wasn't me..." I tried to explain, my voice cracking.

"Lyra, you're already a slut. Don't add 'liar' to the list," he shouted. "You've practically collected all seven deadly sins!"

In the cold, rainy night, my heart felt heavier than my sodden clothes. He was my first love, the boy in the white shirt from my dreams. I had never loved anyone else.

But he didn't believe me. He joined the rest of the world in dragging my name through the mud.

I glanced at the comments on the scandal. They were brutal.

"Lyra Sterling is basically the city's public bus. Everyone's had a ride. Zane Rhodes must be blind."

"I heard the Vances adopted her out of charity. She's just a parasitic wolf who uses their money to buy boy toys."

"The real Vance daughter, Lilah, is so much better. She's getting her PhD and is so low-key. This adopted sister is just trash."