Chapter 1The second my parents flew off to Paris, some random girl showed up at our house.
"You're Avery, right? Well, your perfect little life? It's done."
"I'll just say it—I'm their real kid, the actual heiress of this family!"
"So pack your shit and get out!"
She literally threw a paternity test in my face.
"See? This proves I'm Mr. Hayes's real daughter!"
I stared at the paper, totally confused.
Mom never mentioned having another kid. So wait... was I adopted?
That's when my childhood best friend Crew came running in, waving another test around—mine.
"Avery's results are here. She's definitely NOT Mr. Hayes's kid."
"But she IS Mrs. Hayes's—blood related. Looks like your mom cheated!"
Honestly? I felt this HUGE weight lift off my chest~
Whether I was Dad's daughter didn't even matter.
Cuz every single dollar in this house came from my mom.
Bottom line—Mom's kid = RICH.
...
After we graduated, normal families send their kids on vacation.
My family? My parents went on vacation and left me home alone.
They'd barely been gone an hour when the doorbell rang.
Figured they forgot something. But when I opened the door, there's this girl I'd never seen before.
She looked about my age, dressed plain, eyes all over our place like she was pricing everything.
The greed was obvious.
"Can I help you?"
She looked me up and down, then just dropped this bomb.
"You're Avery Hayes, right? I'm Jade. I'm their real kid—the actual daughter of this family."
Before I could even react, she shoved past me and walked right into my house, talking to herself.
"So this is where I'm supposed to live?"
"Damn, this place is insane. Makes sense for the richest family in Connecticut."
I snapped out of it and followed her.
"Wait, what the hell did you just say?"
Jade turned around and shoved some papers at me.
"It means I'm their real daughter. We got switched at birth."
"You know those Switched at Birth type stories? You're the fake. I'm the real one."
I looked down.
It was a paternity test from GeneDx, and yeah, it said Jade was Dad's biological daughter.
"You've lived my life long enough. Time to give it back."
"Now pack your shit and get out of my house!"
"When Mom and Dad get home, I'll tell them the truth."
Wow, she was already acting like she owned the place, literally kicking me out.
But something didn't add up.
Mom told me once that when I was born, she hired ten people to watch me around the clock.
Because we're loaded and she was paranoid someone might try to swap me.
So how could I have been switched?
Plus, Mom never had another kid. Where did this Jade girl even come from?
But the test looked real. It even had the official GeneDx seal.
For a second, I actually started doubting myself.
When I didn't move, Jade crossed her arms with this smug look.
"You're stalling, aren't you? Waiting for Mom and Dad to come back so you can cry and make them feel bad for you?"
I rolled my eyes:
"You've got quite the imagination."
"You show up with one test and think I'll just leave?"
"This is something Mom and Dad need to deal with. You don't get to boss me around."
Chapter 2
Jade acted like she didn't hear a word and immediately twisted everything.
"See? I knew it. You're just waiting for them to get back."
"Well, guess what? They're obviously gonna pick me!"
"I got a 1535 on my SAT. Way better than you."
"And I'm majoring in economics at Yale."
"They'll take just one look at us and know who's worth keeping. You're getting kicked out. Duh."
1535? Cool. But I got a perfect 1600!
Compare grades? Yeah, she picked the WRONG person.
But I wasn't about to brag. Mom raised me to stay humble.
So I kept it simple.
"I'm not competing with you. Mom and Dad just left. I'll text them right now and they can come back. Then we'll figure this out."
I pulled out my phone and texted Mom.
[Mom, some girl showed up saying she's your daughter. Got a DNA test. Did you secretly have another kid? Just come home.]
Mom texted back instantly.
[What? No way! You're my only child! Stay put. Dad and I are heading back now.]
Jade didn't even flinch when she saw me texting.
She just sat down on the couch like she owned it.
"Fine by me. Once they get here, your fantasy's over anyway. I've got proof—I'm Dad's real daughter."
"Well, wonder what they'll give me?"
"A black card with no limit? A house in Greenwich? Shares in the company?"
Then she looked at me.
"Oh, and you're engaged to Crew Hayes, right? Well, since you're the fake daughter, that's mine too."
Wait. How did she even know about Crew?
"How do you know him?"
"I don't just know him."
She looked way too smug.
"He's my boyfriend."
"BOYFRIEND?!"
My stomach dropped.
Crew and I grew up together. We've been in love for years. Also engaged.
How is he suddenly HER BOYFRIEND?
"Yup. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have gotten Dad's hair for the paternity test."
"I know you two grew up together and you're into him, but I'm the real Hayes daughter. He's my fiancé. You need to get over it."
Her story actually made sense.
Our house has serious security. A stranger couldn't just walk in, let alone steal Dad's hair.
"How did you even meet?"
I stared at her hard for the first time.
She loved that I was finally rattled.
"We met at school. Freshman year, Crew came to give some talk about study tips. We swapped numbers."
"He started coming to see me a lot. One day he found something of Dad's that I had and started wondering if maybe I was the real Hayes daughter."
She pulled a pocket watch out of her jacket.
"This belonged to Dad. But whatever, doesn't matter now since I've got the DNA test."
"Once we confirmed I was Dad's real daughter, Crew and I made it official. We're engaged, so obviously we're together."
I was about to say something when I heard the front door open.
It was Crew.
Chapter 3
He's got our door code, so he just walked right in.
The second he got inside, he went straight to Jade.
"I told you I'd come with you. Why'd you come alone? Avery didn't mess with you, did she?"
"Nah, I just couldn't wait. Came early."
They completely ignored me.
I looked at Crew, barely getting the words out.
"Crew... you gonna explain what's going on?"
"Explain what?"
He looked at me like I was nobody.
"Jade's the real Hayes daughter. She's my fiancée. If I hadn't met her, I would've married the wrong person."
"We're engaged. Why would I explain anything to some fake?"
"You're that sure I'm fake?"
I shot back.
"Even if Jade is Dad's daughter, doesn't mean I'm not."
"You really can't let it go, huh?"
Crew looked at me like I was pathetic.
"I was gonna wait till your parents got back to show this, but since you wanna argue? I'll just embarrass you now!"
He pulled another paternity test from his pocket.
"Read it. Says right there you're NOT Mr. Hayes's daughter."
I grabbed the paper. My heart sank.
It clearly said I wasn't Dad's biological daughter.
So I really was fake?
But everyone always said I look exactly like Mom when she was young. How could I not be hers?
Jade's eyes lit up when she saw the test.
"Wait, when did you test Avery? You didn't tell me!"
"I wanted to be extra sure. This way there's no doubt—you're Dad's only real daughter."
Hearing that, something clicked.
"Did you test me and Mom?"
Crew paused.
"Yeah, I did that too just in case. But doesn't really matter since we already know you're not Mr. Hayes's kid."
"It matters." I pushed. "Am I related to Mom or not?"
Crew didn't get why I cared, but he called GeneDx anyway and put it on speaker.
"Yeah, give me the results for Avery's other test."
The lab tech's voice came through.
"Mr. Hayes, the second test shows Avery and her mother are biologically related. They're blood mother and daughter."
I let out the biggest breath.
As long as I was Mom's daughter, I was fine.
Because every single thing in this family belongs to Mom. It's all in her name.
So whoever's her daughter is the real heiress.
And Dad? He's just a house husband with nothing to his name.
Why I wasn't his biological kid... only Mom could explain that.
Crew and Jade both looked like they'd been slapped.
"You're Mrs. Hayes's daughter but not Mr. Hayes's... so Mrs. Hayes cheated?"
Jade freaked out.
"Wait, am I her daughter?"
The lab pulled up her file. "The test shows you and Mrs. Hayes aren't biologically related."
Jade's face twisted and she immediately turned on me.
"So your mom's not even my mom?"
"God! She must've stolen my dad and cheated on him!"
"Mistress and a bastard. You two are disgusting!"
