Chapter 1

It took my parents, Jacob Lawrence and Faye Wright, a moment to recover from the shock.

They fumbled for words before finally asking nervously, "Really? How could there have been a mix-up at the hospital?"

Seeing them instinctively defend me only made Rosie Porter cry harder.

She snatched the DNA test report, dashed onto the stage, and grabbed Mom's hand. "Mom, I'm really your daughter! Look at how alike we look! The report says we're a match. If you still don't believe it, we can do another test!"

She sniffled, pulling at their heartstrings. "I've dreamed of finding my real parents for so long! I know you love Sienna. I just want a mom and dad. I don't need anything else. I'm fine just being her younger sister!"

Mom's expression softened at her tearful plea. She studied Rosie closely, and the resemblance was undeniable.

Noticing that my parents were wavering, Declan Dawson struck while the iron was hot. "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, Rosie's telling the truth. I can vouch for her! I'm Sienna's boyfriend. She's known about this for a while, but she told me she'd never let Rosie meet you two. She wanted to keep being your only daughter.

"I felt too guilty keeping it a secret, so I told Rosie the truth. I couldn't just stand by and watch a family stay torn apart because of her schemes!"

Outraged by his lie, I tried to defend myself. "That's a lie! I never said—"

Declan didn't give me a chance to finish speaking. He turned to me and questioned me, "A lie? Are you saying you didn't know Rosie was their real daughter?"

I fell silent.

I did know.

I had known ever since freshman year of high school, the very first time I laid eyes on Rosie.

Growing up, everyone said I looked nothing like Mom and Dad.

They were both strikingly attractive and tall. How could they have produced someone as painfully average as me?

Hearing it over and over made me wonder if I was really their child, so I had saved up my allowance and secretly run a DNA test.

When I got the results back, it was more of a quiet realization than a shock.

I wasn't theirs.

The moment I saw Rosie in high school, I knew she was the real daughter. She just looked far too much like Mom.

However, I had buried that secret deep inside, never mentioning it to a soul—not even to Declan.

Noticing my silence, Rosie stepped closer, looking deeply hurt. "Sienna, I get that you didn't want to lose your place, but why couldn't you just tell me? I wouldn't take anything from you. I just wanted to meet my real parents, even if it was only from afar."

Declan rushed to her side and pulled her into a protective embrace. "Rosie, not everyone is as kind as you! If I hadn't exposed her today, she would've taken this secret to her grave and stolen your life forever!"