The Fake Heiress Plays to Win

"Rhea, this is for you."

Alex Jenkins smiled as he pressed a gold pendant into my palm. The metal was still warm from his hand.

"Mr. Anderson said this was the only thing you had with you when you were first brought to the orphanage. I thought it might help you find your family."

I stared down at the familiar pendant. Suddenly, several lines of text appeared in front of me.

"Here we go! The classic gold-pendant handoff! Here comes the fake heiress!"

"Alex is ruthless. He's actually going to pass Rhea off as Olivia just so she can stay away from the Sullivans until her pregnancy is over."

"Poor Rhea. She's about to spend two whole years taking the fall for Olivia."

My fingers tightened around the pendant until my knuckles went white.

I looked up at the man whose plan had gotten me killed in my first life. His eyes were full of calculation and anticipation, but he hid it so well no one else would have noticed.

I sniffled and willed my eyes to fill with tears. "Really? Thanks, Alex! I mean it. Thank you so much!"

I pressed the gold pendant tightly to my chest and gave him the same overwhelmed, grateful look I had in my first life.

A smug glint flashed in Alex's eyes when he saw I'd taken the bait, but his voice stayed as gentle as ever.

"Don't be silly. You don't have to thank me. Not you."

Just then, a black Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the orphanage.

An elegant couple stepped out. I recognized them immediately as Henry Sullivan, chairman of Sullivan Group, and his wife, Hannah Whitlock.

Just like in my first life, Hannah froze when she saw the gold pendant against my chest.

Then she hurried toward me, her voice trembling. "Honey, that pendant…"

I played along, taking a step back and making myself look timid. "Ma'am, who are you?"

Henry came up behind Hannah and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He looked at me, guilt and emotion warring in his eyes.

When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy with feeling. "We're your parents, sweetheart. We've been looking for you for 19 years."

Hannah couldn't hold back any longer. She pulled me into her arms and broke down sobbing.

"My baby… I finally found you…"

Still in Hannah's arms, I quietly glanced up at Alex a short distance away. He hadn't moved. He simply gave me an encouraging smile.

I lowered my eyes before he could see how cold my gaze had become.

The Sullivan mansion was even more extravagant than I'd imagined.

Hannah took my hand and led me into an enormous bedroom that looked like it belonged to a princess.

"Rhea, you've been through so much all these years. Let me make it up to you."

She pressed a black card into my hand, her voice catching with emotion. "There's no PIN and no spending limit. Buy whatever you want. Don't worry about the money."

Henry, who had followed us in, nodded. "The card is yours. From now on, you're the Sullivans' only daughter."