The Fake Heiress Stole My Scores

On the day the entrance exam scores came out, I stood in the marble lobby of Bennett Group headquarters.

The place was packed. Executives, shareholders, business partners — half of New York's corporate elite had turned up for the spectacle.

Lily Bennett stood across from me with a smile that never reached her eyes.

"Claire, I didn't want to compete with you," she said sweetly. "But Bennett Group needs a successor people can actually respect.

"You've only been in New York two months. You grew up in a small town, you've never dealt with corporate politics. I'm only thinking about the family."

Whispers broke out around us.

"I heard Claire was one of the top students back home. Her scores shouldn't be bad."

"Back home? Please. A town like that can't compare with New York. Look how confident Lily is."

"Hard to say. Lily barely showed up to school. Richard complained about her partying all the time."

I ignored them, my eyes on Lily's fake smile.

In my last life, the Bennetts found me only weeks before the exams.

Lily and I ended up in the same class. Every day after school, she insisted on helping me study.

I even worried that tutoring me would drag down her own grades.

She'd waved me off, laughing.

"You're the real Bennett heiress. When you're running the company someday, just don't forget about me."

Then results day came.

In front of everyone, she took my scores.

And she made me stand up and admit to the whole room that I was the impostor.

That same smile still on her face, she leaned close to my ear.

"Do you know how useful your scores are?

"There will only ever be one Bennett heir. Me."

I jolted back into the present and looked at Lily, cold all the way through.

"Fine. Let's compare. There's no way my scores come in under yours."

Her smile sharpened.

"We draw lots for the order of the sections. Whoever loses a round pays the wager.

"Call the first round an appetizer. A million and a half."

The lobby erupted.

"A million and a half for one section?"

"Only the Bennetts would call that an appetizer."

"That's more than some companies in this room could raise on short notice."

Lily looked down at me as though I were already beneath her.

"A million and a half is pocket change to me. I'm just wondering whether my little sister can cover it."

I shook my head.

Lily laughed.

"Scared? I doubt you've ever seen that much money in your life."

"No. I mean drawing lots is a waste of time." I cut her off, my voice flat. "We reveal them in the order they appear on the score report. However it falls, we accept it."

Something close to approval crossed Lily's face. She waved over an employee — Greg Halloran, up from the finance floor — to act as referee.

The first section was Writing.

The screen above the reception desk lit up, and everyone in the lobby held their breath.

Greg looked at the numbers and hesitated.

"Lily Bennett. 127."

Lily's mouth curled, and she cut her eyes at me.

"Want me to lend you the million and a half now? Don't worry. I'll give my sister a very reasonable rate."

Someone muttered in the crowd.

"That's not exactly a monster score."

"Bit early to be pouring the champagne."

Greg looked at me, and something uneasy moved across his face.

"Claire Bennett. 81."

The room came apart.

"Who told me she was a top student?"

"Forty-six points behind Lily. How does she come back from that?"

"Small-town genius, apparently. She probably doesn't know what a million and a half looks like."

Lily crossed her arms, smugness coming off her in waves, and softened her voice.

"Claire, maybe we should stop here.

"Apologize to me and I might even forgive part of what you owe."

I met her eyes and gave her two words.

"Keep going."