The Fake Heiress Picked the Wrong Real Daughter

I was abandoned at a werewolf orphanage the day I was born. But one look at me was all it took for a witch to predict that I'd grow up rich. After I posted a notice searching for my birth family, the second- and third-wealthiest werewolf packs came forward and took me in, one after the other. When the first pack's fake heiress forged messages to make it look like I'd leaked pack secrets to a rogue, I turned the tables by uncovering evidence of the rogue's crimes. My adoptive father, Alaric Sterling, rewarded me with control of three mineral veins. When the second pack's fake heiress slit her own wrist and accused me of draining her wolf power, I used the moment to reveal my healing gift. This time, my adoptive father, Lucian Blackwood, insisted I inherit his jewelry company. Only when the third family claimed me did I discover that I was the biological daughter of the wealthiest Alpha in the werewolf world. On my first day home, Anna Grayson, the fake heiress, threw her bowl of medicine to the floor and dropped to her knees before me, sobbing uncontrollably. "I know you hate me for taking your place, but I don't have much time left. All I want is to spend my remaining years here with Mom and Dad. If you really can't stand having me around, then I might as well end it all right now." Mom pulled her into her arms, heartbroken, and looked at me like I was her worst enemy. Dad slammed his teacup to the floor and pointed at me furiously. "Anna was born with a weak wolf heart. We've spent years doing everything we can to keep her alive, and now you show up and try to take her life!" Even my fiancé, Ryan Hale, stepped in front of Anna and stared at me coldly. "Apologize to Anna, or the engagement is off." Without a flicker of emotion, I walked up to Anna, gently wiped away her tears, and said quietly, "Don't worry. I'm not going to kick you out." "After all, you're the least convincing fake heiress I've ever met." Chapter 1 "Chloe, what are you talking about?" Anna was already pale, but her face went completely white. She pressed a hand hard against her chest, trembling all over. "I only... I only wanted you to forgive me... So why are you threatening me?" She struggled to breathe, gasping for air before going limp in Mom's arms. Mom cried out and held her close, panic written all over her face. "Anna, baby, don't scare me like this! Where's the doctor? Get the pack doctor in here, now!" In seconds, the whole house was in chaos. I stood where I was and watched it all, unmoved. Then it hit me how familiar this felt. At 17, I was adopted by the Silver Moon pack, which controlled the mines of the North. To drive me out, Silver Moon's fake heiress fabricated evidence that I'd been secretly selling minerals to a rogue, making me look like a traitor to the pack. I kept my head down and quietly gathered proof of what she'd really done. In the end, I sent her and the rogue to prison and took control of three mineral veins in the North. At 20, I was adopted again, this time by the Blackstone pack, the leading jewelry merchants in the werewolf world. Their fake heiress wanted me gone too. She cut her own wrist and accused me of stealing her wolf powers. That time, I didn't even bother to argue. I healed her wound in front of everyone, then used forensic analysis to expose her scheme. She was exiled, and my position as heir was secured. At least those two had the nerve to take real risks and plot against me. They'd put up a decent fight. But this one couldn't even bring herself to work with an outsider or draw her own blood. All she could do was pretend to be sick and play the victim. Honestly... it was so childish. "Chloe, you grew up away from us, and I don't blame you for not knowing our ways. But you can't say something so cruel to a dying girl!" Dad's voice was flat, but every word cut like a knife. I was about to answer when Ryan cut in. "I had high hopes for this engagement. But now I can see you can't hold a candle to Anna. Apologize to her right now! Or the wedding's off." He looked so smug, so full of himself, that I couldn't hold back a soft laugh. What makes him think I'd grovel to save this engagement? My last two adoptive fathers would have given anything to marry me off to the Alpha King. The marriage contract had already been drawn up, and I was the one who turned it down. And Ryan? The heir to some tiny pack out on the fringes. A nobody. I looked up at him, perfectly calm. "If you care about her that much, then let's just call off the engagement." Ryan froze for a second. That clearly wasn't the reaction he'd expected. He'd assumed that after more than 20 years away from Graycliff, I'd cling to the security he was offering with everything I had. I must have bruised his ego, because he clenched his fists. "Careful, Chloe," he warned. "You can talk big now, but once this engagement is off, don't come crying to me." I ignored his warning and turned to Anna, who was still lying in Mom's arms. A faint smile tugged at my lips. "You all claim to care so much about her, yet you can't even hire a decent doctor? Any competent doctor could tell she's faking it." Chapter 2 Anna's trembling stopped for a split second. Then her eyes filled with tears, and her voice was thin and shaky. "I'm not faking, Chloe. I know you hate me, but you can't accuse me of something I didn't do. If my being here makes you so miserable, then I'll leave..." She tried to stand, only to collapse back into Mom's arms. Mom held her tighter and stroked her pale cheek, then gave me an icy look. "Do you hear yourself? Do you know how many times Anna has nearly died? You only just got home, and you're already driving her to an early grave! Did spending 20 years away turn your heart to ice? Don't you have any compassion?" "Mom, don't blame Chloe. It's my fault for taking her place all these years. Of course she resents me. Please don't let me come between you and your daughter." Anna's eyes were red, and she played the helpless victim so convincingly she deserved an Oscar. Mom scoffed. "Mother and daughter? Look at her. Does she act like we're her parents?" She turned to me. "When Anna heard you were coming home, she worked herself to the bone getting everything ready, worried that nothing would be good enough for you. And after everything she's done, you're still determined to make everyone miserable. I'm starting to think you have a heart of stone!" I listened as Mom passed judgment on me. Inside, I felt nothing. They probably had no idea how spoiled I'd been in my last two homes. My first adoptive father, Alaric, once heard me mention in passing that I liked the wolf violets that grew in the snowy northern mountains. By the next day, he'd had an entire valley prepared just so I could enjoy the flowers. My second adoptive father, Lucian, went even further. He told everyone I was the one person no one in Blackstone was allowed to hurt. Anyone who crossed me would make an enemy of the entire pack. I curled my fingers at my side. Honestly, it was kind of funny. Neither of those packs was related to me by blood. But once they brought me home, they did everything they could to protect me. And my own flesh and blood? All it took was a few tears from Anna for them to turn against me, accusing me of being cold and heartless. "You're right, Mother. I spent my childhood in an orphanage, so I didn't know what family love felt like back then. And I certainly can't pretend to be one big happy family with someone who's taken my place for 20 years. "If I bother you this much, just send me back." Dad's face darkened. "Chloe, are you threatening me?" I shook my head. "It's not a threat. I just don't want you anymore." Dad was stunned. He'd probably never had anyone defy him so openly. Or maybe he'd expected me to beg for forgiveness or throw a fit. When he recovered, he pulled out a document. "Fine. If you want to leave, sign this. That way you won't come back later and try to take anything from Anna." The title at the top read, "Waiver of Inheritance Rights." "No, Dad. All of this belongs to Chloe. I'm an outsider. I don't deserve any of it. Being with you is all I need." Anna turned to me, crying. "Chloe, don't do anything rash. Just apologize to Dad." Dad looked so eager to cut ties with me that I couldn't help laughing under my breath. My first adoptive father worried I'd feel awkward taking over the pack's business since I was only adopted. So he pretended to be bedridden for six months. Lucian was so determined to put me in charge of the gem vault that he locked it, handed me the only key, and declared that it would remain closed forever unless I agreed to take over. And my biological father? He was so afraid I'd claim what was rightfully mine that he couldn't wait to make me sign away my inheritance. Ha. So much for blood. I picked up the pen and signed my name without a second's hesitation. Then I looked up at Dad with a small smile. "There. I've signed it. But just so we're clear, I've given up my claim to Graycliff. Whatever happens to the pack from now on is none of my concern. If things ever go south, don't come running to me." I tossed the pen down, turned, and walked out of the room like I didn't have a care in the world. Chapter 3 The next day was the Full Moon Summit, a business event attended by every major pack. Anna started getting ready first thing in the morning. She wore a moon-white gown made of moonlight spider silk, an incredibly rare fabric that shimmered softly whenever she moved. At first glance, she looked like a delicate moon sprite, the kind of girl you just wanted to protect. "Today's the Full Moon Summit, the biggest event in the werewolf world. Why aren't you dressed yet?" She came over and took my hand, putting on her usual sweet act. "Are you still mad at Mom and Dad? They're just not used to your attitude after all those years away. But you're still their flesh and blood. Everything they own will eventually be yours." She pulled me into her walk-in closet and took out a sleeveless red tulle dress with a tiered skirt, a fitted waist, and a tacky satin bow. "I wore this one last year, but the fabric's really nice. Why don't you try it on?" I looked down at it. It was too small for me. The tight fit would make me look broad and bulky, and any sudden movement could split the seams. "No, thanks." The moment I looked away, Anna's eyes went red. "Chloe..." Her voice caught. "I didn't know you wouldn't like it. I'm sorry." Right on cue, Mom walked in. She pulled Anna behind her protectively and glared at me. "Chloe, why are you picking on Anna again?" "She's not, Mom... I shouldn't have offered her an old dress," Anna said in a small, teary voice. That only made Mom angrier. "Anna went out of her way to find one of her own dresses for you. It's bad enough you don't appreciate it, but now you're bullying her too? Do you even have a heart?!" She snatched the dress out of Anna's hands and threw it at me. "Go change." I let the dress fall to the floor, then stepped on it as I headed inside. Mom was so furious that gray-black fur started sprouting at the tips of her ears, and her nails stretched into claws. "Chloe, you stop right there!" I kept walking. Just as Mom's wolf aura bore down on me, a powerful, icy Alpha aura swept between us, blocking hers completely. Dad's voice cut through the room. "Enough. The Full Moon Summit is about to start, and you're wasting time fighting with her? If she won't change, she won't change. We'll just tell people she's the daughter of some distant relative." Mom scoffed and ignored me after that. Anna hid a smug little smile and came over to comfort me, sweet as ever. "Chloe, don't take it the wrong way. Today's a really important event. The only reason Dad can't introduce you as his daughter is that you don't know how things work in our circle yet. Next time..." Mid-sentence, her eyes landed on my wrist. I was wearing a custom-made bracelet. It looked like platinum, but the entire bracelet had been carved from a single piece of an exceptionally rare mineral. The bracelet featured two intertwined silver-white wolf heads facing each other, their eyes set with red and blue gemstones. They caught the light and made the whole piece look exquisite. Anyone could see it was worth more than all of Anna's jewelry put together. It was a one-of-a-kind gift from Lucian. "Chloe, that bracelet..." Anna's expression shifted. She could obviously tell it was no ordinary piece, but she couldn't believe someone like me would own something like that. "It's pretty. I just wonder which designer brand it's copying. Today's a big deal, and if anyone notices it's a fake, they'll laugh at you. Why don't you lend it to me for now? If I wear it, nobody will suspect it's not real." I slowly held up my wrist and smiled. "Give it to you?" "I'm not asking for it for free, silly. I'll trade you my diamond bracelet." Anna unclasped the diamond-encrusted bracelet from her wrist. "Dad bought it for me at the Blackstone auction last year. It's a collector's piece. He paid $30 million for it." I recognized that bracelet. It was the birthday present my adoptive father had given me last year. I'd thought it was too flashy and tacky, so I put it up for auction. I never imagined Dad would buy it and give it to Anna. "Anna, are you crazy? You'd trade something that nice for her cheap piece of junk?" Mom glared at me. "Chloe, take it off and let Anna wear it. I'll find you something else." When I still didn't say anything, Anna's eyes welled up, as if she were the one being wronged. "Mom, if Chloe doesn't want to, it's fine. I just thought it was pretty. Don't force her..." "It's a piece of junk. Why act like it's some kind of treasure?" Mom came at me to pull it off my wrist herself. I stepped back, out of her reach. Then I took off the twin-wolf bracelet myself and slipped it onto Anna's wrist. "If you want it that badly, wear it... "Let's just see if you're lucky enough to keep it." She had no idea what that bracelet really meant.