Chapter 1

The heat shimmered off the asphalt of Main Street, a familiar Texas summer haze.

I was picking up feed downtown, the usual Saturday chore.

Then the words appeared, floating just above the feed store sign.

"Life's about to throw you a curveball, Kylie. Brace for impact."

I'd seen these "comments" for a few years now.

Nobody else did.

They were just there, like a private, unsolicited social media feed for my eyes only.

Sometimes they were nonsense. Sometimes, scarily accurate.

I shook my head, paid for the grain, and headed back to the Jenkins ranch, the place I called home.

Mom and Dad – Susan and John Jenkins – were on the porch when I pulled up.

They weren't alone.

A woman, older, with tired eyes, stood beside a girl about my age.

The girl looked nervous, clutching a worn purse.

The air crackled. New comments popped up, fast and furious.

"Here comes trouble. The real heiress arrives."

"If Kylie plays this wrong, she's toast. Be nice, girl!"

My blood ran cold. This felt different.

Maria Rodriguez, a former ranch hand, stepped forward.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins," she began, her voice trembling. "This is my daughter, Ashley. And... she's your daughter too."

She held out a folded paper. A DNA report.

The comments exploded.

"OMG! The drama! She's got proof!"

"Kylie better start sucking up, or she'll lose everything."

I wanted to scream, to deny it, but the words in the air paralyzed me.

Last time – because this wasn't the first time I'd lived this day – I'd tried to follow their advice.

The comments said Ashley loved peanut butter cookies. Said she'd missed out on so much.

So I baked them. The best batch I'd ever made.

Ashley ate one, smiled, then started gasping for air.

Her face swelled. She turned blue.

Severe peanut allergy. Near fatal.

Mom and Dad, who'd loved me for eighteen years, looked at me with a new, terrible suspicion.

"You knew," Dad had whispered, his voice raw with pain. "How could you?"

The comments had been wrong. Or I'd misunderstood.

A month later, the comments screamed again.

"Ashley's in danger! Cornered by those no-good boys from the rodeo circuit!"

I raced to the old rodeo grounds. Found Ashley, terrified, surrounded by a rough crowd.

I pulled her out, got her to safety.

Felt like a hero, for a moment.

Then Maria showed up at the sheriff's office.

She had text messages. From my phone, apparently, to the leader of that gang.

And a grainy security video. Me, handing the guy cash a week earlier.

"She set Ashley up!" Maria cried. "She's jealous, evil!"

Mom and Dad's disappointment turned to stone.

They believed it. They believed I was a monster.

They sent me away.

The gang, angrier now because Ashley had pressed charges (likely on Maria's instruction), found me.

They said I'd made them look bad.

Their revenge was brutal. A "car accident" on a lonely county road.

I remembered the crunch of metal, the searing pain, then nothing.

Until I woke up, that morning, with the sun on my face, and the day starting all over again.

This time, I wouldn't be a puppet.