Chapter 1

The fluorescent lights of the Northwood Community College library hummed, a dull counterpoint to the frantic beat of my heart. Finals week. My entire future felt crammed into the dense textbooks spread across the worn table. A full ride to an Ivy League school-that was the dream, the escape hatch from this dead-end town in the heart of the Rust Belt. My shift at Burger Barn started in three hours.

A shadow fell over my notes.

I looked up.

A man and a woman, dressed in clothes that cost more than my entire semester's tuition, stood there. They looked out of place, like peacocks in a pigeon coop.

"Emily Miller?" the woman asked. Her voice was soft, but it carried.

"Yes?"

"We're the Waltons," the man said, his smile a little too wide. "Charles and Marian Walton. Walton's Value Marts?"

Everyone knew Walton's. Their supermarkets were on every other corner in three states.

"We believe," Marian Walton continued, her eyes glistening, "that you are our daughter."

I stared. This had to be a prank.

Charles Walton slid a laminated document across the table. A DNA report. My name. Their names. A 99.9% match.

My breath hitched. My foster parents, a revolving door of indifference, had always been vague about my origins.

Before I could process, another figure appeared. Blake. Blake Anderson, star quarterback, the guy every girl at Northwood swooned over, including, embarrassingly, me from afar.

He smiled, a slow, dazzling thing. "Emily. It's... it's been a long time."

"We had an understanding," Marian said, dabbing her eyes. "Between our families. You and Blake... you were promised to each other."

Promised? Like some medieval drama?

My head spun. A rich, loving family. The campus heartthrob as my fiancé. It was too much.

Then, the first one appeared. Right below Marian Walton's perfectly coiffed head, a shimmering line of text, like a live-stream comment:

`>> LOL, the crocodile tears are Emmy-worthy, Marian. #FakeFamily`

I blinked. Rubbed my eyes.

It was still there.

Then another popped up under Blake's handsome, concerned face:

`>> Blake's just here for the paycheck. And maybe to finally get a date. #PaidActor`

My hand, reaching for the DNA report, froze.

"My dear child," Marian Walton said, her voice thick with emotion, taking the report gently from the table. "You've suffered so much. Come home with us. You don't need to worry about school anymore. The Walton fortune is enough for you to live a life of luxury."

`>> Translation: Drop out so our precious Jessica can finally be #1. #SabotageQueen`

Blake leaned in, his voice a low murmur. "Emily, listen. Studying is too hard. I'll take care of you."

`>> "Take care of you" by making sure you fail. Such a gentleman. #User`

The library, the books, the Waltons, Blake-they all seemed to recede. The shimmering, scrolling text was the only thing in sharp focus.

`>> Turning point alert! If she falls for this, it's game over. She'll be chewed up and spat out. Next stop: rock bottom. #TragicBackstoryLoading`

My fingers curled into fists.

This wasn't a dream come true.

It was a nightmare, gift-wrapped.