Chapter 1

I was the long-lost Donovan heiress, finally brought home after a childhood in foster care. My parents adored me, my husband cherished me, and the woman who tried to ruin my life, Kiera Reese, was locked away in a mental facility. I was safe. I was loved.

On my birthday, I decided to surprise my husband, Ivan, at his office. But he wasn't there.

I found him at a private art gallery across town. He was with Kiera.

She wasn't in a facility. She was radiant, laughing as she stood beside my husband and their five-year-old son. I watched through the glass as Ivan kissed her, a familiar, loving gesture he'd used with me just that morning.

I crept closer and overheard them. My birthday wish to go to the amusement park had been denied because he'd already promised the entire park to their son-whose birthday was the same day as mine.

"She's so grateful to have a family, she'd believe anything we tell her," Ivan said, his voice laced with a cruelty that stole my breath. "It's almost sad."

My entire reality-my loving parents who funded this secret life, my devoted husband-was a five-year lie. I was just the fool they kept on stage.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Ivan, sent while he stood with his real family.

"Just got out of the meeting. So exhausting. I miss you."

The casual lie was the final blow. They thought I was a pathetic, grateful orphan they could control.

They were about to find out just how wrong they were.

Chapter 1

"I still can't believe they let her off so easy," Debi Frost said, shaking her head as she stirred her coffee. "After everything Kiera Reese did to you."

I winced at the name. Five years, and it still felt like a fresh wound. "Debi, please."

"I'm serious," she pressed on, her lawyerly instincts kicking in. "She was practically your sister. The girl your parents took in and showered with affection for years before they even found you. And how does she repay everyone? By accusing you of plagiarizing her script and trying to burn your career to the ground."

I sighed, the memory a familiar, bitter pill. Kiera Reese. My parents' ward, the unofficial daughter who had lived in my place. When I, the real Donovan heiress, was found and brought home, the fairytale reunion was shattered by Kiera's venomous jealousy. The plagiarism scandal was her masterpiece of revenge. But my family had closed ranks around me.

"They told me she had a complete mental breakdown after the truth came out," I said, repeating the story I'd clung to for half a decade. "My parents felt responsible. They made sure she was sent to the best private facility to get help. Ivan agreed it was the most humane thing to do. She's gone, Debi. They protected me."

I believed them. I was Aliana Donovan, a screenwriter finally making a name for herself, reunited with the wealthy family I'd been lost from as a child. I had loving parents and a handsome, successful husband. I was safe. I was loved. The ghosts of the past, of foster homes and loneliness, felt a million miles away. This was my reality now, solid and true.

"Still," I sighed, changing the subject, "I wish Ivan wasn't so busy lately. I really want to go to the amusement park, you know? Just for a day. To feel like a kid again." I confided in Debi, "My birthday's coming up. I sent him a text asking if we could go, but I didn't mention it was for my birthday. I wanted it to be our little secret."

Just then, as if on cue, my phone buzzed on the table. Ivan's name lit up the screen, and I smiled, my heart giving a hopeful little leap.

His reply was short and dismissive. "Can't. Urgent project at work. We'll be swamped for the next few weeks. Don't overthink it."

My shoulders slumped. Debi saw the disappointment on my face and reached across the table, her expression encouraging. "Hey. Go to him. Walk right into his office and tell him it's your birthday wish. Ivan loves you. He'd drop everything for you."

Her words gave me a flicker of hope. I wanted to surprise him. An hour later, I walked into the gleaming lobby of Hughes Biomedical, carrying two cups of his favorite coffee. The security guard in the lobby gave me a polite smile. But Ivan's secretary stopped me at the elevator bank, her smile apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Hughes-Donovan, but Mr. Hughes has a private appointment this afternoon. He's already left."

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "Did he say where he was going?"

"He's at the Reese Gallery, over on the west side," she said, checking his calendar. "He goes every Tuesday."

A cold knot formed in my stomach. Reese. The name echoed in my head.

I drove, my hands tight on the steering wheel. The address led me to a chic, modern art gallery I'd never heard of. The sign read 'Reese Gallery.' It wasn't open to the public today, but I saw several expensive cars parked out front. One of them was my father's.

I parked down the street and walked toward the building. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I saw a scene that didn't make sense. And then, I saw him. My husband, Ivan. He wasn't in a suit. He was in casual clothes, a relaxed smile on his face, a smile I hadn't seen in years.

He was holding a little boy on his shoulders, maybe four or five years old. The boy was giggling, his small hands tangled in Ivan's dark hair.

And then I saw the woman standing next to them, her hand resting on Ivan's arm.

Kiera Reese.

She wasn't disgraced. She wasn't in a treatment facility. She was radiant, dressed in a silk gown, looking every bit the happy mother and partner. She laughed, a sound I remembered with a shudder, and leaned up to kiss Ivan on the cheek. He turned his head and kissed her back on the lips, a familiar, loving gesture that he had used with me just that morning.

My breath hitched. The world tilted on its axis. I stumbled back into the shadows of a large sculpture, my body trembling.

I crept toward a slightly open side door, the sound of their voices spilling out.

The little boy, Leo, was shouting with excitement. "Daddy, you promised! For my birthday, we're going to the amusement park!"

Ivan's voice was warm with an affection I now realized I had never truly received. "Of course, buddy. Daddy's already booked the whole park. It'll be all yours for the entire day."

My blood ran cold. Leo's birthday. It was the same day as mine. I finally understood. Ivan hadn't rejected my wish because he was busy. He had rejected it because he had already promised my birthday to another family.

"Are you sure Aliana doesn't suspect anything?" Kiera asked, her tone shifting slightly. "Five years is a long time to keep this up."

"She doesn't have a clue," Ivan said, his voice laced with a casual cruelty that stole the air from my lungs. "She's so grateful to have a family, she'd believe anything we tell her. It's almost sad."

"Poor Aliana," Kiera sighed, a masterclass in false sympathy. "She still keeps talking about having a baby with you."

Ivan scoffed. "How could I ever let her have my child? I already promised you, Kiera, Leo will be our only heir. When the time is right, I'll tell her I have aspermia. Then we'll 'adopt' Leo, and he can come home for good."

Kiera nestled against his chest, smiling in triumph.

I felt a wave of nausea. My parents. They were in on it, too. The money for this lavish life, this secret family, this gallery-it came from them. From the Donovan fortune that was supposed to be mine.

My entire reality-the loving parents, the devoted husband, the security I thought I'd finally found after a childhood in foster care-was a carefully constructed stage. And I was the fool playing the lead role, unaware that the rest of the cast was laughing at me behind the curtain.

I backed away slowly, my movements wooden. I got into my car, my body shaking so hard I could barely turn the key in the ignition. My phone buzzed in my lap. It was a text from Ivan.

"Just got out of the meeting. So exhausting. I miss you. See you at home."

The casual lie, typed out while he stood beside his real family, was the final blow. The world didn't just tilt; it crumbled into dust around me.

I drove away, not toward our shared mansion, but toward a future they couldn't control. The grief was a physical weight, crushing my chest. But beneath it, a tiny, hard ember of resolve began to glow.

They thought I was pathetic. They thought I was a fool.

They were about to find out just how wrong they were.