Chapter 1Real Heiress, Fake Noble Family

My mother told me I was the long-lost heiress and dumped me on the Sterling family's doorstep.

But the moment I arrived, my supposed brothers circled around the fake heiress, Lily, like a protective wall.

“Lily is the only sister we’ll ever have. Don’t even think about replacing her!”

My wealthy new parents banished me to a servant's room, warning me not to cause any trouble.

They all assumed I was there to fight Lily for their affection.

So when they discovered I had no biological connection to my new father, they were ready to throw me out, waving a DNA test in my face.

“The Sterling family will not tolerate a bastard child sullying our bloodline!”

That’s when I calmly produced a DNA test of my own.

“I’m not the switched-at-birth heiress,” I said, offering my so-called father a small smile. “But my mother is.”

“Uncle,” I added sweetly, “you’ve never actually had your DNA tested against my grandparents, have you?”

* * *

The moment I stepped through the grand entrance of the Sterling estate, I was met with a volley of hostile glares.

In the living room, a middle-aged couple and three young men were huddled around a girl on the sofa, murmuring words of comfort. Their eyes flickered over me with contempt for a fraction of a second before snapping back to her.

The lady of the house, a woman dripping with jewels, hugged the girl tightly. “Oh, Lily, darling, don’t cry. You’re breaking my heart.”

“You grew up in this house. We’ve cherished you for twenty years. How could we possibly let some uncultured girl from the sticks replace you?”

Lily dabbed at her eyes, her voice a pathetic little whisper. “But… she’s the real heiress. I’m not truly a Sterling. If she and I ever disagree, Mom, Dad, and my brothers will have to take her side.”

She let out a dramatic sigh. “It’s probably better if I just leave now, on my own terms, before I’m eventually thrown out.”

Her words made the eldest brother, Ethan, scowl with concern. “How could you even think that? We’re the ones who’ve spent our lives together. We’re family. Some girl from a backwater town could never mean as much to us as you do.”

The second brother, Liam, chimed in with a solemn promise. “I swear, Lily, no matter what happens, you’re our only sister. Even if that… Clara… shares our blood, she’s nothing more than a stranger to us.”

The third, Noah, shot me a look so sharp it could have cut glass. “Exactly! If she dares to use her position as a biological daughter to bully you, I’ll make her regret ever coming back!”

Their father, Richard Sterling, didn’t even bother to look at me, but his words were a clear warning aimed in my direction. “In the Sterling house, you follow Sterling rules. And as long as I’m the head of this family, no one will ever harm the apple of our eye!”

Watching them perform this little play, I almost had to laugh. I hadn’t said a single word, and they had already scripted an entire drama where I was the villain tormenting poor, innocent Lily.

While they were busy consoling her, I took the opportunity to study their faces. It was a professional habit, honed by years of sketching suspects for the criminal investigation unit.

Richard Sterling had double eyelids, a bulbous nose, and a square jaw. He was short and stout, built like a fire hydrant.

Yet his three sons all had monolids, narrow noses, and sharp, angular faces. They were built like greyhounds. Each one looked shrewder than the last, and all of them were tall and lanky.

The longer I looked, the more something felt deeply wrong.

It was one thing for Lily, the adopted daughter, to look nothing like them.

But how could a man’s three biological sons not share a single one of his features?

How did a boar sire three greyhounds?