Chapter 1The "Country Bumpkin" Strikes Back

The human traffickers sold me to a remote mountain village when I was young.

My parents spent a fortune searching for me and even offered a massive reward for my safe return.

They finally found me when I was 16.

My parents and three older brothers held me in their arms and wept. After that, they did everything they could to make up for the sixteen years we'd lost. I had more designer clothes than I could ever wear, more luxury handbags than I could ever carry, and a place at an elite private school.

On my first day, my oldest brother tied a rosary he'd personally prayed over to my backpack. My second brother bought me the latest phone. My third brother patted me on the shoulder.

"Valerie, tell us if anyone dares to bully you."

Later, I ranked first in the school on the midterm exams.

After class, Cassie Nolan tore my exam paper to shreds in front of everyone. "So what if you got the highest score? You're still just a country bumpkin."

She ordered several girls to pin me against the wall, then stared at me with a smug smile. "Now go to the dean and tell him you cheated."

"I didn't!" I fought back with all my strength, but Cassie slapped me hard across the face. The blow left me dizzy.

What she didn't know was that I was the Miller heiress.

My father, Nathan Miller, was the chairman of the Miller Group, a billionaire who controlled much of the city's real estate industry.

My oldest brother, Zachary Miller, was a top attorney. A single due diligence report from him could send a publicly traded company's stock price crashing.

My second brother, Tyler Miller, was the founder of Starwave Technologies. His company's technology powered nearly seventy percent of the country's smart-city projects.

My third brother, Caleb Miller, was a superstar with eighty million social media followers and his own top-tier PR firm.

Mess with me, and you'd mess with the entire Miller family.

Cassie had just kicked the hornet's nest.

* * *

I walked toward the bulletin board with my exam paper in hand. The name "Valerie Miller" appeared in clear, bold letters at the very top of the honor roll.

A few girls stood nearby. As I approached, they took two steps back as if I were something filthy they wanted to avoid.

One of them, a girl with a ponytail, even made a show of covering her nose with her sleeve. "What's that smell? Why does it smell like a pigsty?"

They burst out laughing and looked me up and down.

My face grew warm. I had grown up in a small rural town. My skin wasn't dark, but it was nowhere near as pale and delicate as theirs, the kind of complexion that came from a lifetime of pampering.

My fingers were thick and rough, with faint yellow calluses around my knuckles from years of hard labor.

At St. Claire Academy, everyone came from a wealthy or powerful family. They all assumed I'd been admitted as a special exception because of my grades.

I lowered my head and hurried away. The words "Top of Class" on the honor roll suddenly hurt to look at.

"Valerie."

I stopped in my tracks.

Cassie Nolan leaned against the classroom doorway with three girls behind her.

"Come here." She lifted her chin and crooked a finger at me.

Several boys lounged against the windowsill with their hands in their pockets, clearly waiting for a show.

They had me surrounded, and my feet felt as heavy as lead.

Cassie's gaze settled on the crooked bow at my collar. The corners of her mouth slowly curled into a mocking smile.

She stepped closer and pinched one end of the bow as if it were a dirty rag. "Valerie, didn't your mom ever teach you how to tie a bow?"

The ponytailed girl immediately chimed in, "Her mom probably only knows how to feed pigs. When would she ever have worn clothes this fancy?"

Another girl laughed. "But aren't those shoes limited edition? They're fake, right?"