Chapter 1

On my mom’s birthday, my dad told us he had an urgent project meeting and wouldn't be home for dinner.

I assumed he was planning a surprise, so I sneaked down to his car to look for the gift he had prepared for her.

I didn't find any gift. But in a hidden compartment in the trunk, my hand brushed against something soft.

It was a pair of lace panties that definitely weren't mine, alongside a brand-new high school uniform.

Tucked into the uniform’s chest pocket was a laminated certificate for "World’s Best Dad."

The recipient was my father, Mark Vance.

The sign-off at the bottom read:

"From your loving daughter, Maya Vance."

I stared at that name, sharing my last name, and let out a cold laugh.

Incredible. My father had a secret second daughter out in the world.

Well then, the little birthday surprise I had prepared for our family was about to go to a whole new recipient.

I clutched that "World’s Best Dad" certificate, a wave of icy numbness washing through my chest.

The name "Maya Vance" burned into my eyes like a red-hot iron.

Inside the hidden compartment, there was also a leather-bound journal.

The moment I opened the first page, my world stopped spinning.

It was my dad’s handwriting, documenting the entire life of another girl.

"Maya placed top five on her first midterm. Rewarded her with an authentic Disney princess gown."

"Maya won gold in her dance recital. Dad is so proud of you. Rewarded her with a summer camp in Europe."

"Maya’s height and weight log. Daddy’s little princess needs to grow up healthy and strong."

Every single page felt like a stinging slap across my face.

Whenever I got straight A's and aced my AP exams, he’d just scoff.

"Why is a girl trying so hard? Passing is good enough."

When my ballet coach said I was exceptionally gifted, he shut it down.

"What’s the point of learning that garbage? A total waste of money."

Yet his illegitimate daughter went to the exact same high school as me, and he blew hundreds of thousands of dollars on her every single year!

Meanwhile, all of my living expenses and school fees had been paid entirely by my mom. He hadn't spent a single cent on me.

All this time, I thought he was just a misogynist who hated having a daughter.

Now I understood. My dad had simply chosen a different girl to be his precious princess long ago.

Tucked into the very last page of the journal was an invitation to a school award ceremony.

Scheduled for next Monday evening.

The venue: my high school auditorium.

Under the guardian's signature line, written in bold, confident strokes, was my father's signature.

Mark Vance.

I whipped out my phone and took crisp photos of every single page in that journal.

Including that award ceremony invitation.

Just as I snapped the last picture, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from him.

His voice carried a barely suppressed anxiety.

"Chloe? Did you take my car keys? I have an urgent business document in the car."

I kept my tone completely calm.

"I left my test prep binder in your back seat. I’m bringing the keys right up."

He let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Hurry up, then."

I carried the keys and the binder upstairs. My dad was already pacing by the front door.

As he grabbed the keys from my hand, he asked casually, "You didn't go rummaging through my things, did you?"

I looked up and flashed him a flawless, innocent smile.

"Dad, what could possibly be in your car besides dust and old receipts? A hidden treasure?"

He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "Silly girl."

In that second, a surge of pure nausea rose in my throat.

Just last month, my mom had eyed an elegant silk scarf at the mall. She stood by the display counter, touching the fabric over and over again.

In the end, my dad had sneered, "You’re an old woman now. Who are you trying to impress?"

He completely crushed her spirit.

I had foolishly believed he was just playing dumb so he could secretly buy it as a birthday surprise for her. That was the only reason I had checked his car.

Yet in his journal, the official price tag on the Disney princess gown he bought for Maya was enough to buy twenty of those silk scarves.

He didn't see anything wrong with that at all. After grabbing his folder, he hurried off to "work."

I turned around and walked into the living room, running straight into my mother’s hopeful gaze.

"Chloe, did you find whatever surprise your dad hid?"

"He always pulls this little game every year."

A soft, girlish blush appeared on her face as she spoke.

"I found it."

I took a deep breath and held my phone out in front of her.

"Dad prepared a massive gift for you."

The moment my mom’s eyes fell on Maya's photo, the smile on her face completely froze.