Chapter 1
My family runs a butcher shop.
out,
The day they came to t
take the r
real
switched at birth with the daughter of the Blackwells, the wealthiest family in the state.
life, wouldn’t show her face at my old house.
But she did.
And she brought her copy
A Guide to Scientific Swine Management with her.
I, on the other hand, just shoved my hands in my pockets and slid into the car. The broody CEO brother sent to fetch me shot me a sideways gian-
- ce.
“Where’s your luggage?”
I answered slowly, “Too lazy to pack. Isn’t
myself enough?”
My new brother, Ryan, was speechless.
settled into the plush leather seat, buckled myself in, and found a comfortable position to sink into. Then I went still.
The look Ryan Blackwell gave me was… complicated. Like he was trying to decipher a piece of abstract art.
Oh, right. Ryan is my long-lost biological brother. Profession: walking cliché of a CEO.
And I’m the real heiress
misplaced.
My attitude, more suited for a picnic than a life-altering family reunion, seemed to throw him. He was silent for a long moment before speaking
again.
“You’re not going to say goodbye?”
“No-”
“Mia! My one and only sister! You can’t just leave like this!”
My reply was cut short by a theatrical wail. A human missile launched itself at the car, plastering its face against my window and clawing at my
hands.
“I can’t live without you! What am I going to do when you’re gone?” he sobbed, shaking my arm with such force I felt like a strand of seaweed in a
storm. My soul was about to vibrate right out of my mouth.
“Yeah, well, I’m a goner now,” I said, closing my eyes peacefully. “If you need anything, hold a séance.”
My brother, Leo, paused his hysterics for a beat, then cried even louder.
“Mia, I finished the diagnostic test for the game! When are you gonna send me an invite code-”
He was abruptly hoisted to his feet by an unseen force, and the waterworks stopped instantly.
It was Jessie, the girl I’d been switched with. She clutched a thick binder to her chest and pushed a pair of glasses up her nose. A cold glint seem-
ed to flash behind the lenses.
“Leo Miller, correct?” she asked, her tone clinical. “According to our parents, you’ve been in charge of the feeding regimen for the eight pigs in the
backyard?”
Her serious, interrogative manner made Leo snap to attention, adopting the solemn posture of a schoolboy facing the principal. “Y-yes? Is there a problem?”
Jessie flipped open her binder with a crisp thwack and produced a fountain pen from her pocket. She began scribbling furiously as she fired off
questions.
“What are the daily feeding times? How are the piglets’ appetites? What is the duration of their post-meal exercise? Have you observed any abno-
rmalities in their fecal matter?”
With each question, Leo’s mouth fell open a little wider until he looked completely stupefied.
Ryan, however, seemed to have expected this. He merely lifted an eyelid, observing the scene from the sidelines without a
word.
1 shot Jessie a look of genuine surprise. From heiress of a fortune to the daughter of a butcher, she showed no sign of whiplash. In fact, she was
adapting faster than I was.
Jessie met my gaze and gave me a polite, professional nod.
I smirked and pointed at the dumbstruck Leo. “He’s useful,” I told her. “Whatever grand plans you have, just point him at it.”
Jessie’s eyes lit up. She thought for a moment, then stated a simple, powerful fact.
“The Blackwells… have money.”
Ryan, the Blackwell heir, shifted uncomfortably.
Leo, the butcher’s son, looked terrified.
