After Rebirth, I Stopped Competing, and the Fake Heiress Lost It Chapter 01

After Rebirth, I Stopped Competing, and the Fake Heiress Lost It Chapter 01

I was the real daughter, swapped at birth by a nanny who thought she could play God.

At the welcome-home reception, Mom reached for my hand.

She whispered, “Tessa, we want Sloane to stay.”

Dad and my brother Graham Winslow watched me, guilty, yet hopeful, waiting for me to make this easy for them.

Mom’s eyes welled with tears.

“Sloane’s health is fragile. And you, you know what those people are like. If she goes back to them, they’ll destroy her.”

The comments hit before Mom even finished.

[Tessa, don’t agree! You’re their REAL daughter! Just cry and they’ll pick you over her!]

[The Mercers beat you for YEARS. Why should their daughter get to stay and live the life that was supposed to be yours?]

[She’s a fake heiress and she’s poison! Don’t let her stay!]

Last time around, I listened.

I lost it at the reception. Screamed at everyone like I’d come unhinged.

Sloane Winslow stayed anyway. Graham wrote me off and sided with her at every turn. My parents decided I was the villain and cut me out of their lives.

Even Grandma, the only person who ever truly loved me—Sloane tormented her until her heart gave out.

The depression swallowed me whole. I jumped from the rooftop and didn’t look down.

This time, I smiled.

“If you can’t let her go, then don’t.”

***

The room went dead silent.

Dad blinked, like the words hadn’t quite registered, and leaned in.

“What did you just say?”

I slipped my hand free from Mom’s and folded them neatly in my lap.

“You’ve raised her for years. Of course you love her. And she’s not well. Sending her back to the Mercers would be a death sentence.”

The comments exploded across my vision, one on top of another.

[Tessa, WHY did you agree?!!!]

[It’s over! Now that you’ve said yes, she’ll only get bolder. She’ll take everything from you!]

[Are you stupid?! You’re their REAL daughter! Why are you rolling over for a fraud?]

Last time, I believed every word. I broke down at the reception, called Sloane a thief, a liar.

I shattered a glass. Ripped my own dress. I went completely feral in front of every guest they’d ever wanted to impress.

Nobody pitied what I’d been through. All they saw was a girl who’d embarrassed the Winslow name.

The guilt in their eyes curdled into disgust.

“Sloane didn’t switch you. You know that. She’s innocent. She’s barely holding on, and you want to throw her out? You might as well be killing her yourself!”

Sloane stayed. She became everyone’s favorite, and every lie she told about me landed without question.

Even Grandma, the one person who never stopped fighting for me—Sloane broke her heart until it literally gave out.

The darkness ate me alive. I went to the top floor of Winslow Manor and stepped off the edge.

Mom’s jaw dropped. She stared at me, torn between disbelief and suspicion.

“Tessa, you’re really okay with this?”

I blinked, pulling myself from the memories, and tucked my hair behind my ear. The sleeve pulled back just enough to show the old scars on my wrist, the skin still rough and cracked from freezing winters.

Mom’s gaze flinched away. Her fingers twisted into the fabric of her dress.

Would throwing a fit actually change anything?

Fifteen years with the Mercers. Winters in a tool shed with no heat. Summers scraping by on rotten leftovers. And whenever they got drunk, the belt came out.

Last time, I screamed every gruesome detail at them.

They only had one thing to say to me.

“We know what they did to you was wrong. But your pain doesn’t mean Sloane deserves to suffer too.”

I shook my head, keeping my voice even.

“What’s done is done. Sloane’s not well. She should stay where people can take care of her.”

Dad opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again. He pressed a heavy black card into my palm.

“…This is on us, Tessa.”