Chapter 1

The dream was too real, the details sharp and cold.

I saw a girl, her face a mask of bitter triumph, standing in our living room.

"I'm Olivia," she said, her voice smooth, "David and Carol Ashton are my real parents."

In the dream, this Olivia, this stranger, ruined everything.

She gave me a piece of cake before my SATs, and I got sick, my scores a disaster.

She turned Mom and Dad Ashton against me, whispering lies.

She painted my biological family, the Baxters, as poor and neglectful, people who couldn't give me anything.

I woke up sweating, my heart pounding.

It was just a dream, I told myself, a stupid stress dream before the biggest test of my life.

I was Chloe, the Ashtons' adopted daughter for eighteen years, loved and secure.

Mr. Ashton, Dad, was a successful local entrepreneur, always busy but always there for me.

Mrs. Ashton, Mom, was a community pillar, her warmth filling our large, comfortable house.

I pushed the dream away and focused on my SAT prep.

That evening, the doorbell rang.

Mom Ashton went to answer it.

I heard a young woman's voice, tearful and shaky.

"Mrs. Ashton? I... I think you're my mother."

My blood ran cold.

I walked slowly towards the living room, a terrible feeling washing over me.

There she was.

The girl from my dream. Olivia.

She looked exactly as I'd dreamt, a little lost, a little fragile, but with an undercurrent I couldn't name.

She was crying, telling Mom and Dad Ashton a story about a hospital mix-up, a life she should have had.

"I'm your biological daughter," she choked out, looking from Mom to Dad.

The Ashtons were in shock, their faces pale.

Dad Ashton, usually so composed, looked completely undone.

Mom Ashton just stared, her hand over her mouth.

Olivia glanced at me, a flicker of something in her eyes – triumph?

It was happening, just like the dream.

"We'll need a DNA test, of course," Dad Ashton said, his voice hoarse.

Olivia nodded eagerly. "Of course. I understand."

She then looked at me, her expression soft with fake sympathy.

"This must be so hard for you, Chloe."

I remembered the dream Olivia, the one who smiled as my world fell apart.

I knew this was just the beginning.