Part 1The Unwanted Heiress: Dancing on Their Graves

When my biological parents finally tracked me down, I had already joined the neighborhood aunties' line-dancing squad at the local community center.

They stared at me—dressed in a bedazzled, loud floral knit set—with expressions of pure, unadulterated disgust.

* * *

"Are you... Maya? This outfit..."

The well-dressed woman before me hesitated, her gaze raking over my "Blooming Florals" knit tracksuit.

Ignoring the flicker of disdain in her eyes, I dropped the heavy bag of rice and the gallon of cooking oil I was lugging on my shoulder. I pulled a scratched thermos from my shopping bag.

I took a slow sip of tea before looking at the group. "So, you’re the biological parents?"

Mr. Sterling frowned but eventually nodded. "We are."

"And who’s she?" I looked at the fragile-looking girl standing behind them.

Her eyes welled up instantly.

The two men flanking her—one older, one younger—immediately stepped in front of her like human shields.

"Don't you dare bully Serena," the younger one snapped, his impulsiveness getting the better of him.

I looked at her face. We shared about sixty percent of the same features.

Then I looked at the way the Sterling family reacted to his outburst. This family was going to be interesting.

I leaned back against my dilapidated sofa and watched them like a spectator at a play.

Perhaps realizing his tone was inappropriate, the older brother explained, "We know you’ve suffered these past years, but none of this was Serena's fault. She’s innocent..."

Before he could finish, the door to my cramped apartment was shoved open.

A mob of neighborhood aunties, all wearing the same bedazzled floral tracksuits as me, swarmed my biological parents. They started shouting over one another, airing my grievances:

"So you’re Maya’s real parents?"

"What took you so long? Do you have any idea what this girl has been through?"

"Let me tell you, that foster mother of hers was a monster! You see those heavy wooden laundry rollers? That woman would beat her with them for no reason!"

"Exactly! Half the time she wasn't even allowed to eat. In the dead of winter, that woman purposely shredded Maya’s school jacket and made her go to class in a torn T-shirt! During her SATs, she locked her in a room so she couldn't take the test!"

"We always knew no real mother could be that cruel. Turns out she wasn't the real one!"

"You better have that woman arrested. And that fake daughter of yours? You better check her, too. I bet she knew her mother swapped the babies on purpose..."

"Wait, who's crying?"

Auntie Sarah, the leader of the squad, froze.

The group of women looked around for the source of the sobbing, finally landing on the girl in white.

"I'm... I'm so sorry," the girl sobbed, her shoulders shaking. "I didn't mean to steal your life. I..."

"And who might this be?" Auntie Sarah narrowed her eyes, making a 'shushing' gesture to the group.

I nodded. "That’s Martha’s biological daughter. Serena Sterling."