The True Heiress’s Paranoia Chapter 1

Ever since I was in my mother’s womb, I’d been fed a steady diet of tragic romance novels, which, predictably, left me with a severe case of paranoia at birth.

While other girls gushed about pretty dresses, I’d be crawling in the shadows with my action camera and voice recorder, convinced someone was trying to photograph up my skirt. When others flirted with their crushes, I’d be signing up for every debate club imaginable, fearing I wouldn’t be sharp enough to win an argument. My tongue, they said, could strip paint.

Yet, by the time I turned sixteen, the villainess destined to wrong me remained elusive. My parents, kind and gentle; my classmates, endearingly foolish; my teachers, caring and dedicated. I was starting to think I was just plain crazy.

Then, they arrived. My biological parents, pulling up in a luxurious car. A beautiful socialite, my birth mother, wept dramatically as she claced me to her chest, but not without protectively clutching the arm of the girl beside her—the imposter daughter.

“Darling, from now on, Serena will be your sister. You two must get along beautifully.”

Serena, the imposter, offered a sweet smile and agreed. But on her very first day back at the mansion, she slyly slipped a necklace into my pocket, then accused me of being a thief. Her tears flowed like a summer rain, her cries utterly heartbreaking.

As everyone’s eyes narrowed in disgust and their voices sharpened with accusations, I, brimming with a strange excitement, calmly pulled out my three action cameras.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s review this frame by frame!”

…

The entire Blackwell family stood dumbfounded. Serena, the imposter daughter, gripped her hands tightly, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at my three action cameras.

“Th-this, what is this…?”

“Oh, just all the footage I’ve recorded since stepping foot into the Blackwell estate,” I chirped, a triumphant glint in my eye. I eagerly grabbed one of the cameras, scrolling through the recordings of my time alone with Serena. “Don’t worry, I’ve got multiple angles. Every detail is captured.”

Serena’s face drained of color. Before I could even fast-forward to the relevant timestamp, my cheapskate older brother, Mark Blackwell, scowled.

“That’s enough!” he snapped. “Lynn, if you stole it, you stole it. Are you trying to imply Serena framed you? I watched Serena grow up; I know her character better than anyone!”

A classic line. I spared him a quick, appreciative glance, then swiftly dragged the video timeline to the exact moment Serena slipped the necklace into my pocket. In the video, Serena held her head high, her face a mask of disdain.

“Lynn, don’t think just because you’re a Blackwell by blood that you’re special. Mom, Dad, and Mark—they’ll always prefer me!”

“I have a million ways to get rid of you from this family…”

“Right here!” I exclaimed, pausing the video. On screen, Serena’s hand hovered by my pocket, a dazzling ruby peeking from between her fingers. I zoomed in, thrusting the magnified image before each Blackwell family member. “See, everyone! Is this enough to prove my innocence?”

My birth parents, Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell, were speechless, their gazes flitting between me and the screen with a complex mix of emotions. Mark stared at Serena, utterly bewildered.

Seeing the silence, I quickly broke it. “What’s with the quiet? Just tell me, does this video prove I didn’t steal anything?” I turned to Serena. “Serena, since they’re not talking, why don’t you share a few words? Perhaps enlighten us on your thought process for framing me?”

Serena’s face was ashen, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I, I didn’t…” Before I could hear anything more, she swayed weakly, then gracefully fainted.

My parents and brother, who moments ago were frozen in place, rushed to catch her. “Serena! Serena!”

“Quick! Get the car to the hospital!”

I, too, hurried over, poking her. “Hey, don’t pass out yet! You haven’t given your confession speech! Finish that, then you can faint.”

Mark glared at me, his eyes blazing with fury. “Lynn, are you only satisfied when you’ve turned this family upside down? Serena has fainted, and you’re still tormenting her! Do you have any humanity at all?”

I rolled my eyes. “Finding that video was hard work, you know. You haven’t even apologized. Do you have any humanity?”

But his ears seemed deaf. He scooped up Serena and rushed out without a backward glance. Whatever. I stretched contentedly, packing away my action cameras. First battle at the Blackwells’—victory!