My best friend, my fellow struggling actress, turned out to be the long-lost heiress to one of New York's old-money families. The day she left our tiny walk-up in Queens, she swore she’d pull me up with her into the good life. Two months later, she blocked my number. Fueled by a white-hot rage, I chased her to the city, arriving just in time for her wedding to the son of a titan of industry. Ava, that ungrateful snake. The second she got a taste of the high life, she forgot all about me. For the sake of appearances, I swallowed my anger, stuffed some cash in an envelope as a final goodbye to our friendship, and prepared to walk away. But when I looked up, I saw the woman in the wedding portrait wasn't my best friend. It was Chloe, the Davenports' adopted daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport, the same couple who had once plastered their tear-streaked faces all over national television, begging for their daughter’s return, now spoke of Ava with utter disgust. “That morally corrupt creature has been thrown out of this house. From this day forward, Chloe is our only daughter!” “She’s just a no-name extra who learned all her dirty tricks from TV. Since she loves acting so much, we decided to let her star in her own horror show—naked and screaming.” I just stood there, stunned, the world tilting on its axis. On the day of that wedding, I brought the Davenport empire to its knees. A no-name extra? Hardly. I am Jade, the Crown Princess of Starlight Entertainment, the largest media conglomerate in Asia. And my best friend? She is destined to win an Oscar. 1 The woman next to me on the flight to New York had been talking for the last hour about the wedding of the decade: the union of the Davenport heiress and Carter Sterling, son of the real estate magnate. “Twenty custom Rolls-Royces, circling Central Park twice,” she’d gushed, scrolling through a gossip blog on her phone. “The gown was designed in Paris, took a year to hand-bead. And the party favors? The new Hermès Kelly. For everyone.” She sighed, a cloud of envy. “That Davenport girl, she hit the lottery. Disappeared for twenty-three years, and the moment she’s found, she’s wrapped in cotton wool. Parents who adore her, in-laws who basically own the Eastern seaboard… God, I’d wake up laughing in my sleep.” I gripped the cheap airline blanket bunched in my lap, my knuckles white. Ava. That ungrateful, forgetful… friend. She’d sworn on the day she left our shoebox apartment that she’d bring me with her, that we’d finally live the life we’d always dreamed of. Two months later, my number was blocked. Now she was handing out designer bags like party mints while I was still counting my tips to make rent. I took a cab straight from JFK to the Sterling family’s sprawling Long Island estate. The sheer opulence of the place, with its manicured gardens and fountains that glittered like diamonds, should have made me angrier. Instead, a strange calm settled over me. I pulled all the cash I had from my wallet—a couple hundred dollars—and stuffed it into a wedding envelope. A final transaction to close the account on our friendship. As I walked toward the entrance, I glanced up at the massive, elegantly framed portrait of the happy couple. And I stopped dead. The bride smiling in the photograph wasn't Ava. It was Chloe, the Davenports' adopted daughter. A cold dread washed over me. Something was terribly wrong. I pushed past a confused-looking usher and stormed into the bridal suite, searching for any sign of Ava. Inside, Mr. and Mrs. Davenport were fussing over Chloe, their faces beaming with pride. They looked up, annoyed by my intrusion. The moment I said Ava’s name, their expressions curdled. “That morally bankrupt creature has been thrown out,” Mrs. Davenport said, her voice dripping with disdain. “From now on, the Davenports have only one daughter: Chloe.” She gave me a dismissive once-over. “If you’re here for the wedding, have some champagne and find your seat. But if you’re here to make a scene on that little tramp’s behalf, you’ll find we are not nearly as polite as our staff.” My heart sank to the floor. The way she spat the words “little tramp,” referring to her own flesh and blood… “I’m here to find Ava,” I said, my voice dangerously steady. “Where is she? Why is her phone off?” Chloe, who had been watching me with a look of curated curiosity, suddenly shrank back, clutching her mother’s arm. “Dad, it has to be her! I bet Ava sent her! She’s still furious that I won Carter’s heart, and now she’s trying to hurt me again!” she cried, her voice trembling. “Mom, you have to protect me!” The Davenports’ eyes narrowed, instantly protective and hostile. I let out a short, cold laugh. This whole damsel-in-distress act was so pathetically outdated. If she wanted to play the victim, I’d be happy to give her a reason. I snatched a bottle of champagne from a silver bucket on the table and, in one smooth motion, dumped the entire contents over her perfectly coiffed head. “Aaaah! My dress! You’re insane!” Chloe shrieked. “Mom, my wedding is ruined! It’s ruined!” Mrs. Davenport lunged at me with a scream, her manicured nails like claws. I sidestepped and slapped her, hard, across her powdered cheek. The sound echoed in the silent room. “You… you hit me!” she gasped, her hand flying to her face. As I raised my hand again, Mr. Davenport quickly pulled his wife and daughter behind him, his eyes boring into me with pure hatred. “You really were sent by that monster to destroy Chloe’s day!” he snarled. “Security! Get this woman out of here! She’s trespassing!” Two large men in black suits started toward me. I didn’t move. Instead, I crossed my arms, sank into a velvet armchair, and casually crossed my legs. “Inform the guests,” I said, my voice calm and clear, “the wedding is cancelled.” The head of security, a man with a jaw like a cinder block, stopped in his tracks, gave me a short, respectful nod, and said, “Yes, ma’am.” The expressions on the three Davenports’ faces shifted from outrage to utter confusion. For the security of the Sterling Estate to obey me, a complete stranger, meant something they couldn't comprehend. “Who… who in God’s name are you?” Mr. Davenport stammered. 2 “You don’t need to know who I am,” I said, my gaze locked on him. “You just need to know that I’m Ava’s friend. And if you want this wedding to happen, you will bring her to me. Now.” The security team formed a loose circle around the three of them, a silent, intimidating wall. Chloe stomped her foot, her champagne-soaked dress squelching pathetically. “If you’re her friend, why are you doing this to us? Everyone who’s anyone in New York is out there! Ava isn’t just embarrassing me; she’s making a mockery of the entire Davenport family!” “That viper! That ungrateful snake!” Mr. Davenport’s face was turning a blotchy, furious red. “By tomorrow, this will be all over the society pages! The Davenports will be a laughingstock!” He turned on his wife. “I told you we should have just left it alone! People lose children every day, it’s fate! But no, you had to go looking!” “What good does saying that now do?” she shrieked back. “If I’d known she was this much trouble, I would have preferred she’d died out there! A gutter-born animal with no manners, after all the money I wasted on her!” The story of the lost Davenport heiress had been national news. They had poured millions into a TV drama about missing children, a vanity project designed to find their daughter. Every episode began and ended with Mr. and Mrs. Davenport, weeping into the camera, pleading for her return. Ava had been hesitant, unsure about re-entering their world. But they’d gone on talk shows, they’d sworn to the entire country that they would spend the rest of their lives making up for the years they’d lost. Their performance had convinced me. It was I who had encouraged Ava to go back to them. Two months. How had their hearts turned to stone in just two months? My jaw tightened. I pulled out my phone and tried Ava’s number again. Straight to voicemail. My patience evaporated. I held out my hand, and the captain of the security detail, as if anticipating my need, placed a long, thin riding crop into my palm. “Tell me where Ava is,” I demanded, the leather tip tapping against the marble floor with a sharp crack. Just then, a man pushed through the security cordon and strode into the room. “What the hell is going on? Why was my wedding cancelled?” The Davenports lit up like they’d seen a savior. “Carter, darling, you’re finally here!” Mrs. Davenport cried. “Mr. Sterling, this girl cancelled your wedding without your permission! You have to stop her!” “Carter!” Chloe wailed, running to him. “Look what she did to my dress! She’s just some nobody extra Ava used to know! She’s here to cause trouble, to disrespect your family, to disrespect you!” She looked up at him, her beautiful face streaked with tears and mascara, a perfect picture of wounded innocence. “All our guests are watching! You have to put her in her place!” A thunderous look crossed Carter’s face. “Who the hell did this to my wife?” he boomed, scanning the room. “Who thinks they can come to New York and screw with the Sterling family? You got a death wish?” Whispers erupted from the onlookers who had crowded the doorway. “That’s Carter Sterling! His family practically built this city. They’re old-world power, serious political connections.” “No wonder the Davenports kicked out their real daughter. The adopted one landed the biggest fish in the sea.” “Carter’s family is untouchable in this town. It doesn't matter if this girl is right or wrong, she’s about to get flattened.” As the crowd waited for the fireworks, I flicked my wrist. The riding crop sliced through the air and struck Carter across the chest. I’d spent six months in intensive training with a world-renowned stunt coordinator for a role. My technique was flawless. Even with only a fraction of my strength, a bright red welt blossomed instantly on his white tuxedo jacket. “Who the hell hit me?” he roared, stunned. I took a step forward. “Do I need an appointment?” Carter clutched his arm, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fury. Then, recognition dawned. “You! What are you doing here?” “Is that any way to greet your elders?” I gestured with the crop toward Chloe. “I thought you were marrying the Davenport heiress. Who’s the impostor?” A flicker of guilt—or maybe fear—crossed his face. “I saw you last on a film set in Vancouver. This is my business. Stay out of it.” Your business? A humorless smile touched my lips. “Kneel.” Carter’s jaw clenched, his eyes burning with defiance. Chloe scoffed from behind him. “He’s Carter Sterling! Why in the world would he ever kneel to a nobody like you?” I didn’t even bother to look at her. With another sharp flick of my wrist, I struck the back of Carter’s knee. His leg buckled, and he fell to the ground with a grunt of pain, landing heavily on one knee. “Jade,” he choked out, his face pale. “I thought you said you were too busy to come to the wedding.” 3 A wave of gasps rippled through the onlookers. “What did he just call her?” “She can’t be more than a few years younger than him… How is she his… elder?” The Davenports just stared, their mouths hanging open, unable to process what they were seeing. I ignored the murmurs and pointed the tip of the crop at Carter’s chin. “Tell me where Ava is. Were you involved in this?” “Hmph. I’m not telling you anything,” he spat, his neck muscles straining. “That woman is nothing but a conniving snake. I personally saw her push Chloe down a flight of stairs. She spread the most vicious rumors about her! She deserves everything she’s getting!” “You little fool,” Carter growled, trying to get up. “I call you Jade out of respect for my grandfather, but you better not push it. This has nothing to do with you.” I laughed, a sound devoid of any warmth. What had Chloe done to these people? It was like they were all under a spell. I looked at the four of them—the gullible fiancé, the social-climbing fake, the cruel, heartless parents. “You,” I said, my voice cutting through the air as I addressed the Davenports, “were supposed to be her parents. You didn’t raise her for a single day, and in the eighteen years she was lost, did you ever once try to understand her? To trust her?” I turned back to Carter. “And you. Your grandfather arranged a match with the Davenport daughter, not some imposter you picked. You knew her identity was a lie and you said nothing to your family. You have no honor.” With that, I began to strike them, the crop landing with sharp, punishing cracks. They cried out, trying to scramble away, but the security team moved in, holding them firmly in place as they howled. “Ava was born bad! We don’t have a daughter like that!” “Do you know who you’re messing with? The movie star Seraphina Roche is Chloe’s god-sister! Her fans will eat you alive!” “Don’t think because my grandfather respects you that I’m afraid of you!” Carter yelled. “You’re not blood! Without the Sterling name, you’re nothing!” Just as he said it, a new commotion started at the door. “It’s Marcus Sterling! The man himself is here!” “Mr. Sterling, you have to see what’s happening to your son! He’s been beaten!” A distinguished, middle-aged man in a tailored suit strode forward, his face a mask of authority. “What is the meaning of this circus? Everyone, stop this instant!” I lowered the crop, my breathing heavy. Seeing his father, Carter immediately scrambled over. “Dad, it’s Jade! She’s lost her mind! It’s my wedding day, and look what she’s done to me!” Chloe rushed forward as well. “Mr. Sterling, thank God you’re here! This woman not only ruined our wedding, she attacked my parents! They’re not young, what if she seriously hurt them?” Marcus Sterling looked from his battered son to the weeping bride, to the cowering Davenports, his mind clearly struggling to catch up. I cleared my throat softly. His head snapped in my direction. “Jade! Why are you here? If I had known you were coming, I would have sent a car for you myself!” The Davenports’ jaws dropped so low they nearly touched the floor. They looked utterly, hopelessly stupid. “Let’s skip the pleasantries, Marcus,” I said. “We need to talk about your son. My father, before he passed, arranged for Carter to marry the Davenport heiress. So you tell me why he’s marrying this… replacement. And where is my real niece-in-law?” The color drained from Marcus’s face as he finally understood. “He’s right. Where is Ava? And you,” he said, pointing at Chloe, “you’re the adopted one. Why are you in the wedding dress?” Carter had clearly planned to get the ceremony over with, forcing his father to accept Chloe in front of all their guests. Now, his plan was in tatters. He just stammered, unable to form a single coherent sentence. “Speak up! Where is Ava?” Marcus roared. The room fell deathly silent. Chloe peeked out from behind her parents. It was Mrs. Davenport who spoke, her voice shrill. “That Ava girl is no good! Chloe may not be our blood, but we raised her to be a perfect lady!” “That’s right!” Mr. Davenport chimed in. “That little stray can’t compare to our Chloe! She isn’t worthy of the Sterling family!” “The woman our family chooses is not for you to approve or disapprove of!” Marcus thundered. “Now if you don’t tell me where she is, I will personally ensure the Davenport name is erased from this city by morning!” I was done wasting time. In a single, fluid motion, I stepped toward one of Marcus’s bodyguards, pulled the handgun from his hip holster, and turned, pressing the cold muzzle against Chloe’s forehead before anyone could react. “Where. Is. Ava?” Carter, seeing the look on his father’s face—a look that offered no help—finally broke. He whispered three words, his voice trembling. “Blackwater Street… the warehouse.” For a second, the world went silent, and then my mind exploded.
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