The Heiress Double

I was the shadow of Lilah Vance, the pampered heiress of the Vance family. We looked nearly identical, a twist of fate that allowed her to live my life while I lived hers.

Lilah used my name to hit the clubs, drag race through the city, and flirt with every man in sight. Meanwhile, I was the one attending her lectures, managing the family business, and grinding through her academic research.

To the public, Lilah Vance was a paragon of modern womanhoodDa brilliant, sophisticated leader.

I, on the other hand, was notorious. The internet trolls called me a shameless leech, an ungrateful girl adopted by the Vances who spent her days in a drunken, scandalous haze.

I endured it all because I owed the Vance family my life. I bit my tongue even as my friends abandoned me and my own boyfriend began to despise me, turning his affections toward the "brilliant" Lilah instead.

I still remember him holding her close, spitting words of venom at me. "Lyra Sterling, you're a filthy woman. You aren't even fit to tie Lilah's shoes!"

Years later, at a high-society gala, the heel of my shoe snapped. He knelt before me, trembling as he tried to put it back on, but I had already been swept up into the arms of a man who treated me like a goddess.

"Your hands are dirty," the man said coldly. "You aren't worthy of touching her shoes."

...

"Lyra, you make me sick!" Landon Cross roared into the phone.

We had been in a cold war for two weeks. I had been foolishly hoping he'd call to apologize, but it seemed he only called to twist the knife.

"Two years ago, we were happy in Chicago. Then you suddenly said you wanted to move to San Francisco to build a career. And what have you done since?"

Landon's deep, melodic voice was laced with a chilling sneer. "Aside from clubbing and sleeping around, you've managed to bag a pop star. Congratulations, you're trending on the front page!"

I checked the news. The top headline was: "Pop Idol Zane Rhodes and Socialite Lyra Sterling: The Bedroom Scandal."

My heart sank. Lilah was at it again, using my name to cover her tracks.

I clicked the link. The photos were blurry but unmistakably suggestive. Even with the pixelation, you could tell the man was Zane Rhodes.

The woman had pale skin, thick dark hair, and a face that looked just like mine. I had one of those classic, striking faces that was easy to replicate with the right makeup.

Lilah already looked like me, but after a few rounds of plastic surgery, she had become my double. She always wore heavy makeup, which blurred the tiny differences between us.

Even Landon, the man I'd loved for five years, couldn't tell the difference.

As the sole heir to the Vance empire, Lilah carried a heavy burden, but she hated work. She loathed studying and found the business world repulsive.

Two years ago, I signed a deal with her mother. The Vance family would provide the best medical care for my autistic younger brother, Milo.

The catch? I had to be Lilah's body double.

Lilah got to live her wild, free life under my name, Lyra Sterling. I, in turn, fulfilled her duties as the Vance heiress, working myself to the bone so she could return and claim the credit.

Right now, while she was trending for a sex scandal, I was hiking up a muddy mountain in a downpour. I was here to inspect the high-end silk production for Celeste Silks.

The Vances specialized in luxury heritage textiles, a multi-generational business. This specific silk required a rare type of silkworm, and I hadn't slept for days, trekking through the wilderness with the local farmers.

My feet were covered in blisters. Blood had soaked through my socks.

Landon knew none of this. He only knew how to scream at me. "You're disgusting! How could you let those photos end up online? Have you no shame?"

"It wasn't me..." I tried to explain, my voice cracking.

"Lyra, you're already a slut. Don't add 'liar' to the list," he shouted. "You've practically collected all seven deadly sins!"

In the cold, rainy night, my heart felt heavier than my sodden clothes. He was my first love, the boy in the white shirt from my dreams. I had never loved anyone else.

But he didn't believe me. He joined the rest of the world in dragging my name through the mud.

I glanced at the comments on the scandal. They were brutal.

"Lyra Sterling is basically the city's public bus. Everyone's had a ride. Zane Rhodes must be blind."

"I heard the Vances adopted her out of charity. She's just a parasitic wolf who uses their money to buy boy toys."

"The real Vance daughter, Lilah, is so much better. She's getting her PhD and is so low-key. This adopted sister is just trash."

The rain blurred my vision. Tears mixed with the cold water, dripping onto my phone screen.

The mountain path was treacherous in the dark. I knew I needed to focus, but the pain was overwhelming.

"Landon, please. Just trust me. I can't explain now, but one day I'll tell you the truth..."

Suddenly, my foot caught on a jagged rock. I lost my balance and tumbled forward.

My elbows and knees scraped against the gravel, and a sharp, white-hot pain flared through my body.

At that exact moment, I heard Landon's voice through the phone, cold as a tombstone. "We're done. Don't ever call me again."

Two weeks later, I was at the Vance estate.

I went to see my brother, Milo. He was seventeen, and because of his autism, he could go entire days without saying a single word.

I knelt in front of him, but his eyes remained glued to his book. He wouldn't even look at me.

Mrs. Vance rolled into the room in her wheelchair. She smiled at me, a look of faux-grace on her face. "Milo's been eating well. He's a growing boy. The nurses take him to the park every day."

I felt a wave of relief. At least Milo was safe and cared for while I was away.

"Thank you, Mrs. Vance," I said, my voice full of genuine gratitude.

Mrs. Vance's face looked weary, her eyes moist with tears. "Lyra, these two years have been hard on you. You've sacrificed so much for my daughter."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I've learned a lot about business and academia. It's been good for me."

Mrs. Vance sighed. "Lilah is just... she's a handful. Ever since her father passed, it's been so hard. The board is pushing for an IPO, and if Lilah's scandals get out, we're all ruined."

Celeste Silks had finished its Series A funding two years ago. But that was the year Mr. and Mrs. Vance had their accident.

Mr. Vance died instantly. Mrs. Vance was paralyzed from the waist down.

The weight of the empire fell on Lilah, and she simply couldn't handle it. She chose to run away into a life of hedonism.

Mrs. Vance had begged me to step in. And because she had saved me and Milo years ago, I didn't hesitate.

Ten years ago, she adopted us. My mother had been a factory worker who died young from cancer, leaving us as orphans.

Our father had run off with a mistress when Milo was born. Mrs. Vance gave Milo access to specialists and gave me an education.

She was the closest thing we had to a mother. I owed her everything.

"If everything goes smoothly, the IPO should be finalized by November. I'll spend the next two months working with the investment bankers," I told her.

She nodded, satisfied. I was working twenty-four hours a day, living for a company that didn't even bear my name.

"I'd like to take three days off," I said softly. "I'll still handle emails, but I need to go."

I wanted to find Landon. I wanted to tell him I loved him.

I went to his apartment, hoping to surprise him. But when the door opened, the person standing there was Lilah.

Lilah was wearing nothing but one of Landon's oversized dress shirts. Her long, slim legs were on full display.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping out into the hallway and shutting the door behind her. "Landon dumped you. Stop stalking him."

I stared at her bare legs, my voice trembling. "Why are you in his room? Are you two...?"

Lilah narrowed her eyes, a smug, cat-like grin spreading across her face. "We slept together."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I felt the world tilt on its axis.

Lilah wasn't wearing makeup. Her face was clean and innocent, nothing like the wild woman in the scandal photos.

No one would ever guess she was the star of that bedroom tape.

"I have you to thank, actually," Lilah purred. "You kept posting those intellectual articles on my social media. Landon started commenting, and he fell for the girl in the posts."

As her double, I had to manage her online presence. I wrote about textile history, global culture, and philosophy.

I had built her a following as a refined, cultured woman. And every time Landon commented, I was the one who replied.

I thought I was having a soulful connection with my boyfriend. Instead, I was hand-delivering him to Lilah.

Landon thought Lilah was his soulmate. He thought she understood him better than I ever did.

Lilah lit a cigarette, blowing smoke in my face. "Landon is amazing in bed. He's got that brooding, intellectual vibe. I should have stolen him from you sooner."

I was shaking with rage, but my heart was breaking. The door opened, and Landon stepped out in his bathrobe.

He froze when he saw me. I turned and ran, my body feeling like it was made of ice.

It was over. Five years of memories were shattered in a single afternoon.

I saw our college days playing in reverse in my mindDmeeting in the library, his white shirt, my blue dress, the way we used to talk about history for hours.

"Lyra!" Landon caught up to me, grabbing my arm. I flinched away as if he were radioactive.

He had touched her. He was tainted.

Landon saw the disgust in my eyes and sneered. "You think I'm the dirty one? You're the one who cheated first!"

I knew I was wrong to hide the truth from him. I should have told him about the identity swap.

But I had signed a contract. I had given my word to Mrs. Vance.

"I know we're over," I sobbed. "But why her? It hasn't even been a month!"

Landon's words cut deep. "Because Lilah has a mind. She's cultured, moral, and decent. She's everything I ever wanted in a partner. And she looks just like you."

I looked up, a tiny spark of hope igniting. Maybe he had noticed something. Maybe he knew the woman online wasn't the real me.

But he crushed that hope instantly. "She looks like you, but she's the better version. She's superior to you in every way. You aren't fit to tie her shoes!"

I started to laugh. It was a hysterical, broken sound.

He thought I was the loose woman, while he worshipped the actual woman who was sleeping her way through the city.

"Landon, do you realize how much you're going to regret this?"

His face was a mask of cold indifference. "I already regret knowing you. Loving you is the biggest stain on my life."

For months, his words haunted my dreams. I buried myself in work to keep from drowning in the pain.

The IPO was in full swing. I traveled to thirty different cities for the roadshow, pitching our business model to investors.

I wore a mask during every speech, citing health precautions. In reality, Mrs. Vance had ordered it.

She didn't want anyone getting too familiar with my face. She was already planning for the day Lilah would take over.

It was a mother's devotion. She was protecting her daughter's future while sacrificing mine.

I had no one. No parents, no lover. Just a brother who didn't recognize me.

During the final leg of the tour in DC, I finally collapsed. The stress had broken me.

When I woke up, I was in a warm room filled with the scent of fresh strawberries. I looked toward the window and saw a sharp, elegant silhouette.

A man in a perfectly tailored black suit stood there, smoking a cigarette. He turned to me, his long lashes fluttering. "You're awake."

I sat up abruptly, realizing my mask had been removed.

The man was Merrick Rhodes, the titan of Rhodes Capital. He was the largest shareholder in Celeste Silks.

This DC roadshow was the biggest event of the tour. Merrick had personally shown up to oversee it.

"You fainted. Normally, I'd call an ambulance, but we can't have the press seeing you like that," he said calmly.

I understood. A health scare would tank the stock before the IPO even started.

He gestured to a bowl of strawberries. "Eat. My private doctor said your blood sugar is dangerously low."

I was wrapped in a luxury cashmere throw, sitting in a room that screamed old money and power. I felt like a stray cat that had wandered into a palace.

"Does the smoke bother you?" Merrick asked suddenly.

His dark, almond-shaped eyes were fixed on me. He held the cigarette with practiced grace.

"Smoking is bad for you," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

Merrick laughed. It was a genuine, youthful sound that didn't match his cold reputation.

"It's been a long time since anyone told me that, Miss Vance," he said, stubbing out the cigarette.

He, too, thought I was Lilah. I didn't bother correcting him.

We spent a few hours in that room before returning to the chaos of work. We were two professionals, working toward the same goal.

By the end of October, Celeste Silks successfully went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

The mission was accomplished. And like a tool that had served its purpose, I was discarded.

Lilah demanded I disappear. "Everything is on track now. We don't need you anymore. Get out of my sight."

She was ready to step into the spotlight as the brilliant CEO. She took the credit for my hard work and took my boyfriend as a bonus.

She'd had more work doneDa sharper chin, wider eyes. She was a doll, perfect for the cameras.

She was the untainted heiress. I was the girl with the ruined reputation.

But on my first day back as Lyra Sterling, trouble found me. A middle-aged woman was screaming outside my apartment.

"Get out here, you home-wrecking bitch!"

Lilah had given this woman my old address. She was the wife of one of Lilah's former lovers.

The woman didn't wait for me to speak. She grabbed my hair and started swinging her heavy purse at my face.

I was too exhausted to fight back. I was like a twig in a storm.

Suddenly, Milo let out a primal scream. He charged out of the house like a cannonball, slamming into the woman's stomach.

"Where did this freak come from? Get him!" the woman shrieked.

Her hired thugs moved in to beat us. Milo threw himself over me, shielding me with his body.

"Don't hurt sister! Don't hurt sister!" he whimpered.

My heart shattered. My silent, distant brother was trying to save me.

"I'll kill anyone who touches him!" I screamed, grabbing a kitchen knife from the counter.

Milo clung to my arm, shaking like a leaf. I swore in that moment that I would protect him forever.

The police arrived, called by an unlikely source: Landon Cross.

He had come to drop off some of my old things. He stood there, watching the scene with a mix of pity and disgust.

"You brought this on yourself, Lyra," he said after we finished our statements at the precinct.

I had no words. I had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Mrs. Vance.

She had paid me three million dollars for my silence. It was my payout for two years of hell.

I planned to take that money and move Milo to a different city. I was going to let Landon keep his delusions.

"Are you and Lilah... still together?" I couldn't help but ask.

"We're perfect," he snapped. "She's a hundred times better than you ever were."

"Does she talk to you about literature? About the stars? About history?" I challenged him.

Landon rolled his eyes. "That doesn't matter. She makes me happy. That's more than you ever did."

I realized then that our "soulmate" connection was a joke. To him, the depth of a woman's mind was secondary to her looks and status.

"Lyra, I've returned everything of yours," Landon said. "I never want to see you again."