A False Heiress's Guide to Love and Power

Chapter 1

At the airport’s arrival hall, a girl stepped out into the bustle, long hair loose around her shoulders, sunglasses and a mask half–concealing her striking features, wireless headphones resting around her neck. In one hand, she easily carried a small suitcase, her long, pale legs drawing more than a few lingering glances as she passed.

People stared, some whispering, half–convinced they’d just spotted a celebrity in the wild.

She halted, pushing her sunglasses up with a careless touch.

“Miss Alessia.” A middle–aged man in a tailored suit appeared before her, head respectfully lowered.

Alessia Tate slid off her sunglasses and tucked them into her collar. The small beauty mark beneath her eye only emphasized her allure.

“Are my parents home?”

“Yes, they’ve returned,” the man replied.

Alessia’s expression didn’t flicker with excitement or even the slightest hint of nerves. It was as if the people waiting for her were complete strangers.

“Butler, don’t forget the rest of my luggage,” she reminded, her tone languid.

“Of course, Miss. I’ll have it brought to your room shortly.”

at a respectful distance. Outwardly, he betrayed nothing, but inside, he couldn’t help but

scrambling for the next flight

he watched Alessia’s back. Poor girl, he thought.

bothered to respond. In truth, she wasn’t anxious or heartbroken–if anything, she’d almost kept traveling abroad, only booking her return ticket

black sedan waited with its door already open. Alessia didn’t break stride,

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Chapter 1

glided away

her mood as calm as glass. When she’d first learned she wasn’t the Tates‘ biological daughter, she’d been

off than

the family name and produce the perfect heir. Three children meant a backup–a spare, in case the second wasn’t a boy. If the second child had, in fact, been a son, Alessia wouldn’t

wanted something, you earned it with your grades. When the siblings reached the right age,

academics.

a girl; she didn’t have to fight for what she wanted. The downside? Her parents never paid her the slightest attention. Even birthday presents were left to their assistant to

a little girl, she’d tried everything–excelled in school, hoping for a word of praise, anything to be seen. But she was never acknowledged,

she did could

her only value lying in the marriage alliance she’d be expected to forge once she turned eighteen–one more calculated move to keep the Tate legacy

Perfect. Thanks to her, Alessia’s plans for escape had moved up by a whole

arrived,” Dawson announced, holding open the