Chapter 1


    Prologue


    “And the estate, businesses, and all holdings will go to Miranda Dupree.”


    “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sophie ckwood refused to stay silent. She didn’t know exactly what to


    do, what to say, but she couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.


    How in the hell did her father’s ex-wife—his very young ex-wife—manage to sweep the entire


    inheritance? She was nothing but a gold-digging socialite.


    Uneptable.


    Sophie and her father had never been close, but to will everything to the much younger woman who


    was no longer even his wife was a p in the face.


    Buckley “Buck” ckwood continued to disappoint her even in death. Sophie nced over to the


    woman in question who actually had the nerve to look surprised. Please, like she hadn’t dug her ws


    so deep into Sophie’s father... She knew this moment wasing.


    Sophie shifted her focus to her brothers who were equally as stunned at the will that their father’s


    lawyer, Kace Lenc, kept right on reading from, listing off each item, as if giving everything to an ex


    were perfectly normal.


    Well, Sophie didn’t have to stay and listen to this nonsense. She loved her brothers, but there was no


    love between her and Miranda.


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    Sophie was surprised her narcissistic step-monster didn’t have a whole camera crew here to document


    this portion of her life. Being one of the star of Secret Lives of NYC Ex-Wives—New York’s version of


    The Real Housewives—seemed to rule Miranda’s life. The woman always had a crew following her,


    documenting every aspect of her glittery, shy lifestyle.


    This whole scenario really grated on Sophie’sst nerve.


    Miranda already had millions. She didn’t need all of this other stuff from Buck—not the money and not


    the ranch. Granted, Sophie didn’t need it, either, but damn it, she and her brothers were blood


    rtions. Weren’t they entitled to something?


    Did nobody see the vindictive woman Miranda truly was? There had to be a way to prove she wasn’t all


    high and mighty like so many believed. Sure, the reality show portrayed her as a nurturing, loving


    woman... Sophie didn’t believe that front for a minute.


    Channeling the growing pit of anger in her gut, she met Ken and Vaughn’s furious stares as she


    exited the study of her father’s estate.


    The only people she cared about were her brothers. They were a team, they always had been. And she


    knew they would work together to get this travesty of a will overturned. But right now, she was too


    furious to think, or to concentrate on what their next steps should be. She just needed to get away from


    her father’s house, where she’d never been happy and where she’d just had to sit through a new


    betrayal. Most people would have been remorseful after a parent’s passing, and part of Sophie was


    sad. Buck was her father, but he’d always been a hard bastard to love. Turns out, that hadn’t ended


    with his death.


    As Sophie made her way out into the bright, sunny day, she slid her sunsses off her head and onto


    her face. She needed a break. She just wanted an escape even if for just a few days. Royal, Texas,


    was such a beautiful town and


    Sophie absolutely loved it here. But like every small town, it was a hotbed of gossip, and thistest


    bombshell her father had dropped on them was bound to be the talk of the town for weeks. Everywhere


    she went, people would be whispering, specting. The thought made her skin crawl.


    But gossip can work both ways, she realized after a moment’s reflection. If she yed her cards right,


    maybe she could turn the situation to her advantage. All the talking everyone would be doing about the


    scandalous ckwood inheritance would lead to lots of talk about Miranda, too. If Sophie could


    uncover anything—a scandal, or a secret, or maybe whatever bit of leverage Miranda must have held


    over Buck to get him to disinherit his own children—maybe she could use it to get the will overturned.


    Sophie pulled out her cell as she settled behind the wheel of her sporty car. Time to get started.


    One


    Sophie barely recognized herself in the reflection of the mirrored elevator doors. Flying across the


    country, getting aplete makeover, anding up with a whole new identity had been quite the


    feat.


    But persistence paid off...or at least she hoped it would.


    She’d traveled to New York to spy on Miranda. She had tried chasing down every possible lead in


    Royal...but none of them had panned out. After two months of failed attempts, she’d realized she


    needed to widen her. If she was going to find anything, it would have to be in New York—and it


    would have to be in a different persona. No one was willing to spill secrets to the stepdaughter who


    was known to hate Miranda—but perhaps a new identity would let her slip in under the radar. Sophie


    had no other idea how to find dirt on her stepmother, so she’d taken a very hands-on approach.


    For a week now, Sophie had taken on this new look and role, but she still hadn’t gotten used to being


    someone else. She’d never been this deceitful or this scheming before.