Chapter 1
I won the championship at the sailing regatta, only to watch my arch-rival smash my trophy into a thousand pieces.
"Sienna's nothing but a homewrecker! She doesn't deserve squat!"
Cindy—my defeated opponent—stood there in front of the entire school, accusing me of sleeping my way to the top. According to her, I'd seduced some sponsor to steal the win.
"Are you out of your damn mind? You lost. Deal with it!"
"Lost? Oh honey, that's rich coming from someone who cheated her way to the finish line!"
I almost laughed at her pathetic meltdown—until she whipped out a photo of me on a yacht.
"Take a good look, bitch! That's my father you were screwing!"
The woman in the picture? Definitely me.
The man beside me? She just called him "dad."
What. The. Fuck.
Since when do I have a goddamn half-sister?
Sienna's POV
"Sienna's nothing but a homewrecker! She doesn't deserve that trophy!"
After Cindy Morrison smashed my trophy to pieces, she had the audacity to stand there accusing me.
I stood on the podium, staring at the glittering shards scattered across the sand, and couldn't help but laugh.
I'd just led my crew to a flawless victory in the regatta. Cindy's team didn't even crack the top three. And now the loser was pointing fingers at the winner? Hilarious.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" I planted one hand on my hip, staring her down. "Can't take losing? Then stay the hell out of the race!"
Everyone started talking at once. Students, board members, media—the whole beach erupted.
"What's going on?"
"Is she serious?"
"Oh my God, this is insane!"
Cindy Morrison. My arch nemesis. As the star helmsman of the championship crew, I'd seen plenty of people trying to claw their way into this circle. But someone who transferred in and had it out for me from day one? That was a first. She'd acted like I'd killed her dog or something since the moment we met. I'd never bothered with her—why waste time on dead weight?
"Losing? HA!" Cindy's face flushed crimson. "You think you got to be the star helmsman, got that premium sponsorship, because of TALENT?"
She was practically screeching now. Her usual posse immediately closed ranks around her, all chiming in:
"Seriously, why does Sienna ALWAYS get the best equipment?"
"I heard certain people will do ANYTHING for sponsorship."
"Tsk tsk, look at that custom yacht of hers. What regular student can afford that?"
The crowd went nuts. Whispers spread like wildfire. I felt countless eyes on me—curious, suspicious, gleefully waiting for me to crash and burn.
These same people were kissing my ass yesterday. Fake-ass hypocrites, every single one of them.
"What's your point, Cindy?" I crossed my arms. "Spit it out already. You're embarrassing yourself."
"Fine! I'll spell it out for you!" Cindy sucked in a breath, her voice carrying across the entire beach. "The ONLY reason Sienna has any of this isn't talent—it's because she's been SCREWING the competition's biggest sponsor!"
The beach EXPLODED.
"Holy shit, did she just say that?"
"No way. Is that for real?"
"I KNEW something was off!"
The board members shifted uncomfortably. Mr. Thompson, the chairman with his gold-rimmed glasses, frowned. "Miss Colette, what exactly is going on here? You need to explain yourself."
Every camera swung toward me. Flashes went off like crazy.
Despite everything closing in, I stayed calm. The sea breeze tugged at my hair as I stepped down from the podium and walked straight up to Cindy.
"That's a pretty serious accusation, Cindy." I stared her down. "You'd better have receipts for this bullshit. Or are you just talking out of your ass?"
"Oh, I've got receipts." Her smile was pure venom. "Want to see?"
She pulled out her phone. A few taps later, the massive LED screen behind us lit up.
"LOOK AT THIS! Here's your proof!"
When that photo flashed onto the screen, I froze.
