The damp spring air of Cleveland stung my cheeks as the heavy oak front door slammed shut behind me.

Four months after the indictment, a thick, cream-colored envelope arrived in Grandma’s mailbox addressed to me in elaborate, swirling calligraphy.

I slit the envelope open with a butter knife and pulled out a heavy cardstock invitation embossed with silver lettering.

*Mr. and Mrs. Warren Voss request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Sloane Elizabeth, to Julian Montgomery.*

I stared at the names in utter bewilderment. Julian Montgomery? The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it. More importantly, how on earth were my parents affording a wedding for Sloane after the federal government seized all their assets?

Grandma walked over, peered over my shoulder at the card, and let out a dry, knowing chuckle. "Well, well. It seems Sloane managed to hook herself a very wealthy fish despite the family scandal."

"Who is Julian Montgomery?" I asked, flipping the invitation over to check the venue. It was being held at the Grand Oaks Country Club, one of the most exclusive, high-end wedding venues in the entire state of Ohio.

"Julian Montgomery is the primary heir to Montgomery Pharmaceuticals," Grandma explained, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "His family is worth tens of millions. He recently relocated his corporate headquarters from Chicago to Cleveland. If Sloane managed to catch his eye, she must have spun quite a fairy tale about her background to keep him from looking too closely at her parents' recent legal troubles."

I felt a cold knot twist in my stomach. Knowing Sloane, she had likely reinvented herself entirely, painting herself as the tragic, misunderstood victim of a malicious younger sister and corrupt state officials.

"Are you going to go?" Grandma asked, looking directly into my eyes.

I looked down at the cream-colored cardstock. For months, I had focused entirely on my nursing studies, putting the trauma of my family behind me. But a part of me—a deep, irrepressible curiosity—wanted to see how far Sloane's web of lies had stretched.