Chapter 5

At the morning department meeting, I sat at the head of the long table, but I felt like I was sitting on broken glass.

I could feel their stares—pity, curiosity, and barely concealed schadenfreude.

Halfway through the meeting, my assistant Jenna leaned in and slid her phone across to me, whispering: "Ms. Phillips... you might want to see this."

I frowned and looked at the screen.

It was Vanessa's post. A fresh Instagram update.

Nine photos. All boastful shots of the new house.

Marble kitchen. Balcony with mountain views. A selfie of her sprawled across the master bed, grinning like a maniac.

The caption read:

[So grateful for my in-laws' generous gift. Finally have a place I can call home! Some people don't appreciate what they have and just walk away... oh well, their loss!]

The comments were vicious.

[OMG congrats babe!!]

[Your in-laws are angels!]

[Unlike some people who think they're too good to spend time with family.]

I even spotted an old classmate's comment: [Wait, isn't this Sandra's family? Where is she?]

Vanessa replied: [Oh, she's too busy being a big-shot executive to care about us little people.]

My hands were shaking. I handed the phone back to Jenna, my face unreadable.

"Let's continue the meeting."

But inside, I was screaming.

She was broadcasting to the world that I, Sandra Phillips, had been kicked out by my own family.

Later, in the break room, I overheard two colleagues chatting.

"Did you hear? Sandra got kicked out by her family. The new house doesn't even have a room for her."

"No way. But she makes good money."

"Doesn't matter. Her parents are old-school. Sons get everything. She got nothing, and now she's not even talking to them."

"No wonder her brother showed up this morning. Damn. That's rough."

I froze, my coffee cup trembling in my hand.

That afternoon, a client I'd been working on for months called.

"Ms. Phillips, we might need to put our collaboration on hold."

My heart sank. "Is there an issue with the proposal?"

He hesitated. "No, the proposal is excellent. It's just... we've heard you're dealing with some personal matters. We're concerned it might affect the project."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

My family drama was ruining my career.

After hanging up, I slumped like a puppet with cut strings.

My phone rang again. Sienna.

Her voice was furious: "Sandra! I saw Vanessa's post! I'm on my way over right now, I'm going to—"

"Sienna, don't—"

She hung up.

Thirty minutes later, she called back, her voice trembling.

"Sandra, I went to that house. Vanessa wouldn't let me in. She screamed at me in front of the neighbors, called me a crazy stalker! It was so humiliating!"

My heart ached for her, but I was completely powerless.

"Come back, Sienna. She's not worth it."

"But they can't do this to you!"

But they already had.

I couldn't even understand why—why did they keep hurting their own daughter?

For the first time in my life, I had no idea what to do next.