Chapter 1

STAR'S POV

“I just lost my family… and now you’re forcing me out of town too?!”

Tears streamed down my face as my voice cracked through the quiet cemetery.

I was still wearing my white funeral dress.

Only hours ago, I had stood there and watched the only person I had left be lowered into the ground—gone forever.

Now they wanted to take even this place away from me.

The officer standing in front of me sighed, sympathy flickering in his eyes.

“My deepest condolences for your loss, Miss Vanderbilt. But… she wasn’t your family. She was only your caretaker—”

Something sharp twisted painfully in my chest.

My trembling hands curled into fists.

“What… what did you just say?”

My voice came out broken—small—but the hurt behind it was fierce.

Before I knew it, I had grabbed the front of his collar, tears blurring my vision as another officer quickly stepped forward, trying to pull me back.

“She was my family!”

My scream tore from my throat, raw with grief.

“She was all I had…”

My voice broke at the end, collapsing into a whisper.

Silence followed.

Behind the officer stood a man dressed in a perfectly pressed black suit. He had been quiet the entire time, watching everything with unreadable eyes.

Finally, he stepped forward.

“She was not your legal family, Miss Vanderbilt,” he said evenly. “You are the heiress of the Vanderbilt family. Your brothers have ordered for you to be brought home.”

My entire body went still.

My lips parted slightly.

“...Who?”

I barely recognized my own voice.

The man didn’t hesitate.

“Your brothers, Miss Vanderbilt.”

My brothers.

The same brothers who couldn’t bear to look at me.

The same brothers who had turned away when I cried and begged them to believe me.

Now… they wanted me back?

“I… I don’t believe you.”

My voice was quiet, shaking.

Ten years.

Ten whole years.

And suddenly they wanted me home?

How was I supposed to believe that?

The man’s face remained emotionless.

“That is your choice, Miss Vanderbilt. But you still need to come with us.”

I immediately shook my head, stepping back.

“N-No… I’m fine here.”

The officer’s expression softened, almost apologetic.

“It isn’t up for discussion, ma’am. You’re still under eighteen. Your legal guardians are your brothers, and by law, you must go with them.”

I stared at them, my chest tightening painfully.

Confused.

Scared.

Heartbroken.

And somewhere deep inside—

A tiny, fragile piece of hope.

What if things had changed?

What if… after all these years… they finally wanted me back?

What if they were ready to hear the truth?

My hands trembled at my sides.

But in the end—

Did I really have a choice?

The car smelled like leather and silence.

Not peaceful silence.

This silence was heavy—thick enough to press against my chest and make breathing difficult.

Home.

I stared quietly out the tinted window, watching the world blur into streaks of green and gray.

Ten years.

Ten whole years since I had last seen that house.

That place.

Them.

My fingers twisted tightly into the fabric of my sleeve.

I remembered the day I left.

I was seven years old.

Crying.

Screaming.

Begging them to believe me.

I didn’t do it.

But no one listened.

Not my brothers.

Not my parents.

Not even the people who once tucked me into bed, kissed my forehead, and called me their little star.

Funny how love could disappear overnight.

I used to think ten years was enough time to bury a nightmare.

Enough time for memories to fade.

Enough time for wounds to heal.

Enough time for people to forget.

I was wrong.

Because when the black town car slowly rolled up the winding road toward Vanderbilt Estate—

I felt seven again.

Small.

Helpless.

Shaking.

Covered in blood that had never been mine.

My fingers curled tighter around my dress.

White.

Simple.

Funeral white.

The same dress I had worn this morning while they lowered the only person who had ever truly loved me into the earth.

My nanny was gone.

And with her—

The only home I had left disappeared too.

Vanderbilt Estate stood at the top of the hill like a beautiful monster.

Tall iron gates.

Stone walls wrapped in ivy.

Golden lights glowing from towering windows.

It looked warm.

But I knew better.

“Miss Vanderbilt,” the driver said gently. “We’ve arrived.”

My heart began pounding.

The door opened.

For a moment, I hesitated.

Shouldn’t I be happy?

Shouldn’t I feel relieved that my brothers wanted me back?

Then why did it feel like I was walking toward something terrible?

Slowly, I stepped out.

Rows of staff stood outside waiting.

No one looked me in the eye.

Not one.

A hollow ache settled in my chest.

All the old staff were gone—replaced over the years—but rumors traveled faster than time.

Ten years later…

And they still knew what I was accused of.

Did my brothers still think of me that way too?

My heart sank.

Probably.

Then why bring me back?

“Miss Vanderbilt?”

I startled softly at the voice.

A middle-aged man stood before me, dressed neatly in formal black attire.

He bowed slightly.

“I am Franklin Foster, the butler. Young Master is waiting for you. Please allow me to escort you inside.”

I quietly nodded and followed after him.

As we walked through the mansion, memories hit me one after another.

Almost everything had changed.

Modern furniture.

New paintings.

Different lighting.

Yet somehow—

The walls still felt haunted by old ghosts.

Franklin led me to the third floor and stopped in front of a large wooden door.

He knocked.

A deep voice answered from inside.

“Come in.”

My breath caught.

Dad’s office.

Was Father inside?

Were my brothers with him?

My heartbeat thundered painfully in my chest as Franklin opened the door for me.

I took a shaky breath and stepped inside.

But it wasn’t my father sitting behind the desk.

It was someone else.

Someone who looked so much like him that my chest tightened.

Broad shoulders.

Sharp features.

Cold authority.

My eyes widened slightly.

Atlas…

My eldest brother.

Atlas Vanderbilt.

His gaze landed on me—

And ice crawled down my spine.

His expression darkened with immediate disapproval.

“All those years away,” he said coldly, leaning back in Father’s chair, “and that woman taught you nothing?”

His sharp eyes narrowed.

“Not even basic manners?”