Chapter 1

"Congratulations, Ms. Fraser!" the host announced.

I looked at the nine lights glowing beside Megan Fraser, the girl my mom had adopted, and said flatly, "I guess there's no need to talk about officially acknowledging me as part of the family anymore."

Megan froze for a moment before slipping her arm around my mom's. Her eyes quickly turned red.

"Don't be upset, Kathy. I've simply been with Mom longer. Maybe one day, when you truly get to know her, I'll let you wear this brooch," she sneered and deliberately emphasized the words "let you wear".

My mom, Yvonne Nevill, gently patted Megan's hand and looked at me with disappointment.

"Kathy, just because you're my flesh and blood doesn't mean you really know me. When you learn to see us as your family, I'll officially acknowledge you as my daughter."

My brother, Josh Fraser, stood off to the side with a deep frown.

"Kathy, you've been back for three years, and you didn't even know Mom hates taking medicine?" he said, his voice full of frustration. "Megan didn't steal anything from you. She just cares more than you do."

I looked at the three of them standing together like a real family and suddenly felt that everything I had done was meaningless.

I had spent three whole months preparing for my mom's 50th birthday party. She promised to finally tell all our relatives that I was her biological daughter on that day.

I believed her.

I bought her birthday gift ahead of time, happily posed for family photos, and even asked my lawyer to prepare the paperwork to change my last name.

But now, she had used a stupid "Who Knows Mom Best?" game as an excuse to go back on a promise I had held onto for three years.

"It's okay. I don't want it anymore," I murmured, staring at Josh.

Josh let out a sigh of relief, thinking I had finally learned to give in.

"I'm glad you came to your senses," he said in a patronizing tone. "Mom's in a good mood today, so don't ruin the party. Next time we have a family gathering, I'll talk to her again and see if she'll finally officially acknowledge you as part of the family."

My relatives' whispers filled the ballroom, their cutting words tossed around as if I weren't even there.

"She wasn't raised by them. Of course, she never really became family."

"Megan may not be related by blood, but she's more thoughtful than a real daughter. Yvonne didn't spend the last 20 years loving her for nothing."

"She's been back for three years and still doesn't know what her own mother likes. And she still thinks she deserves a share of the inheritance?"

I turned around and slowly walked off the stage without saying anything.

Just then, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Peter Richmond, my lawyer.

"Ms. Stroud, the paperwork is complete. The Fraser family's shares you hold on their behalf will be transferred out by midnight. Your ride to the airport is ready."

I just replied "okay" and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

The Frasers found me three years ago.

My mom held my hand and cried her heart out, saying I was the child she had never stopped searching for.

But almost immediately afterward, she asked me to wait before announcing that I was her biological daughter, saying Megan wouldn't be able to handle the shock.

The first year, she told me to wait until Megan graduated from college.

The second year, she said we would wait until Grandma recovered.

And in the third year, she finally promised to acknowledge me publicly at her birthday party.

I believed that she would keep her promise, so I tried my best to please everyone in the family.

But as those lights went out one after another on stage, I finally understood the truth.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to accept me. They just wanted me to fail in front of everyone so they could justify keeping Megan in the place that should have been mine.

My mom knew the relatives saw the game as a way to officially welcome me into the family, yet she used the result as an excuse to reject me.

That one brooch was all it took for Megan to remain the daughter everyone accepted, while I was never given a real chance.

I walked to the corner of the ballroom and looked at my family laughing together at the main table.

My mom carefully picked the bones out of a piece of fish before placing it on Megan's plate. Josh smiled as he poured fruit juice for them.

They looked like the perfect happy family. A family I wasn't part of.

I looked away and headed backstage.