Chapter 1

Bella's POV

The year my daughter, Adeline Vale, was born, I decided I wasn't going to leave her future to chance.

She had always been gentle and soft-hearted, so I carefully chose four boys to adopt and raise alongside her. They would grow up with her, protect her, and make sure no one could ever take advantage of her.

For ten years, I poured everything I had into them. I raised each of them to be sharp, capable, and ruthless when the situation demanded it.

And my efforts paid off. With four older brothers watching over her, my daughter had grown up safe and sheltered. At least, that was what I'd believed.

That was until the day I received her frantic call. "Mom, please… Help me. They cornered me in the bathroom. They're trying to rip my clothes off…"

By the time I reached the school, I found Adeline huddled in the corner of a bathroom stall. Half of her uniform blouse had been torn open, and she was clutching the ruined fabric against herself with shaking hands.

Outside the bathroom stood the four boys I had raised with my own hands. And not one of them was helping her. Instead, all four were gathered around another girl, watching the whole thing unfold as if it were entertainment.

That was when I learned the truth. Her name was Marielle Sloane. Apparently, she was the one girl all four of my sons would do anything for.

And the reason Adeline had been put through this was that she and Marielle had exchanged a few angry words. That was it.

When the boys saw me coming, I expected at least a flicker of guilt. There wasn't any. If anything, they looked annoyed that I had shown up.

The eldest, Evander Vale, immediately stepped in front of Marielle, shielding her from me. "Mom, Adeline started it. She insulted Marielle and deliberately upset her.

"If she still hasn't learned how to treat people with respect, then someone needed to teach her a lesson. I was only doing what you should've done."

I stared at him. Before I could answer, my third son, Stellan Vale, spoke with the same cold indifference, "Why did you even come, Mom? We only had a few people scare Adeline. She wasn't actually going to get hurt. Did she seriously need to run crying to you over something this small?"

"Something this small?"

My eyes moved from Evander to Stellan, then to the other two boys standing beside Marielle.

I had raised them, fed them, educated them, and opened doors for them that most people would spend a lifetime trying to reach. Every advantage they had, every ounce of power they now wielded, had come from me.

And somewhere along the way, they had apparently forgotten that.

Fine. If they couldn't remember who had given them everything they had, I would remind them.

Starting today, I wasn't just cutting them off. I was taking back every last thing I'd ever given them.

"You just said you only wanted to scare her?" I held Stellan's gaze, my voice eerily calm.

Stellan frowned before stepping toward me, not the slightest trace of guilt on his face. "Mom, you've coddled Adeline her whole life. A little adversity won't kill her. Besides, we were right outside. We would've stepped in before anything serious happened."

My eyes shifted to Adeline, still curled up against the bathroom wall. She was trembling so violently that her teeth were almost chattering. Her fingers dug desperately into the grout between the tiles as if that was the only thing keeping her grounded.

The collar of her uniform blouse had been ripped apart, and angry bruises stood out across her exposed shoulder.

I had spent years fighting my way through a world where weaknesses got you eaten alive, yet even at the lowest points of my life, I had never allowed Adeline to suffer like this.

"Before anything serious happened?" A quiet laugh escaped me. I walked toward Stellan, one measured step at a time. "So when exactly would you have stepped in? After they'd stripped her in front of everyone?"

Evander immediately moved between us. He adjusted his thin gold-rimmed glasses, his voice as mild and composed as ever. "Mom, don't get angry before you've heard the whole story. Marielle accidentally spilled her iced coffee on Adeline's shoes.

"Adeline completely lost her temper and started yelling at her. It was embarrassing. We're her brothers. If you've spoiled her too much to teach her how to let things go, then it's our responsibility to do it. We asked a few classmates to play a little prank on her. That's all."

Evander glanced toward the bathroom as though what had happened inside was nothing worth mentioning.

"Maybe next time, she'll think twice before making a scene over something so trivial."

Marielle gripped the hem of Evander's jacket. Her eyes were red as she timidly peeked out from behind him. "Ma'am, please don't blame them. This is all my fault. I could never afford to replace Adeline's custom-made shoes, so I understand why she was angry with me.

"If it'll make her forgive me, I'll do anything. I'd even strip down and apologize to her."

My second son, Caspian Vale, reacted immediately.

He shrugged off his designer overcoat and carefully draped it around Marielle's shoulders before drawing her protectively against his side. "Mariell, don't ever humiliate yourself like that."

Then, he turned to me, and there was unmistakable reproach in his eyes. "Mom, you heard her. Marielle is handling this with more maturity than Adeline ever did.

"It's just a pair of shoes. But Adeline had to make such a scene that Marielle was completely humiliated. Is this really how you raised your daughter?"

My fourth son, Zet Vale, had been leaning against the sinks, idly flicking a lighter open and shut. At that, his thumb finally settled.