1

The world was silent except for the wind.

Sophie had sent a video to my phone.

The screen showed my family gathered around the dinner table, the room as lively as a holiday gathering.

"Nobody answer Iris's calls tonight.

"Let's guess how many days it'll take her to make it out!"

Sophie jumped in, her voice sharp and bright.

"The Besa family will haul her back like a dog, I bet!"

The room erupted in laughter, light and carefree.

I stared at the screen. My fingers were ice cold.

My mother died when I was five. Not long after, my father, Richard Hawthorne, married Victoria Blake.

To keep my new family from hating me, I learned not to cry, not to make a fuss.

I learned to make myself small in corners and never trouble anyone.

But no matter how hard I tried, once Sophie was born, there was no place left for me in that house.

She was Richard and Victoria's little princess, spoiled beyond measure.

And I was her favorite toy.

Sophie's favorite game was tormenting me and watching me squirm.

At first, Richard still tried to act stern and give Sophie a mild warning.

"Don't bully your sister."

But every time, Victoria would argue with him, insisting Sophie was just a child.

And the truth was, Richard adored Sophie.

The moment her eyes welled up, he panicked.

One soft "Daddy" from her, and any wrongdoing was swept under the rug.

His response to Sophie's torment changed little by little.

First came "Stop that nonsense." Then silence.

And eventually, he would stand to the side and laugh at her latest scheme.

After that, Richard never chose me again.

On my eighteenth birthday, she hid dozens of fleas in my party dress.

I stood under the lights, gritting my teeth, my whole body itching like it was on fire.

And I still had to smile and accept everyone's congratulations.

The day she graduated from high school, she eagerly invited me to a pool party.

I showed up wearing the bikini she had given me.

When I arrived, every other guest was in formal evening wear.

After that night, my photos and the jokes about me spread through every elite circle.

I locked myself in my room and cried for three days straight.

After that, I didn't dare go home for breaks, and I avoided Sophie as much as I could.

It was my fiance, Ethan, who moved into my apartment and stayed with me through the darkest stretch.

We had been engaged since we were children, an arrangement made by our parents.

When we were little, he stood at my mother's bedside and promised her he would take care of me.

Now, in the video, he was frowning at his phone and typing something.

My heart leaped, hoping he was contacting someone to come get me.

When he set the phone down, his brow smoothed and his voice turned smug.

"She can't make a single call tonight.

"I had my people hack her phone and remotely disable every call and message!"

My heart sank completely.

Sophie planted an excited kiss on his cheek.

"You're amazing! You're the best partner in crime!"

Ethan had told me the same thing countless times before.

No matter what danger I was in, I should call him first.

He would come to me immediately.

Now he was helping Sophie carry out another prank.

With his own hands, he had cut off my only lifeline.

The family raised their glasses and cheered, celebrating the newest member of the prank squad.

I closed the video. Silence rushed back in around me.

The cold wind dried the sweat on my forehead and snuffed out the last flicker of hesitation in my heart.

I was done with the family that had brought me nothing but pain.

I raised both hands and walked steadily toward the lit-up estate in the distance.

The Besa family knew I was alone, so no one came out to stop me.

About half a mile from the gates, a man in a suit stepped into my path.

I gathered every ounce of courage I had and called out to him.

"I'm the Hawthorne heiress, and a medical student at Oxford.

"I'll work for the Besa family after I graduate. All I ask is one favor in return!"