2

I waited outside the estate all night.

At dawn, the suited man from the night before pulled up beside me.

Without a word, he handed me a slip of paper and a phone.

The slip of paper carried the address of a private clinic in Italy.

Beneath the address was a single line.

"Welcome, Doctor. You're now our most valued associate. Use this phone to tell me your terms."

The weight I had been carrying all night finally lifted.

But I knew this was only the beginning.

A long trial period lay ahead.

Before my mother died, she made me promise to study medicine, to protect myself.

In the world of the mafia, a pampered heiress was far less valuable than a doctor who followed orders.

Once I was in the car, the suited man headed for the Hawthorne estate without waiting for directions.

In the car, I sent a text to the only contact saved on the new phone.

"Help me bankrupt the Hawthorne family."

As we neared home, I asked him to pull over.

I wanted to walk the rest of the way.

Standing at the front door, I didn't know what I was supposed to feel as I reached for the handle.

My hand closed around the handle, then fell away.

I pulled five tickets to the exclusive equestrian club in North London from my bag.

I had earned them by doing a full semester of homework for a classmate whose father owned the club.

I had planned for the whole family to go together.

But there was no point now.

I was still staring at the tickets.

Then the door swung open from inside. Sophie grabbed my arm and yanked me through.

I hit the floor hard. The next second, Ethan showered me with a handful of rose petals.

I started sneezing uncontrollably. Every patch of skin the petals touched erupted in red welts.

Sophie clapped her hands and bounced with excitement.

"Her first words are going to be, 'What are you doing?' Guaranteed!"

Ethan laughed. "No, she'll be crying too hard to talk."

Victoria tried and failed to stifle her laughter at the sight of me.

"I can't believe she actually made it out. Good thing we had a backup plan."

Richard stood in the background and said nothing.

Forcing myself through the allergic reaction, I got to my feet and walked over to Sophie.

The moment I raised one hand, Ethan shoved me away.

"Iris! What do you think you're doing?"

Sophie let out a shriek and buried herself in Victoria's arms.

Richard walked over too. He comforted Sophie, then turned to me with a scowl.

"It was just a joke. She was just playing around. You're the older sister. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

The moment Sophie became the victim, their entire demeanor changed.

My lips twitched.

"I was just joking around with her too."

Ethan's expression hardened.

"Don't joke like that again. What if you scare Sophie?"

Sophie looked down and spotted the tickets buried under the petals.

She counted them. Her eyes gleamed with triumph.

"You wanted to go to that equestrian club with us? Sorry, we went last week.

"You'll have to go by yourself."

I blinked, then bent down and picked up one of the tickets.

All I had ever wanted was a complete family and a good relationship with my stepmother and sister.

So when I overheard them mention wanting to visit the club last month, I had quietly made a mental note.

The tickets had not been easy to get.

I had meant to surprise them.

But they had already gone without me.

I let out a rueful laugh.

Of course. For the Hawthorne family, getting a few club tickets was effortless.

Why had I bothered trying so hard?

It was clear that when they said "the whole family," they didn't mean me.

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat and turned to leave.

Victoria ordered the servants to block the door, then turned on me.

"You scared Sophie. Apologize to her!"

Ethan stepped in front of me too.

"Iris, we're about to get married. If you pick a fight with your sister now, my parents won't be happy."

He reached over and gently patted my head.

"Be good. Don't make this difficult for me."

Looking at the four of them, I felt a bone-deep chill.

I had only come home because I didn't want trouble before graduation.

My plan had been to leave for Italy the moment I had my degree.

But now, I wanted to use this wedding to give them a taste of their own medicine.

I scratched at the welts on my arm, lowered my head, and apologized to Sophie.

"I'm sorry."

Sophie lifted her chin.

"Let's see if you dare mess with me again."

Then she whispered to the other three, her voice buzzing with excitement.

"At Iris's graduation party and wedding, I'm going to give her a surprise.

"One she'll never forget."