My Family Stole My Inheritance, So I Walked Away

I stood in front of the screen. Behind me, the door opened.

My parents and Damian walked in carrying champagne to celebrate. They all froze in the doorway.

My father was the first to recover.

"Well. Since you've seen it, we won't lie to you."

"Chloe was frail from the day she was born. The doctors said she'd need someone to take care of her for the rest of her life."

"You're healthy. You can make your own way in the world. There's no need to begrudge her this little bit of property."

I didn't cry.

I just pointed at the chat log on the screen.

"Who made the fake debt notice?"

My mother admitted it without hesitation. "I had our accountant draw it up."

"And whose idea was it to pretend the family was in trouble?"

Chloe's eyes flickered.

Damian immediately stepped in front of her. "It was a group decision. Don't take it out on Chloe."

I nodded, then looked at Damian.

"Was moving up the wedding date part of the plan too?"

Damian's Adam's apple bobbed. "You don't need that much money. You'll have me by your side. You'll have the Salvatorre Donna title. Isn't that enough?"

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he hadn't done anything wrong.

Chloe's eyes welled up. Suddenly, she lunged for my mother's phone.

"It's all my fault. I'll give the winery back to Vivian right now. I'll return the shares too. Don't blame her."

All three of them surrounded her at once.

My father grabbed her wrist. "The trust paperwork is already finalized. What are you making a scene for?"

"But what about Vivian?" Chloe sobbed, her shoulders shaking. "She gave up everything. She's going to be so sad."

Damian pulled out a tissue and dabbed her tears. "She's been independent since she was a kid. She'll be fine anywhere. You're the sick one. She owes you this."

I stood a few feet away, watching them comfort her.

So this was the answer.

It wasn't that Chloe needed the winery. It was that I'd stolen ten minutes from her at birth, and now I owed her a lifetime.

My mother sighed, her voice calm. "Vivian, I know the method wasn't exactly honorable, but you're not losing anything. Chloe only has us. But you? You'll be the Salvatorre Donna."

I smiled. "So I should thank you?"

My father caught the sarcasm and his face darkened. "If you hadn't hogged all the nutrients in the womb, she wouldn't have been in an incubator when she was born. She almost died because of you. What's wrong with letting her have this?"

They'd told me that my whole life. Because I was born ten minutes earlier, I owed Chloe everything.

Every birthday, the cake only had Chloe's name on it. They forgot it was my birthday too.

When I had a fever all night, my parents stayed by Chloe's bed, afraid she'd catch it.

And now, even the last thing my grandmother left me had been handed to Chloe.

I didn't say anything. I picked up the car keys from the table.

Damian instinctively blocked me. "Where are you going?"

"This family doesn't have a place for me. I'm going to my own home."

Damian sighed. "Vivian Moretti, don't say things like that."

"Chloe gets what she wants, and I'll give you the most spectacular wedding New York has ever seen. Isn't that what you wanted?"

So in his eyes, moving up the wedding date was some kind of grand favor.

Chloe chimed in softly. "Vivian, Damian really loves you. He hasn't slept in three days, trying to plan your wedding."

I almost laughed.

They tricked me into signing an irrevocable agreement, then promised me a wedding. And that was supposed to be love?

"I don't care anymore."

I took off the protective charm I'd worn for eighteen years and set it in front of Chloe.

"You wanted all the love in this family, right? Take this too."

Chloe didn't dare touch it.

Damian's brow furrowed deeper. "What's wrong with you today? You used to say we were everything to you."

"That was before."

Now I'd changed my mind.

I turned and walked out.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

An email from Harvard.

[Please complete your enrollment by August 25th.]

[Welcome to Harvard Law School, Ms. Moretti.]

I hit confirm, then booked a flight to Boston.

They thought I'd do what I always did—get angry, cry, then obediently come back.

But this time, I was really done.