Chapter 1

"It's filthy now that a slut like you has worn it." Ada drove her stiletto heel into the necklace and ground it against the floor.

I looked at the ruined necklace and suddenly smiled.

Growing up with the Costa name had made genuine friendship almost impossible, and my identity created endless trouble for my brothers. Before starting university, I took the maiden name of my late mother, Catherine Connelly.

I had planned to keep a low profile through my university years. Clearly, that plan had failed.

The necklace Ada had just destroyed was a gift my brothers commissioned from master jeweler Victor Hale. It had taken three months to create, a celebration of my earning the top merit scholarship. Now Ada was calling it a cheap imitation.

I slowly lifted my head and fixed my gaze on Ada.

My silence only made Ada more smug. "Elena, do you have any idea who my brothers are? Once they get here, you won't last another day at this school. Get on your knees and apologize while I'm still willing to be reasonable!"

Louise jumped in at once. "Everyone knows the Costa brothers will destroy anyone who hurts their sister. A boy looked at Ada a few times last semester, and he dropped out the next day."

I remembered him. He had somehow discovered my real identity and followed me home. My second brother, Dante Costa, put a bullet through his right eye and handed him over to the monsters who ran an underground trafficking ring.

"And Amanda Hayes. She kept challenging Ada, and her whole family disappeared overseas."

Amanda was one of the few people at school who had been genuinely kind to me. After her mother fell into a coma, the only rehabilitation center that would take her insurance quoted a five-month wait. Desperate, Amanda came to me. I arranged a transfer to a private medical center in Switzerland run by my third brother, Adrian Costa.

The irony was almost funny. Neither incident had anything to do with Ada, yet both had become proof that she was who she claimed to be.

Ada lifted her chin, her eyes brimming with defiance. "Elena, when my brothers hear that you stole my necklace..."

"You keep calling them your brothers." I gave her an amused look. "So why isn't your last name Costa?"

Whispers raced through the crowd.

Everyone knew her full name was Ada Kelly.

Ada froze for a beat, then sneered. "I took my mother's surname. So what? How dare you question who I am? You must have a death wish!"

She pulled out her phone, dialed from memory, and switched on the speaker. "Uncle Mike, someone's harassing me at school. It's the girl I told you about."

The challenge in her eyes sharpened. "All right. I'll wait."

She ended the call and faced me. "My brothers will be here any minute. You still have time to get on your knees and apologize."

Someone in the crowd tried to warn me. "Elena, just apologize. You really can't afford to cross the Costa family."

Listening to them, I suddenly wanted to laugh.

Mike Salario?

He was the right-hand man of my eldest brother, Luca Costa, a man I had called Uncle Mike since childhood, and one of the few people who knew my real identity.

By summoning him, Ada had started the clock on her own downfall.

With that thought, I crossed my arms and smiled. "Sure. I'll wait."