Semua Bab The Girl They Brought Home Replaced Me: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Kaia’s POVI could feel my brother’s hatred toward me, so I’ve decided to disappear—go somewhere they’ll never find me again.“Have you made up your mind, Miss Renner? Once you sign the contract, you understand that your life—it all belongs to the Orman Group. Resigning later won’t be an option.”“I’m aware,” I said, calm and steady.There was a pause on the other end, then a thin smile in the man’s voice. “Then welcome aboard, Miss Renner. The Orman Group awaits.”As soon as the line went dead, I booked a one-way ferry to Mexico. Departure: exactly one week from now.One week. That would be enough to clean house, to tie off loose ends and to cut the cord between me and my brothers—for good.I hesitated for maybe a second, then dialed Asher’s number. No answer. Not that I expected one.Next up: Noah. Always the most distant of the three, but at least he was polite enough to pretend he didn’t hate me.He picked up after five rings. “What is it?”“Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve,” I said. “I fi

Kaia’s POV“They’ll regret it,” James said once we were in the car, the doors closed behind us like a final sentence. “Sorry if I overstepped. I just can’t wrap my head around it. What kind of brothers choose a stranger over their own sister?”I stared out the window, watching the rain smear across the glass. “They didn’t always,” I whispered. “They used to treat me well.”I was a surprise baby. A late-in-life miracle.My parents had already been buried neck-deep in the Renner empire by the time I came along, well into their forties. Raising me? That became my brothers’ job.There was a time I got in trouble at school—nothing major, just some stupid prank. The principal called for my parents, but Asher showed up instead. Dressed to the nines, tie crooked, pretending to be our dad.He always protected me.And Jace? He was reckless, loud, and loyal in the way only little boys can be. One night, I told him I wanted to see shooting stars. At midnight, he snuck me out through the garage, kn

Asher’s POVWe'd only been in France three days when Noah started mumbling about heading home.Truthfully, I was thinking the same.Something about this trip—it didn’t sit right. We were laughing, drinking while Kaia was alone. Buried in her lab.But Sylvie didn’t want to leave. She said she wanted to spend New Year’s Eve here too.“I—” Noah began, but I cut him off.As the oldest, my word had weight. Even Sylvie rarely pushed back when I spoke.“Sylvie,” I said gently, “I still have some business waiting. It’s best if we leave tomorrow.”Her face dimmed. She didn’t argue—but the disappointment in her eyes was unmistakable.“I’m sorry,” I added, reaching out to ruffle her hair. “We can come back anytime, I promise. As long as I’m free.”But she didn’t smile. “You promised we’d stay until New Year’s Eve,” she whispered.And she was right. I had promised. Back when I thought Kaia would be coming too.But she didn’t. And now I missed home too.“Sylvie,” I tried again, searching for a diff

Asher’s POVShe offered herself as their chemist,” I said, forcing the words out. “Youngest on record.”Noah said nothing. He knew what it meant too. If Kaia had truly joined the Orman Group, she was gone. Even if she lived, she could never come back.My mind reeled. How had we let it come to this? How had the girl I once carried on my shoulders slipped so far away I didn’t even notice she was leaving?And worse—why did she feel she had to?A cold, hollow ache burrowed into my chest.Noah stood abruptly. “I’m going to Mexico.”“What?”“I’m going to talk to Adam Orman. I don’t care what it takes. She’s our sister.”“I already spoke to him,” I said, my voice low. “It was almost impossible to bring her back now. And I was afraid we would piss Adam off and he would do something to her. So we have to stay calm.”But Noah wasn’t hearing me. He was already beyond reason.“How could you be so calm!!! She is our sister! Even I dies, I will bring her back,” he snapped, voice rising. “Asher. You

Kaia’s POVIt had been ten years since I joined the Orman Group.In that time, the formulas I’d developed helped them generate hundreds of billions in profit. Entire markets were reshaped because of my work. I was no longer a secret chemist hiding behind a lab door—I was their prized asset.And I was also Adam Orman’s girlfriend.He told me he fell in love with me the first time he saw me. Maybe that was true. Maybe not. But being his meant I was given things most in the organization never got—freedom and security.Thanks to Adam, I didn’t have to stay in Mexico full-time. I could travel. Often, he’d simply ask where I wanted to go next—and then take me there.But because of who he was—and what the Orman Group was—we always traveled under the radar. Quiet flights. Unmarked reservations.For the ten-year anniversary of my work with Orman, Adam decided to take me to France.“France is especially beautiful in the winter,” he said.Funny—someone else had once told me that. Sylvie.She’d s