Plot Twists Short Stories & Bias Biological Family Novels

After I started college, my mother announced that she would be giving me my living expenses in installments. "Hank, you're grown up now. To teach you how to manage your money, I've decided to give you your living expenses in installments." At first, I assumed she meant she would send my allowance once a month. At worst, maybe once a week. But on the day I checked in, she walked around the cafeteria, then transferred $6.80 to my bank account. I stared at her in confusion. "Mom, you sent the wrong amount." She shook her head with a smile. "Silly boy, that's your lunch money for today. I already picked out the cheapest meal for you. Just get the set lunch from that place. From now on, you can apply to me for the cost of each meal based on this amount." I was completely stunned. So when she said "installments," she did not mean monthly or even weekly. She meant every single meal. But by the third day, I was standing at the breakfast counter, struggling to come up with the $1.50 I needed for an egg. When I asked my mother for money, she refused. Instead, she simply said, "I paid for your brother's house in full yesterday. I don't have any extra cash on hand right now. Missing one meal won't kill you, will it?" The cafeteria lady looked at me with surprise and pity. That look burned a hole straight through my already fragile pride. That day, I held the egg the lady had given me and searched for a part-time job. Yet, when I no longer needed my mother, she was the one who panicked.

My adopted sister, Bianca, screwed up. Big time. It was at a charity dinner. Hosted by the Vitiellos. The most powerful Mafia Family on the East Coast. She spilled hot coffee on the Vitiello boss's sister. Right into her eyes. Almost blinded her. Massimo went ballistic. He’s the cold-blooded Don who runs the whole damn coast. He wanted a hostage from our family, the Costas. Within five days. Or it was war. My mother grabbed my hands. Her eyes were red and filled with pain. “Bianca didn’t mean it. She’s terrified. She’s hiding in her room, shaking so hard she can’t breathe. Valeria, you're tough. You can survive this. Just go to Massimo for a few days. I swear I'll get you back.” My twin brother sighed. “That Don is a psycho. Bianca is too delicate. She wouldn’t last a day. You’ve always been the strong one. Just… do this for her.” Even my fiancé, the man I’ve been engaged to for years, held me. He whispered, “Baby, just take the heat for her. Once this all blows over, I’ll give you the biggest wedding you’ve ever dreamed of.” What a joke. I wasn’t even at the party. But I was the one paying the price. So I gave them what they wanted. I walked right into the Vitiello estate. And then they regretted it. They cried, and begged me to come back.

My brother is the Alpha of the Moonlight Pack, and I should have been the happiest little wolf in the pack. But my brother's destined mate Selene accused me of bullying her. In a fit of rage, my brother, the only family I had left in this world, sent me to the Pack Rehabilitation Center —a place for underage criminals and delinquent wolves. For two years, I have been abused until I permanently lost my ability to shift, becoming the docile sister he wanted. But when he discovered I'd lost my wolf and become a true Omega, he went mad. "Skye, please, just call me brother one more time!"

I was born with almost no sense that I deserved anything. The day I was born, I didn't think I deserved to actually be born in the delivery room, so I held onto my mother's umbilical cord for three days. It wasn't until she slipped away to the bathroom that I finally let go in relief, and dropped straight into the toilet. When I got kidnapped, I didn't think I deserved a seat in the trafficker's six-seat van. So, I wrapped myself around his leg and refused to get in. Then a sanitation worker rolled by pushing a garbage cart, and my eyes lit right up. I jumped on without a second thought. After that, the trafficker sold me eight separate times. Every single time, I handed the money right back. "No, you don't need to pay for me. Free is fine. I'd feel bad taking your money." Eventually, the trafficker gave up trying to profit off me and just dragged me along. He cursed under his breath while we lived together in extreme poverty. Then the day my real parents showed up with the police, he practically wept with gratitude as they cuffed him. Before they put him in the car, he patted my parents on the shoulder, looking like a man who'd finally set down a heavy load. "She's all yours now. Whatever's wrong with this kid's head, you'd better get her some real help." My parents just stared at him, completely lost. They didn't understand what he meant until that night, when the fake daughter came crying to them. She sobbed and said that I'd stormed home and immediately tried to steal her room and her bed. My brother marched my parents straight to my room to settle the score. They tore the place apart and finally found me curled up asleep, perfectly content, in the dog cage in the corner. The room went dead silent. My brother stood there, completely stunned. The fake daughter's face went blank too. It took my parents a long moment to find their voices again. "Bella, you said Luna stole your room and your bed?"

After the college entrance exam ended, my younger sister, who had been my only family for seven years, told me calmly, "I left the whole thing blank." I froze and could not get a single word out. A look of vengeful satisfaction crossed her face as she went on, "Jett Sullivan and I never broke up either. I left it blank for him. His grades are awful, so there's no way he's getting into a good college. I promised him we'd spend all four years just having fun." Her words cut straight through me, yet she did not seem to think she had done anything wrong. She met my eyes openly and coldly. "The exam's over now anyway. If you're fine with me dating Jett, I'll still call you my brother. If not, we cut ties for good." She glanced at my trembling hands and paused. "If you still want me as your sister, fine. Give Jett every paycheck you've earned all these years. Think of it as a gift to him."

My sister came home three years after she went missing. But every time she saw me, she lost control and tried to kill herself. She blamed me for failing to protect her. My parents begged me with tears in their eyes. "Move down to the basement. We owe her this much. Don't hold it against her. Once she gets better, you can move back upstairs, okay?" I agreed. Seven years passed, and I slowly became invisible in my own home. Then, this Christmas, Mom finally invited me to celebrate with the family. I had barely picked up the knife to cut the cake when my sister suddenly screamed. I jumped up, but before I could react, my sister snatched the cake knife and slashed her own wrist. Mom lunged at me and grabbed my arm. "Who told you to pick up the cake knife? Don't you know she can't stand the sight of knives? Are you trying to kill her?" Her yank sent me tumbling down the stairs. Mom and Dad were too busy comforting my sister to hear my neck snap. As they crowded around her, I finally realized the truth. No one in this family cared if I lived or died.

After the college entrance exam, my mom gave my twin sister an LV bag as a coming-of-age gift. What she handed me was the exam pass I had lost on test day. "Paige, sweetie, I found your exam pass last night. It was under the couch. I know you couldn't take the college entrance exam this year, but don't let it get to you. Keep this as a little reminder to be more careful when you retake them next year." The exam pass gave off a faint scent. It was the kind that only came from the sachets hanging in my mom's closet. When I did not reach for it, she said, "Why won't you take it? Don't worry. Once you retake the exams next year and get into a good school, I'll buy you a bag too." I let out a dry laugh. Retake the exams? What my mom did not know was that I had already received a guaranteed spot at Glenmore University. I had only planned to sit for the exam because I was afraid my sister would fall apart if she found out, and I wanted to go through the motions with her. If she had hidden my exam pass to destroy my future, then this so-called family bond was not something I wanted to hold on to anymore.

The day the exam rankings are released and I claim the top spot is also my older sister's birthday. During the birthday party, everyone asks what she wishes for. She turns her head and looks straight at my fiance, her red lips curving into a smile. "I want first place. Can you give it to me, Professor Howard?" The man lowers his eyes, saying nothing. The next day, my name disappears from the top of the rankings. After that, I fail to place five times in a row. When I confront my fiance, he simply hands me a slice of sponge cake and says, "Your sister has it hard. If she can't place first at Imperial Academy five consecutive times, she'll be forced into an arranged marriage with that crippled prince. As for you, you'll have other chances in the future." What he doesn't know is that I have no future left to wait for. As an illegitimate daughter, my engagement only exists because my mother sacrificed her life to secure it for me. Now, my mother is gone. And because my sister falls in love with my fiance, she makes my life miserable. To keep up appearances, my father allows my sister to propose a wager before the family council. If she can remain the academy's top-ranked student for five consecutive years, she will be allowed to take my place in the marriage. For that reason, I study by candlelight night after night, terrified of losing my fiance. But now, I rub the thick calluses on my palms. With a bitter laugh, I accept my fate.

When the university announced a nine-day break, my roommate started booking their tickets home on their phone while I was busy answering trivia questions on mine. This was my family rule. I had to answer questions to earn my allowance. There were ten questions, and every correct answer would get me $2. There were four levels for the trivia, which were Beginner Level, Intermediate Level, Advanced Level, and Expert Level. I did the trivia for seven years, from high school until my second year of university. One morning, my father, Norm Livingston, texted in the family group chat. [Whoever gets all ten questions correct, I'll pay for the ticket home during Thanksgiving.] I tried hard to suppress my excitement as I focused on answering the questions, but I got one wrong. I texted the results to Norm with clenched teeth and begged, [Dad, the questions this time were really difficult, but I got nine right. The train ticket is only $50. Can you cover it for me?] However, Norm replied right away with a voice note, and he berated me. "The rules are the rules. Look at your brother. He got all ten questions right and won himself the flight ticket. You should work harder to improve your knowledge. Stop thinking about having fun all the time." My younger brother, Ezra Livingston, texted the group with a screenshot of Norm transferring him the money for the ticket. [First-class ticket worth $1,000 to come home to your family.] The text was followed by another text from my older sister, Edith Livingston. [I specially set your questions at Beginner Level for you.] I stared at their texts and looked at my questions, which were at Expert Level, and I called my counselor after that. "Is it too late to submit my application to Gerasia as an exchange student?" I no longer wanted to reunite with my family during Thanksgiving.

After I set up the camera, I realized the clients booked for a family portrait were the parents and older brother I'd run from five years earlier. The moment our eyes met, my mother's smile froze. Her eyes went red, and she asked uncertainly, "Remy... is that you?" "You're alive?" With one finger resting on the shutter, I reminded them, "Keep smiling. Look at the camera." My father shot to his feet. "Are you really this spiteful? Five years of hiding from us. What grievance in a family takes five years to get over?" I looked at the dog beside my brother, also named Remy, and couldn't understand what he was angry about. They were the ones who'd spent my whole childhood telling me I existed for one reason: to be marrow for my brother. Even the dog got to be in the family portrait I wasn't allowed in as a child. I gave up on that family a long time ago.

The day before the final round of Beta selection, I was poisoned with wolfsbane and locked inside my burning house. The fire spread too fast, and my weakened state prevented me from shifting. My wolf, Emma, screamed in my mind, but I couldn't escape. I clawed at the door as the flames seared my skin. When I was rescued, my body was covered in burns, my skin raw and torn. Outside the operating room, I heard my mother sobbing, repeating, “It’s my fault... I locked the door by accident... I never meant to...” Alpha David, my mate, called for every healer to restore me, but his cold words to my mother were chilling: “If Serina wasn’t so vain and selfish, I wouldn’t have had to do this. Becky was fragile, struggling with depression, yet Serina flaunted her success in front of her. This is what Serina owes her.” David’s actions were meant to pave the way for Becky to become Beta, but I was the one who suffered. He claimed to be treating me well, but destroying my health and future didn’t feel like care. I pressed my hand to my bandaged chest, the numbness spreading. Emma growled inside me, weakened by the wolfsbane. I no longer wanted the love of the mother who betrayed me or the mate who was supposed to protect me. I wanted nothing from them anymore.

My family was going on a beach trip for summer. My mother came up with the whole itinerary two weeks earlier. My father booked a room with a view of the sea. My brother picked the surfboards, while my sister went with the dresses for socials. I was helping them pack up the night before the trip when I saw the tickets on the coffee table. There were only four of them, and they were for my father, mother, brother, and sister. They didn't get one for me. My mother saw me, and she froze. "Oh, I forgot all about you." My brother didn't even look up. "She can just stay at home." My sister said quietly, "Maybe I shouldn't go, then?" My mother quickly took her side. "No. You've been looking forward to this." My father clapped my shoulder. "You can't go this time, but we'll bring you along for the next trip." I smiled bitterly at the tickets. They went to the beach the next day. I grabbed the 10 million from my lottery winnings and went to Aocity, a place more than a thousand miles away. Our choices marked the day we went our separate ways, forever.

100 days before the SAT, I drowned and woke up as a lowly maid in an ancient royal household. After I accidentally stained the head housekeeper's clothes, she crushed my right hand, the one I used for writing. For the whole 100 days, I did whatever it took to survive in this rigid old-world society. I ate dog food, slept in a woodshed, and was even forced to empty chamber pots for the entire household. While I was made to collect firewood from the rockery in the backyard, I overheard two armed guards chatting as they smoked. "She's in this situation because she's the biological daughter who was just brought back," one of the guards said. He continued, "To make sure the Steeles' other daughter gets the one chance that can secure her place at Arvona University, Mr. Locke spends tens of millions to rent out this entire film studio and keeps her trapped here as a maid. "Once the SAT ends at 5:00 pm tomorrow, it'll be too late to change anything, and this whole act will be over." The firewood in my arms fell to the ground, and I felt a chill ran through me. Ezra Locke, my childhood sweetheart and boyfriend, did all this just to give Rhea Steele that one chance at Arvona University. However, they still didn't know that I already had a guaranteed admission offer from Jeston University. The next night, as the entire household lined up to welcome the young lord and his cousin, I looked up for the first time and locked eyes with Ezra. He was dressed like royalty. My voice was hoarse as I called out, "Ezra, you spend millions hiring hundreds of actors to put on this act with me. Do you really think this is fun?"

My name is Elvira Rossi, daughter of Don Rossi, head of the Itavelle mafia family. Three months ago, my father was killed. Our operations were stripped bare, nothing left. The accounts were draining fast, and the family still had mouths to feed. Then a DNA report surfaced out of nowhere. According to it, I was the LaRosa family's long‑lost true heiress, missing for eighteen years. Money, at last, had found its way to me. For the sake of my people, I was willing to set aside my pride and play the part of a sheltered heiress. The car sent to escort me back to the estate broke down halfway up the mountain? I steadied it with one hand and carried it the rest of the way to the hilltop manor. The fake heiress dissolved into tears, accusing me of pushing her? I answered by striking the century-old tree in the courtyard, splitting it clean through. She went silent immediately. My fiancé sent bodyguards to "teach me self‑defense"? My two friends politely introduced them to the concept of being permanently embedded in a wall. As my so‑called "family" shook in fear, my knuckles cracked softly. After all, before inheriting the mafia, I inherited my father's favorite rule: "If violence can solve it, don't waste words."

After the SAT, the five of us childhood friends got together and played a game to test how well we knew each other. In the first round, my best friend, Millie Thyme, asked, “If one of us was stranded in the countryside in the middle of the night, who would you rescue first?” The three boys, all of whom others had teased to be my future husbands since we were kids, wrote her name without hesitation. Someone joked that they had read each other’s minds. Millie’s face turned red as she explained, “Maybe because I’m the biggest scaredy-cat. Hailey is so capable. She wouldn’t need anyone to rescue her.” They all nodded in agreement. However, they had forgotten that when I was stranded in the mountains at 16, they were the ones who braved a torrential downpour to find me, then fought over who would carry me down the mountain. Back then, they told me, “No matter what happens, we’ll always choose you first.” In the second round, it was my turn to ask a question. I looked at them and smiled as I read the card aloud, “If only four of the five of us could go to college together, who would you leave behind?” The room instantly went quiet. Millie bit her lip and was the first to flip over her answer board. Her own name was written on it. However, when the other three boards were revealed, every single one had my name on it. Marcus Hayes, the one who had always cared about me the most, said first, “It’s just a game. You won't actually take this seriously, will you?” Ryan quickly chimed in, “Millie isn’t in the best of health. She can’t handle going to some unfamiliar city by herself.” Julian gently ruffled my hair, his voice as warm as ever. “You’re applying to a college here anyway, so you'd be coming home every day anyway. It’s not like we’d actually be leaving you behind.” I stared at the four answer boards and suddenly smiled. What they did not know was that I never even applied to the local college they thought I would be attending…

A hospital's medication error leaves me in a vegetative state. My father, a renowned medical expert, lies under oath to protect the hospital because the doctor responsible is the only son of his longtime mentor. When reporters confront him, he calmly declares, "My daughter has suffered from allergies since childhood. What happened to her is simply bad luck. The doctor did nothing wrong, and the hospital shouldn't be blamed for something beyond its control." The man who destroyed my life walks away without consequences. I lie helpless in my hospital bed, hearing every word. Unable to move anything but my eyes, I turn my gaze toward the euthanasia consent form in my mother's hands.

After my sister finished cutting the cake on her 18th birthday, she pouted and suggested we play hide-and-seek. Just before the blindfold went on, I saw her exchange a look with our parents. I did not think much of it. Not until I finished counting to one hundred, pulled off the blindfold, and found the entire villa empty. I called my parents again and again. Every call was cut off, so I opened social media. One minute earlier, my sister had posted a photo. In the photo, she and our parents were wearing sunglasses, lounging on beach chairs in Chesroy Isles. The caption read, 'Escaping the heat abroad with family. How nice!' I did not even need to check to know what my mother had commented. 'Don't tease her like that next time. She's already pitiful enough being ugly.' Except there would always be a next time. And every time would be worse than the last. I stared at the ocean in the photo. Then, all at once, I felt there was no need to feel wronged anymore. I turned off my phone and picked up my suitcase. There were three hours left before my flight overseas—before I cut ties with them for good. From now on, the three of them could enjoy themselves without me.

Mom buys a four-thousand-dollar laptop for my sister, Scarlett Lowine, when we're shopping for school supplies. Dad chooses a luggage bag for her while my brother, Christopher Lowine, buys a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for her. My childhood friend, Jasper Greeson, crouches in front of a shelf, comparing eye-caring desk lamps with a serious look on his face. "Gabby has bad eyes. This lamp's brightness is perfect for her." A warm sensation spreads through my chest. However, the feeling only lasts for a few seconds before Jasper places the lamp in Scarlett's shopping cart. "Be sure not to tire yourself out when you're doing revisions at night, Scarlett," he says, smiling. I stand on the side with my empty shopping cart, feeling like an outsider who's just responsible for watching over their bags. "Aren't you going to buy your supplies too, miss?" the cashier asks. Mom seems to only remember my existence then. She frowns as she looks at me and asks, "Your things are still working, right? They're fine as long as you can use them during university." I look down at the note app on my phone. For the past year, I've written down a list of things that I want to buy for university, including a laptop, bed drapes, a desk lamp, a luggage bag, a pair of sneakers, and more. I've also noted down the price for every item. However, nearly every item on the list has been crossed out. They tell me that Scarlett has a weak constitution, so they need to take care of her. They tell me that it's fine for me to endure a little hardship because I have good results. But they don't know that I've already used my scholarship money to buy a plane ticket to another city. As they pack Scarlett's luggage bag until it's bursting, I'm finally going to erase every trace of myself from this family.

The seventh time my parents asked my brother, Ethan Parker, to blow out the candles on my birthday cake for me, I finally broke down. Ever since Ethan came back after being missing for three years, I had become the most insignificant person in the family. In a fit of anger, I ran down to the river outside the restaurant. I wanted to use my own life to make my parents understand how much they had hurt me. Ethan was dressed in an expensive suit. His eyes turned teary with guilt. “I’m sorry, Xeno. I know I never should’ve come back and taken Mom and Dad away from you.” The next second, before anyone could react, he climbed over the railing and jumped into the river. My parents searched for him day and night for three days, but they could not find his body. They looked worn out after that. Our family’s financial situation also grew worse by the day. From that day on, they devoted all their love and attention to me. I knew I had benefited from a terrible tragedy, and the guilt stayed with me. When I started college, I worked as hard as I could to pay for my own tuition and help support my parents. I thought our family would live a quiet, ordinary life from then on. Finally, the day came when I graduated from college. I went home early because I wanted to surprise my parents. Instead, I saw them outside an upscale restaurant near our house. They were dressed in expensive clothes, and Ethan was with them. Dad gave Ethan an affectionate pat on the shoulder and said, “This time, stay a few extra days when you travel around Avelon. “Xeno will be home soon, so we won’t be able to go out with you. If you need money, just ask us.” For a moment, the whole world seemed to spin around me. That night, I opened my email and looked through the job offers I had received. I chose the one that would take me the farthest from home.

My mother always says, "Children are like little tree branches. If you don't prune them, they'll grow crooked." I'm the tree that's been pruned until nothing but the trunk remains. Ever since I was five, I've been told not to laugh when I'm happy because it means I'm getting carried away with myself. I'm not allowed to cry when someone bullies me because, as my mother says, "There is no smoke without fire." In other words, if I'm being bullied, I must have done something to deserve it. When I score 98 on a test, my parents only ask, "How did you lose those two points? Did you get complacent and make mistakes?" When relatives praise me for being well-behaved, my parents interrupt them in front of everyone and say, "She's just putting on an act. She's an absolute lazy bum at home. Don't let her fool you." Over time, I learn to bury every emotion deep inside and turn myself into the perfect creation my parents want me to be.