Bias Familial Bond Short Stories & Novels

My parents believed the best way to instill independence in a child was to split everything fifty-fifty. If breakfast cost ten dollars, I paid five. I owed half of the six hundred dollars in school fees. Even when I had to go to the ER for running a high fever, my parents covered the bill and reminded me, “Get a summer job. Don’t get into the habit of owing money.” For years, I thought they were simply raising me to stand on my own. Then, my little sister, Millie, was born. Mom’s face beamed when Millie kissed her on the cheek once. “There. Now we’re even.” Millie made Dad breakfast one morning, wanting to get piano lessons. Dad happily signed her up right away. Meanwhile, every dime I spent was written down in my parents’ ledger. On my eighteenth birthday, I asked Mom, “Mom, can I get a birthday cake by giving you a massage?” Mom furrowed her brows. “Meadow, you have to pay what you owe. Stop looking for shortcuts “You’re still $1,700.48 behind from last month. When are you going to pay us back?” Holding back my tongue, I clutched the scholarship offer from a university abroad inside my pocket. It wouldn’t be long now. Once I cleared my debt of $1,700.48, I’d owe the family nothing. From then on, she would be no mother of mine.

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…

While the Famiglia is choosing the territories where they will base their operations, everyone gathers around my younger twin sister, Clara Lombardi, to discuss the matter. My older brother, Giulio Lombardi, points at the map. "We're going to Millano, of course. I've already set up several luxury boutiques and real estate firms there. Besides, it's safer in Millano. It's the perfect choice for us!" Nicolo Piazza, the Consigliere, shakes his head in disagreement. "No, Clara. Don't listen to him. We should break into the medical industry together. I can help you turn the Famiglia's entire fortune into legitimate income within the next year." Nicolo and Giulio continue arguing heatedly while Mamma and Papa watch the scene with amused smiles. "Clara, we're not going to have to worry about handing the Famiglia affairs to you with the two of them by your side." A very long time later, they finally remember that I'm also there. Nicolo walks over to me and speaks in a gentle voice. "Julia, you're not familiar with the Famiglia business. So, once Clara makes her decision, you can just tag along with us." Giulio chimes in without even looking up at me. "Right. Besides, it's not like you have good grades anyway. You can wait a couple of years before concerning yourself with the Famiglia affairs." I stand rooted to the spot, a chill spreading deep within me. Even when we were very young, Giulio and Nicolo would always favor Clara over me. Every time she cried, Giulio would immediately give her everything that belonged to me, whether they were my clothes, my shoes, or my toys. Clara also always got everything I ever wanted. Meanwhile, all I got was just a vague promise of, "I'll get you one next time." As it turns out, the situation is still the same even after we've grown up. Nothing has changed. I take out my phone and book a flight to Palerama instead. Since nobody at home cares about me, there's no need for me to see them ever again.

When my sister, Vivian Reed, was diagnosed with a heart condition, the doctors said she was frail and needed extra care. After that, the Reed’s favorite line became, “Your sister is sick. Let her have this.” My brother, Cade dumped my birthday cake in the trash. “She can’t have sweets. You really want to make her watch you eat it?” My father, Don Reed, tore up my invitation to train at the world’s most prestigious tennis club. “She’ll never play again. Don’t rub it in by chasing the career she can’t have.” My fiancé, Rowan, postponed our wedding three times. “Vivian might never get to wear a wedding dress. Think about how she feels. We can wait.” “What about me?” I asked. “When do I get to have a life?” My mother pushed away her untouched dinner. “Elena, if I can’t even make sure Vivian gets the care she needs, what do I have left to live for?” They made me swear on the family Bible that I would never bring up the wedding again. Then Vivian decided she wanted to know what falling in love felt like. Mom decided. “Let Vivan have your fiancé for a few years. You can wait.” “It’s just pretent,” Rowan added. “Nothing’s going to happen between us.” This time, I walked out. I accepted my offer to join the elite training program at Monaco. In seven days, I’d begin training for the pro tour at the world’s top tennis club. They could give Vivian whatever they wanted. I was done giving her my life.

Mom always said my entire life ran on luck. When I ranked first in my class, she said, "You just guessed really well." When I won a gold medal, she said, "The judges must've been blind." When I got into Westridge University, she told everyone, "This kid has no real ability, just good luck!" So on my first day of college, she tossed me a book of scratch cards. "Since your luck's so good anyway, might as well let it handle your living expenses too. "You get one book per semester. However much you scratch off is all you get. "And just so you can't come crying to me about being broke, I'm blocking you now. I'll unblock you next semester." With that, she ignored every one of my desperate pleas and blocked me on every single platform. I wanted to cry but could not even manage tears. All I could do was scratch two cards every day. On good days, I would win 20 to 50 dollars. Most days, I won absolutely nothing. I survived by sneaking expired cookies out of my roommates' trash. By the last week of the semester, I had developed severe anemia. As I used every ounce of strength to scratch the final card, I laughed. Mom was right. My luck really was incredible.

On Mom's death anniversary, drug dealers break into the cemetery and take me away. To get revenge on my brother, Zack Smith—a forensic pathologist—they torture me until there isn't even a single uninjured spot left on my body. I hold on for almost three days, barely surviving, until I finally get a chance to call him for help. However, Zack replied, "Why didn't they kill you for good? A jinx like you who killed your own mother shouldn't be allowed to live!" When the drug dealers notice my action, they shatter all of my bones. The next day, a janitor discovers several large bags of human remains in the trash can. Zack painstakingly reassembles my body back together with his own hands—yet he fails to recognize that it's me, his younger sister he always claims to hate. When the drug dealers are finally arrested, he descends into madness.

My younger sister and I shared a single body, though we each had our own souls. Ever since we were kids, our family decided who got to inhabit the body and who had to hibernate by drawing lots. I always drew the long stick, while Stella always drew the short one. Our family held a new draw every month. Whenever she was the one in the body, our parents and older brother would take her on vacations and road trips around the world. She got to see places I could only ever dream of. Whenever it was my turn to inhabit the body, they locked me inside the house and forced me to stay up all night, studying. I had to endure every hardship in life, from high school entrance exams to college entrance exams. Every challenge that mattered was my responsibility. However, whenever I succeeded, they made sure the next draw favored Stella. She effortlessly walked away with everything I had worked for. One day, she severely injured the daughter of a powerful local thug at school. My brother did not hesitate for a second to make the decision. “Tomorrow’s the first of the month, anyway. Since we’re the ones who decide the draw, switch Stella out. Let her wake up and take the fall for Stella.” Our parents did not object. Trapped deep within our shared body, I let out a bitter laugh. As I watched them protect my sister without a second thought and offer me up as the scapegoat, the last piece of my heart shattered. They did not know I had the choice to enter permanent slumber. I looked at them with a broken heart. From this moment on, I would never again live as Stella’s stepping stone or take the blame for her mistakes.

To teach my little sister, Esther, just how ruthless the online world could be, Mom hacked into my computer. She took all my chat logs, private photos, and even my browsing history, turned them into a PowerPoint presentation, and broadcast the whole thing live. While pointing at my photos, she laughed and said to my sister, "See? This is what men are really like. Your sister got fooled by her ex-boyfriend just like this. You'd better learn from her mistake." Esther suddenly understood. "Thanks, Mom. I get it now! Rebecca, I should thank you too." I stood behind them. My phone screen displayed the explicit messages between Mom and her lover, a personal trainer. I gently tapped the send button while pointing at the livestream camera. "Mom, educating Esther is a good thing. "Why don't we spice up the lesson with some more interesting material?"

On the way to my wedding, our car was ambushed. The guards rushed me and Camilla to our family's private clinic. I was bleeding heavily. Blood completely soaked my bridal gown. My mother Alessia holds absolute power over the family. She took one cold look at me. Then she turned around and called in the top trauma team. She made them examine Camilla over and over, all for a minor scrape on Camilla's forearm from a stray bullet. "Camilla's wound is in plain sight," Alessia snapped. "If this leaves an ugly scar, how will she ever stand among high society?" I begged her to stay. She just brushed me off without a second thought. "You are my flesh and blood. You should be tougher than this. If I save you first, the men will think I am playing favorites with family." "Once I take care of Camilla, I will see to you." She walked away without looking back once. I could feel my life slipping away from me. Weakly, I grabbed Dominic. He had just stripped off his leather gloves. "Dominic, save me... the broken steel beam from the door stabbed right into my chest..." Before I could finish, he shoved my bloody fingers away with pure disgust in his eyes. "You were curled up in the reinforced armored back seat. Camilla was in the front passenger seat with zero cover. How could you be hurt worse than her?" "Gianna, drop the sick jealousy. Do you have to fight Camilla for attention every damn time?" He turned and walked straight into the sterile trauma room. He forgot. When the gunfire erupted, he was the one who yanked the steering wheel to shield Camilla next to him. He swung the car around. He made the back seat take the full hit from the truck. I took every ounce of the deadly impact meant for her. Alessia even cut off the ER doctor during his critical report. She yelled in his face. She accused him of acting along with me to beg for attention. Then she ordered everyone to treat only Camilla's "severe trauma." My vision began to darken. The twisted steel beam bit deep into my ribs.

I've decided to leave the country. I'm done competing with the son my parents raised in my place. I'm done begging them to love me. But the parents who always favored him are suddenly panicking. "Bennett, why don't you fight with your brother for our attention anymore?" A week ago, an earthquake hit while we were on vacation. Dad scooped up the son they'd raised, still fast asleep, and ran for the exit. Even as Mom fled in a panic, she didn't forget to grab the stray dog he'd brought home. They flew back to Port Ellery that same night and posted more than a dozen family photos, celebrating that they'd made it out alive. Not one of them remembered me. I was their real son, and I was still buried under the rubble, waiting to be rescued. That night, I called my mentor. "Professor Everard, I'll go to Valdoria with you. I'm going to settle there, and I'm never coming back."

My dad had been conned by three women in his lifetime. The first broke his heart. The second left him bankrupt. The third got him killed. The day I buried him, I swore I would never make the same mistakes he had. When Eloise Russell asked whether I was interested in becoming her kept man, I pulled out a contract and started negotiating my price. One of her best friends laughed and said, "Traditional gold diggers pretend they don't care about money. They play hard to get so they can squeeze out more later. The new generation just puts a price tag on themselves right away. Now that's smart." I ignored the sarcasm in her voice and focused on calculating how long it would take me to save enough money to start a new life overseas.

Mom said I needed to toughen up, so she made me walk home alone. "You're ten. Everyone else can do it. Why can't you? If you were even half as capable as your cousin, I wouldn't have to worry so much." I shook my head and signed, [I can't hear. Crossing streets isn't safe.] She gave me that look. Total disappointment. Then she walked off with my cousin, Sadie. What Mom didn't know was that before school let out, Sadie had stopped me. Said she was helping Mom make me independent. Then she snatched my hearing aid. Now the whole world was silent. I followed the crowd down the sidewalk. At a small intersection, a car spun out, horn blaring. Everyone scattered. Everyone but me. I couldn't hear it. My spirit rose above the street. Below, my body lay in a pool of blood. Mom... Sorry. I couldn't do this independence thing.

During a game of truth or dare on our family camping trip, my sister Clara chose a dare without hesitation. Our parents immediately praised her for being brave. "Clara's never been afraid of anything, not since she was little. She's our pride and joy." She drew a card, read what was written on it, then looked straight at me with a faint smirk. "The dare says Emma has to call her fiancé right now, break off their engagement, and tell him to date me instead." The campfire crackled. My grip tightened around my phone. Liam Sterling was the man I'd loved for years. But my mother, Helen, walked over and patted me impatiently on the back. "It's just a game. Why are you getting so worked up? Go on, call him. Don't make everyone think you're a sore loser." My father, Richard, cut in coldly. "Can't you be a little more generous? Liam isn't your property. Clara just wants a chance to get to know him. What's wrong with playing along?" Clara pushed the phone toward me, smiling innocently. "Emma, are you scared of a little game?" I said nothing. My eyes dropped to the new message on my screen. "My yacht's waiting for you at the dock." It was from Liam. I was done playing this game. And this time, I wasn't handing over what was mine.

In the Bellini Family, every Principessa received a gemstone at birth. On her eighteenth birthday, the Don set it into her induction crown, granting her the power and protection of the Bellini name. A week before my twin sister Bianca and I turned eighteen, my brother brought home our crowns. Bianca’s glittered with two diamonds. “Why does she have my diamond?” I asked. Marco shrugged. “Bianca wanted more sparkle.” Then he handed me an old crown from the family vault. It was tarnished and missing half its stones. Mother sighed. “It’s still a Bellini crown, Elena. Don’t ruin the induction over a piece of jewelry.” All my life, I had given up one thing after another for Bianca. I thought the induction would finally prove that I belonged to this family too. Instead, they erased me again. My phone vibrated with MIT’s final admission deadline. This time, I pressed ACCEPT. If the Bellinis had no place for me, I would stop sacrificing myself to to remain part of theirs.

Everyone in the Moonshadow Pack knew I was the one person my Alpha mate and my Beta brother cherished most. My brother once built me a tower so I could stand closer to the moonlight. My Alpha once bought me a one-of-a-kind moonstone ring and promised I would be the only woman he ever chose. Then my brother took in an outsider Omega. After that, he forgot our parents' dying wish for him to protect me and gave her the gown that was meant for me. I went to my Alpha in tears, and he held me gently, promising he would always stay by my side. But later, he postponed our Marking Ceremony seven times because of Lia. After losing all hope, I decided to fake my death and leave. But why did they go crazy after I was gone?

My younger sister, Selena Shaw, was born with a weak wolf. The pack healer warns our family that she must not be startled at any cost. Consequently, my own life is forced into a state of stifling silence. To avoid triggering her wolf, I never dare to vent my emotions. Even if I'm injured, I can't cry out in pain. My parents always stroke my head with a look of guilt on their faces. "You're so sensible, Camellia. We need to protect Lena's wolf together. You're very healthy, so you should be more accommodating to her, alright?" One day, while we are out camping with the rest of the pack, I accidentally knock over a stack of firewood, and the noise startles Selena. Her wolf immediately spirals out of control, and she breaks down in hysterical sobs. Furious, Dad shoves me hard and lashes out at me. "Can't you have been more careful? Are you trying to get your own sister killed on purpose?" I stagger back and crash heavily into the rack behind me, where various hunting tools are hung up. A silver hunting knife stabs me right in the back of my chest, behind my heart. However, the rest of my family is busy tending to Selena, who is crying and lashing out hysterically. Nobody turns to look at me at all. I sink to the floor and feel my consciousness dying out. I wonder if my giving up my chance at survival for Selena is accommodating enough for them.

On the night of my 17th birthday, everyone at the Moretti estate was celebrating "Elena Moretti." The real Elena, however, had spent the past nine years locked beneath the old house in the vineyard. As fireworks burst over the main house, Sophia entered the wine cellar wearing the black gown my mother had left behind. She set a silver place card bearing my name in front of me, then slid a slice of birthday cake within reach. She kept the fork. "It's been nine years. How do you still not get it?" She tapped the place card. "You think a birth certificate makes the name Elena worth something? Or some old keepsake you've been hiding all these years? It doesn't." She glanced toward the brightly lit main house above us. "Because out there, I'm the sister they know. Eight armed brothers have my back. Luca keeps me by his side. Samuel calls me Ellie. Leon throws me a birthday party every year." "Whoever the Moretti family protects is the real one." Nine years ago, my parents were killed when their convoy was ambushed. My father's most trusted advisor hid me in this cellar, put his own daughter in my place, and let my eight brothers believe they had found their missing sister. I tried to escape. I wrote letters begging for help. I even tried to force my way out. Each attempt only brought heavier locks and more warnings that if I got out, they'd treat me as an enemy. So this time, I didn't fight back. After Sophia left, I sat in the dark and remembered Luca holding me in his arms when I was little. "No one can take you away from us," he'd told me. I closed my eyes and called to him inside my head. Luca, have you forgotten me all this time? At that exact moment, all eight of my brothers stopped what they were doing in the main house.

I am the last heir of the Eclipse royal line, and the only person in a hundred years who can carry Nyx, the first dark wolf. If I reached adulthood safely, I would become the Eclipse Queen, and every wolf alive would bow to me. But when I was six, rogues broke into the nursery. To save a baby lying in a pool of blood, I shifted into a black wolf in front of everyone, and showed a power that could swallow an Alpha command whole. The Elders were afraid I would lose control, and they wanted me put to death. Agatha Voss, the priestess, had no choice but to seal away my wolf and my memories. She gave me to the Ashbourne family to raise and warned them again and again, "Treat this child well, and never let silver or wolfsbane touch her." My adoptive parents never knew who I was. They thought I was a frail orphan girl with no wolf. Their own daughter was not with them, so they gave me all the love meant for her, and for years they treasured me. Then their biological daughter, Viola Ashbourne, came home. Everything changed. She cut herself and blamed me for it. She faked a pregnancy and took my mate and my place as Luna. My parents believed her. My brothers destroyed the evidence for her. Even Damian Blackwood, my fated mate, marched me into the Silver Cells himself. They knew the wolfsbane was killing me, and they still turned around and went to Viola's coronation, and left me to take my last breath alone. The moment my heart stopped, every memory taken from me nineteen years ago came back, and deep in my chest a second wolf heart began to beat. In the Forsaken Pit, I opened golden eyes, their pupils narrowed to slits. The adopted daughter they had despised until her death was gone. The queen they should have knelt to all along had awakened in her place.

During the ten years since I was found and brought to my biological family, Sonia Baxter, the girl who took my place, and I have been as close as real sisters. Even Mom says that Sonia cares more about me than a real sister would. I once swore I'd give my life to protect our special family of four. When Sonia is rushed into emergency surgery with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, I am in my office, calmly practicing a basic suturing technique on a surgical simulator. On the screen, the robotic arm threads the needle with such precision that it looks like a work of art. A few minutes later, my boyfriend, Oliver Lyons, slams open the office door and shouts at me, "Amelia Baxter! Sonia's in critical condition. Only your micro-dissection skills can save her! Every expert in the hospital is waiting for you! We've got less than an hour before the window closes!" He looks at me with hopeful eyes. I'm the only person in the country capable of performing a surgery this complex. My hands are even known as the "Hands of God". However, I simply reply with a hum and continue fiddling with the model. Suddenly, my parents rush in. Mom grabs my arm and cries out, "Amelia! That's your sister in there! How could you just stand by and watch her die?" I gently pull away from her and hold my right hand out in front of them. This hand, which had once created countless medical miracles, is now trembling slightly. "Unfortunately, since yesterday, I've been showing symptoms of essential tremor. Dad, Mom… this hand is ruined."

When the deep freeze hit, my parents took my younger sister, Jayla Wilson, and all our supplies to a shelter, leaving me with nothing but my mentally unstable uncle. "There are only three spots for our family on the evacuation list. Jayla is still young. She has to come with us." Mom shoved the last ration bar into Jayla's pocket before pointing at the man chained up in the corner. "You can stay here with this useless burden and wait for the next rescue team." I looked at the man shivering in the corner. He was my Uncle Xavier, once a genius in physics. A physics experiment had cost him one hand and driven him mad. From then on, he had become the family disgrace. "Mom, are you sure?" I surveyed the completely emptied basement, then pointed at my uncle. "I suggest you take Uncle Xavier with you and leave Jayla behind." "Are you insane? I don't even want you! Why would I take that useless cripple?" Watching my family flee in a panic, I smiled. I just hoped they wouldn't regret their decision. After all, the useless burden they'd abandoned was the only hope of survival in this frozen apocalypse...