Bias Familial Bond Short Stories & Novels

To force me to hand over my adopted sister Cecilia Lovelace's lost diamond bracelet, my older brother, Callum Lovelace, locks me in the underground wine cellar. I have severe claustrophobia and heart failure. The moment the iron door clicks shut and locks from the outside, my chest tightens. I throw myself against the door and pound on it frantically. My fingernails scrape against the metal, producing an ear-splitting screech. Cecilia's plaintive voice crackles through the surveillance intercom in the corner. "Forget it, Callum. I won't look for my bracelet anymore. The way Carol was banging on the door earlier was terrifying… Let's not push her too far." Callum's voice is as cold as ice. "She slept in a windowless basement in the countryside until she was 13, and now she expects me to believe she's developed claustrophobia after returning home? She had plenty of strength to pound on the door a moment ago. "Now, she's gone silent because she knows she can't get anywhere with brute force, so she's putting on an act to make me feel sorry for her. Ignore her. Let her keep up the act in there!" I claw at the door until my fingernails split. Then, I slide down until my body hits the floor. My heart finally stops beating. When I open my eyes again, I'm floating in midair inside the surveillance room. Callum leans back in his leather chair, staring coldly at the monitor. "I know her all too well. Caroline will be begging me to let her out before half an hour's up!" he scoffs. I lie motionless behind the wine cellar door on the screen. He's still waiting for me to swallow my pride and beg for mercy, but I'm already standing right behind him. I'm dead, Callum. How am I supposed to beg for mercy now?

I scored 717 on my college entrance exam. My childhood best friend, Logan Harwick, scored a perfect 735, which made him the highest scorer in the entire state. The day we planned to submit our college applications together, he did not show up. Then I received his text. "Your sister bombed her exams, and she is not handling it well. She tried to hurt herself. I have to stay and repeat senior year with her. "Can we push Edgemont back a year? We both stay, repeat the year with her, and retake the test. "You will have to come up with something to tell the family. Just do not say anything that will set her off. Tell them you had bad test anxiety and did not score well either." I sent back one word. "Okay." That became a promise I had no intention of keeping. Almost immediately, my stepsister posted on social media. The photo showed two hands wearing matching couple bracelets, fingers intertwined. Beside them sat an enrollment brochure for a local high school repeat‑year program. The caption read, "He told me that no matter what the future holds, he will always stay for me." The comments came from Logan’s friends. They congratulated him on finally making a move and hyped him up for making their relationship official. None of them mentioned me. It felt as if the plan to attend Edgemont had always been meant for the two of them, and I had never been part of it. I submitted my application to Edgemont University without hesitation, liked her post, and left one comment. "Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness!"

At school, I had a nickname. They called me "Mister Wait-Your-Turn." I waited for the sneakers my brother had grown tired of, the backpack my sister thought was ugly, and the phones my parents had already cracked the screens of. Even when it came to taking a shower, I had to wait until everyone else was done. A week ago, Mom had promised me, "On the day of your college entrance exam, you won't have to wait your turn for the shower." So when I finally stumbled into the bathroom, drenched in sweat and smelling awful, I thought my turn had finally come. I was halfway through working up a lather when someone started pounding on the door. "Come out. Let your brother go in." My eyes stung, and I couldn't tell whether it was from the steam or something else. I stood there without moving and gritted my teeth. "But you said I wouldn't have to wait on the day of my exam..." The pounding grew louder. Mom's voice came through the door, edged with impatience. "Let your brother go first. You can wait a little longer!" My hair was still covered in foam, and I'd barely managed to pull my sweat-soaked clothes back on when Mom dragged me out. My brother smiled at me. It was the kind of smile that seemed to say sorry, but there was far more triumph than apology in it. He said he wouldn't take long. His version of "not long" was eighty minutes. By then, my sweat-soaked clothes had dried completely, and the foam in my hair had dried up. After my brother came my sister. After Mom came Dad. The temperature on the water heater dropped from 113°F to 32°F. That was the moment I decided I was done waiting.

My cousin, Zoe Parker, stood in the doorway of my apartment with her arms crossed. “I’m doing you a favor by staying here and giving you the chance to help me, so don’t stand there pretending to be generous when you’re actually being petty. Who are you trying to fool?” A month ago, she clung to my hand and swore that she would live here alone and study quietly for the college entrance exam. My heart softened. I did not charge her rent and did not even ask for a security deposit. I came home to pick up some documents today, only to discover that the locks had been changed. She had not just moved in. She had moved her entire family, and their dog, into my apartment. My handmade wool rug had been soaked in dog urine. The covers had been ripped off my out-of-print books. My silk pajama set worth nearly three thousand dollars had been used as a cleaning rag. I confronted them in the family group chat, demanding to know who had changed the locks and why my belongings had been ruined. My aunt was the first to fire back. “Do you have any idea how hard your cousin is working for the college entrance exam? What’s wrong with a family staying in your empty apartment?” One relative after another piled on, calling me stingy, heartless, and even saying that with an attitude like mine, I would never find a husband. However, that was not even the worst of it. They had barely been living there for a few days when they managed to break a water pipe. Water leaked into the apartment downstairs, soaking the neighbor’s balcony and causing thousands of dollars in damage. Somehow, they expected me to pay the five-thousand-dollar repair bill. I stared at the messages flooding across my screen, one cruel accusation after another. Then, I picked up my phone and called the property management office.

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.

I had known from a young age that I wasn't the Blackwood family's biological daughter. So I knew that I wasn't worthy of being compared with Claire Blackwood in any way. I had only gotten her doll dirty while cleaning the room, yet Mom punished me by locking me out in the rain all night. When Claire blinded one of my eyes with a laser pointer, however, Mom protected her instead. “Your sister didn't mean to do it. She was just playing around.” After I lost sight in my right eye, Claire showed me a triumphant smile. “Who told you to enter our lives in the first place? You deserve it.” They all said I was an outsider. So for eighteen years, no matter how hard I tried or how desperately I pleased them, I could never fit into this family. Until one day, by a twist of fate, I learned an outrageous truth. The DNA test clearly stated that I was my mother's biological daughter, while my younger sister was the adopted one. At that moment, it felt as though I had stopped breathing.

The fake heiress was dead. My biological parents believed I was responsible. Together, they reported me to the authorities and demanded that my memories be extracted. After watching my memories, everyone broke down in tears. But I smiled. This was exactly what I wanted. To become the perfect victim.

Three months after my biological parents brought me home, I came down with a dangerously high fever. When I finally woke up, something was different about my eyes. I could suddenly see the "ultimate beneficiary" of every gift I received. My birth mother came into my room with a bottle of supplements and took my hand, guilt written all over her face. "I know I haven't treated you fairly since you came home. I've spent too much time worrying about Cassidy. I want to make that right." But hovering above the bottle was a line of glowing blue text. [Ultimate Beneficiary: Cassidy Lynch.] She was the daughter my parents adopted. [Hidden Purpose: Get Evelyn healthy enough for next week's bone marrow procedure.] A chill ran through me, but I kept my expression blank and pretended I hadn't seen a thing. Over the next few days, my family treated me so well that it was almost unsettling. The designer dress my brother gave me came with its own label. [Beneficiary: Cassidy. [Purpose: Make Cassidy look polished and elegant by making Evelyn look tacky beside her at the family reception.] Then my father transferred shares in the family company into my name. Another label appeared. [Beneficiary: Cassidy. [Purpose: Put Evelyn as the company's legal representative so she takes the fall when a 600 million-dollar tax fraud scandal breaks.] Then tonight, my brother, who had never been able to stand me, suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, his eyes red with tears. "We're sending Cassidy abroad tomorrow. From now on, you're the only sister I care about." At that exact moment, a huge scarlet warning flashed above his head so violently that my eyes began to ache. [Ultimate Beneficiary: Cassidy. [Final Purpose: Keep Evelyn unsuspecting long enough to get her signature on the organ donation paperwork tomorrow.]

I drove my car to a friend's auto repair shop for a routine inspection after my father, Nathan Ashley, finally returned it. He'd borrowed it for a month and even stuffed the trunk with boxes of local specialties from his hometown. A few minutes later, my friend slid out from beneath the car, his face drained of color. "Lyla, who did you piss off? Someone cut halfway through your brake line." A chill raced through my body as I pulled out my phone and called my father. "Dad, someone cut my brake line." The sound of poker chips clacking echoed through the phone. He answered without the slightest concern, "Oh. I had Lillian do it. That old junker of yours was falling apart anyway." My voice trembled. "Why? Do you have any idea that could've killed someone?" His tone stayed perfectly calm. "Lillian's dating a guy from the city. His family wants an $80,000 dowry. Where am I supposed to come up with that kind of money? "Doesn't your company pay for one of those accident insurance policies? I heard it pays out up to a million. "I only told Lillian to cut the brake line a little. It wasn't going to kill you. That insurance payout would've made the perfect dowry for her."

On the day that the Bentleys' biological daughter, Serena Bentley, came home, she deliberately slashed her own arm and burst into tears, accusing me of doing it. Without asking a single question, my adoptive mother, Whitney Bentley, slapped me across the face. When I looked back at her, I saw something impossible floating above her head. [Luck: 8%] [Investment collapses in 3 days. Debt: $10 million.] My gaze shifted to the long-lost Serena who stood there, trembling with tears streaming down her face. "I'm sure Addison didn't mean to do it," she whispered. "Please don't make her leave. I can handle being hurt..." Mom, who had once treasured me like her own daughter, now looked at me with nothing but disgust. "You stole Serena's life for twenty years, and now you've gone so far as to cut her with a knife? How could you be this vicious?" My oldest brother, Conor Bentley, hurled my suitcase out the front door. "Get out! Right now! We don't have room for an ungrateful snake like you!" I didn't argue. Instead, I quietly looked at the words floating above his head. [Luck: 5%] [Chain-reaction car crash in 2 hours. Both legs amputated.] I touched my throbbing cheek, then slowly tore up the good-luck charm I'd gotten for them. Then I picked up my suitcase. "Fine. I'm leaving." The moment the front door slammed shut behind me, the number above Serena's head flickered. [Luck: 85%] [Continuously siphoning the Bentley family's Luck.]

After my sister Rose died, my Luna Mom remained consumed by the immense grief of losing her daughter. So, from the moment I was old enough to understand, I was forced to play the role of my sister. Mom forbade me from wearing white, because my sister's favorite color was red. She forbade me from cutting my hair short, because my sister wore hers long. If I disobeyed, a slap would come across my face, and she would question whether I was truly her daughter. Alpha Dad told me again and again that Mom was overwhelmed by grief, and that I should indulge her and play along. I obediently followed suit, imitating my sister in everything. Until the day I was accepted into the Werewolf Academy, and Mom tore my admission letter to shreds. "Your sister died before she ever got to attend the Werewolf Academy, so you are not allowed to go either!" I nodded. Back then, my sister died of spirit decay. Now the healer has told me I'm in the final stages too. This time, I will be her perfectly.

On my eighteenth birthday, my three adoptive brothers gave me a present—a stray she-wolf. My eldest brother, Caine, said her obedience might finally tame my vicious temper. Rhael said her delicate nature would make my rough strength stand out even more. Lucian said her beauty might distract everyone from how plain I was. But that she-wolf had only one ambition: to become a Luna. When a blind Alpha from a distant pack came seeking a bride, she volunteered to marry him in my place. She never made it. Worn down by the grueling journey, she died along the way. My brothers were consumed by grief. When an enemy pack attacked, they threw me into the enemy ranks with their own hands. I stared at them in disbelief. Caine accused me, “You knew Sophia might die. That’s why you let her take your place without a second thought!” Rhael glared at me with hatred. “You love throwing your status around and bullying others, don’t you? Today, you’ll learn what it feels like to be completely at someone else’s mercy!” Lucian turned to the wolves around us and ordered, “No one helps her. I want her to know what it feels like to be abandoned by everyone!” When I died, there wasn’t enough left of my body to piece together. Then I opened my eyes—and found myself back on the day Sophia volunteered to marry in my place. Remembering how my three brothers had shielded her behind them in my previous life, I smiled. “Father, I’ll marry him.” Father frowned. “Knox is blind and brutal. Are you sure?” “I’m sure.” Since my brothers couldn’t bear to part with Sophia, they could stay with her forever.

I was the most beloved youngest daughter of the Sun Palace. When my father, Apollo, began arranging my wedding, my three brothers were certain the bride promised to Hephaestus, the Fire God of the Northern Realm, was Daphne, a mortal girl he had adopted from the human world. They took my wedding gown, my red-gold crown, even the Sunset Cloud Sea, and used them all for Daphne's wedding. I told them I was the bride. My eldest brother Orion scoffed, "Father spoils you enough to pluck the stars for you. Why would he ever let you marry a crippled Fire God with a shattered divine core?" My second brother Pyron looked at me with disappointment. "Daphne is about to get married. Are you really going to take her one and only wedding away from her?" My third brother Zephyros stepped in front of her. "You have everything. All she has is us. If you keep fighting for attention, we'll make sure you can't even set foot in the wedding hall." They thought I was just fighting for attention, and they believed that no matter how unfairly they treated me, I would always stay at the Sun Palace. That certainty lasted until the wedding day, when Hephaestus descended from his molten-gold chariot and reached out his hand to me before all the gods. "Helias, I've come to marry you."

After graduating from high school, my twin sister, Ella, and I were both accepted to Newland University. My parents put eighty thousand dollars in Ella's college fund and gave her a three-thousand-dollar monthly allowance, but put only eight thousand in mine and gave me three hundred a month. They took it for granted that I would move to Newland to look after her. The day the whole family threw a graduation party for my sister, I boarded a flight to the West Coast with a single suitcase and a full scholarship to one of the country's top engineering schools. What they didn't know was that the reporter who showed up that afternoon to interview "the outstanding Ashford graduate" had never been looking for my sister. The person they wanted was me, the daughter they'd already pushed out the door.

When my elder sister, Melanie Grant, is 15, I inadvertently cause the death of our parents. I want to eat cake, so Mom and Dad make a U-turn halfway. Tragically, a drunk driver behind the wheel of a heavy-duty truck takes their lives on the spot. I suffer a severe blow to the head, causing my mental capacity to regress to that of a seven-year-old. Alone, Melanie buries Mom and Dad. When the orphanage offers to take me in, she holds back her tears and shakes her head. "My little brother needs me." Everyone believes she simply cannot bear to lose all her family members at once, but they assume that sooner or later, she'll remember what I've done and send me to the orphanage. Over the next decade, she takes me with her everywhere, from school to work. She even adopts another brother to help take care of me. One day, our little brother, Noah Cooper, burns his hand while pouring me a cup of hot water. Melanie suddenly shoves me to the floor. "It's been ten years! Haven't you had enough?" she barks. "I gave up my education and a good job for you! Why do you keep hurting us? You should've just died! Without you, all of us would be happier!" I don't understand why Melanie is so angry. But what I do know is that I must listen to her.

Three days after my mom died, the hospital called. "Mr. Carter, your mother has an outstanding balance of $1,873.60. Please come in and pay it as soon as possible." What? I stared at my mom's body. They had to have the wrong person. I'd paid every bill before she was discharged. She was supposed to be cremated and buried today. How could she still owe money? The person on the phone clicked their tongue. "Her family is responsible for the bill! She received treatment, so someone has to pay for it. It's $1,873.60." "Are you sure that's for Winona Carter?" "Yes. Come quickly."

I am the only person who refuses to abandon Sophia Quinlan when she gets kicked out of the Quinlan family. I work to expand her network, secure funding, and piece together a business empire of our own over these six years. Zachary Lund, her first love, returns from abroad on the very day she becomes the CEO of Quinlan Group. I spend six years busting my back for her, while Zachary spends those same six years keeping her company from halfway across the world. She begins to regret marrying me so early, so she secretly goes behind my back and promotes Zachary to be her personal secretary. Later on, a business rival Sophia has backed into a corner suddenly barges into the banquet carrying an improvised bomb. The crowd scatters in panic. Zachary doesn't even hesitate to leave her behind, breaking free of her grip and running for his own safety. I am the only one who stays behind to protect her from the blast, leaving my body completely shredded from the explosion. In the last moments of my life, I cough up blood and hold onto her hand as I ask the question I have kept inside for six years. "Have you ever, in the past six years—" Sophia pulls her hand away from mine before I can finish speaking. She runs toward Zachary, who is screaming over a scratch on his arm from the shrapnel. It turns out the answer is right in front of me the whole time, making the question pointless. I close my eyes for good this time, a smile of relief creeping onto my face. When I open my eyes, I find myself back on the luxury cruise ship on the day of my wedding with Sophia. I take off my boutonniere without a second thought, strip off my wedding suit, and plunge right into the sea to run away from the wedding. I notice a sea of people gathered just as I reach the shore, with loudspeakers blasting the wedding march. It is then that a woman clad in a wedding dress walks up to me and asks, "Will you marry me, Robert Lister?"

On the day my parents file for bankruptcy, my adopted brother and fake heir, Oliver Bilson, is also diagnosed with leukemia. To earn enough money to pay his medical bills, I brave the snow and winds and continue working even on New Year's Eve. When I hand over the food delivery to the scion, Charlie Jetton, he suddenly knocks the cake over. "Why weren't you more careful when making the delivery?" he demands. "Don't you know that Mr. Bilson spent a million dollars to specifically order this cake for Olly?" I'm about to make a retort when I hear three voices that I'm intimately familiar with coming from within the warm villa. "It's okay. It's the thought that counts, Mom and Dad." The voice belongs to none other than Oliver! Dad, who claims that our family has gone bankrupt and is saddled with a mountain of debt, proudly says, "You're so mature, Olly. I'm going to give you an island to reward you!" Mom, who has always been frugal, gently adds, "My one and only, precious son is so understanding. I'll give you my golf club in Masonila, so don't be angry, alright?" My phone chimes just as the cake lands next to my feet, informing me that I have received a bad review. Later, I cut ties with them and leave with my advisor, Richard Dyer. However, when Mom and Dad find out that I'm leaving, they fall to their knees and frantically beg me to stay as if they have completely lost their minds.

After my brother and fake heir, Damon Stewart, runs someone over, he frames me for it. My fiancee immediately breaks off our engagement and marries him. I'm facing prison time, but Crystal Morgan—my childhood sweetheart who's also a lawyer—resolutely chooses to marry me. She works tirelessly to clear my name, and eventually she gets Damon sent to prison. However, her family runs into financial trouble, and her ailing mother is facing prison time herself. To repay a debt of gratitude, I, an accountant, take the blame for the crime and spend seven years in prison. But on the day I'm released, I overhear Crystal and her mother, Lilian Murphy, talking from behind the gates. "Crystal, Elijah loves you so deeply. If he knew that you married him to get Damon off the hook and sign the leniency agreement for his parents' deaths, how heartbroken would he be?" Lilian questions angrily. "I didn't want to either, but his parents are already dead," Crystal replies. I feel my mind reeling. Damon is the one who killed my parents? Lilian sighs. "You signed the leniency agreement, so Damon didn't even have to go to prison. Why did you still frame Elijah and send him to prison?" "If I didn't send him to prison, there was no way we could keep the truth hidden. What, was I supposed to sit back and watch Damon spend seven years behind bars?" My heart clenches painfully. Seven of the best years of my life were spent behind four prison walls, all for Damon's sake. It turns out the mutual love I thought we shared is nothing but a lie. Since that's the case, I'm done with Crystal.

My wealthy parents, Derek Miller and Veronica Wright, worry that my brother Wilbur Miller and I will abuse our power and status. To prevent this, they assign us to their aviation company, forcing us to work the longest and most exhausting flights. During one flight to Kampland, a riot breaks out in the country, and the return flight is canceled. I call Mom and Dad, begging them to send a plane to bring Wilbur and me home, but they rebuke me coldly. "William Miller, fearlessness in the face of danger is the most basic quality of a flight attendant! Stop thinking about running away from your problems! You will return only when that return flight does." Desperate, Wilbur and I pull every string we can to buy tickets back home. But on the day of departure, my phone shows that our tickets are canceled and refunded. Just as I'm about to call the airline, Mom and Dad call instead. "If everyone else is staying, then why the hell should you get special treatment? I've already refunded the tickets. Don't even think about coming back by any means other than that return flight!" With that, they hang up and block us from purchasing any more tickets. Later, everyone else stranded abroad is safely sent home except for Wilbur and me. Wilbur is accidentally killed in the riots, while I am rescued by the embassy at the very brink of death. As I numbly handle Wilbur's funeral arrangements, I see a post online from my adopted younger brother, Corbin Miller. "I have the best parents in the world! They are so worried I'll get into danger abroad that they sent ten planes to escort me home!" This time, I don't make a scene. Instead, I calmly like the post and comment, "Your parents are so good to you. I wish the three of you a lifetime of happiness as a family."