Ethereal
When the Kane brothers turned eighteen, my father asked my adopted sister, Bianca, and me to choose one of them as our personal guard. Their father had died protecting mine, and my family had raised them inside the Moretti estate ever since.
Gabriel chose Bianca.
I was left with Julian—a silent, deeply traumatized boy everyone believed had lost his voice in the shooting that killed his parents.
For seven years, I took him to specialists, learned sign language, and trained to protect myself because I didn't want my family to cast him out for being unable to speak.
Then our yacht sank.
Julian tore the last survival suit from my body and gave it to Bianca. As I drowned, he spoke to me for the first time.
"I'm sorry, Elena. I want Bianca to live. If we have another life, I'll repay the one I owe you."
When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day we chose our guards.
But this time, I would never choose him again.