Chapter 3

I stared at the message, and my chest tightened so hard I couldn't breathe.

Adam and I had been engaged before I was even born.

After the Fosters brought me back into the family, the Reeds didn't object right away.

Adam had always kept a polite distance, treating me with cool courtesy but nothing more.

I thought he was at least neutral.

I thought he might be the only person in this cold family who would see me as an equal.

I was wrong about everything.

My hands shook as I typed out a reply: [Why?]

Moments later, his call came through.

I answered but stayed silent, waiting.

Adam's voice sounded gentle on the other end, but exhaustion threaded through every word. "Olivia, please don't ask why. We're just not right for each other."

I laughed bitterly. "Not right for each other? Is it because I 'hurt' Emily today? Because you think I'm cruel?"

He quickly denied it, but his voice lacked conviction. "No, that's not it. Emily's health has always been fragile, and she's sheltered. Don't blame her for this."

There it was again. Everyone treated Emily like some precious treasure that needed protecting, while I was supposed to be an unbreakable stone.

I cut him off. "Adam, you're in love with her, aren't you?"

Silence stretched across the line.

His silence hurt worse than any answer he could've given.

"Olivia, what I feel for Emily is just what a brother feels for his sister," he finally said, and his voice sounded hollow.

"Really?" I asked quietly. "Then can you look me in the eye and tell me you never had feelings for her? Not even once?"

He went silent again.

I laughed, and tears started streaming down my face. "Adam, you don't need to say anything else. I get it now. I hope you two are really happy together."

I hung up before he could respond and blocked his number right after.

Once I'd done all that, I felt completely drained, and I curled up on the cold floor with nothing left in me.

That night, I dreamed for what felt like hours.

In the dream, I was back in the countryside, back in that little yard that was poor but filled with warmth.

My adoptive mother sat under the oak tree in the backyard and she was sketching dress patterns while humming a cheerful tune.

She looked up and saw me, and her face lit up as she waved me over. "Olivia, sweetheart, come here! I made you those biscuits you love so much."

I ran to her, crying, and threw myself into her arms.

"Mom, I've missed you so much."

"Oh, silly girl, don't cry," she said gently, and she stroked my hair. "Did someone hurt you?"

I couldn't get the words out, so I just shook my head desperately and kept crying.

The next morning, loud knocking jolted me awake.

It was Kelly Smith, one of the household staff.

"Ms. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Foster want to see you downstairs," she said, her tone cold and businesslike.

I took a moment to compose myself, changed clothes, and headed down.

The living room was full—Julian, Lyla, Charles, and Adam were all there, sitting on the sofas like a panel of judges.

And I was the defendant waiting for my sentence.

Lyla spoke first, slamming a document down on the table. "Olivia, this is a disownment agreement. Sign it, and from this moment on, you'll have nothing to do with the Foster family."

My eyes landed on those brutal words—"disownment"—and a dull ache spread through my chest.

They couldn't wait to be rid of me.

"And this one." Julian pointed at another document with a blank expression. "This is a kidney donation consent form.

"Emily's had kidney problems since she was a kid, and lately it's gotten a lot worse. The doctors say she needs a transplant as soon as possible. You're a perfect match."

My head snapped up, and I stared at him in disbelief.

I asked, "You want me to give Emily my kidney?"

"This isn't a request. It's an order." Charles cut in, his voice ice-cold. "Olivia, you owe Emily this.

"If you hadn't stolen eighteen years of her life, she would've stayed with the Foster family where we could've taken proper care of her. Her health never would've fallen apart like this."

Victim-blaming at its finest. The logic was absurd.

I turned to Adam, who'd been silent this whole time.

He met my gaze, and his eyes flickered away for a second before he finally spoke. His voice came out rough and strained.

"Olivia, I'm begging you. Please save Emily."

I stared at their entitled faces, and something inside me snapped. The whole situation felt absurd.

I laughed.

It started as a low chuckle, but I couldn't control it. The laughter grew louder and wilder.

I doubled over, laughing so hard that tears streamed down my face.

I asked, "What gives you the right?"

I lifted my head and locked eyes with each of them, my vision blurred and red.

"What makes you think you can force me to sign away my family ties with one word?

"What makes you think you can demand my kidney just because you say so?

"Is it because you dragged me back from the countryside? Does that mean my life doesn't matter? Does that mean you get to stomp all over my dignity?"

"How dare you!" Julian slammed his fist on the table and roared. "Olivia, watch your attitude! We're your parents. We gave you life and raised you."

"Gave me life?" I cut him off, my laugh turning bitter. "You lost me for eighteen years. Raised me?

"Every meal I ate, every piece of clothing I wore came from my adoptive parents breaking their backs to provide for me. Did you ever send me a single dollar? Did you ever give me one good day?

"This past year, I've lived like a salve in this house!

"And now you want to cut me open and take my kidney to save your other daughter?

"What the hell are you people made of?"

My voice echoed through the empty living room, raw and broken.

My sudden outburst stunned them all into silence.

Lyla recovered first, and she pointed at me with a trembling hand.

She said, "How dare you? How dare you speak to us like this? You ungrateful little brat. We brought you into this home and gave you everything, and this is how you repay us?"

"Everything?" I pointed at the thrift-store shirt I was wearing. "You call this everything? I sleep in a storage closet and eat whatever the staff doesn't finish, and you're telling me you gave me everything? I'm done with this."

I stepped forward and grabbed the severance papers. "Fine. I'll sign."

Then I picked up the kidney donation consent form. "I'll sign this too."