Chapter 1

Six years had passed since I was kicked out of my family.

I ran into my brother, Philip Moore, who was throwing a birthday party for my adopted sister, Dakota Moore.

I was just going to set down the champagne and head out.

But someone deliberately stuck out their foot and tripped me.

The champagne went everywhere.

The man's eyes lingered on my waist as he spoke, "Is this how you do your job? Do you even know how much this glass costs?

"You're just a lowly server, but you've got a pretty nice body. We're feeling generous tonight. Take off a piece of clothing, and we'll knock ten grand off the price."

As soon as he finished talking, I took off my coat without a second thought.

Philip's expression turned icy. "Is this what you've become after leaving the family?"

I didn't show any emotion.

I spoke in a flat tone, "If I take off a few more things, will you pay me extra?"

After all, just another 7,000 dollars, and I could finally afford a new heart before this one gave out.

*****

The private room went quiet for a moment.

Someone recognized me.

I was that infamous heiress, the one who got her leg broken and was thrown out of the Moore family years ago.

All eyes turned to Philip, who sat at the head of the table. Everyone immediately began sizing him up with cautious looks.

He lit a cigarette, looking completely unfazed.

"That disgrace has nothing to do with my family anymore," he said.

The message was clear. I was fair game.

Only then did everyone feel safe to carry on. The jeering started up again.

"3,000 dollars? Back in the day, that wouldn't even buy Ms. Moore a hair ribbon. And now we get to watch her strip for us," someone said.

A ring was tossed at my feet.

"That's enough to cover twenty years of you working as a server. Let's see if you've got what it takes to walk away with it," the person said.

I glanced down, making sure the ring was really valuable.

Then I took off my bow tie, belt, and pants, piece by piece, until all I had left was a thin slip.

I bent down to grab the ring.

A foot shot out and kicked it away from me.

"Ms. Moore, this ring's worth 30,000 dollars. You've barely taken anything off, huh?" one of them said.

"Oh, right, I forgot. You only finished high school. How were you supposed to do the math?" he added.

Laughter filled the room.

Everyone was waiting to see me get played and then slink away empty-handed.

But I didn't back down. I reached out and started pulling off the last thing I had on.

Philip was frowning, already starting to get up.

But Dakota darted over before he could move.

She said, "Natalie, don't do this to yourself just to spite Philip. Just apologize. Say you were young and didn't know any better back then..."

I stared at her delicate, innocent-looking face. I smirked.

I said, "Six years, and you're still playing the victim, Dakota. How pathetic can you get?"

The words were barely out of my mouth when the slap came. My face burned and stung from the hit.

Philip dropped his hand, veins bulging on his forehead.

He roared, "Natalie, I thought letting you struggle out there would finally straighten you out. Apologize to your sister!"

I turned my head and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Honestly, I found the whole thing almost laughable.

All night they treated me like a dog. And he didn't say a word.

But the moment I said a couple of things against Dakota, he couldn't wait to step in and defend her.

I lifted my chin and stared him down. I didn't even blink.

I shot back, "Sister? You really think I'd be dumb enough to call the person who killed Mom my sister, like you do? Dakota isn't family. She's a murderer."

"Natalie!" Philip yelled, his eyes red with rage. "Even now, you're still blaming other people. What would Mom and Dad think of you now?"

He grabbed my collar and slammed me hard to the floor.

The broken glass from earlier cut right into my skin.

The pain made my whole body shake.

But I wasn't about to let them see me crack.

Dakota put on her concerned act and held Philip back. But I caught the hint of triumph in her eyes.

One of the old crew I used to run with couldn't watch anymore.

He called out to me, her voice rough, "Natalie, just swallow your pride for once. Your brother always had a soft spot for you."

I scoffed. "So, how much are you offering? For me to swallow my pride?"

He blinked, surprised. He never thought the princess who used to be so spoiled and willful would become this jaded. All she talked about was money.

My demand for money pushed Philip over the edge.

He smashed every bottle and glass on the table.

He jabbed a finger at me, yelling, "Get lost! Get her out of here."

They tossed me out the door. My clothes were barely hanging on.

My head hit the ground. For a moment, everything spun.

Rain was coming down in sheets. It soaked me to the bone, exactly like that night six years ago.