Chapter 1

The company had a major client coming in today. I never expected it to be Christopher Grant—my own brother, whom I hadn't seen in six years.

When he spotted me, he froze.

"Madeline? What are you doing here?" His voice went sharp with shock. "You're out? Why didn't you come home? I've been looking for you for years!"

Every single person in the office turned to stare at me. I was so done with this. I spun around and headed for the door.

Christopher rushed forward and grabbed my right arm. Then his whole body went rigid.

His eyes dropped to my empty sleeve, and the color drained from his face.

"Where's your arm?"

I didn't answer. I just yanked the fabric out of his grip, and my sleeve fell back to reveal the metal prosthetic underneath. It was barely two inches thick, all steel framework. "Right here."

He stared at it, his eyes going wide. When he spoke again, his voice came out rough and broken.

"Come home. Please. We can forget about everything that happened. We're family, Madeline. We're still family."

Family? I didn't have a family anymore.

*****

Christopher stared at my right arm, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.

The company leaders reacted fast and cleared out a conference room so Christopher and I could talk in private.

The silence in that room was suffocating, but he finally broke it. "I went to pick you up when your sentence was over, but the prison staff told me you'd already been released."

I glanced at my watch and felt my irritation rising.

"When did you lose your arm?"

"While I was in prison." I kept my tone casual.

"Prison? Why didn't you call me? And why didn't you come home after you got out? Madeline, I'm your brother!"

Hearing him call himself my brother now felt like a sick joke.

"Go back for what? So you could throw me in prison again?"

That one sentence stripped away all his pretenses, and his face went red. He couldn't say a single word back.

"I'm leaving now, and don't bother me again."

When I walked out of the conference room, everyone in the office stared at me.

They couldn't believe that a low-level clerk with a disabled right arm could have any connection to the head of Grant Group.

Even my boss, who usually treated me like dirt, rushed over with a cup of warm water and a fake smile plastered on his face.

I was definitely going to quit this job now.

Five o'clock came fast, and I stood in line to clock out. That was when I saw our company's CEO walking Christopher out of the conference room, practically bowing and scraping the whole way.

Christopher's eyes found me immediately. I looked away, but then I heard a child's voice echoing through the lobby. "Daddy! Mommy and I came to pick you up from work!"

"Chris, Lucas wanted to see you as soon as preschool let out."

I froze. It was Evelyn White, my closest friend from college. I'd recognize it anywhere, even after all these years.

Christopher didn't say a word. He picked up Lucas but kept his eyes locked on me.

Evelyn followed his gaze, and when she spotted me, her smile vanished.

She said, "Maddie? What are you doing here? You've been in Riverport City this whole time? Why didn't you come home? Even if you went to prison, your family wouldn't hold it against you!"

My coworkers started whispering around us.

"Wait, Mr. Grant's wife is the Evelyn? I love her novels, especially her first one, When Oranges Turn Sour. That book was incredible."

"She's even prettier in person than in her videos. So warm and elegant. No wonder she could write something as beautiful as When Oranges Turn Sour."

My chest tightened. That book still hurt to think about.

I didn't respond. I clocked out, kept my head down, and headed for the exit.

Evelyn grabbed my arm and stopped short.

She yanked up my sleeve, exposing the metal framework underneath.

Lucas had never seen anything like it. He screamed.

But Evelyn didn't comfort her son. Instead, her eyes filled with tears.

She said, "Maddie, you've been through so much! What happened back then is in the past now. Look at you—just come home. We're not just family, we were roommates in college, best friends.

"I don't care that you went to prison or that you're disabled now or that you stole from me. I would never abandon you, Maddie!"

In the span of two minutes, she'd managed to mention my prison record twice in front of my entire office.

This backhanded sympathy, this fake-innocent act—it made my stomach turn.

I turned around and stared at her. She was dressed head to toe in designer labels, and that crocodile leather bag alone was worth over 300 thousand dollars.

No one would ever guess that Mrs. Grant, the famous novelist, couldn't afford a single meal back then.

When I didn't respond, Evelyn spoke again, "Maddie, are you still angry about what happened back then? Are you still mad that your brother sent you to prison? But you broke the law."

"Shut up. You know the truth better than anyone!" I snapped. "I want nothing to do with the Grant family. Stop bothering me."

Christopher couldn't help but speak up. "Maddie, why are you still so stubborn? How are you supposed to live with one hand? Stop being so hard on yourself and come back. Let me help you."

"How am I supposed to live? I've been doing just fine for the past six years, haven't I?"

I walked quickly into the elevator and left the building.

I really did need his help when I was in prison.

Every single moment, I waited for him to come save me.

Even though he was the one who pushed me into that hell in the first place.