Chapter 2

Tears started streaming down Violet's face.

She looked at me like I was the villain.

"Nina, I didn't—" Violet choked out, looking to Richard and Grace for help.

Grace immediately pulled her into a protective embrace and snapped at me, "Nina. That's enough. Violet is trying to be close to you and this is how you treat her? You have no manners at all."

I almost laughed out loud.

Manners?

In my past life, they brought me back home.

They forced me to learn etiquette I hated, wear dresses I wasn't comfortable in, and change everything about how I lived.

Whenever I did anything they didn't like, they'd say, "Of course she grew up wild out there. She has no class at all."

Their "manners" were nothing more than a way to control me.

I shot back coldly, "My parents taught me how to behave. Treat me with respect and I'll return it tenfold. But if you try to manipulate me, don't expect me to play nice."

This whole family reunion drama ended with Richard storming off in frustration.

They left with a sobbing Violet, looking completely humiliated.

I thought they'd give up after that, but I underestimated how much they needed to control me.

The next day, Liam's supervisor called him in and told him the company was restructuring. Hence, he needed to take unpaid leave for a while.

Right after that, Sally got laid off from her job at the grocery store because they claimed they were overstaffed.

Then someone reported our food cart for health code violations, and the city shut us down for "mandatory improvements."

Within 24 hours, every single source of income we had was gone.

Liam and Sally were frantic. They paced around the house and barely slept, and Sally developed stress sores on her lips from all the anxiety.

That evening, we sat together in the quiet living room. Liam sighed and pushed a bank card across the coffee table toward me.

"Nina, your birth parents had someone deliver this," he said, his expression conflicted. "There's 200 thousand dollars on it."

He looked me in the eyes. "They said if you agree to attend Prestige Academy, everything goes back to normal for us. Our jobs, the cart, all of it."

Prestige Academy was the city's most elite private school, and it was where Violet and her older brother, Eric Lane, attended.

I stared at the card and felt ice spreading through my chest.

This was their strategy.

They never cared about what I wanted. They thought they knew what was best for me, so they controlled every part of my life.

They believed that if they cut off our income, I would have no choice but to obey and return to them.

They wanted me to be their obedient biological daughter, trapped in a gilded cage.

In my past life, they did the same thing.

Liam and Sally cried when they sent me off in the Lane family's car. They thought they were giving me a better future and didn't want to hold me back.

This time, I wouldn't let them win.

I pushed the card back across the table.

"Mom, Dad, don't worry," I said.

I looked at their worried faces, and my chest tightened, but my voice stayed firm.

"I can find another job. If the food cart is gone, we can start over somewhere else," I continued. "But if I lose you, I lose everything that matters."

I met their eyes. "I don't want to go to Prestige Academy, and I don't want to go back to them. I want to stay with you."

Sally's tears spilled over, and she pulled me into her arms, sobbing too hard to speak.

Liam's eyes went red. He slammed his hand on the table.

"That's it. You're not going," he said. "Those rich people can keep their money. We don't need it."

He stood up straighter. "I'll take construction jobs if I have to. I can support both of you."

Warmth flooded through me as I looked at them.

Having parents like this was the greatest blessing for both my life and my parents'.

But I knew this wouldn't end here.

Ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away.

I had to take action first.

The next day, I put on my faded school uniform, grabbed my backpack, and walked through the gates of Prestige Academy.