Chapter 1

When the real daughter, Charlotte Young, came back, she used our parents' guilt to try to kick me out of the house.

Mom and Dad tried to reason with her. "You and Sophia are both our daughters."

But she held a knife to her own throat and forced them to send me away.

What she didn't know was that I wasn't the one who needed the Youngs. The Youngs were the ones who needed me.

*****

The day my parents, Felix and Amanda, brought Charlotte home, I stood in the living room waiting.

I felt guilty about everything, so I had put together a welcome party for her.

But the first thing Charlotte did when she walked through the door was demand that Felix and Amanda send me away.

Then she destroyed everything I had prepared.

Flowers and cake were scattered across the floor, and I just stood there in silence.

"Charlotte," Amanda said, her eyes brimming with tears. "You and Sophia are both my daughters. I'm the one who failed you."

Felix glanced over at me, and when he saw no expression on my face, he turned to Charlotte instead.

He said, "From now on, you and Sophia are both our daughters. You two need to get along."

Charlotte wasn't having it. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she pointed straight at me. "If it weren't for her, I would've been the only daughter in this family. She stole eighteen years of my life, and now that I'm back, she needs to go."

Amanda tried to reason with her again, but Charlotte pulled a knife from somewhere and pressed the blade against her own throat. "It's either her or me. Pick one."

Felix and Amanda froze. They both stepped forward, trying to stop her.

But I could see her hand trembling around the handle.

She didn't actually have the nerve to hurt herself.

Charlotte kept up her threat, and Amanda watched her fall apart. "Charlotte, put the knife down. Please, don't hurt yourself."

Felix waited until Charlotte's attention slipped, then snatched the knife from her hand.

The moment the knife was gone, Amanda rushed forward and pulled Charlotte into her arms. "Charlotte," she whispered.

She held her like a lost treasure she had finally found again.

Felix looked at me, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions.

Charlotte wasn't about to back down. "If you don't send her away, I'll kill myself right in front of you."

She was hysterical, lunging for the knife in Felix's hand.

Amanda grabbed her and held on tight, then turned to me with guilt written all over her face. "Sophia, Charlotte is my biological daughter. I can't just stand here and watch her die. I know I'm failing you. Can you understand that?"

My hands and feet went ice cold, and I couldn't force a single word out. I watched Felix's lips part like he wanted to say something, but he pressed them shut again.

So that was it. They were throwing me away.

I gave a cold nod.

The moment I did, the tension drained from both Felix and Amanda's faces.

But a chill spread through my entire body.

Amanda called for the housekeeper. "Pack Sophia's things and have them sent to the apartment downtown."

"Don't bother," I said flatly.

The second those words left my mouth, I caught Charlotte letting out a visible sigh of relief. A vicious smile crept across her face as she savored her victory.

She said, "Smart move. Nothing in the Young house belongs to an outsider like you anyway."

I ignored her and walked over to Felix and Amanda. I smiled softly at them. "Dad, Mom, take care of yourselves."

Pain flickered across their faces, but I turned and left with a smile still on my lips.

"Sophia." Amanda's voice broke behind me.

I didn't look back. I walked out of Young Manor with my head held high.

Charlotte chased after me and blocked my path.

"Get out of my way," I snapped.

Since she wasn't my family, I had no reason to play nice.

But Charlotte just smiled, smug and satisfied. "Sophia, do you have any idea how much I despise you? You stole eighteen years of my life, living like a princess. But that's over now.

"I'm the real heiress of Young Foods, and I'm the one who's going to run the Young family.

"And you," she continued, her voice dripping with venom, "you're going to find out exactly what my eighteen years of suffering felt like. Broke and miserable for the rest of your life."

I looked into those dark, bitter eyes and smiled. "Is that so? Well then, I hope you get everything you wish for."

I shoved her aside and walked straight out of Young Manor.

Charlotte's cursing still echoed behind me, mixed with Felix and Amanda's worried calls.

Something stung in my chest, but I shoved the feeling down before it could take root.