Chapter 1

My actor parents made me sign an agreement to hide our relationship. They were afraid I'd ride their fame into the entertainment industry.

So I clawed my way up from the bottom, and during a stunt scene high above the ground, I fell.

The impact left me barely breathing, and I called them with shaking hands, begging them to come sign the surgery consent forms.

They ignored me. When I finally got through, my mother's voice was cold. "Don't try to use this little stunt to force us to go public. You've been scheming since you were a child. You think we don't know you by now?"

I survived, but barely. And while I was fighting for my life, my sister wrapped up her final day of shooting.

I saw her post on social media—she stood in the center of the crew, glowing, and my parents beamed beside her. They introduced her to everyone as their beloved daughter, their pride and joy.

The caption read: [Leading lady on screen, our little princess at home.]

I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I didn't beg them to see me anymore.

Instead, I drafted a severance agreement, signed it, and walked away.

*****

The heart monitor screamed in the hospital room.

My manager, Nora Carter, was crying, but her sobs got drowned out by the doctors and nurses talking over each other. "We can't wait anymore. The patient's critical. We need to operate now. Someone get her family on the phone!"

Nora's voice broke through, choked and desperate. "I've been trying, but her parents won't pick up."

A nurse next to her spoke rapidly and urgently, "Use my phone. We're running out of time."

Nora thanked her and grabbed it.

This time, someone answered right away. "Hello? What is it?"

My heart clenched. Something heavy and sour lodged in my chest.

Nora didn't waste a second. "Hi, I'm Lily Rivers' manager. Is this her father?"

The voice on the other end made an annoyed sound. "No. I don't know her."

The pain hit hard, and somehow it shocked me awake even more.

Nora wouldn't give up. "I didn't call the wrong number. Lily has you saved as 'Dad' in her contacts. Please don't misunderstand. Lily had an accident on set this afternoon and needs emergency surgery. Can you please come to the hospital and sign the consent forms?"

She pressed the phone to my lips.

I forced myself past the searing pain shooting up from my tailbone and grabbed the phone with trembling, blood-stained hands. "Dad. It's Lily. I'm in so much pain. Can you and Mom please come?"

I gripped that phone like it was the last lifeline on a crumbling cliff.

But the voice on the other end was ice. "Don't try to go public with this relationship using cheap tricks. You've been scheming since you were a kid—you think we don't know you by now?"

He hung up before I could say another word.

My heart felt like it was being sliced apart, and the pain almost drowned out everything my body was screaming.

The people around me looked at me with something like pity in their eyes.

The surgeon's face darkened. "We're out of time. Go get authorization from the director, now."

Everything blurred, and they wheeled me into the operating room.

*****

I opened my eyes to the familiar white ceiling of the hospital.

"Lily, you're finally awake." Nora practically lunged for the call button the second she saw me stir.

I forced my lips into something like a smile, trying to reassure her.

She grabbed my hand and started crying, asking over and over if I was in pain.

I wanted to tell her to stop, but my throat was so dry I couldn't make a sound.

A nurse rushed in and let out a huge, relieved breath when she saw me conscious. "You survived the worst of it. Things will get easier from here."

The nurse started going over instructions with Nora, and I reached for my phone.

A few work messages. That was it.

No surprise—nothing from my parents, Julian or Claire. Not a single text asking if I was okay.

But on social media, my sister, Emily Rivers, had just posted something new, and there they were in the comments, congratulating her.

She'd wrapped filming last night, and Julian and Claire had shown up with flowers and champagne. Everyone was celebrating her like she was the only thing that mattered.

After drinking some water, I cleared my throat and turned to Nora. "You've been here for two days straight. Go home and get some rest."

Nora slowly fed me lukewarm glucose water. "Stop worrying about me. You're what matters right now, and I'm not leaving you here alone."

I smiled, but it felt hollow.

My coworker cared more about me than my own parents did. On the day I almost died, they'd chosen to celebrate with their other daughter instead.

A month later, I finally got discharged.

I turned down Nora's offer to drive me home and headed to the print shop alone.

I picked up the document I'd prepared—a formal severance of family ties agreement.