"Mom, *please*, don't make me leave!" She buried her face in her hands. "I promise I'll be good. I won't take anything that belongs to my sister! I know everything here is hers. I won't fight for the inheritance. I just… I missed you so much. I just wanted to come home."
Katherine's composure shattered. She spun around, channeling her grief into immediate rage—all of it aimed at me.
"Kate! Where the hell have you been fooling around?" she shrieked. "I heard the marriage partner didn't even get to see your face! Do you think just because you're an adult, this family can't control you?"
"I was negotiating a cooper—"
"Enough." Logan's voice cut through like ice. "Kate. Look at this first."
He signaled Peter, who grabbed a document from the table. Peter's glare was venomous. He didn't hand me the paper—he smashed it into my chest.
The sharp edge of the folder sliced my cheek.
Ignoring the sting and the warm trickle of blood, I crouched to retrieve the report. The conclusion was bolded: *Biological relationship excluded.*
"You occupied the nest and stole Summer's life for years," Peter sneered, disgust dripping from every syllable. "And you don't even have the grace to repent."
"Do you know how Summer lived while you were playing princess? She worked in a factory before dawn every day. On her eighteenth birthday, she was almost sold off to some bachelor in the village!"
He stepped closer, looming over me. "And where were you? I called you a dozen times. Phone off. Were you throwing a tantrum? Or does this family mean *nothing* to you?"
I checked my call log. He was right—over a dozen missed calls.
But at that time, I had been alone in a hospital emergency room, hooked up to an IV drip. When I tried to call back later, no one answered.
As for the marriage alliance? I couldn't fathom why they were so desperate for me to meet a disabled man ten years my senior. The only appeal was his family's wealth.
My stomach gave a sharp twist. My face felt cold.
"So," I whispered, "what does this mean?"
Logan cleared his throat. He was the only one who retained a shred of pragmatism. "By rights, now that Summer is back, you should return to your original home."
"However," Logan continued, pausing to weigh his words, "I found that your mother died early, and your father's whereabouts are unknown."