Chapter 1
My aunt grabbed my four-year-old daughter and shoved her toward the staircase.
For one terrible second, Lily’s feet left the floor.
Her little shoe flew off.
It bounced down the marble steps.
My body moved before my mind did.
I lunged forward and caught her against my chest before she hit the edge.
She buried her face in my neck, shaking so hard I could feel her teeth chatter.
“Aunt Celeste said Grandpa wanted me gone,” she whispered.
The whole foyer went silent.
I froze.
Then my father appeared at the top of the stairs.
His silver cane struck the marble once.
“She is telling the truth,” he said.
Everyone stared at him.
My daughter clung tighter to me.
My father looked down at us without shame.
“I gave the order.”
My blood turned cold.
He lifted one hand toward the bodyguards lining the hall.
“Remove my son.”
No one moved.
Then, one by one, every guard stepped away from my father.
They walked behind me.
My father’s confidence cracked.
“Who told you to disobey me?”
I looked around slowly.
Then Marcus, the oldest guard in the house, answered.
“You did, sir.”
Silence swallowed the room.
“Years ago, you ordered us to protect the next head of this family.”
My father’s face went pale.
He looked at me.
I held my crying daughter closer.
May you like
My voice came out cold.
“You just forgot that stopped being you.”
