Chapter 1

My stepbrother, Julian, went illegal street racing with his friends behind his mother’s back. He got into a horrific car crash.

The surgeon told me we needed $300,000 immediately to save his legs.

Panic-stricken, I called my stepmother, Victoria, begging for the surgery money. But she only snapped at me over the phone, her voice dripping with impatience.

"It’s just a pair of legs. He won't die without them, will he?"

"You and your brother just want to drain my money, don't you? Let me tell you, Chloe—I’m not giving you a single penny!"

With that, she hung up on me. That very night, she spent millions hosting a wild Christmas party on a mega-yacht in international waters.

In the end, because we couldn’t gather the deposit, the doctors had to amputate Julian’s legs.

A text from my twin brother, Ethan, popped up on my phone: "Chloe, Victoria blocked my number."

At that moment, the puzzle pieces fell into place. Victoria didn't refuse the money because she was heartless to her own son. She refused because she thought the one who needed the amputation was Ethan—my biological brother, her stepson.