Introduction

The air in the Miller family living room was thick and heavy, like quicksand under my worn-out sneakers.

My adoptive brother, Brandon, looked at me with feigned pain, gesturing to expertly forged documents accusing me of selling company secrets.

"This is a mistake," I croaked, the first words I' d said in ten minutes.

My adoptive father, Richard, rumbled about betrayal and corporate espionage.

Sarah, my ex-fiancée, ripped off the ring I'd saved two years for, calling me a "traitor" and a "common thief."

Then Chloe, my adoptive sister, held up her phone, live-streaming my humiliation to millions. It was a perfectly orchestrated execution.

Brandon whispered, "You were always in the way," before shoving me down, my wrist screaming as I fell.

My adopted mother, Eleanor, looked at me with pure revulsion, demanding I be removed.

Richard declared me disowned, my shares forfeited.

They sentenced me to a "wellness retreat" indefinitely, a "death sentence" they called it.

But I smiled. A strange, serene smile.

"A wellness retreat?" I asked, my voice steady. "Away from all of this? No work? No family obligations?"

I looked Richard straight in the eye.

"Thank you," I said, my smile widening. "Honestly. Thank you."

The silence in the room was sharp, crackling with their disbelief.

"This isn' t a vacation, Alex," he snapped, his composure slipping.

"I know," I said. "It' s better. It' s freedom."

They thought they were sending me to prison, but they just handed me the key. They thought they were punishing me, but they had no idea they' d just given me the greatest gift of all.