Chapter 1

The phone call came exactly at seven on New year' s Eve.

"Olivia, sweetie, your father and I have a last-minute commission. It' s a huge opportunity for us. We can' t miss it."

My mother, Sarah' s, voice was laced with a familiar, apologetic exhaustion.

"We' re so sorry, honey. We' ll have to miss the countdown with you again."

I stared at the single, sad-looking frozen pizza on my kitchen counter. It was my planned New Year' s Eve dinner.

"It' s okay, Mom. I understand. Work is important."

It was the same every year. Christmas, Thanksgiving, my birthday. My parents, Sarah and David Reynolds, were struggling artists. Every holiday was just another opportunity for them to work, to scrape together enough money to pay the rent on our cramped two-bedroom apartment.

"We' ll make it up to you, I promise," my father' s voice chimed in from the background. "We left some money on the table for you. Buy yourself something nice."

I looked at the twenty-dollar bill next to the phone. "Thanks, Dad."

After they hung up, a profound loneliness settled over the small apartment. The silence was deafening. All my life, I had watched them sacrifice everything for me. They wore threadbare clothes so I could have new school supplies. They ate instant noodles so I could have a balanced meal. My one goal was to graduate, get a good job, and finally let them rest.

But tonight, the ache of their absence was too much. I couldn' t stand the thought of them toiling away in their cold, drafty studio while the rest of the world celebrated.

I grabbed my coat. I would go to them. I would bring them the pizza and we could at least spend a few minutes together when the clock struck midnight. It was better than nothing.

Their studio was in a run-down industrial part of the city, a place most people avoided after dark. As I got closer, I expected to see the dim light of their workshop. Instead, I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.

A sleek, black luxury SUV was parked where their old, beat-up van should have been. The kind of car that costs more than our apartment.

I hid behind a large dumpster, my heart starting to pound.

The back door of the SUV opened. My father, David, stepped out. He wasn' t wearing his paint-splattered work clothes. He was in a tailored suit, looking sharp and confident. My mother, Sarah, got out after him. She was wearing a stunning evening gown, a diamond necklace sparkling at her throat. She looked radiant, not tired at all.

Then, a boy about my age, maybe a little younger, emerged from the car. He was handsome, dressed in designer clothes, with an easy, entitled smile. My parents flanked him, my mother lovingly fixing his tie, my father patting his shoulder with a proud look I had never once received.

The three of them laughed together, a picture of a perfect, happy family. They walked towards the entrance of the most expensive restaurant in the city, a place I only knew from magazines.

The world tilted on its axis. It didn't make sense.

I stepped out from behind the dumpster, my mind blank with shock. "Mom? Dad?"

They froze, turning towards me. The smiles on their faces vanished, replaced by panic and annoyance.

"Olivia?" My mother' s voice was sharp. "What are you doing here?"

"I... I came to bring you dinner," I stammered, holding up the now-cold pizza box. It felt ridiculous in my hands.

My father' s face hardened. "You should be at home. We told you we were working."

"Who is this?" the boy asked, looking me up and down with open disdain, his eyes lingering on my cheap coat and worn-out sneakers.

"No one, Julian," my mother said quickly, stepping in front of him as if to shield him from me. "Just a... distant relative."

Distant relative? The words hit me like a physical blow.

"Julian, honey, let' s go inside. It' s cold out here," my mother cooed, her attention entirely on him. She completely dismissed me.

My father gave me a hard look. "Go home, Olivia. We' ll talk later."

He turned his back on me and guided his precious Julian into the warm, golden light of the restaurant. My mother followed without a single backward glance.

I stood there on the cold pavement, the festive sounds from the restaurant mocking my pain. I was an outsider looking in at my own family.

I don' t know how I got back to the apartment. The twenty-dollar bill was still on the table. A cruel joke. I walked numbly to my room and threw the pizza in the trash. The smell of it made me sick.

My entire life had been a lie. Their poverty, their sacrifices, their love-all of it felt like an elaborate charade.

I started tearing the apartment apart, driven by a frantic need for an answer. My whole childhood was built on the foundation of our poverty. I remembered wearing my cousin' s hand-me-downs, the fabric thin and faded. I remembered the other kids laughing at my worn-out shoes. I remembered the gnawing hunger in my stomach that I' d always ignored, because I knew my parents were hungrier.

I remembered studying until my eyes burned, winning scholarship after scholarship, all to ease the financial burden I thought we all shared. I' d given up friends, hobbies, my entire youth, for them.

In my parents' closet, behind a stack of dusty canvases, I found an old wooden box. It was where they kept "sentimental" things. I pried it open. Inside were old photos, my baby shoes, the first clay pot I ever made.

But my fingers brushed against a false bottom.

I lifted it. Underneath, nestled in velvet, were documents. Property deeds for luxury condos I' d never seen. Stock certificates for blue-chip companies. And contracts. Contracts for art sales, not for a few hundred dollars, but for millions. Their names, Sarah and David Reynolds, were signed at the bottom of each one.

The sheer scale of the wealth was staggering. They weren' t just comfortable; they were immensely rich.

I sank to the floor, the papers scattered around me. The image of them with that boy, Julian, flashed in my mind. Their easy affection, their proud smiles.

I was their daughter, yet they treated me like a dirty secret. Julian was the one they cherished, the one they lavished their wealth on.

A cold, hard knot of grief and rage formed in my chest. My life wasn't just a lie. It was a carefully constructed prison, and my parents were the wardens.

I wished it was a nightmare. I closed my eyes, praying that when I opened them, I' d be back in my bed, and this crippling reality would just be a bad dream. But when I opened them, the multi-million dollar contracts were still in my hands. The truth was inescapable.