For eighteen years, I was a Bellini. Sheltered, protected, and loved. Then my birth parents showed up out of nowhere and demanded me back. My adoptive father, Salvatore Bellini, was a name that carried weight in New York. When he sent me away, his eyes were red. “Odette, your birth parents don’t have proper staff. You won’t be used to it.” My adoptive mother Sofia ran half the family fortune. She squeezed my hand. “Two million on this card, baby. The second you feel wrong, you come home.” My brother Matteo’s voice was cold as ice. “Remember, you’re a Bellini. No one gets to look down on you.” “We’ll visit you every week. If anyone dares to wrong you, I’ll make them regret it.” I thought they were overreacting. Then I walked through my birth parents' front door. Their adopted daughter slapped me twice. She threw a wad of cash in my face, her eyes promising murder. “Take it. That’s the price of your life.” “I pissed off the Bellinis. Now they're looking for me. And they're pushing my parents to hand me over." “You're taking the fall for me. Shut your mouth tight, or I'll make your life a nightmare.” I turned to my birth parents. They pulled that girl, Jenna, behind them without a second thought. “We raised Jenna for eighteen years. Nothing can happen to her.” “You're our blood. So you owe her this.” I froze. So that was the plan. They fought so hard to rip me from the Bellinis… just to hand me over like a sacrifice. I thought about Salvatore. How he always backed me up. I thought about Sofia. How she never let me get the short end. I thought about Matteo. The look on his face when he said nobody messes with me. A chill went down my spine. The last person who dared to treat me this way was no longer in New York. ... For the sake of the blood we shared, I tried to reason with them. “Dad, Mom, I’m your daughter. You—” Before I could finish, Mrs. Bennett slapped me across......
