Chapter 1

Where I come from, in Savannah, when you turn fifteen there's a coming-of-age celebration.

It's supposed to be one of the biggest days of your life. But on the day of mine,

my brother set a plate down in front of me with a beheaded rooster on it.

The whole room went dead silent, because the most important part of the day is when the one being honored bites the rooster's head, a wish that they'll rise and make something of themselves.

And because I hadn't stepped aside for our adopted sister, because I'd gone ahead and ranked first, he served me that headless rooster in front of everyone.

"Stephanie Simmons, you're jealous and you don't know how to give way. You don't deserve to bite the head."

He looked at me coldly.

"Consider this a small lesson. From now on, remember never to take what belongs to Cora Henson."

There was a smugness on his face. He thought he'd ruined the most important day of my life, and he was waiting for me to cry, to make a scene, to lose every shred of dignity.

But I said nothing. I just sat there, quiet.

And that was when the family elder set down his chopsticks and turned to my father.

"Will Simmons, is this how you raise your children? For the sake of an outsider, he'd throw over his own flesh-and-blood sister."

"How is someone like that ever going to inherit the family business?"

One sentence, and it drained the color right out of my brother's face.

His fiancée broke off the engagement over it, and our father stripped him of his authority over the subsidiary.

Stewart Simmons finally cracked. "Why?! Just because I put a headless rooster in front of her at her coming-of-age party?"

I looked at this man who, even now, had no idea what he'd done wrong, and I let out a soft laugh.

"Yes. Just because of that."

...

After the party broke up, once Stewart understood everything, his face was full of resentment.

For twenty-five years he'd been careful, worked himself to the bone to look good in front of our father, and only then had he earned the right to run the subsidiary.

In one moment it was all taken back, and even the marriage alliance they'd arranged fell through because of it.

"Dad, all I did was say a few words for Cora. Is this really necessary?!"

Our father looked at him the way you look at someone you can't beat sense into.

"A few words for Cora? Do you have any idea what today was? It was your sister's coming-of-age celebration!"

"Do you know how many important guests came today, and you served her a headless rooster?"

Stewart's face went from red to white and back again under the tongue-lashing, and behind him Cora had gone pale too,

as if she'd finally realized how much trouble she'd caused. All at once she dropped hard to her knees.

"Dad, please don't blame Stewart. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, he never would have done something so foolish..."

"How is any of this your fault?" Seeing her weeping like a rain-soaked flower, Stewart shot back at once. "This is Stephanie's fault, plain and simple. If she hadn't stolen your first place, none of this would've happened!"

That line seemed to set our father off. He snatched up the rattan cane beside him, ready to bring it down on Stewart.

"You worthless boy, you've still got the nerve to say that!"

The cane was already raised high, but before it could land on Stewart, our mother came crying and threw herself in front of him.

"If you're going to hit him, kill me first!"

She stood between them, ignoring the iron-hard fury on our father's face.

"My son was only joking. What right do you have to treat him like this? If you want to blame someone, blame Stephanie, that jinx. If she hadn't done something wrong, why would my son ever go after her?"

She glared at me like I was some sworn enemy she could never forgive.

I'd heard accusations like this more times than I could count. But hearing it fall from my mother's mouth again,

my heart still gave that same dull ache. And seeing me stay silent, she seemed to find her outlet. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Stephanie, did you set your brother up on purpose? Apologize to him right now!"