CHAPTER 1
The little girl stood alone beneath the chandelier, her white dress stained with tears and fear.
A small silver crest slipped from her hand and hit the polished ballroom floor.
The woman in the blue glittering dress stepped closer, smiling coldly.
“Someone remove this trash,” she said. “She doesn’t belong here.”
The crowd went silent.
The child bent to pick up the crest, but the woman blocked her with her heel.
“Only gold matters in this family,” she said. “Not some dirty little beggar.”
The little girl covered her mouth, crying harder.
Then a young man in a black tuxedo pushed through the crowd.
He knelt, picked up the crest—and froze.
The engraving wasn’t ordinary.
It was his family’s crest.
His face went pale.
“This crest belongs to us,” he whispered.
The girl looked up, trembling.
“My mommy said it would protect me after she went to heaven.”
Something broke inside him as he stared into her eyes.
May you like
Then he turned to the crowd and said the words no one expected.
“She’s my sister.”
