Chapter 1 - THE CHRISTMAS EVE BETRAYAL
On Christmas Eve, I stood outside my parents' dining room holding a holiday cake, only to overhear an unthinkable plot unfolding inside. My mother, father, sister Chloe, and her chronically unemployed husband Flynn were casually dividing up my life without my consent. My mother announced that Chloe should simply take over my hard-earned, three-bedroom, $640,000 apartment because I lived alone and could downgrade to a rented corporate studio. My father declared that as the responsible oldest child, I would comply because family came first, while Flynn wondered if I had signed off on the theft. They hadn't even bothered asking me. Instead of screaming, dropping the platter of roasted meats, or confronting their entitlement, I inhaled the winter chill, plastered on a polite smile, and walked into the dining room to serve dinner as if I had never heard a word.
