Adela stood in front of the defogged mirror in her en-suite bathroom.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering as the residual chill of the pool water seeped deep into her bones. Her lips were tinted a sickly shade of pale blue, and every breath she took felt like inhaling crushed glass.

She stared at her sixteen-year-old face.

There were no scars on her cheeks.

She rubbed a towel aggressively over her wet hair, confirming the physical reality that she had returned to three years ago.

A massive force slammed into the heavy mahogany door of her bedroom.

The door flew open and hit the wall with a loud bang.

Preston marched into the room, bringing a wave of cold air and raw anger with him.

Brock stood right behind him in the doorway, supporting Kalyn, who was still wrapped in the blanket.

Preston pointed a rigid finger directly at Adela's face.

"Why the hell did you lose your mind and push Kalyn into the water?" he demanded.

Adela tossed her damp towel over the back of a chair.

She suppressed a violent shiver, forcing her freezing muscles to lock into place. She looked at him with eyes that held zero emotion.

Preston flinched slightly.

The dead, stranger-like look in her eyes stung his ego, making his voice rise an octave higher.

He started his usual gaslighting routine, lecturing Adela about how she was born jealous and malicious.

Brock chimed in from the door.

"This family gave you everything, and you are completely ungrateful," Brock sneered.

Kalyn reached out from under her blanket and tugged gently on Brock's sleeve.

"Please don't be mad at her," Kalyn said, her voice shaking with fake tears. "My sister just slipped. She didn't push me on purpose."

Hearing Kalyn's pathetic defense only solidified Preston's belief that Adela was a monster.

"Walk over to that door right now and bow your head to apologize to Kalyn," Preston ordered.

Adela turned her back to him.

She walked to her vanity, picked up a jar of moisturizer, and slowly began rubbing the cream into her hands.

Her shoulders were relaxed.

There was no panic, no trembling, none of the fear she used to show.

Preston's jaw clenched. He took three large steps forward, reaching out to snatch the glass jar from her hands.

Before his fingers could graze her skin, Adela placed the jar firmly onto the wooden table.

She turned around and looked straight into Preston's aggressive eyes.

Her voice was flat and steady, cutting right through his loud lecture.

"Yes. I pushed her," Adela said clearly. "Because I hate looking at her."

The words acted like a mute button.

The entire room fell into a dead silence.

The fake tears Kalyn had prepared stopped right in her eyes, making her face look ridiculous.

Preston choked on the rest of his psychological abuse.

The words died in his throat.

He felt a massive wave of frustration, like he had just thrown his hardest punch into a brick wall.

Brock turned red. He pointed at Adela.

"You are completely sick in the head!" Brock yelled.

Adela raised her hand and pointed at the open doorway.

"Since I am guilty, I need to rest," she said. "Get out of my room."

The veins on Preston's forehead bulged against his skin.

He opened his mouth, but he could not find a single angle to attack her from.

Adela walked right up to them, grabbed the heavy door, and slammed it shut in their faces.

She turned the deadbolt with a loud click.

Adela dragged a massive Louis Vuitton trunk out from the back of her walk-in closet.

Her fingers were stiff and numb, trembling slightly as she gripped the leather handles. A cold sweat had begun to form on the back of her neck, mixing with her damp hair, but she forcefully pushed the rising fever down.

She pulled open her velvet jewelry drawer.

She grabbed the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace Preston gave her last year and tossed it into the trunk.

Her face remained blank as she picked up the limited-edition Hermes bracelet from Brock and threw it in.

Every single piece of jewelry, every gift she used to treat like a sacred piece of their love, was now being packed away like garbage.

She zipped the heavy trunk shut.

Without looking back, she grabbed the handle and dragged the heavy luggage out of her room.

Downstairs, the luxurious banquet hall was filled with the sound of a string quartet.

The elite socialites of the Hamptons stood in small groups, holding crystal champagne flutes.

Kalyn stood in the absolute center of the room.

She was wearing a custom Chanel haute couture gown that had originally been tailored for Adela.

Preston stood next to Kalyn, holding a drink, showing off the perfect image of the Franks family to the guests.

Adela appeared at the top of the spiral staircase, dragging the trunk behind her.

The heavy wheels hit the solid wood steps with loud, dull thuds.

The noise caught the attention of everyone in the room.

The conversations died down, and the musicians awkwardly stopped playing.

Adela walked down the stairs wearing a plain black turtleneck sweater and faded jeans.

Her cheap, casual clothes violently clashed with the expensive gowns and tuxedos surrounding her.

Preston saw her outfit, and his face instantly darkened.

He marched up to her, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper.

"Do not embarrass this family in front of these people," Preston warned.

Adela ignored him completely.

She walked right past him and headed straight for Kalyn.

Kalyn took a step backward, pretending to be terrified of Adela.

The wealthy guests started whispering, their eyes darting between the real and fake daughters.

Adela stopped in front of Kalyn and shoved the massive trunk forward.

The heavy luggage hit Kalyn's shins, forcing her to stop backing away.

Kalyn looked down at the trunk, her eyes wide.

"Sister, what is this?" Kalyn asked softly.

Adela looked around at the guests who were leaning in to listen.

She raised her voice so the entire room could hear.

"This is my apology gift for scaring you at the pool this afternoon," Adela announced clearly.

Preston let out a cold laugh.

"Do you think throwing some random junk at her makes up for what you did?" he sneered.

Adela did not argue.

She bent down and grabbed the zipper of the trunk, pulling it open.

The lid popped up.

The crystal chandeliers reflected off the diamonds, the haute couture jewelry, and the limited-edition bags packed inside.

The wealthy women in the crowd immediately recognized the priceless, discontinued items and gasped out loud.

Preston stared into the trunk.

His pupils shrank.

He recognized every single item. It was everything he and his brothers had given Adela over the last three years.

Kalyn stared at the trunk full of limited-edition items she had always been insanely jealous of.

Her face turned bright red.

She instinctively reached her hand out to touch the pink diamond necklace, but pulled it back when she remembered the crowd watching her.

Brock pushed his way through the guests.

He looked down at the open trunk and his face twisted with rage.

He pointed his finger right at Adela's nose.

"You are using this pathetic trick to make everyone feel sorry for you!" Brock shouted.

Preston gritted his teeth.

He turned to the family butler. "Take this box away immediately. Stop letting people watch this joke."

Adela raised her arm, blocking the butler's hand.

She reached into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out a neatly folded legal document.

She unfolded the paper and slapped it down onto the marble table next to the champagne tower.

Adela looked toward the corner of the room and waved her hand at an independent third-party notary she had contacted on her way upstairs, paying a premium to have him arrive immediately.

The lawyer swallowed hard. Under Preston's murderous glare, he awkwardly walked forward.

Adela pointed at the paper.

"This is an Irrevocable Gift Agreement," she stated. "The digital, legally binding copy has already been emailed to my private attorney and synced with the state registry ten minutes ago. It's done," she added, her raw throat burning with every word.

She looked directly at Kalyn.

"I am legally declaring that every single asset inside this trunk belongs to Kalyn from this exact second forward."

Another loud gasp rippled through the banquet hall.

Preston snatched the document off the marble table.

His eyes scanned the dense text.

He saw the serial numbers and the exact financial valuation of every single item listed on the page.

Preston slammed the paper back onto the table.

"You are out of your mind," he hissed through his teeth.

He firmly believed Adela was just throwing a massive teenage tantrum to manipulate them.

Brock crossed his arms and sneered at Kalyn.

"Since she wants to be shameless and give it away, take it. Let's see how long she can act tough without our money."

Kalyn put on a conflicted, hesitant expression.

But a sharp flash of greed lit up her eyes.

She picked up the expensive pen from the table and quickly signed her name at the bottom of the agreement.

Adela watched the ink dry on the paper.

The final invisible chain binding her to this family snapped.

She asked the lawyer for her copy of the receipt, folded it, and shoved it back into her pocket.

Preston looked down at her from his height.

"In three days, you will be on your knees crying, begging me to give these things back to you," he said coldly.

Adela did not even bother to give him a sarcastic smile.

She turned her back to him and walked straight toward the main doors of the banquet hall.

"If you walk out that door today, don't ever expect to spend another dime of this family's money!" Brock screamed at her back.

Adela did not slow her pace.

She pushed the heavy oak doors open.

The freezing October wind, mixed with the damp air from the Atlantic Ocean, rushed into the warm, luxurious room.

Adela's thin silhouette disappeared into the heavy darkness of the Hamptons night.

Preston watched the crystal chandeliers sway from the cold wind.

A sudden, unexplainable irritation twisted in his chest.

He turned to Kalyn. "Keep this stuff safe for now. We will deal with it after her mandatory therapy sessions are over."