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."

Adela walked into her bedroom and pushed the door shut.

Her body instantly lost all its strength.

She slid down the wooden door panel and hit the floor.

The freezing pool water and the harsh wind outside had sent her core temperature skyrocketing.

Her skin felt like it was on fire.

She forced herself to stand up, her legs shaking, and walked over to her desk.

She opened her old Apple laptop.

The cold blue light from the screen illuminated her unnaturally flushed cheeks.

Her vision swam, the glowing lines of code blurring into a chaotic mess. The high fever compromised her motor skills, making her trembling fingers hit the wrong keys twice. She painstakingly retyped the commands, her breathing shallow and ragged. She dug her nails into her thigh, using the sharp sting of pain to anchor her fading consciousness.

She bypassed the Franks family's internal network firewall through sheer willpower rather than ease.

She logged into the independent trust fund account her mother had left her before she died.

The screen displayed the strict conditions.

She had to turn eighteen, or receive an early admission letter from an Ivy League university, to unlock the principal funds.

Adela stared at the admission requirements for Yale University.

Her brain throbbed violently against her skull from the fever.

A loud knock echoed from the door.

Brenda, the head maid, pushed the door open without waiting for an answer, holding a silver tray.

Brenda saw Adela typing on the computer, and a calculating, spying look flashed in her eyes.

She slammed the tray down onto the nightstand.

The metal hit the wood with a sharp, annoying crash.

"Master Preston ordered me to bring you these fever pills," Brenda said, her tone dripping with disrespect.

She crossed her arms.

"The young masters are not home tonight. They took Miss Kalyn to a private hospital in Manhattan for a full-body checkup."

Brenda's words were a deliberate insult, reminding Adela that she was nothing but a nuisance.

Adela did not turn her head.

Her eyes remained locked on the glowing screen.

"Put it down and get out," Adela said, her voice freezing cold.

Brenda flinched at the sudden authority in Adela's tone.

She rolled her eyes in frustration and marched out of the room.

Adela walked over to the nightstand.

She stared at the two cheap, over-the-counter fever pills sitting in the small cup.

Memories from her past life flooded her mind.

Brenda used to crush heavy psychiatric sedatives into her medication to keep her docile and asleep.

Adela picked up the cup, walked straight into the bathroom, and flushed the pills down the toilet.

She walked back to her desk and slapped a physical cooling gel patch onto her burning forehead.

She opened the academic portal for her elite prep school.

She pulled up her transcript from the previous semester.

In her past life, she had purposely scored a C in AP Biology just to make sure Kalyn looked smarter.

Adela placed her hands on the keyboard and started typing an email to the school administration.

She requested an immediate retake of the exam.

The fever made her vision blur, the words on the screen doubling.

She dug her fingernails hard into her thigh, using the sharp pain to keep herself awake.

Outside the window, a heavy autumn rain began to fall, hitting the glass with dull thuds.

At exactly three in the morning, Adela finally clicked the send button on the email.

She closed the laptop.

Her body completely gave out, and she collapsed forward onto the desk.

Her mind raced, listing the independent tasks she had to complete at school tomorrow.

Burning with a high fever, she closed her eyes and fell into a shallow, restless sleep.