Chapter 3

TAMSIN

That night, Dad heard what had happened. He knocked on my door and held out a necklace.

"Tam, Del was out of line today. Try not to hold it against her. She had a rough start in life—you know that."

"Think of this as an apology. From me."

He pressed it into my palm. The little designer logo on the pendant caught the light.

Once upon a time, my parents had loved me too. Dad used to carry me on his shoulders into the den so we could watch rocket launches on TV. Mom used to braid my hair every morning before school.

All of that ended the day Delphine came home.

After that, the whole house bent itself around her. Including me—her little sister.

The scales tipped a little further every day.

Then one afternoon, Delphine came home from school and announced that she wanted to be the only daughter. If she wasn't, she'd stop eating.

From that day on, to everyone outside our four walls, I stopped being their child. I became the adopted one.

I closed my fingers around the necklace.

"Thanks, Dad. Don't forget my interview tomorrow."

"Daddy, come down here!" Delphine's voice floated up the stairs. "Come see my new bag!"

"Coming!" He was gone without a backward glance.

I stood there with my hand on the doorknob, staring at the necklace.

My phone lit up. Delphine had just posted her shopping haul on social media.

The necklace was sitting in the corner of the photo.

A free gift with purchase.

My suitcase was almost packed.

Three shirts. Two pairs of jeans. A hoodie and a jacket. A shoebox full of broken model pieces.

That was everything I owned in that house. Twenty-two years, and it all fit into one carry-on with room to spare.

The next morning, I came back upstairs after breakfast and found my bedroom door standing open.

Delphine was inside, dangling the necklace from one finger, her face twisted with contempt.

The moment she saw me, her voice shot up an octave. "You stole this from me!"

My head was ringing. "Dad gave that to me last night. Go ask him."

The commotion brought Mom running. She didn't ask a single question.

"How could you steal from your own sister?"

"I didn't steal anything. Dad gave it to me."

But Dad had left early for work. He wasn't there to back me up.

Mom's brows knit together. "This is jealousy, plain and simple. Apologize to her. Right now."

Before I could answer, she yanked open my desk drawer, grabbed my wallet, and pulled out the twelve hundred dollars inside.

"Consider this your way of making it up to her."

That was my entire summer. Every overnight shift stocking shelves at the grocery store. Every dollar I'd saved to live on.

"That's mine! Give it back!"

I reached for it. Delphine snatched the cash and clutched it to her chest.

Mom shoved me, hard, and jabbed a finger in my face.

"You ungrateful little brat. You're adopted. Stop acting like you actually belong in this family!"

I froze.

My grip went slack, and Delphine yanked the money out of reach.

Dad came up the stairs just in time to hear it. He shot Mom a look. "Corinne. Don't say things like that in front of the girls."

Then he turned to Delphine. "I gave that necklace to Tamsin. Give her back her money."

Delphine scoffed and flung the bills at me. They fluttered against my chest and scattered across the floor.

"Twelve hundred bucks? That wouldn't even cover one of my purses. Like I want it."

Dad sighed. Even now, he couldn't bring himself to scold her.

He looked at me instead. "Tam, Delphine doesn't know any better. Just let it go this once, okay? Del, apologize to her."

"No!"

Delphine rammed her shoulder into mine and ran downstairs.

Mom went after her.

The room went quiet. Dad crouched and gathered the scattered bills one at a time, smoothing each one flat before setting them in a neat stack on my desk. He couldn't quite meet my eyes.

I watched him, and my voice came out rough. "Dad. Am I really your biological daughter?"

Part of me was hoping he'd say no.

Then at least it would make sense. Then I could understand why they didn't love me.

His brow furrowed. "Of course you are. Your mom just says things without thinking. Don't blame her."

Downstairs, Delphine started sobbing.

Dad hurried down to her.