Chapter 2 Privilege

"You! What do you think you are doing?" Leila went pale. "Do you have any idea what that is worth? It could bring in ten million at auction!"

"Just a bracelet." Nora looked at her as if she could see straight through her. "And your precious James, too. I do not want either."

She was not lying.

The bracelet was drenched in diamonds, but the stones were small, more glitter than weight. Its value was in the name attached to it, not the gems themselves.

To Leila, it still sounded like Nora was ignorant and wasteful.

Willow rushed in, snatched it up, and planted herself at Leila's side. "Nora, you are not even a Flynn anymore. What right do you have to touch Flynn's property?"

The commotion drew guests. Heads turned. Whispers spread.

"So young, and that full of herself. One bracelet like that could keep her comfortable for life in the old district."

"That is all people like her have left, pride."

Hearing them, Leila lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders, haughtier than ever. "Nora, there is no need to ruin what you cannot have, right? I was going to let you stay until early next month, for my engagement party with James. I was even going to invite you for a drink."

James had been tied to the Flynn family since childhood. Nora had once been the intended fiancée. Now that she was only the adopted girl they meant to discard, Leila had simply stepped into her place.

Leila loved that part most. James was the golden boy of Cloud City, rich, connected, and going places.

"Is something wrong with your hearing?" Nora had hated noise since she was little, and being needled over and over was wearing thin.

She frowned, her beautiful face settling into open dislike. "Why would you want me there? So I can make you look dull by comparison?"

Leila had meant to twist the knife, not to be slapped in front of an audience. For a moment, she wanted to claw at Nora's flawless face. But with so many eyes on her, she swallowed it and put on a wounded look. "Nora, I was trying to be nice. Why are you being cruel to me?"

Mary followed them out. The second she saw Leila's eyes shining with tears, she flared. "Nora, Leila came to see you off because she knows you will have it hard. How can you be so ungrateful?"

In the month since Leila returned, she had played the fragile doll to perfection.

And Kevin and Mary had eaten it up.

Even if they had seen through her, they would still have favored their blood.

Nora was not afraid of Mary. She curved her lips. "Mrs. Flynn, when exactly did I bully your daughter? Or are you just determined to see what you want to see?"

The sarcasm landed softly, delivered with the calm of someone above the whole scene.

Leila blinked, stunned. Nora did not even bother to respect Mary. What would she not dare to do?

"Mom, Nora has gone too far," Leila pouted, hoping Mary would shame Nora for her.

Mary did not disappoint. She snorted. "She has always been a cold little misfit. I never understood why, but now I do. She is rotten on the inside."

Nora was twenty. In those twenty years, she had never been close to the Flynns. Most of the time, she had kept to herself, door shut, no visitors.

Willow read the room and held the bracelet out with both hands. "Mrs. Flynn, Nora says she does not want it."

Mary took it, shot Nora a hard look, grabbed Leila's hand, and fastened it onto her wrist. "Family heirlooms belong on our real daughter."

Mary's jab did not sting Nora at all.

"Birds of a feather." Nora looked away just in time to see a long luxury sedan rush up, brake hard, and stop outside the wrought-iron gates of Flynn Villa.

The car was white, with a gold angel emblem on the hood.

People stared. Someone even gasped.

Up close, the paint was scored with scratches. It looked old. Neglected. Almost like something dragged out of storage and forced back onto the road.

A man climbed out of the passenger seat. He wore black-framed glasses. His hair was oily, combed into a severe side part. He tugged at his wrinkled suit, then approached Nora with an awkward smile. When he reached her, he bowed. "Ms. Thorne. I am sorry I am late. Your brother had something come up, and it delayed us."

"My brother?" Nora lifted one brow.

A birth family from the old district was not supposed to have a car like this, emblem or not.

"Yes. The Thorne family has three other children. You are the youngest. The other three are boys, all older than you," the man said.

Nora's expression shifted, thoughtful.

He moved quickly, scooping up the suitcase at her feet. "Ms. Thorne, is there anything else you would like to take? I am here to help."

"Just this." Nora lowered her gaze. She had been disappointed in the Flynns for a long time. She did not want to bring a single thing that belonged to them.

His smile held. He carried the suitcase toward the car. "Ms. Thorne, I am the Thorne family's butler. My name is Logan. If I fail you in any way, I hope you will forgive me."

When he opened the door, the hinge let out a harsh, grinding squeal.

Mary pressed her lips together in disgust. Leila gave a small, contemptuous scoff.

What kind of luxury car was this supposed to be? Had they bought it for scrap?

Everyone knew the Thorne family was poor. No steady work. A home in the old district. And they came to pick someone up in this wreck, pretending to be something they were not?

Logan colored. Remembering his instructions, he set the suitcase down and reached into the seat for a box.

"Ms. Thorne, Mr. Thorne said the Flynn family raised you with kindness. He prepared a small gift, and he hopes the Flynn family will accept it."

It was a plain brown paper bag, unmarked, about the size of a book.

Leila rolled her eyes. Is that it? They were sending her off like a beggar.

"Mom, the Thorne family knows manners," Leila said with a smile that did not reach her eyes, already waiting for them to embarrass themselves.

"Our family does not need it. Keep it," Mary said, not even looking at Logan properly.

Kevin came out as well and waved grandly. "You made the trip. If you see anything you like, take it. Do not be shy."

Flynn Villa was drenched in luxury: flowers arranged like a wedding, a wall of rare vintages, a dessert table stacked with imported fruit. Even a decorative tree in the yard could have paid for a house.

Logan only glanced around, then asked again, politely and seriously, "Mr. Flynn, are you sure you do not want the gift Mr. Thorne prepared?"

Kevin laughed.

He and Mary traded a look, pleased with themselves. "I am the richest man in Cloud City. I do not need your little offering."

The arrogance made Logan swallow the rest of his words.

The so-called richest man in Cloud City would have struggled to scrape together a few billion in total assets.

What Meredith Thorne had prepared was not a token at all.

"It is time. I am leaving," Nora said. She did not care about the Flynns' petty theater. Logan had only just arrived, and she did not want him to become their next target.

"Nora, keep in touch when you get back. This will always be your home," Kevin said smoothly. The guests, hearing it, praised him for his generosity.

Nora saw it clearly. Once Leila came back, there was no place for her here.

She slid into the back seat. The outside looked tired, but the interior was anything but: leather upholstery, a fiber-optic headliner scattered like stars.

The car was old, though. When the door shut, it made that ugly noise again.

After Logan bowed to the Flynn family, he took the driver's seat.

The sedan pulled away.

As it turned out, Leila caught the license plate and frowned. The format looked wrong. Not civilian.

"Dad, Mom... why does their plate look like a government issue?"

Kevin went still. "Government plates? That is restricted to defense and state vehicles."