The press conference date and location got set quickly.
That day, Mom had people dress me in expensive clothes and do my makeup perfectly.
The girl in the mirror was pale, empty–eyed–like a flower about to die.
Dad walked over, his voice gentler than I’d ever heard.
‘Mia, we’ve given you all our assets. Now we’re only asking one thing.”
He paused, looking straight into my eyes.
‘At the press conference, smile and accept our apology. Tell everyone we’re still family.”
“Just do that, and after that, whatever you want–it’s up to you.”
I looked at his fake face and suddenly wanted to laugh.
The lawyer was standing right there with the final transfer documents, just waiting for me to nod.
I looked past Dad to the lawyer.
‘Mr. Harrison, liquidate all assets and donate everything.”
‘Don’t leave a single penny.”
Dad’s smile froze. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
‘Mia… what… what did you say?”
Mom rushed over and grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin.
‘Are you insane! Do you know what that money means? That’s generations of Castellano blood and sweat!”
I looked at their panicked faces and felt this twisted satisfaction.
‘Yeah, I know.”
“But didn’t you give it all to me?”
“Since it’s mine, I can do whatever I want with it.”
I shook off Mom’s hand and looked calmly at the lawyer.
Chapter 7
The lawyer adjusted his glasses, looking uncomfortable.
July
“Miss Castellano, you sure about this? This is a huge amount of money we’re talking about once I file the paperwork, that’s it.”
“I’m sure.” My voice was rock–solid.
Dad was shaking with rage, pointing at my face.
“You ungrateful brat! We gave you everything and you want to destroy the Castellanos?!”
“The Castellanos?”
I laughed coldly. “The moment you chose Sage and threw me away, your precious family stopped being mine.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to make it up to me? That you’d do anything if I got better?”
“Well, now I want you to have NOTHING.”
“I want you to know what it feels like to fall from heaven into hell.”
Dad almost passed out from rage.
Mom held him up, begging me through her tears.
“Mia, don’t do this! Please, we can give you
more–just don’t do this!”
“I’ve got nothing left to lose.” I stared them down, my eyes ice–cold. “You did this. You pushed me here.”
The lawyer looked at our standoff and sighed, finally nodding.
“Alright, Miss Castellano. I’ll take care of it.”
News that the Castellanos were going bankrupt spread through the city overnight.
All those relatives and friends who used to kiss our asses were now avoiding us like the plague.
Collection calls from banks, contract cancellations from partners–they poured in like snow.
Dad aged ten years overnight, locking himself in his study, sighing constantly.
Mom was like a ghost, crying every single day.
They couldn’t understand how things had gotten this bad.
They’d never understand that I didn’t want their money.
All I wanted was justice.
Chapter 7
But they couldn’t give me that.
So I chose to burn it all down.
After that, our house fell into total chaos.
We started getting behind on utilities–even basic living became a problem.
Mom had to get off her high horse and actually cook.
But she’d been pampered her whole life–didn’t even know how much water to put with rice.
Everything she made was either raw or burnt.
She brought me a bowl of black sludge, trying to smile.
“Mia, eat up. Mommy made this just for you.”
Looking at that “porridge,” I felt sick.
Suddenly, I remembered being little and having a fever–Mom sitting by my bed, feeding me soup spoon by spoon.
Back then, she was so gentle, so wonderful.
But now? We could never go back.
Until one day, Rowan showed up at our door again.
He looked even more pathetic than when he’d left–wearing faded clothes, unshaven, eyes dull and lifeless.
When he saw how wrecked Mom and Dad looked, he rushed over and fell to his knees.
‘Mom, Dad, what happened?”
Rowan whipped around and stared at me with pure hatred.
‘MIA! What the hell did you DO!”
ignored his screaming.
Instead, I had my bodyguard call over a private investigator.
Chapter 8
