Chapter 1

The familiar scent of my mother' s overcooked pot roast filled the air. It was a smell I associated with every forced family dinner of my life. I was sitting at the dining table of my childhood home in a quiet San Jose suburb, a place I had paid for but never felt belonged to me. A wave of nausea hit me, but it wasn't from the food. It was the chilling, impossible realization of where-and when-I was.

My head throbbed. The last thing I remembered was a hospital room. The sterile smell, the searing pain, and a doctor' s apologetic voice telling me I was bleeding out. My baby was gone. My life was gone. All because of the woman now sitting across from me, smiling sweetly at my brother.

Sabrina.

Today was the day. The day my brother, Brian, brought her home to meet the family for the first time. In my past life, this was the beginning of the end. Today, it was my new beginning.

"Gabrielle, you' ve been so quiet," my mother, Debra, said, her voice dripping with false concern. "You work too hard. You should relax more, like your brother."

I looked at Brian. He was stuffing his face, a smug look on his face as he held Sabrina' s hand. Unemployed, entitled, and a parasite. He believed my success, my company, my money-it was all his for the taking. My father sat at the head of the table, silent and invisible, just as he always was.

Sabrina turned her perfectly made-up face toward me. "It' s so amazing what you' ve built, Gabrielle. Your company must be doing incredibly well."

Her voice was the same. The same cloying sweetness that had convinced me to take her "prenatal vitamins." They were abortifacient herbs. She murdered my child and me.

I met her gaze, my expression like ice. "It is."

Brian wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Speaking of the company, Gab. I have a great idea."

He always had a "great idea" that involved my money.

"Sabrina is so smart, you know? She' s got a business degree. You should hire her. Maybe a VP of something. Something easy, but with a good salary. She deserves it."

Sabrina feigned modesty. "Oh, Brian, don' t be silly. I couldn' t possibly..."

In my past life, I had hesitated. I had tried to be polite, to find a gentle way to say no. That hesitation cost me everything.

Not this time.

I put down my fork. "No."

The table went silent. Brian' s smile vanished. "What did you say?"

"I said no," I repeated, my voice clear and cold. "I' m not hiring your girlfriend for a fake job at my company. She' s not qualified, and I don' t owe either of you anything."

Brian' s face turned red. "What the hell is your problem? It' s a simple favor! I' m your brother!"

"My brother who has never held a job for more than six months? My brother who thinks my success is his personal bank account? That brother?" I said, looking directly at him.

"You ungrateful bitch!" he roared, slamming his fist on the table. He started to get up, his posture aggressive.

My mother shot up from her seat. "Gabrielle Johns! How dare you speak to your brother like that!"

She stormed around the table. I didn't flinch. I just watched her come. Her hand flew through the air and connected with my cheek. The slap was loud and sharp in the sudden quiet of the room. It stung, but the pain was nothing compared to the memories flooding my mind.

"You will respect your brother!" she shrieked. "If you don' t, you can get out! We' ll disown you!"

I stood up slowly, my chair scraping against the floor. I looked at her, then at my father who refused to meet my eyes, and finally at Brian, who looked triumphant.

I touched my cheek. "Fine."

My mother froze, her hand still raised. "What?"

"I accept," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "Consider us disowned. Our relationship is over. Effective immediately."

I turned and walked out of the dining room without looking back. I could hear my mother screaming my name, but I just kept walking. I went upstairs, into the room I grew up in, and started to pack.