Chapter 1

I was targeted and bullied by the scholarship student my parents sponsored—locked in a bathroom, doused with cold water, and photographed naked.

When I came to my parents crying with my medical report and audio recordings, begging them to call the police, they confiscated my phone instead for the sake of their ridiculous "reputation."

"Lily, Claire's family is poor. This is just kids horsing around. If we call the police, the media will say we're big-shot prosecutors abusing our power, ruining a student from a disadvantaged background."

"You're our daughter—you need to be magnanimous, to have perspective. To avoid any appearance of impropriety, we'll settle this privately. Write her a letter of understanding."

I stared in disbelief at that letter filled with so-called "perspective."

"She destroyed me, but you're afraid of destroying her?"

"She's your real daughter, isn't she?"

I saw the post Claire shared on Instagram—photos of my parents taking her to the seafood feast I'd begged for months to try, captioned:

"My parents say some princesses just need to be put in their place."

In that moment, my heart died completely.