Elodie's POV
"Elodie, pass the salt."
I reach for it, but my father's hand is already extended toward Calista, who's sitting three seats away on his right. The expensive seat. The important seat.
"Thank you, darling," Augustus says to my older sister, completely ignoring that I'd moved first.
I pull my hand back and place it in my lap. This is normal. This is every family dinner for the past twenty-six years.
"The wedding venue is absolutely perfect, Daddy," Calista gushes, her blonde hair catching the light like she's in a commercial. "Thornwick insisted on the Grand Ballroom at the Regency. Can you imagine? Twelve hundred guests!"
"Nothing but the best for my best girl," Augustus replies, beaming at her like she's made of gold.
My younger sister Senna jumps in. "I've been analyzing the merger, Father. If we restructure the shipping routes through the Mediterranean, we could increase efficiency by forty percent post-wedding."
"Brilliant, as always." Augustus nods approvingly at her. "This is why you're the future of Cross Shipping."
I sit between them, completely invisible. Like a ghost at my own family's table.
"Actually, I was reading about Renaissance trade routes—" I start.
"Senna, tell me more about your projections," Augustus interrupts without even glancing my way.
Senna launches into numbers and strategies. Calista adds commentary about how the wedding will strengthen their social position. They talk over each other, competing for Father's attention.
I might as well not exist.
"The flowers alone cost fifty thousand dollars," Calista says. "But Thornwick says I deserve the world."
"He's quite the catch," Reverie, my stepmother, adds. She's barely touched her food, too busy admiring Calista. "The most eligible bachelor in the city, and he chose you."
Chose her. Of course he did. Everyone chooses Calista.
"I had coffee with the French ambassador today," I try again. "She was interested in our gallery's new exhibit—"
"Calista, have you finalized the guest list?" Augustus asks, talking right over me like I didn't speak.
Something inside my chest cracks. Just a little. But it hurts.
I set down my fork carefully. "Excuse me. I need to go."
No one responds. They don't even notice I'm leaving.
I grab my coat and walk out of the estate, out to my beat-up car that looks pathetic next to Father's collection of luxury vehicles.
This is my life. Has been my whole life.
Calista is the beautiful one. Stunning, confident, perfect. She gets the CEO fiancé, the society pages, the father's pride.
Senna is the brilliant one. Yale MBA, corporate genius, Father's chosen successor.
And me? I'm just… there. The middle daughter no one remembers. The one with the "impractical" art history degree and the "hobby" job at a gallery that pays barely enough for rent.
I live in a studio apartment the size of Calista's closet. I work sixty hours a week and still can't afford heat some months. But I don't complain because complaining means asking Father for help, and asking Father for help means hearing about how I should've studied something "useful" like Senna.
My phone rings as I'm driving home. Unknown number. I almost don't answer.
"Hello?"
"Elodie." My father's voice. Sharp. Urgent. "Come to the estate immediately."
"I just left—"
"Now. Don't argue."
He hangs up.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel. He noticed I left? That's a first.
Something must be wrong.
I turn the car around, heart pounding. Drive back to the estate faster than I should.
When I pull up, my stomach drops.
Police cars. Ambulance. Lights flashing red and blue against the dark.
I run toward the house. A police officer tries to stop me.
"I'm family," I gasp. "What happened?"
"Let her through," someone calls.
I push past the officer and into the entrance hall.
It's chaos.
Paramedics rushing around. Reverie sobbing hysterically. Senna on her phone, voice shaking. Father talking to police, his face gray.
"What's going on?" I demand. "Where's Calista?"
Senna turns to me, tears streaming down her face. "There was an accident. After dinner. Her car—"
"What kind of accident?"
"She crashed." Senna's voice breaks. "On the way to meet Thornwick. Her car hit a barrier. They said—they said the brakes failed."
The world tilts.
"Is she okay?" I grab Senna's arm. "Where is she?"
"Hospital. They took her ten minutes ago." Senna wipes her eyes. "Father made us stay here to talk to police."
I look at Augustus. He's speaking to a detective, gesturing sharply. His perfect daughter, his crown jewel, hurt.
"I need to go to the hospital," I say.
"Father said to wait—"
I don't wait. I run back to my car.
The hospital is fifteen minutes away. Longest fifteen minutes of my life.
I don't like Calista. We're not close. She's ignored me as much as everyone else has. But she's still my sister. Still family, even if she's never treated me like it.
The emergency room is bright and cold. I find Father in the waiting area with Reverie and Senna. They must've left right after me.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"Surgery," Father says. His voice sounds hollow. "Head trauma. They don't know if—" He stops. Can't finish the sentence.
I sink into a chair. This can't be real.
Hours pass. A doctor finally comes out, face grim.
"She's stable," he says. "But she's in a coma. We don't know when—or if—she'll wake up."
Reverie wails. Senna starts crying again. Father just stares at the wall, looking old for the first time in his life.
"The wedding," he whispers. "The merger. It all depends on the wedding."
I stare at him. His daughter is in a coma, and he's thinking about business?
The doctor leaves. We sit in terrible silence.
Then Father's phone rings. He answers. "Yes? What?" His face goes even paler. "Brake lines? Are you certain?"
My blood turns cold.
"The police," Father says slowly after hanging up. "They examined the car. The brake lines were cut. Deliberately."
The room spins.
"Someone tried to kill Calista," Senna breathes.
Father looks at each of us. His eyes are hard, calculating. Even now, he's thinking like a CEO.
"The wedding is in three months," he says. "The merger contract requires a Cross daughter to marry Thornwick Vale within six months, or the entire deal collapses."
"So what?" I ask. "Calista's in a coma. Obviously the wedding is—"
"The contract specifies a Cross daughter," Father interrupts. His eyes land on me for the first time all night. Really look at me. "It doesn't specify which one."
Understanding hits me like a punch to the gut.
"No," I whisper.
"Senna's too valuable," he continues, like I didn't speak. "She's being groomed to run Cross Shipping. But you…"
He trails off. Doesn't need to finish.
I'm expendable. I'm the one who doesn't matter. The one who's always been replaceable.
"I'll marry Thornwick in Calista's place," Father says. Not asks. States. "You'll save the merger. Save the family."
I stand up fast enough to make the chair screech. "You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious." His voice is ice. "You'll do your duty for this family for once in your worthless life."
The words hit harder than any physical blow.
Senna won't meet my eyes. Reverie is too busy crying over Calista. Father stares at me like I'm a problem he needs to solve.
And somewhere in this hospital, my sister lies unconscious, nearly murdered.
By someone in our family, maybe.
My phone buzzes. Text from an unknown number: "Say no to your father. Run while you still can."
My hands shake as I stare at the message.
Someone tried to kill Calista tonight.
And now Father wants me to take her place.
I look up at my family—the people who've ignored me, dismissed me, forgotten me for twenty-six years.
And I realize: I might be next.