Chapter 1
The Miami afternoon sun filtered through the lab's venetian blinds, casting zebra stripes across my microscope.
I held my breath, carefully adjusting the focus to observe the loggerhead turtle egg cells. These precious samples from Biscayne Bay's protected waters represented everything I cared about—marine conservation, scientific discovery, the future of our oceans.
Then my phone shattered the laboratory silence.
"Sophia, it's Dr. Harrison." My advisor's voice carried an unusual weight. "We need to discuss your research funding."
My hand froze over the microscope adjustment knob. "Is something wrong? My research is progressing well, I'll have the interim report ready next month—"
"Your funding has been cut." He delivered the news. "From one thousand dollars monthly to one hundred."
"What?!" I shot up so fast my chair screeched against the linoleum. "That's impossible! My parents personally approved this research project. How could—"
Dr. Harrison replied, "I'm sorry, Sophia. The funding adjustment came directly from your family. Perhaps you should speak with Jake about the details."
The line went dead. I stared at my phone, feeling like the ground had shifted beneath my feet. One hundred dollars? That wouldn't even cover basic lab materials. Jake promised he'd handle my finances responsibly. What the hell happened?
By 4:30, I dragged myself back to our dorm room, my mind spinning with confusion and anger.
The moment I pushed open the door to room 412, I was greeted by an obscene display of luxury. Crystal sat cross-legged on her bed, surrounded by shopping bags that screamed money—Gucci, Prada, Versace. The designer logos seemed to mock my financial crisis.
"Oh, Sophia! Perfect timing." Crystal looked up with that radiant smile I was beginning to hate. "Check out my haul from Bal Harbour!"
She held up a Gucci handbag, deliberately displaying the price tag—$2,800.
"Isn't this color absolutely divine? The sales associate said it's this year's limited edition." She caressed the leather like it was a lover. "Of course, for those of us who work for everything we have, a little luxury now and then is well-deserved."
I responded, "Crystal, I need some quiet time. Something happened today—"
"Oh, you mean the research funding situation?" She said it so casually, continuing to organize her shopping treasures. "Jake filled me in. Honestly, it's a wise decision. College students these days are so spoiled. One hundred dollars is more than enough for a girl your age."
My blood turned to ice. "How do you even know about my funding? That's family business."
Crystal paused for just a moment, then flashed me a triumphant smile. "Oh honey, Jake and I don't keep secrets from each other."
"What do you mean?" My voice cracked.
"I mean," Crystal said, clearly savoring my shock, "Jake and I are together. And our relationship is far more... intimate than you might imagine."
The room started spinning. This couldn't be happening.
"That's impossible." I struggled to form words. "Jake never mentioned you. We talk every week—"
"That's because he didn't want to worry you." Crystal stood and moved to her mirror, running her fingers through her blonde hair. "He said you're still too young to understand adult relationships."
Rage exploded in my chest. "What exactly did you tell him?"
"I simply shared the truth." Crystal turned, her eyes glittering with dangerous satisfaction. "I told him that capability matters more than bloodline in the real world. That it's unfair for some people to receive everything without earning it, just because of their privileged birth."
"Bloodline?"
"Yes, bloodline." Crystal's smile turned predatory. "Jake is very perceptive. He's come to understand certain... realities about family dynamics. Like why some people are born with everything handed to them, while others must fight for recognition."
Suddenly, I remembered Jake as a child—always working twice as hard, always being twice as perfect, as if he had something to prove.
"What are you implying?" I whispered.
"I'm not implying anything." Crystal shrugged with fake innocence. "I'm just an outsider who's noticed some... interesting family patterns."
That night, I stood alone on our dorm balcony at midnight. The sound of distant waves drifted up from the beach, and Miami's lights twinkled below.
Jake had always been perfect—the perfect student, perfect son, perfect brother. But now I remembered those moments when something flickered in his eyes, a flash of insecurity, an urgency to prove himself that I'd never understood.
"Bloodline." The word echoed in my mind. What did Crystal really know? Why was she so confident discussing our family's internal affairs?
More importantly, why was Jake listening to a stranger's advice about our family?
At 12:30, I couldn't stand it anymore. I called him.
"Sophia? It's late, what's—"
"You cut my research funding to one hundred dollars?" I didn't bother with pleasantries. "Are you insane?"
Silence stretched between us.
"Sophia, you need to learn financial responsibility." Jake's voice sounded tired, strained. "Crystal helped me see that we've been too lenient with you."
I asked, "Since when do you take advice about our family from a stranger?"
"She's not a stranger!" His tone turned sharp, defensive. "She understands what it means to work for everything you have. She knows what real value looks like."
I felt dizzy. This couldn't be my gentle, caring brother speaking.
I said, "Jake, do you hear yourself? You sound like—"
"Like someone who's stopped blindly spoiling his sister?" His voice turned cold. "Crystal opened my eyes to some realities about our family. About my position. About who really deserves what."
"What realities? What position?" My heart hammered against my ribs. "Jake, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about maybe it's time for people who truly appreciate what they have to take control of family affairs."
The line went dead.
I stood there shaking, phone clutched in my trembling hand. When I turned to go back inside, I found Crystal emerging from the bathroom, her hair wet, wearing a smile that barely qualified as human.
"Family dynamics can be so... complicated, can't they?" she said softly, her voice carrying a satisfaction that made my skin crawl.
In that moment, I realized this wasn't just about research funding.
Crystal's arrival, Jake's transformation, the careful way she'd maneuvered herself into our lives—it was all connected to something bigger, something darker.