At thirty years old, I had somehow become the one person my family could always agree on.

Monday morning arrived with the violent intensity of a thunderstorm.

I woke up early in my apartment, my phone already buzzing incessantly on my nightstand. I picked it up to find forty-seven missed calls, thirty-two text messages, and three frantic voicemails—all from my mother, my father, and Lois.

I didn't answer a single one. Instead, I poured myself a cup of black coffee, sat by the window, and opened my laptop to begin my work week.

At 9:30 AM, my doorbell began ringing repeatedly, followed by loud, angry pounding on the thin wood of my front door.

"Serena! Open this door right now!" my mother’s voice shrieked through the hallway. "Serena, answer me!"

I took a slow sip of my coffee, set the mug down, and walked to the entryway. I unlocked the door and pulled it open, keeping the security chain engaged.

My mother stood in the hallway, her face flushed with rage, her hair slightly disheveled. Behind her stood Lois, wearing heavy dark sunglasses, her hands trembling as she clutched her designer handbag to her chest.

"Unchain this door, Serena!" my mother demanded, her voice echoing down the apartment corridor. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"I haven't done anything, Mom," I said calmly, leaning against the doorframe.

"They escorted your sister out of her office this morning!" Mom practically screamed, her hands waving wildly in the air. "Two security guards! In front of all her coworkers! They boxed up her desk and threw her out like a criminal! They said she was terminated for gross misconduct and corporate fraud!"

Lois stepped forward, pulling down her sunglasses. Her eyes were red, swollen, and filled with pure venom.

"You did this," Lois spat, her voice shaking with hatred. "You brought that man to the house! You set me up!"

"I set you up?" I laughed—a sharp, cold sound. "Lois, did I force you to forge a business card? Did I force you to lie to Mom and Dad for months about being a regional manager? Did I force you to stand up on the patio, tap your glass, and demand that I make a toast to your fake success?"

Lois flinched, but her arrogance quickly reasserted itself. "It was a minor inflation of my title! Everyone does it! But your little boyfriend used his power to ruin my life! He blacklisted me, Serena! I called three other logistics firms this morning, and the moment they heard my name, they hung up! Sterling Operations controls the entire regional network!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have insulted him, called him a smelly worker, and handed him tongs like he was your slave," I replied flatly.

My mother pushed her way closer to the gap in the door. "Serena, you are going to call Miles Sterling right now. You are going to tell him that this was all a family misunderstanding. You are going to make him give Lois her job back!"

I looked at my mother. Really looked at her.

There was no concern for me in her eyes. There was no apology for how I had been treated on Saturday. There was no regret for thirty years of emotional cruelty. There was only panic because her precious, perfect daughter had been exposed, and the daughter she held in contempt was the only one who held the key to fixing it.

"No," I said.

My mother blinked, stunned. "What did you say?"

"I said no," I repeated clearly. "I will not call Miles. I will not ask him to cover up Lois's fraud. And I will not allow either of you to step foot inside my home ever again."

"You selfish, ungrateful little brat!" Mom hissed, her mask slipping completely, revealing the hideous, controlling monster beneath. "After everything we've done for you! We gave you a home! We invited you to our events! And you destroy your sister's career over some petty grudge?!"

"You didn't give me a home, Mom," I said softly, my voice filled with a finality that made her freeze. "You gave me a stage where you could perform, and a cage where you could keep me small. But I'm done being small."

I began to close the door.

"Serena! Don't you dare close this door!" Lois shrieked, grabbing the edge of the wood. "If you do this, you are dead to this family! Do you hear me?! You are dead to us!"

"Good," I said. "I've been waiting for that day for ten years."

I slammed the door shut, slid the deadbolt into place, and walked back to my coffee.

Ten minutes later, as the muffled shouting in the hallway finally faded away, my phone buzzed on the counter.

It wasn't my family.

It was a text from Miles.

Miles: Good morning, Serena. I hope your Monday is starting off better than your sister's. Are you free for dinner tonight? There's a quiet Italian place downtown I'd love to take you to—no family, no fake contracts, just us.