When Clara wanted my bedroom at thirteen because it had better natural light for filming videos, my parents moved me into the basement den during my senior year of high school.

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Chapter 1

THEME:
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When Clara wanted my bedroom at thirteen because it had better natural light for filming videos, my parents moved me into the basement den during my senior year of high school.
Part 2

I received seven stitches before midnight.

The hospital documented every puncture, photographed the injuries, sealed the metal fragments, and contacted law enforcement after Dr.

Patel explained that he believed the wounds were consistent with deliberate assault.

A patrol officer took my statement while Mallory sat beside me.

He asked if Clara and I had argued before the incident, whether she had threatened me, and whether anyone might have altered the tiara without her knowledge.

I answered carefully because I understood that family history could easily sound like bitterness when reduced to a few sentences.

The truth was that Clara and I had never had an ordinary sisterhood.

She was six years younger than me and had learned early that being entertaining made our parents forgive almost anything.

When I protested, Mom said I should be proud of supporting my sister's creativity.

When I graduated from college, neither of my parents attended the ceremony.

Clara had called them that morning saying her boyfriend had ended their relationship, and Mom decided a breakup emergency mattered more than my graduation.

The boyfriend took Clara back two days later, and she posted a cheerful video about "testing whether your man fights for you."

I learned not to expect apologies.

I built a life outside my family instead.

I earned my graduate degree, found work with children recovering from injuries and developmental challenges, bought a small house, and surrounded myself with people who did not need me diminished in order to feel important.

Clara went in the opposite direction.

By thirty-two, she had millions of followers across several social platforms, brand contracts, a management team, and an audience trained to see our family through whatever version of reality she edited together.

Her wedding was supposed to be her largest production yet.

The next morning, at 7:06, Mallory called me.

"Don't open social media."

I was lying awake with my scalp throbbing.

"Why?"

"Because Clara posted the reception video."

I sat up.

"What video?"

Mallory hesitated.

"A version where you look like the attacker."

I opened it despite her warning.

The clip began with Clara smiling and placing the tiara on my head.

The moment she forced it downward had been removed.

So had the blood.

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Table of Contents
When Clara wanted my bedroom at thirteen because it had better natural light for filming videos, my parents moved me into the basement den during my senior year of high school.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 8
01 Chapter 1 02 Chapter 2 03 Chapter 3 04 Chapter 4 05 Chapter 5 06 Chapter 6 07 Chapter 7 08 Chapter 8

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