Chapter One

The Debt

LIORA POV

My name is Liora, and I’ve known my place in the Winchester family for most of my life. It wasn't a place that was mine by blood, but one that was given to me by my adoptive father's charity. For as long as I can remember, I have been a quiet shadow in this big house, a secret no one talks about. The house itself is like a fancy museum. The floors are made of shiny marble, and the furniture is dark and heavy. But tonight, this place feels less like a home and more like a prison.

The air has been heavy for weeks. It’s a quiet kind of tension, a nervous energy that makes everyone move a little slower and speak a little softer. I first noticed it in the servants. They went about their jobs with their heads down, never meeting anyone’s eyes. Then came the phone calls, always from my father, Greg Winchester, in his office. His voice would be a low, angry sound, full of worry and frustration. My dad has always been a gambler. He loves the high stakes of a card game. But this time, it was different. This time, he didn't just bet our money; he bet our future.

I was in the large, beautiful library, trying to look busy. My job was to organize books that were already in perfect order. It was a good way to stay out of everyone's way. I could hear them arguing from my dad's office down the hall. Their voices were muffled, but I could tell what they were feeling. My mother was begging, my sister was angry, and my dad was full of a dark rage. I knew I shouldn't listen, but I couldn't help it. For me, hearing the truth, even just bits of it, was the only way to feel safe.

A moment later, the door to the library opened and Bianca, my adoptive sister, walked in. She was wearing a silk robe that looked like expensive red wine. Her blonde hair was a perfect wave, and her blue eyes were cold, just like always.

"Eavesdropping again, Liora?" she asked with a mean smile. Her voice was a soft, cruel sound that always made me feel small.

"I was just... putting away these books," I said, looking down at the book in my hands. I hated how my voice trembled.

Bianca gave a fake little laugh and walked over to a big leather chair. She sat down and crossed her legs. "Don't bother. You'll have plenty of time for this kind of work once I’m gone."

I looked up, confused. "Gone?"

"Oh, please. Don't act dumb." She took a slow drink from a glass she was holding. "The Sterling family. It's done. Dad lost all our money, or at least most of it. It’s a debt he can't possibly pay back."

"I don't understand," I whispered, my heart starting to beat a little faster. "What does that have to do with you leaving?"

Bianca smiled again, and it wasn't a nice smile. "Everything. The Sterling family—the father, Richard, and his son, Nicholas—they aren’t just rich. They’re old money. They have old rules. My father, in his stupidity, lost a huge amount of money to them in a card game. It’s a debt of honor. A debt that can only be repaid with a marriage."

My mind started putting the pieces together. The quiet phone calls, the fear, the sudden hope on my father's face a few days ago. The only way out was to marry off his daughter.

"So you're marrying him?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Darling, of course, I am." Her voice was dripping with confidence. "Who else would? I'm the real daughter. The one with the name. The one with the face he's already seen. And let's not forget," she leaned forward, speaking a little softer, "the one who has a place in this family."

I had only ever seen Nicholas Sterling once, at a distance. He was a very tall man with broad shoulders. His face was sharp, and I remembered his eyes. They were a stormy gray color that made me shiver, even from far away. He was the heir to the Sterling family, a man of great power. And he was the man Bianca was going to marry, not for love, but to pay off a debt.

"It's the perfect plan," Bianca continued, her eyes looking far away, as if she were already dreaming of her new life. "I get his name and all of his money. Dad gets his debt cleared. And you get to stay in the background, where you belong."

Her words were like a cold slap. I knew I was an outsider, but hearing it said so clearly was still painful. I had never been a real Winchester, just a person they kept around to make themselves look good. But Bianca’s words made it clear that my small, quiet life was about to be turned upside down.

The argument in my dad's office grew louder. I stopped what I was doing and listened.

"The Loyalty Ritual? What in the world is that?" my mother's voice asked, full of fear.

"It’s a tradition," my dad said, his voice hard. "An old Sterling rule. A way to make sure the couple is really committed to each other. They said it has to be a masked night, an intimate night. A way to test the bride's loyalty."

The words sounded so old and strange. A Loyalty Ritual. A masked, intimate night. It sounded almost like a story from a different time.

"Absolutely not!" Bianca's voice suddenly cut through the wall, full of fire. "I will not do that! I am not a prize to be tested. It’s insane, Dad."

"It is not a choice!" my dad roared back, a sound that made the floor seem to shake. "It’s a condition! A part of the deal! You do it, or the deal is off, and we lose everything!"

A loud crash followed. It sounded like glass breaking. I jumped, and a small gasp escaped my lips. Bianca, still in her chair, just rolled her eyes.

"She always has to make a scene," Bianca said, finishing her drink. "Well, I'm going to my room. This is all so tiring."

She left the room, and I was alone again. I walked to the big window and looked out at the garden. This perfect, beautiful world was about to fall apart. I thought about Nicholas Sterling, the man with the stormy eyes, and the old ritual his family demanded. A quiet, deep fear started to grow inside me.

I was still by the window when I heard them again. My parents were talking, but their voices were low and filled with panic. They must have come out of the office and were speaking in the hallway.

"She refused, Greg. What are we going to do?" my mom whispered. "We can’t lose the deal."

"We won't," my dad said, his voice calm and cold. "We have a backup plan."

"Who?"

"Liora."

The sound of my name was like a punch to my stomach. I stopped breathing. I put my hand on the cold windowpane, my fingers shaking.

"Greg, are you crazy? Nicholas met Bianca," my mom said.

"He only saw her once, from a distance. Liora and Bianca look enough alike. With a mask on, he won't know. She's been a Winchester for a long time. She owes us."

"But she's adopted. What if the truth gets out?"

"The truth won't get out. She's a nobody. She has no one to speak for her. She'll do what she's told, because if she doesn't," my dad's voice dropped to a scary whisper, "I will make sure everyone knows about her real parents. The ones who threw her away like trash. She will do what she's told."

My hand fell from the window. My body felt frozen. My mind was numb, and my heart was beating so fast it hurt. I had always known my life here was fragile, but I never thought I was just a tool. A spare part. A girl with a debt to pay that I didn't even know about. I was not a daughter. I was just a thing they could use. My father had just decided to use me to save his own skin, and I had no power to stop him.