Ficorpio
Chapter 1
In my fifteenth year at the orphanage, my younger sister was chosen for adoption by a wealthy socialite, while I was taken in by Eleanor Reed, the woman who supervised our dormitory.
On the day the adoption papers were to be signed, a string of translucent comments suddenly floated across my vision.
[Victoria has no idea what’s waiting for her, does she? Once that old-money family takes her in, everyone will look down on her. She’ll end up fighting the dogs for scraps.]
[Claire is the lucky one. Sure, she gets adopted by the dorm supervisor, but that’s how she meets Sebastian Blackwood, heir to the richest family in Harbor City. He’ll spoil her rotten one day.]
[Being born lucky means nothing compared to marrying well.]
Victoria suddenly rushed over to Eleanor and called out sweetly, “Mom.”
That was when I knew my sister could see the comments too.
“Claire, you’ve always taken care of me,” she said. “This time, you should be the one who goes to the Sterling family and enjoys the good life.”
She was still wearing the ivory dress she had deliberately chosen to impress the wealthy Sterlings. Now, however, she clung affectionately to Eleanor’s hand.
I glanced at the comments still drifting before my eyes.
There was no longer any doubt. Victoria could see every word.
The two families had already selected which girl they wanted, and this sudden switch left the orphanage director in an awkward position. She had no choice but to ask both prospective adoptive families whether they would accept the change.
Afraid Eleanor might refuse, Victoria kept calling her “Mom” in the sweetest voice she could manage. Her eager affection visibly moved Eleanor.
On the Sterling side, Margaret Sterling said nothing. She merely stepped aside and made a phone call.
Half an hour later, a boy around my age climbed out of a Rolls-Royce.
He wore black casual clothes from a brand I didn’t recognize, but even I could tell they were expensive. His gaze moved between Victoria and me as though he were comparing two products before making a purchase.
I pressed my lips together, then offered him a small smile.
The boy gave a cold snort.
“Take her,” he said, indicating me. “She’s not as pretty as Victoria Bennett, but she looks more obedient.”
Another wave of comments swept across my vision.
[The Sterling family only wants a plaything for their precious heir. Claire is in for a world of pain.]
[Victoria is the clever one. She knows better than to be tempted by what’s right in front of her. Her real good fortune is still ahead.]
Victoria smiled smugly.
Then she tightened her hold on Eleanor’s hand and called her “Mom” with even greater affection.
Ethan Sterling was the only child of the Sterling family.
Spoiled from birth, he had grown into a cruel, unruly boy.
Chapter 2
I had barely stepped through the doors of the Sterling Estate when Ethan tossed a dog collar at me and ordered me to put it on and bark.
“Claire Bennett, the only reason you agreed to let my family adopt you is because we’re rich, isn’t it?”
His smile was vicious.
“I’ll give you fourteen hundred dollars every time you bark. How does that sound?”
Obediently, I fastened the collar around my neck. Under Ethan’s contemptuous gaze, I slowly opened my mouth.
“You’d better keep your word, Mr. Sterling.”
That day, I followed Ethan around barking for a very long time.
I kept going until his face twisted with disgust and he finally stopped me.
“Enough! Quit barking.”
I smiled at him.
“Of course. That comes to seventy-seven thousand dollars. How would you like to pay?”
Impatiently, Ethan tossed me a bank card loaded with eighty-five thousand dollars.
At dinner, Ethan and I were the only ones home.
Even so, the Sterling household nanny had prepared an entire table of food.
I was about to take a seat when Ethan stopped me.
“Who said you could eat at the table?”
He pointed to a new dog bowl nearby.
“You like acting like a dog so much, don’t you? Then eat with the dog.”
The food in the bowl had been dumped together in an ugly heap, a stark contrast to the elegantly plated dishes on the table.
But compared with the scraps and leftovers at the orphanage, it was more than decent.
I picked up the bowl and ate with genuine relish.
As I ate, I happened to see Victoria’s latest social media post.
It was a photo of her and her adoptive mother before dinner. On their modest table sat a single plate of vegetables and two bowls of rice.
The caption read:
“It may be simple, but we’re happy.”
After seeing it, the organic vegetables in my dog bowl tasted even better.
Before bed, Ethan took over the bedroom Margaret Sterling had prepared for me and ordered me to sleep outside with the dog.
I looked at the spacious wooden doghouse in the yard, gathered up my comforter, and crawled inside.
The German shepherd was remarkably well behaved. When I entered, it shuffled aside and left me plenty of room.
It was far more spacious than the crowded dormitory at the orphanage.
I couldn’t help marveling at my good fortune.
At fifteen years old, I finally had a room of my own.
How wonderful.
Boys like Ethan Sterling, born into wealthy families, were always being signed up for extra lessons by their parents.
Piano. Golf. That sort of thing.
At six thirty the next morning, Ethan dragged me out of the doghouse and made me join him on his morning run. Afterward, I accompanied him to his piano lesson.
I expected him to find some new way to humiliate me.
Instead, he made me take the lesson with him.
Richard Sterling tested him on his studies every weekend, and Ethan had already devised the perfect solution.
“My dad only listens in for a few minutes anyway. When the time comes, I’ll close the door and you can play for me.”
Chapter 3
So I applied myself with particular care.
That afternoon, Ethan took me to his golf lesson.
I was struggling along behind him beneath the weight of his golf bag when I ran into my younger sister, Victoria.
She wore a pretty floral dress and had her arm looped affectionately through her adoptive mother’s.
“What a coincidence, Claire. I heard this course just opened, so Mom and I came to enjoy the grounds. Would you like to join us?”
I tucked the sweat-dampened strands of hair at my forehead behind one ear and shook my head.
“No. I have to stay with Young Mr. Sterling.”
Victoria widened her eyes in feigned surprise.
“So the Sterlings only adopted you because they wanted a free servant? That’s awful of them!”
“Claire Bennett. Come here.”
Ethan had just emerged from the pro shop. He crooked a finger at me.
“You’re a member of the Sterling family now, at least in name. Stop talking to people with no class.”
His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it carried just far enough for Victoria to hear.
Her face went pale. Clutching her adoptive mother’s arm, she turned toward the course, only for an attendant to stop them.
“Miss, may I see your country club membership card?”
Ethan gave a derisive laugh and led me through another entrance.
Victoria and her adoptive mother looked equally mortified.
The floating comments appeared again.
[Claire doesn’t actually think Ethan brought her here to have fun, does she?]
[Ethan certainly knows how to train a dog. There’s plenty of open space here, so he’ll be running Claire around like one soon.]
[Victoria still has it better. She has a loving, happy family. They may be poor now, but once she ends up with the richest man in Harbor City, she’ll have more money than she could ever spend.]
Only then did Victoria’s expression improve.
She squeezed her adoptive mother’s arm and smiled ingratiatingly.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Once I’m with the richest man in Harbor City, I’ll have him buy this entire golf course for you!”
All afternoon, Ethan refused to give me a moment’s peace.
To make the ordeal even worse, he’d had the course cleared for his private use. He stood at the tee, driving ball after ball across the fairway, while I had exactly one minute to retrieve each one and bring it back.
If I failed, he used me as a moving target.
Ethan found the whole thing endlessly entertaining.
Then one of the balls struck me squarely on the bridge of my nose.
A sharp ache spread across my face, bringing tears to my eyes. A moment later, something warm trickled from my nostril.
I wiped it away with the back of my hand and hurried to Ethan’s side. Holding the ball out to him with both hands, I bowed my head respectfully.
“Your ball, sir.”
Ethan’s smile stiffened.
He hooked the head of his golf club beneath my chin and tilted my face toward him.
“Claire Bennett, are you an idiot? Don’t you know how to dodge?”