Chapter 1 Cutting Ties

The Harris family estate stood in the heart of Norsport.

A baby’s piercing cries shattered the silence.

It was not even eight in the morning when the baby’s relentless wailing dragged Nina Reed from an exhausted sleep.

Running on almost no sleep, she glanced at the infant beside her, then rose to make another bottle.

Warm and content after her bottle, the little girl soon drifted peacefully back to sleep.

Nina had barely turned toward the bed when her adoptive dad, George Harris, barged in, trailed by her stepmom and stepsister.

A document came flying across the room and struck Nina squarely in the face.

George’s glare could have cut glass. “The DNA test shows a 99.99 percent maternal match. She is your daughter. What do you have to say?”

Nina did not bother picking up the fallen report. “I have never given birth. You can believe whatever you want.”

Three days earlier, on Nina’s nineteenth birthday, someone had left her a newborn and a printed letter claiming the baby was her biological daughter.

Three separate DNA tests confirmed it. Yet Nina had never dated, slept with anyone, donated eggs, carried a child, or given birth. None of it made sense.

George thrust a finger at the report. “The proof is right there, yet you still lie. You have disgraced this family. Frank, take that baby away.”

George’s final command was aimed directly at the family butler, who stood waiting near the doorway.

Nina stepped between the butler and the baby. “Touch her, and you will regret it.”

Her voice remained quiet, almost casual, but the cold steel in her eyes made it clear that the threat was anything but empty.

She was slender and striking, yet the chilling danger radiating from the nineteen-year-old made everyone in the room instinctively hold their breath.

She had known the baby for only a few days, but their instant bond and faint resemblance had already awakened a fierce protectiveness in Nina.

Frank caught the warning in Nina’s eyes and froze.

Even George recoiled.

Once he recovered from the shock, George jabbed an accusing finger at Nina. “You would not dare challenge me.”

The commotion startled the baby awake, and her frightened cries immediately filled the tense room.

Nina turned toward the bed, bent down, and gathered the baby into her arms.

The little girl quieted almost at once.

George’s face darkened further. “You had a child with some random man before you even turned twenty. You filthy piece of trash.”

One razor-sharp look from Nina cut him off. “Watch your mouth. If you cannot accept her, then I have no reason to remain here.”

George’s thick brows pulled together as suspicion replaced his anger. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Vanessa Harris, the stepsister, finally spoke. “She cannot leave. She still has to marry that old widower from the Wilson family in my place.”

Nina’s gaze turned glacial as it settled on Vanessa. “You rejected him yourself. Why should I take your place? What gives you that right?”

Vanessa bristled. “How dare you insult me. Mom, Dad, tie her up and teach her a lesson.”

Nina rolled her shoulders. “It has been a while since my last fight. Come at me one at a time or all at once.”

George sputtered in outrage, his face darkening. “You ungrateful brat. Are you actually threatening your own dad?”

Nina held his furious gaze without flinching. “I never go looking for trouble, but I always make certain to finish it.”

With that final warning, Nina cradled the baby securely and strode toward the bedroom door without another glance at the family.

Realizing Nina meant to leave, Laura Harris gave a smug smile. “Fine. Repay every cent your dad spent raising you, or you are going nowhere.”

Nina had been adopted by the Harris family, or more precisely, by George’s first wife, Emily Reed.

Emily died when Nina was five months old.

Less than a month later, George married Laura.

Laura arrived with her four-month-old daughter, Vanessa, and left Nina in the servants’ care while George ignored her.

When Nina turned ten, Laura convinced George to exile her to a shabby rental in a remote town, leaving her to fend for herself.

They brought her back shortly before her nineteenth birthday for one reason. They planned to marry her off to a man in his sixties who had buried three wives.

Nina had kept the last name of the adoptive mom who had once genuinely cared for her.

Certain that a poorly educated girl from the middle of nowhere could never produce the money, Vanessa smirked. “Pay us back, then you can leave.”

Nina turned back to face the family. “I will pay, but only after we sign an agreement severing every legal tie between us. Do you dare?”

Vanessa sneered. “Of course. The real question is whether you can pay, or stomach losing this family.”

Nina shifted her calm gaze to George. “From everything I know, you spent less than three thousand dollars raising me.”

George had stopped providing Nina with any real care or financial support from the time she turned ten.

Before she was six months old, Emily paid for Nina’s formula and clothes with her own money. George had contributed nothing.

Laura’s expression soured. “Your dad gave you a home despite sharing no blood with you. A few thousand dollars could never settle that debt.”

Ignoring Laura’s bitter complaints, Nina kept her attention fixed on George. “Tell me exactly how much you expect me to repay.”

George’s features twisted with contempt as he openly looked Nina up and down.

George named his price without hesitation. “Three hundred thousand dollars. Not a cent less.”

Vanessa burst out laughing. “Dad, she probably cannot scrape together thirty dollars. Three hundred thousand might scare her senseless.”

Laura wore the same mocking expression, clearly convinced Nina had no way to meet George’s demand.

Neither woman believed an uneducated young woman raised in the remote area could possibly produce that much money.

Whatever happened, Laura and Vanessa had no intention of allowing Nina to walk out of the Harris residence freely.

A cool, knowing smile curved Nina’s lips. “Fine. Call a lawyer. You will not receive a single cent until one is standing here.”

George, Laura, and Vanessa all stared at Nina in stunned silence, unable to believe what they had just heard.

Vanessa stared at Nina as though she must have heard wrong. “What did you just say?”

The last trace of patience vanished from Nina’s eyes. “Call a lawyer. I will not waste my breath repeating myself.”

Half an hour later, the family lawyer arrived at the Harris residence with the necessary documents prepared.

After Nina and George signed the severance agreement, she transferred three hundred thousand dollars to him in front of the lawyer.

George stared at the deposit alert, struck speechless. Vanessa and Laura looked just as stunned.

All three remained frozen in disbelief, staring at the deposit notification as if the numbers might suddenly change.

Laura finally recovered enough to speak. “Where in the world did you get three hundred thousand dollars?”

Nina did not spare her a glance. She adjusted the baby in her arms and walked away without looking back.

Vanessa hurried after her mum in a panic. “Mom, now that she is gone, who is going to marry that old man in my place?”

Before Laura could answer, George’s assistant called. “What is it?”

His assistant sounded frantic. “Mr. Harris, the stock you bought yesterday just lost two hundred seventy thousand dollars.”

George’s face went white. “What?”