Chapter 1: The Uninvited Feast

Part 1

🥩 **My family tried to starve my son at a lavish feast—but the meal I ordered exposed my sister’s secret empire.**

Nya just wanted to give her son, Malik, a plate of the roasted chicken her sister, Simone, had prepared for the family feast. Instead, her father, Arthur, sharply ordered her to sit.

Malik was left with only a dry piece of bread while the other children enjoyed expensive ribeye steaks. Enraged and humiliated, Nya accessed the family business account on her phone right there at the table.

She ordered Malik a full gourmet meal from “Chef Antoine’s,” to be delivered within thirty minutes. The delivery driver’s polite knock at the door, steak in hand, brought the entire lavish dining room to a shocked silence, but it also started something much bigger.

The heavy oak front door creaked open, revealing a young man in a crisp Chef Antoine’s uniform, holding an insulated bag. Arthur Jenkins, at the head of the table, slowly lowered his wine glass, his eyes wide.

“A delivery?” he murmured, confusion creasing his brow.

Nya met his gaze, a storm brewing behind her eyes. “It’s for Malik.”

Simone’s smile, frozen on her face, finally cracked. “Nya, what is this nonsense? Who paid for this?”

“The family business account,” Nya stated, her voice steady. She watched Simone’s perfectly sculpted brows twitch.

Arthur leaned forward, his voice a low rumble. “The Jenkins Holdings operating account? Nya, are you serious?”

“Yes, Father. The account I have co-owner access to, thanks to Mama’s will,” Nya replied, keeping her tone even.

Simone’s hand tightened around her fork. “You used *that*? Nya, are you so desperate for attention that you’d jeopardize the company’s liquidity for a child’s dinner?” Her voice, though calm, dripped with malice.

“Malik deserved a meal, Simone. Not dry bread,” Nya retorted, looking directly at her son, whose small face was now a mixture of awe and fear.

Simone scoffed, a dismissive wave of her hand. “You always were so impulsive, Nya. So financially reckless. You clearly don’t understand the gravity of managing *our* funds. Perhaps your access needs to be… re-evaluated.”

Nya felt a cold dread, but her gaze did not falter from her sister’s smug face. What exactly was Simone implying about her access?

Part 2

The heavy silence from Arthur the next morning was colder than any shouted reprimand, solidifying my isolation. Simone’s text, arriving just before noon, suggested “a casual chat about yesterday’s… incident.”

Her concern felt like a perfectly tailored knife.

When she finally called, her voice was sickly sweet. She talked about the Riverbend property, the prime development Arthur had coveted for years.

“Then, casually, she added, ‘Did you hear? Elijah Thurman is leading Sterling Developments’ acquisition team for it.'”

“‘Seems he’s not just doing business; he’s playing dirty, trying to hurt us, Nya. Like he always did.'”

My heart hammered at Elijah’s name. Simone’s tone, full of false sympathy, made my teeth ache.

This wasn’t about his ambition. Was Simone using him to destabilize me and dig a deeper hole?