Trapped By My Possessive Adoptive Brother

“For three years, seven-year-old Finley worshipped her adopted older brother, Hartley. He was her ultimate protector, the genius puppet master who taught her to rule her elite prep school. But the illusion of his love shattered completely in the school cafeteria. When a bully violently yanked Finley's hair, her primal rage took over. Instead of waiting for Hartley's calculated rescue, she fought back, tackling the boy and leaving herself covered in his blood and ketchup. When Hartley finally intervened, he didn't check if she was hurt. Seeing his pristine, carefully controlled possession acting like a feral creature terrified him. His absolute authority over her was slipping. In front of three hundred staring students, Hartley pointed a shaking finger at her torn clothes. "Look at what you're doing! How dare you let yourself become this messy? You are out of control, and I will not allow you to act like some wild, feral creature!" The words hit Finley with the physical force of a sledgehammer. The boy who wiped her tears and fed her candy wasn't a loving brother. He was a dictator, a warden who only cared about keeping his favorite toy perfectly on her strings. The public betrayal was absolute. Why did her safety have to come at the cost of her total submission? A broken sob tore from her throat as she violently slapped his reaching hand away. The blind worship was dead. As Finley turned and sprinted out of the cafeteria, the war to cut her strings officially began.”