The Forgotten Child

In Wren's family, fairness has always been sacred—but only when it comes to her twin siblings, Derek and Vanessa. Every gift is divided between them. Every opportunity must be equal. Every argument ends with Wren being told to sacrifice because she is the "easy one." Her bedroom becomes Vanessa's closet and Derek's gaming room. Her achievements are handed over to keep the peace. Even on her twentieth birthday, the celebration belongs to her siblings. For years, Wren waits for her share of her parents' love. Then her grandmother gives her the only birthday present meant solely for her: an old silver heart necklace she has worn for forty years. Vanessa takes it. Derek breaks it. And when Wren finally demands something back, her mother slaps her in front of everyone. That is the moment Wren stops waiting. Clutching the shattered pieces of her grandmother's necklace, she boards a flight to Toronto and accepts a full-ride scholarship that will take her far away from the family that never made room for her. But Wren's absence leaves behind something her family never expected: an empty space that Derek and Vanessa cannot divide between them. By the time her parents finally understand what they threw away, Wren is building a life where she is no longer anyone's forgotten child.