After Ellie loses both her parents years apart, Janice, her stepmother, takes over Ellie’s caregiving, dictating her entire life and forcing her to live in the shadows of her stepbrothers. But when her Aunt Jody reveals a secret, Ellie has no choice but to act.After losing my mother at the age of three, my father became the primary person in my life. Everything in my world revolved around him, as I didn’t have grandparents on either side.

We still had my father’s sister, Aunt Jody, around, but she had immigrated a long time ago, and lived oceans away.So, all I knew was my father.But then, when I first started school, my father brought Janice home, along with her two sons, my soon-to-be stepmother and step-siblings.Initially, everything was fine. Janice treated me well, brushing my hair every night until it was sleek and shiny. She even wanted me at her and Dad’s wedding.”Oh, Ellie,” she would say, refusing to call me Eleanor, “You have to be my flower girl! Jackson and Avery will be the ring bearers, but you, my sweet girl, I need you to be my flower girl.”While Janice and my father were preparing for their wedding, Janice kept me involved. She showed me the color palette she wanted, the flowers she liked, and took the boys and me to taste the wedding cake flavors.”I like the peanut butter cake,”