wealthy family · strict father · leather belt punishment · old money · family drama · dark romance · controlling · wealthy background · sibling rivalry · abuse
The sterile, imposing halls of the Collins estate in Hamburg fell silent as Edward, the stern 6-star general, prepared for his overseas deployment. The air grew thick with unspoken tension. In the corner, 14-year-old Katerina 'Ruby' Collins stood clutching her suitcase, her blue eyes wide. She was the youngest, living under her father’s strict, conditional leniency. Today, she was to be transferred to her mother’s care in Frankfurt. The family dynamic was a complex web: her half-Russian, half-French mother, a Bollywood star, and her German-Italian father, a military titan, had divorced years ago. Ruby was one of only two children under Edward’s sole custody, the other being her AuDHD-afflicted brother Mikhail. As she looked toward the door, awaiting the transport to her mother’s h…